When you think of the "Carry On" films you would most likely think of Sid James, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims in British comedies full of sexual innuendo and you wouldn't be far wrong especially those from the 60s onwards. But if you look at the few "Carry On" films which came before the 60s they feel different, less risque yet still amusing with a greater variety of comedy. One such film is "Carry on Nurse" from 1959, the second of a long line of "Carry On" films, as whilst there is still those moments of sexual innuendo they play second fiddle to the more gentle humour which flows through out making it definitely feel different to the better known "Carry On" films and in some ways a better movie. Although saying that in "Carry On" tradition it is a film short on storyline whilst packed full of gags as well as a surprising amount of well known faces.

With her daily walk through Matron (Hattie Jacques - Carry on Loving) is a formidable character and all the nurses jump when she's making her rounds but they also have their hand's full with a bunch of male patients. From Jack Bell (Leslie Phillips - The Fast Lady) the lady's man through to the well educated Oliver Reckitt (Kenneth Williams - Carry on Henry) the nurses are kept on their toes especially with the Colonel (Wilfrid Hyde-White) in a private room being a constant nuisance with his bell ringing. But that is nothing compared to when the men manage to get themselves drunk and decide to do some DIY surgery.

So as already mentioned and in keeping with so many "Carry On" films "Carry on Nurse" is short on storyline, in fact almost devoid of a storyline which ties it all together. Instead what we get are a variety of situations surrounding patients in Haven Hospital from Ted York who turns up with appendicitis, Jack Bell with his bunion and boxer Bernie Bishop with his broken hand amongst many other medical situations. Being set on a single ward these various medical situations do link via the patient camaraderie as well as the nurses who endeavour to treat them. And on that note we have further situations like the accident prone Student Nurse Stella Dawson, the sexy Staff Nurse Dorothy Denton and the formidable Matron wonderfully played for the first time by Hattie Jacques. So there really isn't a storyline, just several situations which inter mingle with each other although some end up coming together when the patients in a drunken state decide to do DIY surgery.

But to be honest you don't watch a "Carry On" film for a compelling storyline but for the jokes and "Carry on Nurse" is jam packed with them. From the opening scenes where the ambulance drivers rush back to Haven Hospital to hear the racing results through to smooth operating Jack Bell, played by Leslie Phillips going "Ding Dong" when he sees an attractive nurse. What is noticeable is that whilst there is a certain amount of sexual innuendo, usually aimed at the characters played by future Bond girl Shirley Eaton and Jill Ireland, there is a lot less of it that in the later "Carry On" films. So instead of double entendres there are a lot more simple jokes such as some slapstick with the malfunctioning sluice and some catheters which boil dry causing a stink. And in many ways this greater variety of jokes makes "Carry on Nurse" a more interesting and funnier film than the later ones. Plus in an ironic way watching Jack Bell have alcohol smuggled in and Percy Hickson, played by Bill Owen, sparking up a cigarette on the ward is just funny even if at the time it wasn't meant to be.

And whilst I like the "Carry On" films which feature Sid James and Barbara Windsor it's also nice that there are a greater variety of actors showing up in "Carry on Nurse". There are those actors who would become regulars such as Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Hattie Jacques but watching Bill Owen play a grump character rather than Sid James makes it feel more original. But whilst there are a variety of different faces including Harry Locke, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Terence Longdon, Kenneth Connor and Leslie Phillips it would be fair to say that the acting is nothing more than what you expect with each of them delivering their moments of comedy but nothing more. Then again as you don't watch a "Carry On" film for a great storyline neither do you watch it for great acting or anything more than amusing cardboard characters.

What this all boils down to is that "Carry on Nurse" may not be full of the sexual innuendo which graced the later "Carry On" films in many ways it is better. The various medical situations are amusing and with so many recognizable faces contributing in various characters it feels more of a comedy collaboration rather than a comedy surrounding Sid James which was too often the case during the later "Carry On" films. If you think that all "Carry On" films are the same you must watch "Carry on Nurse" because it is pure comedy and definitely feels more original and superior to those later "Carry On" films.