Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966) starring Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey, Peter Butterworth, Joan Sims, Dany Robin directed by Gerald Thomas Movie Review

Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey and Sid James in Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966)

Another Ffing Carry On

The year is 1789 and France is in the midst of a Revolution as the aristocracy are being sent to the guillotine. Disgusted by what is happening in France, dapper English gentlemen Sir Rodney Ffing (Sid James) and Lord Darcy Pue (Jim Dale) decide to play mischief and begin rescuing the aristocracy before they are beheaded leaving their tag, the black finger nail wherever they strike. This annoys Chief of Police, Citizen Camembert (Kenneth Williams) who decides that he must do whatever it takes to capture The Black Finger Nail and so comes to England in search of his nemesis.

There is one major problem when you watch the later "Carry on" movies and that is they end up a much of a much ness. Strip away whatever the storyline is supposed to be about and what you are left with is the same old thing, the same jokes and characters. As such saying that "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" is your generic "Carry on" movie isn't really a criticism rather than there isn't anything which makes it stand out from the others. You have a few of the "Carry on" regulars, plenty of innuendo and a flimsy storyline surrounding the French Revolution as a vehicle for all the hilarity, although hilarity maybe pushing things a little too far this time.

Joan Sims and Kenneth Williams in Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966)

As was sometimes the case with "Carry on" movies "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" takes a historical event as the basis of the storyline, in this case the French Revolution of 1789 and then manufactures a storyline to go around it, ignoring historic facts in preference to comical fiction. It is shall we say a little flimsy, not the flimsiest "Carry on" storyline I have seen but one which is really only there as a vehicle for the humour. So as such the fact we have Citizen Camembert beheading the French Aristocracy and a couple of dapper English gentleman trying to rescue them from the guillotine isn't really that important.

So in reality "Carry On: Don't Lose Your Head" is all about the humour and there is barely a minute where a joke isn't being fired at us. It does have a feeling of throwing as many jokes at us as possible in the hope that some will work and there are a few which are amusing. But compared to other "Carry On" movies "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" is actually quite tame, failing to really titillate with risque innuendo and scenes of heaving bosom like other moviess. In truth if the only "Carry On" movie you watch is "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" then it probably will make you laugh but if you have seen others then the likelihood the humour will leave you wanting.

And as is normal we have a few of the "Carry On" stalwarts filling up the main roles. So we have Kenneth Williams as po faced Citizen Camembert, Charles Hawtrey as Duc de Pommfrit, Sid James as Sir Rodney Ffing aka The Black Finger Nail and Joan Sims as Désirée Dubarry all of who basically play to type, playing variations on characters we have seen before. It is all a bit generic as you have Sid James being Randy and Joan Sims being both randy and bossy but at the same time it still sort of works.

What this all boils down to is that "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head" is a very average "Carry On" movie even generic as it throws innuendo and comedy at us in scene after scene. But there is nothing really amusing about it, no stand out scene or clever joke to make it stand out from the other "Carry on" movies.

Tags: Carry On Movies


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