VHS : Carry On Girls [1973]

Rating: - Vintage Carry On bawdiness
Okay, so this isn't the greatest Carry On, but it's one of the better in the series from the 1970s. Most of the regulars are there (Kenneth Williams being a noted and much-missed exception), and there are plenty of hilarious moments, many of them provided by a top-form Kenneth Connor and Patsy Rowlands as a mayor and his longsuffering wife.

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Rating: - 5 stars all the way
the dark days were heading for the carry on world in the year after this movie or so and some had happened previously with charles hawtrey being axed for this after his problems with alcohol,he wasnt the only one readers,he,along with hattie jacques and kenny williams are indeed absent from this one but this is still a real masterpiece of naughty postcard humour stylings all rolled into a film and the theme here centres on beauty contest which sid james,who else,organises on a seaside town to bring tourists back,hardly a bad idea but a womans liberation group led by june whitfield have other ideas in mind about that.
The film is racey and pacey enough and babs excels as miss easyt rider who fights with another contestant on a donky,surely one of the maddest scenes of the entire series,bernie bresslaw helps himself to a bit of cross dressing to be a contestant and peter butterworth is the cheeky old major who cant help pinching womens bottoms.
The film is indeed a five star rating as its appeal is forever and this is the last carry on to gain undisputed success and that is the sign you need to know that this is brilliant.

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Rating: - 1973 Entry
Carry On Girls (1973) was the 25th entry in this staggeringly long-running British comedy film series. The Carry On films were beginning to slide in popularity at this stage and where as at one point at least three Carry On films were made per year, by 1973 the productions had slid down to just once a year.

Charles Hawtrey (who had been disposed off after his drunken antics on the Carry On Abroad set and after continual disagreements with producer, Peter Rogers over wanting his name elevated above the title which no Carry On star was ever rewarded), Kenneth Williams and the formidable Hattie Jaques are all sadly missed but there is surprisingly enough fun, laughter and games to enjoy throughout and the main regulars in the series that are present liven it up no end.

In Carry On Girls, the typically thin plot is centered around a tacky, end-of-pier beauty contest which faces opposition immediately from the town's womens libbers group, led by Councillor Prodworthy, played marvelously by June Whitfield. Sid James organises the whole farce and lets the girls involved in the beauty contest stay at his reluctant girlfriend, Chole's (Joan Sims) hotel for free! Sids eye soon strays onto the bubbly Barbara Windsor who arrives on a motorbike in complete tomboy mode and when taking part in the first photo shoot is unveiled to be stunningly beautiful.

The films climax is where it really scores best, where the beauty contest ends in complete disaster. The girls costumes are all laced with itching powder, the floor is made slippery and to top if off, Councillor Prodworthy turns on the sprinklers that completely showers the entire audience. This is followed by a fun go kart chase as Sid James flees all of the enraged customers who all want their money back, having been soaked in the theatre. Barbara Windsor is hot on Sid's trail on a motorbike. The last scene sees Sid James and Barbara Windsor riding merrily along a motorway on Barbaras motorbike. If you wander why Barbara looks so terrified as she rides the bike, its because she had only learnt to ride a motorbike specifically for Carry On Girls and was not happy in doing so. Those anxious looks on her face as the film ends with a shot of Sid and Babs on the motorway on the scooter are all genuine! Silly but great fun.

The cast are all on top form, though any scene which Sid James and Barbara Windsor share raises a smile and a laugh with their undeniable chemistry shining through (even though Sid James was nearly twice Barbaras age).

Joan Sims is underused in this one and is unfairly pigeon holed into a supporting performance which she plays efficently where as Kenneth Connor plays the towns Mayor, a blatantly incompetent and pompous figure who causes some amusement though is mainly th butt of a joke.

Patsy Rolands has a meatier part in this one and comes into her own. She plays the Mayor's frustated and down trodden wife to utter comic perfection and her character rebels in the end joining forces with June Whitfields team of womens libbers.

Loveable giant, Bernard Bresslaw pops up as Sid James sidekick in organising the beauty contest. The scenes wre he dresses in drag, deliberately to attract attention from the media in a bid to drum up publicity and generate interest in the contest are quite hilarious!

The sultry Valerie Leon plays his dowdy fiancee who joins the beauty contest in the end and is transformed into the glamorous and stunning beauty she always truly was. For some odd reason however all of Valerie Leons lines are dubbed over by June Whitfield! Bizarre!

Carry On Girls is a classic entry in the series and a highly enjoyable one at that.

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Rating: - many laughs, but of lower quality
Carry on girls, set in a seaside town that isnt scoring highly with tourists. Sid james sets on the diea of holding a beauty contest (in joan sims hotel) and invites his mate in advertising (berny breslaw) to do the advertising. Kenny connor is the bumbling mayor, jack douglas is the hotel assistant, june witfield is the womens libber and babs is the one in the skimpy bikkini. Kenny williams is missing, but this doesnt detract from the fun and of course charly hawtry is missing (as after abroad he was not ivited to star in another carry on film due to drinking problems). Sid james is as excellent as ever, kenny connor has it spot on playing the bumbling mayor, june witfield is actually quite annoying as the womens libber. The cast do a top job and I think this is one of the funnier of that latter carry on films

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Rating: - Uncomfortable Classic
From the glaring absence of regular Kenneth Williams to the surprisingly subdued theme music, this 1973 entry sits somewhat uncomfortably in the Carry On canon. However, bright performances and an improbable but engaging storyline make Carry On Girls one of the last vintage films before the decline of the series.

The cast of stalwarts works hard in a strong ensemble of characters. Sid James stars as businessman Sid Fiddler, convincing Kenneth Connor's mayor Frederick Bumble to host a beauty contest in the seaside town of Fircombe. Barbara Windsor is at her busty best as contestant Hope Springs while a band of feminists, led by June Whitfield as Augusta Prodworthy, launches an hilarious campaign of opposition.

Carlton have done a sterling job of cleaning up a vibrant print. Some of the worst editing exhibited in the series has been carefully tidied up, although nothing can remedy the strange overdubbing of glamourpuss Valerie Leon's voice with June Whitfield's. The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen with a nice complement of extras, including a commentary by surviving cast members, including Whitfield - who also presents a wonderful 'On Location' documentary. There is also a stills gallery, awful theatrical trailer and interesting trivia notes.

Carlton have issued Special Editions of all 18 Rank Carry On films and Carry On Girls is an excellent example of the care they have taken in the preservation and presentation of these rough diamonds in the history of British cinema.