Carry On Girls *** (1973, Sidney James, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, June Whitfield, Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Butterworth, Jack Douglas, Robin Askwith) – Classic Movie Review 453

‘When it comes to Beauty Queens – it’s Carry On and bust!’

The 25th Carry On movie Carry On Girls from 1973 stars Sidney James as local councillor Sidney Fiddler, who battles bossy feminist Councillor Mrs Augusta Prodworthy (June Whitfield) over his plan to get the town’s mayor Frederick Bumble (Kenneth Connor) to hold a bathing beauty contest in a dowdy English seaside resort.

Unfortunately for Sid, the formidable Councillor Prodworthy is the organiser of the local women’s liberation movement, which she mobilises to try to sabotage the contest, and also engages her photographer nephew Larry Prodworthy (Robin Askwith) to cover the preparations to uncover a misdeed that could stop the contest.

Talbot Rothwell’s slightly iffy script is bolstered and sustained by its sturdy premise and by the infectious vim of the whole Carry On team, but especially the four main stars James, Whitfield, Connor and Joan Sims as Connie Philpotts, all apparently enjoying, really relishing their entertaining roles.

Good though they are, they’re occasionally upstaged by the future EastEnder stars but then young lovelies Barbara Windsor (as Hope Springs) and Wendy Richard (as Ida Downs), a hysterical Bernard Bresslaw in drag as the reluctant beauty contestant Peter/Paula Potter and Patsy Rowlands as Prodworthy’s cohort, Mildred Bumble.

No worse than most of the later Carry Ons, it is all daft, but thoroughly enjoyable seaside postcard humour, set appropriately at a seaside resort. It’s the vintage cast that makes it fun though.

It was shot between 16 April 1973 and 25 May 1973 at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and on location in Brighton, standing in for the fictional town of Fircombe in the movie.

Carry On Girls stars Sidney James, June Whitfield, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Peter Butterworth, Jack Douglas, Patsy Rowlands, Joan Hickson, David Lodge, Valerie Leon, Margaret Nolan, Sally Geeson, Wendy Richard, Arnold Ridley, Robin Askwith, Jimmy Logan, Bill Pertwee, Marianne Stone, Angela Grant, Patricia Franklin and Zena Clifton.

Carry on Girls is directed by Gerald Thomas, runs 88 minutes, is made by Rogers-Thomas Productions and The Rank Organisation, is distributed by Fox-Rank (1973) (UK), is written by Talbot Rothwell, is shot by Alan Hume, is produced by Peter Rogers and is scored by Eric Rogers, with Art Direction by Robert Jones.

Robin Askwith gets a glimpse of Kenneth Connor in Carry On Girls.

Robin Askwith, who plays June Whitfield’s photographer nephew Larry Prodworthy, recalled in 2020: ‘What is so great about Carry On Girls is that a few years before I had a friend who lived next door to Ken Connor in Harrow. I used to knock tennis balls into his garden to get a glimpse. A few years later I was paid to get a glimpse!’

Robin Askwith turned 70 on 12 October 2020.

RIP much loved icon Dame Barbara Windsor DBE (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 1937 – 10 December 2020). Robin Askwith tweeted: ‘RIP Babs… Her first words to me were: ‘Ere, your part’s getting bigger and bigger’.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 453 derekwinnert.com