6.1
Captain Crowther's lot is not a happy one! Five of his crew have to be replaced and at such short notice before the voyage begins there isn't much to choose from. Not only does he get the five most incompetent shipmates ever to sail the seven seas, but the passengers turn out to be a rather strange bunch too. The SS Happy Wanderer will never be the same.
Sid James
Captain Wellington Crowther
Kenneth Williams
First Officer Leonard Marjoribanks
Kenneth Connor
Doctor Arthur Binn
Liz Fraser
Glad Trimble
Dilys Laye
Florence 'Flo' Castle
Esma Cannon
Bridget Madderley
Lance Percival
Wilfred Haines, Ship's Cook
Jimmy Thompson
Sam Turner, Barman
Ronnie Stevens
Drunk Passenger
Vincent Ball
Jenkins
Ed Devereaux
Young Officer
Brian Rawlinson
Nervous Steward
Anton Rodgers
Young Man
Cyril Chamberlain
Tom Tree
Willoughby Goddard
Large Man
Anthony Sagar
Cook
Terence Frisby
Passenger
Mario Fabrizi
Second Cook
Marian Collins
Bride
Jill Mai Meredith
Shapely Miss
Alan Casley
Sailor
Director
Ralph Thomas
Director
Gerald Thomas
Screenplay
Norman Hudis
July 23, 2023
6
You have to feel for poor old "Capt. Crowther" (Sid James) when he discovers that half of his crew have gone down with something and their replacements don't even know what ocean they are sailing in. His problems don't stop there as the SS "Happy Wanderer" has a clientele that would probably have made the "Titanic" iceberg jump out of the way. As ever, it's Esma Cannon who steals the show as the lively, doddery, "Miss Madderley", but there are also some fine contributions from Liz Fraser; Ronnie Stevens - always pickled - and Kenneth Williams as the hapless second-in-command. The jokes are all the usual round of nautical, innuendo-ridden, quips (though I am not sure I heard "avast behind" in there) and the cast look like they are all enjoying themselves as the story plots it's predictable, but entertaining, course. Somehow I felt the "Carry On" films worked better in black and white, the humour pertained more to the past rather than the colour of the future, but this takes a swipe at all things cruising: snobbery, excess, boredom and the middle classes who tended to occupy the cabins when not getting blotto on cocktails they had never heard of - and it does it quite well. It's a chortle, not a laugh out enterprise and is anchored well by some pithy writing and Messrs. James and Williams.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00