The first Carry On movie to be filmed in colour and the last written by Norman Hudis, Carry On Cruising is arguably the most charming in the series.
Set aboard the SS Happy Wanderer, it charts the course of Captain Crowther (Sid James) on his tenth-anniversary cruise of the Mediterranean, during which the members of his new crew – the doctor who has never sailed, the cook who can’t cook and the steward who doesn’t know how to mix a drink – seek to find their sea legs.
Initially, they perform their duties very badly, but when they discover their captain is due to be posted away, they pull out all the stops to persuade him to stay.
Kenneth Connor enjoys one of his best outings as the nervous ship’s doctor, Dr Arthur Binn, and Lance Percival has fun as the cook-it-and-see chef, Wilfred Haines.
Like the past Carry Ons, Cruising sees the smooth running of a national institution disrupted and destroyed by a mad collection of comic situations, misadventures and memorable characters – tirelessly cheerful Cyril Chamberlain; Jimmy Thompson’s sympathetic barman; Ronnie Stevens’ pathetic drunken traveller; Brian Rawlinson’s comic shyness; Liz Fraser, seductively resisting male temptation as Glad Trimble, and Esma Cannon as frenzied aged passenger Bridget Madderley who leaves the younger guests standing (her table tennis game with Kenneth Williams and her awesome drinking spree are the pick of some very funny moments).
Charles Hawtrey had no involvement this time around due to wanting a huge salary increase, whilst Joan Sims was resting after a long stage run.
Although set on a cruise liner sailing between Spain, Italy and North Africa, it was filmed at Pinewood Studios, so the cast didn’t get the chance to travel to any glamorous locations.
Captain Crowther
Sidney James Leonard Marjoribanks
Kenneth Williams Dr Arthur Binn
Kenneth Connor Gladys Trimble
Liz Fraser Flo Castle
Dilys Laye Bridget Madderley
Esma Cannon Wilfred Haines
Lance Percival Sam Turner
Jimmy Thompson Tom Tree
Cyril Chamberlain Jenkins
Vincent Ball
Director
Gerald Thomas
Related Posts
Carry On Camping (1968) Carry On Camping has no plot to speak of - it is simply a collection of familiar eccentrics going on a…
Lost Continent, The (1968) On their way to South America, the passengers and crew of an old freighter face many challenges. The captain has…
Carry On Loving (1970) Or ‘It’s just one thing on top of another’. This virtually plotless movie is simply a collection of knowing sexually-geared…
Carry On Behind (1975) This is a modern reworking of Carry On Camping (1968), with all the usual stereotypes in place and a more near-the-knuckle treatment…
Carry On Regardless (1961) This is a mixed-up collection of Carry On delights with a totally meaningless title for a totally plotless array of brief comic…
Nurse on Wheels (1963) Quietly competent young Joanna Jomes (Juliet Mills) moves with her scatterbrained mother (Esma Cannon) to a country village to take…
Virgin Soldiers, The (1966) Leslie Thomas's first novel went straight to the top of the bestseller charts in 1966 and this movie version quickly…
Doctor In Clover (1966) The sixth movie in the long-running 'Doctor' comedy series (from the books by Richard Gordon) sees Leslie Phillips in the…
Set aboard the SS Happy Wanderer, it charts the course of Captain Crowther (Sid James) on his tenth-anniversary cruise of the Mediterranean, during which the members of his new crew – the doctor who has never sailed, the cook who can’t cook and the steward who doesn’t know how to mix a drink – seek to find their sea legs.
Like the past Carry Ons, Cruising sees the smooth running of a national institution disrupted and destroyed by a mad collection of comic situations, misadventures and memorable characters – tirelessly cheerful Cyril Chamberlain; Jimmy Thompson’s sympathetic barman; Ronnie Stevens’ pathetic drunken traveller; Brian Rawlinson’s comic shyness; Liz Fraser, seductively resisting male temptation as Glad Trimble, and Esma Cannon as frenzied aged passenger Bridget Madderley who leaves the younger guests standing (her table tennis game with Kenneth Williams and her awesome drinking spree are the pick of some very funny moments).
Captain Crowther
