It was the 22nd release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992) and the first box office failure of the series. This failure has been attributed[3] to the film's attempt at exploring the political themes of the trade union movement, crucially portraying the union activists as idle, pedantic buffoons which, apparently, alienated the traditional working-class audience of the series. The film did not return full production costs until 1976 after several international and television sales.[4] It was followed by Carry On Matron in 1972.
Plot
In bathroom ceramics factory W.C. Boggs & Son, the traditionalist owner W.C. Boggs is having no end of trouble. Bolshy and lazy union representative Vic Spanner continually stirs up trouble in the works, to the irritation of his co-workers and management. He calls a strike for almost any minor incident – or because he wants time off to attend a local football match. Sid Plummer is the site foreman bridging the gap between workers and management, shrewdly keeping the place going amid the unrest.
Prissy floral-shirt-wearing product designer Charles Coote has included a bidet in his latest range of designs, but W.C. objects to the manufacture of such "dubious" items. W.C. will not change his stance even after his son, Lewis Boggs, secures a large overseas order for the bidets. It is a deal that could save the struggling firm, which W.C. has to admit is in debt to the banks.
Vic's dim stooge Bernie Hulke provides bumbling assistance in both his union machinations and his attempts to woo Sid's daughter, factory canteen worker Myrtle. She is torn between Vic and Lewis Boggs, who is something of a playboy but insists he loves her.
Sid's wife is Beattie, a lazy housewife who does little but fuss over her pet budgie, Joey, which refuses to talk despite her intense efforts. Their neighbour is Sid's brassy and lascivious co-worker Chloe Moore. Chloe contends with the endless strikes and with her crude husband, travelling salesman Fred, who neglects her and leaves her dissatisfied. Chloe and Sid enjoy a flirtatious relationship and are sorely tempted to stray. Unusually for Sid James, his character is a faithful husband, albeit a cheeky and borderline-lecherous one.
Sid and Beattie find that Joey can correctly predict winners of horseraces – he tweets when the horse's name is read out. Sid bets on Joey's tips and achieves several large wins – including a vital £1,000 loaned to W.C. when the banks refuse a bridging loan – before Benny, Sid's bookie, fed up with having made these payouts, refuses to accept further bets, larger than £5, from him.
The strikers finally return to work, but it is only to attend the annual works outing, a coach trip to Brighton. A good time is had by all with barriers coming down between workers and management, thanks largely to that great social lubricant, alcohol. W.C. becomes intoxicated and spends the day – and, it appears, the night – with his faithful, adoring secretary, Miss Hortense Withering. Lewis Boggs manages to win Myrtle from Vic Spanner, giving his rival a beating, and the couple elope. After arriving home late after the outing and with Fred away, Chloe invites Sid in for a cup of tea. They fight their desires and ultimately decide not to have the tea, fearing that neighbours might see Sid enter Chloe's home and get the wrong idea.
At the picket lines the next day, Vic gets his comeuppance – partly at the hands of his mother, who spanks him in public – and the workers and management all pull together to produce the big order to save the firm.
Black Park Country Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire
Production notes
After Sid James's character was criticised for leering at some girls in Carry On Henry (1971), here his character was changed to the put-upon family man similar to the character he portrayed in the TV sitcom Bless This House.[4] In the next film Carry On Matron (1972), his character was preoccupied with thieving, but made odd suggestive comments to nurses (including one played by Jacki Piper, who played his daughter in this film). James's girl-chasing persona was fully reinstated for subsequent films.
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Twenty one Carry On... films have understandably exhausted the supply of lavatorial puns, and though the twenty-second does not scruple about re-using several of them, Talbot Rothwell tends generally to neglect his W.C. factory (a thinly disguised Pinewood Studios) for a series of irrelevant sketches ranging from farce (the works outing) to domestic comedy (Sid and the budgie). The result seems even more scrappily assembled than usual and, with the exception of a fairly amusing parody of sex education films, the level of humour, though noticeably cleaner than of late, is still rock bottom."[5]
See also
Prague Philharmonic, Gavin Sutherland conducting. The carry on album: music from the films : London, England : ASV, p1999. LCCN 00300982
References
^Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press, p. 246.
