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For the first time ever on DVD and unseen for 30 years on
television, this two-disc DVD features four made for Thames
Television Christmas Specials starring the Carry On
gang...
Christmas
certainly does come earlier each year. Carry On Christmas
is released mid-October for some odd reason, and contains
four 45 minute specials.
Carry
On Christmas (1969) sees the gang in a reworking of literary
classic A Christmas Carol - obviously though with their
own inimitable twist! With added characters such as Dr. Frank
N Stein, Dracula, Robert Browning and Cinderella, this special
also features a scene-stealing special guest, Frankie Howard.
Carry
On Again Christmas - AKA Carry On Long John (1970)
sees the Carry On team spinning their own version of
well-known tale Treasure Island. Sid James stars as
Long John Silver and Barbara Windsor, in true panto form plays
young Jim Hawkins. This special also features Wendy Richard
in the dual-role of Kate the drink-serving wench and cabin
girl.
Carry
On Christmas - AKA Carry On Stuffing (1972) sees
the cast acting out classic Christmas panto Aladdin,
singing bawdy Elizabethan and what's that going on in the
Garden of Eden?
Carry
On Christmas (1973) sees Sid James plays a department
store Santa, leading the Carry On team on a journey
through the ages to see how Christmas was celebrated by cavemen,
Robin Hood and his Merry Men as well as those in the trenches
during WWI.
To
be honest, only the last in this collection comes anywhere
near the quality of the best of the Carry On movies
(and that episode also manages to squeeze in a bit of a dodgy
scene with Sid James lusting after a 13-year-old character
played by Barbara Windsor).
There
are a number of reasons why the quality for these episodes
are a little on the poor side. Firstly these TV specials were
a totally different format - more quick sketches than an ongoing
narrative. They were shot in front of a studio audience, so
very little room for constant retakes to get everything just
right. And not all of the Carry On gang were present.
There's no Kenneth Williams, Patsy Rowlands or Leslie Phillips.
Having said that, Carry On fans will still be pleased
to see these rare recordings.
The
extras are pretty interesting. There's a 45 minute featurette,
An Evening with Peter Rogers, which was recorded in
1999. Sadly, Marc Sinden is a pretty useless interviewer.
He seems to have little-to-no idea of Rogers's career (a quick
search on the Internet would have saved him from a red face
on more than one occasion). And a quick thinking Rogers manages
to put him in his place much to the amusement of the audience.
And when Sinden does interject he's more often that not got
his facts wrong - there's one classic example where he keeps
contradicting Rogers's memory of events. Rogers also attacks
Carry On Columbus (which Sinden starred in). And to be
honest, watching Rogers walk amongst his audience and answer
their questions showed what a down to earth man he really
is.
Other
extras include interesting interviews with Peter Rogers (19
mins); Wendy Richards (9 mins) and Jack Douglas (18 mins).
There are also extensive programme notes which you can access
on your computer.
This
collection is a little over priced. And to be honest I'm not
entirely sure that all the extras couldn't have been squeezed
onto the first disc. When you consider movies like The
Mummy manage to fit oodles of extra content on the main
disc you start to wonder whether two-disc releases are just
a marketing ploy to wring more money out of an unsuspecting
public. Having said that, if you are a true Carry On fan then
you'll need to add this to your collection.
Nick
Smithson
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