Post by petrolino on Jun 4, 2022 21:01:25 GMT
'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films' (2022) by Caroline Frost : "Jubilee Book Review!"
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I've recently finished reading 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films' (2022) by Caroline Frost, a new book that reanalyses the 'Carry On' film series while assessing its legacy and lasting influence on British culture. Frost is quite heavy on the gender politics and goes to great lengths to explain her views clearly, not only on the films themselves, but also on how public perception of the series has changed over time.
"Increasing numbers of us jumped into new cars for family adventures, often spent in newly popular holiday camps, while at home we saved up for life-enhancing inventions like washing machines, vacuum cleaners and electric fires. The Queen's Coronation in 1953 inspired millions to splash out on a television set for the first time, and most homes already had the wireless and the gramophone to spin out burgeoning collections of 78rpm records."
- Caroline Frost, 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films'
- Caroline Frost, 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films'
"Whilst much-loved by millions of ordinary Britons, the Carry On films have been lampooned by some as being vulgar, corny and sexist. One piece of evidence highlighted is what is probably the most famous sequence in the whole 31-film series, where Barbara Windsor in 1969's Carry On Camping is seen losing her bra, before it lands on Kenneth Williams' face. To go with that, there are dozens of other depictions that some argue objectified women, even as many other viewers loved every moment.
But, according to Caroline Frost, the author of upcoming book Carry On Regardless: Getting to the Bottom of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films, the films - made between 1958 and 1992 - were not sexist at all. The author argues that the female stars of the franchise were left to 'save the day', as the men 'caused the chaos', whilst some of the scripts were 'defiantly feminist'.
Writing in the Times ahead of her book's release, Frost highlights how the films' leading female stars, which besides Dame Barbara included Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims, never considered themselves exploited and took pride in creating an array of characters She points out that Sims' Lady Ruff-Diamond in Carry On Up The Khyber was 'nobody's victim', whilst Jacques enjoyed her regular role as the 'indomitable matron'.
The author adds that it was Jacques, in 1959's Carry on Teacher, when the films were still in black and white, who reminded viewers that 'Mischief is a form of self-expression'.
Writing in the Times ahead of her book's release, Frost highlights how the films' leading female stars, which besides Dame Barbara included Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims, never considered themselves exploited and took pride in creating an array of characters She points out that Sims' Lady Ruff-Diamond in Carry On Up The Khyber was 'nobody's victim', whilst Jacques enjoyed her regular role as the 'indomitable matron'.
The author adds that it was Jacques, in 1959's Carry on Teacher, when the films were still in black and white, who reminded viewers that 'Mischief is a form of self-expression'.
Then, a year later, in Carry on Constable, Jacques' Sergeant Laura Moon uttered a resolutely feminist cry when she mused: 'Strange, don't you think, that the only efficient rookie is a woman?'
Frost also points out how, in the 1964 film Carry on Jack, actress Juliet Mills disguised herself as midshipman to sail away and find her lost beau, whilst Carry on Cabby 'recognised that women were no longer prepared to stay at home and cook their husbands' dinners'. Instead, Jacques' girls were seen craftily stealing rival taxi rank customers from competitors.
In the Carry On films of the mid-1960s, the female stars were often seen merely as objects of male desire, but Frost says this is because they spoofed 'pre-existing male-centric genres'. These included Carry on Spying - a parody of James Bond - and Carry on Cowboy, a humorous take on macho westerns. But Frost adds that the films' writers also 'found the space' to make the female characters 'a little subversive', giving them more agency than the actresses who featured in the original films."
Frost also points out how, in the 1964 film Carry on Jack, actress Juliet Mills disguised herself as midshipman to sail away and find her lost beau, whilst Carry on Cabby 'recognised that women were no longer prepared to stay at home and cook their husbands' dinners'. Instead, Jacques' girls were seen craftily stealing rival taxi rank customers from competitors.
In the Carry On films of the mid-1960s, the female stars were often seen merely as objects of male desire, but Frost says this is because they spoofed 'pre-existing male-centric genres'. These included Carry on Spying - a parody of James Bond - and Carry on Cowboy, a humorous take on macho westerns. But Frost adds that the films' writers also 'found the space' to make the female characters 'a little subversive', giving them more agency than the actresses who featured in the original films."
- Harry Howard, The Daily Mail
"Carry On films were not sexist and actually empowered women, an author has claimed. Memorable scenes included Barbara Windsor’s bikini flying off in Carry On Camping. The bawdy British classics are known for their seaside postcard-style humour and smuttiness.
Caroline Frost, who watched all 31 films for her book Carry On Regardless, said she expected women to be portrayed as “stupid and beautiful”. But she said the films were not “sexist romps” that reduced their female stars, such as Babs, to “totty”.
And she argues that the movies were actually “more sophisticated than they are remembered for”. Caroline said the films gave female stars an “opportunity to shine”, adding: “Some of the scripts were defiantly feminist when there wasn’t a lot of that about.”
She said: “Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims, they were all fine actresses who took pride in creating characters and never considered themselves exploited.” Babs, who died in 2020, once said: “The ladies in Carry On would always push the men away. They never actually got there. The films were very moral actually.” And Sally Geeson said on filming of her two movies there was “an atmosphere of total respect and equality”.
But feminist commentator Jean Hatchet called it a “tired argument”, and said: “I’m unsure whether Caroline Frost is trying to create her own comedy through controversy.”
She said: “Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims, they were all fine actresses who took pride in creating characters and never considered themselves exploited.” Babs, who died in 2020, once said: “The ladies in Carry On would always push the men away. They never actually got there. The films were very moral actually.” And Sally Geeson said on filming of her two movies there was “an atmosphere of total respect and equality”.
But feminist commentator Jean Hatchet called it a “tired argument”, and said: “I’m unsure whether Caroline Frost is trying to create her own comedy through controversy.”
- Adam Bennett, The Sun
"In the course of writing this book, I’ve often been asked: could the Carry On films be made now? Of course, the answer is no. The logistics of recruiting the same A-list cast over and over again would be prohibitive, and the parameters of what we consider to be humorous have forever changed. These days, we are much more easily offended, and on the other hand, freer to say exactly what we like. That magical window of double entendre – the gap between what was said and what was intended for a savvy audience navigated by the Carry Ons – has permanently closed."
- Caroline Frost, i News
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'This Is Your Life Timmy Lea' - Su Cheyenne
It'd be great to read a book on the 'Confessions' film series by Caroline Frost as she seems to have also seen these films. Val Guest directed the first entry in the series, 'Confessions Of A Window Cleaner' (1974). The follow-ups were all directed by Irishman Norman Cohen : 'Confessions Of A Pop Performer' (1975), 'Confessions Of A Driving Instructor' (1976) and 'Confessions From A Holiday Camp' (1977). Musical groups like Three's A Crowd, the Ronnie Bond Singers and the Wurzels contributed to the soundtracks which came to symbolise the times.
The 'Confessions' films were based on a series of books written by Christopher Wood that concerned the adventures of Timothy Lea. Justin Cartwright's comedy 'Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse' (1978) was also adapted from a novel by Wood, in this case, one from his 'Rosie Dixon' series. Unfortunately, no more books were filmed. The character of Penny Sutton, Rosie Dixon's friend in the movie and books, was also the central character in Wood's 'Penny Sutton' series.
"A year before he became the nation's most notorious window cleaner, Robin Askwith made his only Carry On appearance as Larry, and remembered his experience on set as the chance to work with "some of the best comic talent in the country". His role is interesting, though. Just as his caper-crazed window cleaner Timmy Lea has been regarded more recently as a beta male, constantly at the mercy of more assertive females, the same could be said for many a Carry On male, often unsure of self, often reduced to wearing a dress or, like Mayor Bumble, even de-trousered."
- Caroline Frost, 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films'
"To me, Carry On humour is the celluloid equivalent of a McGill postcard, naughty but nice with rude double entendres. 'Columbus', on the other hand, was just plain obscene."
- Barbara Windsor on turning down a role in 'Carry On Columbus', 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films'
- Barbara Windsor on turning down a role in 'Carry On Columbus', 'Carry On Regardless : Getting To The Bottom Of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films'
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'Confessions Of Timmy Lea' - Three's A Crowd