The first Carry On costume comedy, and only the second of the series in colour, featured mock mutinies, plank-walkings and general mayhem as the Carry On team attempted 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.
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 lay 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 distastefully smutty best, but longtime Carry On director Gerald Thomas manages to keep the fun shipshape and Bristol fashion, so it’s still a must for die-hard fans.
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
