Carry On Jack (1964)

The first Carry On costume comedy, and the second in the series in colour, featured mock mutinies, plank-walkings, and general mayhem as the Carry On team tried to take on the might of the Spanish Armada.

The year is 1805, and aboard the good ship HMS Venus bound for the Spanish Main is Captain Fearless (Kenneth Williams) – who hates the sea and can’t stand violence, and has brought along a cow, Emma, to provide milk for the men instead of rum.

There is also a stowaway in the shapely form of landlord’s daughter Sally (Juliet Mills), who wants to find her long-lost love, but settles instead for Midshipman Albert Poop-Decker (Bernard Cribbins).

A mutinous crew puts Poop-Decker, his Captain, his sweetheart and his best friend Walter (Charles Hawtrey) – a press-ganged cesspool cleaner – overboard.

The foursome are left to face whatever adventures lie ahead – including re-capturing the Venus in Cadiz harbour, forcing the governor to surrender the Spanish fleet, and unwittingly sinking five Spanish ships while below decks performing an operation on Captain Fearless as they sail the Venus home to Blighty.

Bernard Cribbins in the lead role doesn’t carry the same clout as Sid James at his smutty best, but longtime Carry On director Gerald Thomas keeps the fun shipshape and Bristol fashion, so it’s still a must for die-hard fans.

Carry On Jack looks much more expensive than usual, thanks to the producers’ ability to reuse impressive sets built for the 1962 production HMS Defiant starring Alec Guinness.

Midshipman Albert Poop-Decker
Bernard Cribbins
Captain Fearless 
Kenneth Williams
Sally 
Juliet Mills
Walter Sweetly
Charles Hawtrey
Jonathan Howett 
Donald Houston
Mr Angel (Bos’un)
Percy Herbert
Pirate Patch
Peter Gilmore
Pirate Hook
Ed Devereaux
Carrier 
Jim Dale
Admiral Horatio Nelson
Jimmy Thompson
Hardy 
Anton Rodgers
Peg
Marianne Stone
Don Luis, Spanish Governor 
Patrick Cargill

Director
Gerald Thomas

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