Carry on Collection (Widescreen) [7 Discs]

There's a lovely irony about the way in which the Carry On films are now revered, not only in the evolutionary story of British comedy, but also as an essential ingredient of cultural history. Derided for years for their low humor and conveyor-belt production values--30 films were churned out in just 21 years between 1958 and 1978--they now embody a cozy, innocent, and less sophisticated time. At the heart of their success are two vital ingredients: a virtual repertory company of Britain's finest post-war comic talents and quick-fire, innuendo-laden scripts which somehow become high-octane fuel for side-splitting laughter.

Public institutions, great historical figures, and established entertainment genres provided the main modus operandi, offering limitless potential for the films' staple themes of lust, adultery, and chicanery. Carry On Sergeant kicked off in 1958 with mainstay Charles Hawtrey. Later the same year in Carry On Nurse and in 1959's Carry On Teacher, the basic team quickly gelled with Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams making regular appearances. Leslie Phillips's insatiable predatory comic persona also figured large in these early films. Perhaps the first major milestone, though, came with the arrival of Sid James in 1960's Carry On Constable. With his trademark raucous laugh and a face like a wizened walnut, James would be a major factor in the ongoing success of the films, in which his leering, lascivious, and amoral character would vary only in name.

In 1962, Carry On Cruising marked the team's first foray into color. The following year, the films grew more adventurous and multilayered. Within their admittedly limited parameters, they did explore relationships and were surprisingly radical in their satirizing of women's roles. Hattie Jacques, for example, is best remembered for her fearsome matrons, but in Carry On Cabby (1963) she plays a downtrodden woman who hits back at husband Sid by forming her own taxi company. Carry On Jack (also 1963) found the team taking to the high seas in a Mutiny on the Bounty-style spoof starring Bernard Cribbins, but the next two films found the team at the real peak of its powers. Carry On Spying (1964) introduced Barbara Windsor's giggly buxom blond, a character who naturally fell hand in hand with James's aging Lothario in many of the subsequent films. In Carry On Cleo the same year, Amanda Barrie's deliciously frothy Egyptian queen and Kenneth Williams's saturnine Caesar set new heights for the series. The year 1965 brought Carry On Cowboy, featuring Joan Sims as a feisty saloon girl, while Carry On Screaming (1966) drove a comic stake through the heart of classic Hammer horror flicks.

Today, the Carry On films are seen as a vital component in the linear development of modern British comedy, influencing everything from French & Saunders to the surreal League of Gentlemen. In their time, they provided a much-needed big-screen vehicle for the greatest comic talents of the age. And today that vehicle has become a legacy of wonderful performances, many of them truly subtle. On that level alone, the Carry On films earn their status as a comic institution a hundred times over. --Piers Ford

• Side #1 -- That's Carry On
  • Chapter Selections
  • Trailer
  • Play
• Side #2 -- Carry On Nurse/Carry On Sergeant
  • Carry On Nurse
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Sergeant
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
• Side #3 -- Carry On Teacher/Carry On Constable
  • Carry On Teacher
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Constable
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
• Side #4 -- Carry On Regardless/Carry On Cruising
  • Carry On Regardless
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Cruising
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
• Side #5 -- Carry On Spying/Carry On Cabby
  • Carry On Spying
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Cabby
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
• Side #6 -- Carry On Cleo/Carry On Jack
  • Carry On Cleo
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Jack
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
• Side #7 -- Carry On Cowboy/Carry On Screaming
  • Carry On Cowboy
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play
  • Carry On Screaming
    • Chapter Selections
    • Trailer
    • Play

Side #1 -- That's Carry On
1. Program Start/Main Titles [2:11]
2. Carry On... Don't Lose Your Head [1:27]
3. Carry On... Follow That Camel [3:38]
4. Carry On Doctor [3:45]
5. Carry On Sergeant [1:48]
6. Carry On Nurse [3:19]
7. Carry On Teacher [1:37]
8. Carry On Constable [2:43]
9. Carry On Regardless [2:55]
10. Carry On Cabby [1:06]
11. Carry On Spying [4:36]
12. Carry On Cruising [1:48]
13. Carry On Jack [1:43]
14. Carry On Cleo [5:24]
15. Carry On Cowboy [4:12]
16. Carry On Screaming [4:34]
17. Carry On Camping [3:38]
18. Carry On Again Doctor [5:44]
19. Carry On up the Jungle [3:48]
20. Carry On Loving [2:56]
21. Carry On Henry [4:32]
22. Carry On Matron [2:17]
23. Carry On Abroad [5:08]
24. Carry On Girls [2:25]
25. Carry On Dick [4:16]
26. Carry On Behind [2:50]
27. Carry On at Your Convenience [1:07]
28. Carry On... Up the Khyber [7:00]
29. End Credits [2:21]
Side #2 -- Carry On Nurse/Carry On Sergeant
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:34]
2. Checking In [3:11]
3. "I'm Not Going to Shave Your Face" [3:03]
4. Bernie Bishop [5:05]
5. The Matron's Rounds [4:34]
6. Symphony [3:43]
7. Good Night Nurse [4:14]
8. Wrong Button [3:41]
9. The Early Bird [6:15]
10. "Rhoda!" [2:59]
11. Knockout [3:46]
12. "Yes, Nurse!" [3:17]
13. "The Sex-Mad Fools!" [5:10]
14. "She's Stuck on You!" [3:27]
15. Dead of Night [4:27]
16. Mr. Abel Goes for a Swim [4:46]
17. Bashful Boy [3:18]
18. Strong Medicine [4:25]
19. A Night at the Theater [6:44]
20. Cutting Up [2:58]
21. "What a Punch!" [4:16]
22. Flowers for the Colonel [1:15]
23. End Titles [:08]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:42]
2. Called Up [3:05]
3. Mistaken Identities [3:26]
4. Meet the Platoon [3:47]
5. Golightly [4:01]
6. In Camp We Tryst [5:31]
7. Sick and Tired [4:32]
8. First Review [6:09]
9. Extinguished Service [4:19]
10. Taking Leave [5:21]
11. Noble Savagery [4:47]
12. Bren Lesson [3:47]
13. Learning the Ropes [4:26]
14. True Confessions [5:16]
15. Confidence Course [3:44]
16. A Thorough Examination [6:17]
17. "Oh, Horace!" [4:06]
18. Pass in Review [3:03]
19. Goodbyes [3:47]
20. End Titles [2:14]
Side #3 -- Carry On Teacher/Carry On Constable
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:33]
2. Problem Student [2:47]
3. Staff Meeting [4:00]
4. Mr. Grigg and Miss Wheeler [4:17]
5. Tight Fit [2:42]
6. Acting Up [4:58]
7. Science Project [6:14]
8. "Find the Ringleaders" [5:16]
9. Headmaster's Solution [3:05]
10. Reluctant Romeo [3:07]
11. Physical Attraction [4:03]
12. Drunk and Disorderly [3:50]
13. Into the Lion's Den [4:36]
14. Lull Before the Storm [3:30]
15. Mischief Makers [3:59]
16. Operation: War of Nerves [6:12]
17. Cause for Alarm [2:30]
18. "Miss Wheeler, I Love You" [3:03]
19. Scratching an Itch [4:27]
20. The Play's the Thing [4:25]
21. Grand Finale [1:37]
22. Laying Down the Law [4:15]
23. "See You Next Term" [1:50]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:33]
2. Flu Epidemic at Peak [3:32]
3. Three Replacement Constables [5:28]
4. Gorse and Harrison [3:42]
5. Special Assignments [3:09]
6. Officer Passworthy [5:42]
7. Forensic Physiognomy [4:19]
8. Constables on Parade [3:36]
9. Vestal Virgins [3:17]
10. Pottie-Poodles [3:33]
11. Scientific Policework [2:57]
12. A Cry for Help [3:46]
13. Prowler in the Shower [5:58]
14. Report to the Inspector [5:23]
15. Fire and Water [2:18]
16. Bone Structure [3:27]
17. Efficiency Endangered [3:08]
18. "Dare Nothing, Achieve Nothing" [2:25]
19. Constables Undercover [4:08]
20. Hot Pursuit [2:47]
21. On Report [4:19]
22. Cops and Robbers [3:36]
23. The Big Brawl [3:33]
24. To the Inspector's Office [:31]
25. End Titles [:11]
Side #4 -- Carry On Regardless/Carry On Cruising
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:33]
2. Help Wanted [3:35]
3. Mr. Mumbles [2:29]
4. Lingerie Show [3:59]
5. Adventures in Babysitting [5:11]
6. Monkey Business [3:16]
7. Wine Tasting [4:39]
8. Lack of Communication [3:45]
9. Medical Mix-Up [5:14]
10. The Perfect Face for Photography [2:00]
11. Cigarette Craving [4:37]
12. Lost in the Translation [4:42]
13. Boxing Buffoon [4:52]
14. Alternate Arrangements [2:53]
15. Strangers on a Train [6:00]
16. Ideal House Exhibition [5:17]
17. Absolute Silence [3:06]
18. Streamlined Organization [4:46]
19. Loathsome Lothario [4:53]
20. Birds of a Feather [2:49]
21. Mr. Mumbles' Big Announcement [3:47]
22. Cleaning House [4:44]
23. Carry On Regardless [2:01]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:42]
2. New Faces [6:27]
3. Seasick [4:30]
4. Motley Crew [3:50]
5. Physical Fitness [4:17]
6. Party on Deck [3:40]
7. Laying Down the Law [3:52]
8. Doctor's Dilemma [2:53]
9. Ol [2:23]
10. Captain's Special Mix [3:47]
11. Taking a Dip [6:57]
12. Amor Is in the Air [3:29]
13. Freud of the Frozen North [3:04]
14. Naughty Girl [2:56]
15. On the Couch [5:39]
16. Mixed Signals [2:26]
17. Moonlight Serenade [4:39]
18. Arabian Nights [5:15]
19. Romantic Entanglements [5:43]
20. Surprise Proposal [2:41]
21. Anniversary Cake [5:00]
22. Carry On Cruising [3:55]
Side #5 -- Carry On Spying/Carry On Cabby
1. Program Start/Main Titles [2:15]
2. Big Boom [5:45]
3. Simpkins and the Trainees [3:29]
4. Mission Briefing [3:09]
5. Secret Passwords [3:02]
6. Meeting at Caf Mozart [3:20]
7. Undercover [3:38]
8. Flaming Cigarette [3:49]
9. Spies Will Be Spies [4:18]
10. Dead or Alive [2:53]
11. Broken Transmission [4:56]
12. Photographic Memory [3:04]
13. Stalking the Fat Man [3:52]
14. House of Ill Repute [5:23]
15. Simpkins to the Rescue [5:53]
16. Strategic Genius [4:42]
17. Danger Express [3:54]
18. S.T.E.N.C.H. [4:13]
19. No Way Out! [4:17]
20. Daring Escape [3:59]
21. Cogs in the Machine [5:17]
22. Agent of S.N.O.G. [1:50]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:53]
2. Filthy Rotten Roadhog [3:04]
3. Gatecrasher [3:55]
4. Nag, Nag, Nag [3:34]
5. Shop Steward [4:17]
6. Cabby's Wisdom [5:53]
7. Wild Ride [4:57]
8. Wedded Bliss [4:43]
9. Special Delivery [4:36]
10. Better Never Than Late [4:09]
11. "One Hell of a Surprise" [6:21]
12. Glamcabs [4:33]
13. Stiff Competition [5:00]
14. "I Am Not Going Under Without a Fight" [4:20]
15. Guerrilla Tactics [3:42]
16. Miscommunication [2:54]
17. What a Drag [4:20]
18. Springing a Trap [3:30]
19. Highway Robbery [6:17]
20. Getaway Car [3:13]
21. Cabbies to the Rescue [4:33]
22. "Call Me a Cab!" [1:48]
Side #6 -- Carry On Cleo/Carry On Jack
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:29]
2. High and Mighty [5:06]
3. "The Romans Are Coming!" [3:49]
4. Mighty Caesar [5:11]
5. Triumphant Return [5:47]
6. Slave Trader [4:46]
7. Sold to the Highest Bidder [3:59]
8. Caesar's Lament [2:53]
9. Slaves and Virgins [3:42]
10. Assassination Attempt [3:09]
11. Hero's Reward [4:37]
12. Queen of the Nile [5:33]
13. Mark Antony's Report [4:10]
14. Plots Within Plots [3:01]
15. Rebellion at Sea [6:29]
16. "Caesar Still Lives" [3:23]
17. Actions Speak Louder Than Words [2:30]
18. Visions of Beauty [6:08]
19. Lamb to the Slaughter [2:34]
20. Slaves in the Palace [4:02]
21. Caesar Meets Cleopatra [4:29]
22. Swords and Daggers [3:37]
23. Three Happy Couples [1:08]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:34]
2. Last Words [2:43]
3. First Class Transportation [3:01]
4. Dirty Dicks [4:57]
5. "Close Your Eyes, You Naughty Midshipman" [4:58]
6. Captain Fearless [2:56]
7. Mistaken Identity [4:16]
8. Accusation and Punishment [5:22]
9. Friends in Misfortune [3:27]
10. Working Like a Dog [2:26]
11. Bath Time [5:05]
12. Battle Stations [4:06]
13. Nightwatch [6:51]
14. Four in a Rowboat [4:45]
15. Blending in With the Locals [3:11]
16. Small-Scale Invasion [3:53]
17. Boarding Party [5:15]
18. Bloodthirsty Buccaneers [4:22]
19. Walk the Plank! [3:09]
20. Armada [2:35]
21. Poop-Decker in Command [4:59]
22. A Cure for Gangrene [2:40]
23. Cannon Fodder [4:04]
Side #7 -- Carry On Cowboy/Carry On Screaming
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:32]
2. Funeral Arrangements [3:23]
3. The Rumpo Kid [3:24]
4. The Late, Great Sheriff Earp [6:12]
5. High-Placed Hanky Panky [4:52]
6. Lawless Town [2:46]
7. The Man in Charge [4:13]
8. Vengeance Trail [1:28]
9. Chief of the Wigwams [4:05]
10. Heap Big Ambush [4:06]
11. Sure-Shot Beauty [3:24]
12. The Wrong Marshall [5:07]
13. Chit-Chat in the Bubble Bath [4:51]
14. Posse [5:43]
15. Marshall Coward [3:04]
16. Sexy Songstress [5:11]
17. Raising the Dead [4:20]
18. Accusations and Alibis [4:23]
19. Catfight [4:34]
20. Three's Company [2:20]
21. Jail Break [2:30]
22. Dirty Deals [3:15]
23. Town Hero [3:43]
24. Practice Makes Imperfect [1:47]
25. High Noon [4:11]
1. Program Start/Main Titles [1:35]
2. And Now the Screaming Starts [2:55]
3. Detective Sergeant Bung [5:45]
4. Scene of the Crime [3:17]
5. The Old Dark House [4:33]
6. Dr. Watt Rises Again [5:44]
7. Regenerate Degenerates [4:40]
8. Dan Dann the Gardening Man [5:28]
9. Oddbod Jr. [5:43]
10. Questions and Answers [4:39]
11. Watt Rot [4:43]
12. Lab Loonies [5:44]
13. A Little Drink [2:27]
14. Bung Goes Berserk [2:26]
15. The Morning After [3:43]
16. Feet of Deduction [5:14]
17. Watt of Drag [1:47]
18. Naughty Bods! [1:16]
19. Trapped Twits [5:05]
20. Back to the Lab [3:30]
21. Bung Blunders In [3:35]
22. Scream and Scream Again [6:10]
23. The Mirth Dies Screaming [4:46]
24. "Horrible, Isn't It?" [1:22]