The journalist Ted York is rushed to Haven Hospital with appendicitis. The ambulance gets there quick, but only because the driver wants to know the result of a horse race. After being given a bed, Ted is smitten with Nurse Denton. The other nurses incessantly have to respond to the calls of the Colonel, who has a private room. He is a gambler and has his bets placed by Mick, the orderly.
That evening, the boxer Bernie Bishop is admitted after hurting his hand at the end of a bout. The next day, the Sister galvanises the nurses, orderly and patients for Matron's inspection. As usual,the Sister is let down by Nurse Dawson, a clumsy student nurse. Matron checks on the progress of the patients, and speaks to Mr. Hinton, who is forever listening to the radio with his headphones. Mick and the Colonel bet on how long the Matron will take on her rounds.
Ted is visited by his editor and agrees to write articles on his hospital experiences. He realises that Nurse Denton is in love with a doctor. However, her interest is not returned. Bernie is told that he will not be able to box for months. Nurse Dawson is sent to ring the bell to signal the end of visiting hours, but calls for the fire brigade by mistake.
The bookish Oliver Reckitt is visited by Jill, the sister of his friend Harry. They like each other, but are too shy to admit it. Bernie urges Oliver to admit how he really feels about her. Bernie's manager Ginger comes to visit him and says he must try to be more of a showman and not simply go for broke with every match. Nurse Dawson comes in early to sterilise rubber catheters, but is interrupted by the demanding Colonel. The catheters are put in a kidney dish to boil on the stove. Oliver is furious when the ward has to be cleared and tidied up for Matron's rounds as it upsets his schedule. When she arrives everyone begins to smell the forgotten catheters, which by now are burning on the stove. Matron stops to speak to Oliver, who complains about the disruptive effects that her visits have on the patients. Furious, Matron has the Sister make all the beds again.
Jack Bell arrives to have a bunion removed and is placed on the ward. Jill comes to see Oliver and they admit that they care for each other. She gives him a bar of nougat as a gift, but later that evening he becomes sick as a result of eating it. Mr. Able complains that he can not sleep because he has been missing his wife. He is put on medication, which makes him wildly excited, and he runs amok in the hospital. Eventually, Bernie subdues him with a quick punch.
Bell's operation is delayed, which upsets his plans for a romantic weekend. He offers the men in the ward the champagne he was going to drink with his girlfriend. They all get drunk and decide to remove the bunion themselves. They tie up the night nurse and Hinton pretends to be her while the others go to the operating theatre. Jack starts to panic as Oliver prepares to operate, but soon they are all giggling due to the laughing gas having been left on. The nurse arrives before any real damage is done.
The colonel plays a trick on Nurse Dawson and pins a piece of paper with a red 'L' on her back. Ted learns that Nurse Denton is applying for a job in America and tries to dissuade her. Jack catches a cold and is told that his operation will have to be postponed yet again. Oliver is discharged and leaves with Jill. Bernie is met by his wife and young son and they leave together. Ted is also discharged and makes a date with Nurse Denton. Nurse Dawson and Nurse Axwell decide to get even with the Colonel and replace a rectal thermometer with a daffodil. Luckily for them, upon her inspection, Matron manages to see the funny side.
The film was made from 3 November to 12 December 1958 with filming at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.[5]
Release
The film premiered in London at the Carlton Cinema on 5 March 1959 before going on general release nationwide from 23 March 1959.[6][1]
Reception
The film was the most popular at the British box office in 1959[7] grossing $843,000.[8] It was the most successful Carry On film with an estimated ten million admissions.[9] It made over $2 million in theatrical rentals in the US.[10][11]
A positive review in Variety called it "the second in what should be a golden series. It does for hospital what its predecessor did for military life ... It is an unabashed assault on the patrons' funnybones. The yocks come thick and fast."[12] A negative review in The Monthly Film Bulletin of the UK stated: "A somewhat stale farce, mixing slapstick, caricature and crudely anatomical humour, puts life in a public hospital ward into the same cheerlessly rollicking category as the barrack-room."[13]Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "All they do is run through their routines – and hackneyed routines they are, tending mostly toward roughhouse antics and intimate hospital gags. The script by Norman Hudis is pure Roquefort, the direction of Gerald Thomas is vaudeville-timed. Yet this film has been a vast success in Britain ... don't ask us why."[14]Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote that "being so frankly Lowbrow, 'Carry On Nurse' also should appeal to Highbrows who, as Russell Lynes' Law states, have much in common with the Lowbrows. Middle Brows should stay away and let the rest of us wallow."[15]
