''Carry On Doctor'' is a 1967 British comedy film, the 15th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It is the second in the series to have a medical theme.

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

makes the first of his two appearances in the film series and stars alongside regulars

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In Britis ...

, Charles Hawtrey,

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915''Prisoner of War Co ...

, and Bernard Bresslaw.

Hattie Jacques Hattie Jacques (; born Josephine Edwina Jaques; 7 February 1922 – 6 October 1980) was an English comedy actress of stage, radio and screen. She is best known as a regular of the ''Carry On'' films, where she typically played strict, no-non ...

returns for the first time since ''

Carry On Cabby ''Carry On Cabby'' is a 1963 British comedy film, the seventh in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Released on 7 November 1963, it was the first to have a screenplay written by Talbot Rothwell (although the first screenplay "To ...

'' four years earlier, while

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.

returns after her debut in ''

Carry On Spying ''Carry On Spying'' is a 1964 British spy comedy film, the ninth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It marks Barbara Windsor's first appearance in the series. Series regulars Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dal ...

'' three years earlier. ''Carry On Doctor'' marks Anita Harris's second and final appearance in the series.

Plot

Charlatan faith healer Francis Bigger, who convinces attendees with his assistant Chloe Gibson that "

mind over matter "Mind over matter" is a phrase that has been used in several contexts, such as mind-centric spiritual doctrines, parapsychology, and philosophy. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines mind as "the element or complex of elements in an individual t ...

" is more effective than medical treatment, suffers an accident during one of his lectures. Admitted to the local hospital, he quickly demands a private room, after encountering his ward's eccentric patients: bedridden layabout Charlie Roper, who fakes symptons to stay in hospital; Ken Biddle, who makes frequent trips to the ladies' ward to flirt with his love interest, Mavis Winkle, while recovering from an operation; and Mr Barron, whose mental health has declined following news his wife is due to produce his first child, leaving him suffering sympathy pains. During his stay in hospital, Bigger meets the clumsy yet charming Dr Jim Kilmore, who is popular with the patients and who is loved from afar by the beautiful Nurse Clarke, who subsequently causes him trouble by accident while being checked over. The following day after his admission, Bigger meets Dr Kenneth Tinkle, Kilmore's superior who is detested by the patients as much as battleaxe Matron, who harbors an unrequited love for Tinkle. Shortly after Bigger's arrival, the hospital receives a new novice nurse, Sandra May, who reveals to Clarke that she intends to meet Tinkle to repay him for saving his life - although in reality, she was merely given treatment for tonsilitis. After completing a shift on the wards, May heads for Tinkle's room to profess her love for him, violating hospital rules that female staff are not permitted in the male quarters. However, Tinkle cruelly rebuffs her affection, only to find himself caught in the awkward situation by Kilmore and Matron. Fearing for his position, after the incident and the departure of May and Kilmore, Tinkle contrives with Lavinna that they must cover up the truth. An opportunity soon arises for Tinkle to be rid of Kilmore, when the young doctor spots May go onto the roof of the nurse's home, believing she is going to commit suicide after her encounter with Tinkle, unaware she intends to sunbathe. In trying to rescue her, Kilmore creates an unfortunate scene that leaves him subject to claims of sexual deviancy. Summoned to a hearing the hospital governor, Kilmore attempts to reveal the truth, but Tinkle and Matron deny the accusation, revealing that May has since been made to leave and that Clarke, who knew what happened on the roof. With his reputation in ruins, Kilmore decides to resign, prompting Clark to reveal what happened to the male patients. Roper, disgusted with what was done to Kilmore, arranges for the whole ward to seek revenge on Tinkle and Matron, with Biddle asking Mavis for the help of the women patients. Conducting a nocturnal mutiny, the patients swiftly subdue Sister Hoggett, preventing her from alerting the orderlies. The group then bring along Bigger, who, believing he is dying and had recently married Chloe - unaware that he misheard Tinkle conversing about him with his assistant - and proceed to capture Tinkle and Matron. While the woman force a confession from Matron by making her endure a blanket bath, the men force Tinkle to confess after threatening him with an

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

, after several other methods fail to work. The next day, Dr Kilmore is appointed the new hospital registrar while Tinkle is reduced to a simple doctor. Mr Barron, now fully recovered and cured, leaves with his wife and their child she had recently had. Meanwhile, Bigger prepares to leave hospital with Chloe, but resents the bickering he must endure and the fact he must give him his work as a faith healer. On the way out, Bigger deliberately falls on the steps and injures his back again, where, while being brought back inside the hospital, he breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

to inform the audience he hopes it will be for a long time.

Cast

as Francis Kitchener Bigger *

as Doctor Kenneth Tinkle *

as Charlie Roper * Charles Hawtrey as Mr Barron *

as Doctor Jim Kilmore *

as Lavinia, the Matron *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915''Prisoner of War Co ...

as Mr Smith * Bernard Bresslaw as Ken Biddle *

as Nurse Sandra May *

as Chloe Gibson * Anita Harris as Nurse Clarke *

June Jago June Jago (31 March 1928 – 29 July 2010) was an Australian-born actress. Biography She made her stage debut in Australia and went to Britain in the 1950s with a touring production of ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll''. She made her film debu ...

as Sister Hoggett *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in '' The Tomb of Lig ...

as Sir Edmund Burke *

Dandy Nichols Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC s ...

as Mrs Roper * Peter Jones as Chaplain *

Deryck Guyler Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and '' Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallas ...

as Surgeon Hardcastle *

Gwendolyn Watts Gwendolyn Watts (23 September 1937 – 5 February 2000) was an English actress of the 1960s and 1970s. she was best known for her role as Iris in ''On The Buses''. Career Born in Carhampton, Somerset, Carhampton, Somerset, the daughter of Coli ...

as Mrs Mildred Barron *

Dilys Laye Dilys Laye (born Dilys Lay; 11 March 1934 – 13 February 2009) was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for her comedy roles. Early life Laye was born in Muswell Hill, London, the daughter of Edward Lay and his wife Margare ...

as Mavis Winkle *

Peter Gilmore John Peter Gilmore (25 August 1931 – 3 February 2013), known as Peter Gilmore, was an English actor, known for his portrayal of Captain James Onedin in 91 episodes of the BBC television period drama '' The Onedin Line'' (1971–1980), c ...

as Henry *

Harry Locke Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in ...

as Sam *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone appe ...

as Mother * Jean St. Clair as Mrs Smith * Valerie Van Ost as Nurse Parkin *

Julian Orchard Julian Dean Chavasse Orchard (3 March 1930, in Wheatley, Oxfordshire – 21 June 1979, in Westminster, London)GRO Register of Deaths: JUN 1979 15 1935 WESTMINSTER – Julian Dean C. Orchard, DoB = 3 March 1930 was an English comedy actor. He ...

as Fred *

Brian Wilde Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in '' Porridge'' and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in ''Last of the Summer Wine''. His lugubrious ...

as Cox & Carter man * Lucy Griffiths as Miss Morrison *

Gertan Klauber George Gertan Klauber (5 March 1932 – 1 August 2008) was a British bit part character actor. Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia, and after training at the Birmingham Theatre School, his stage appearances included with the RSC and the Nat ...

as Wash orderly *

Julian Holloway Julian Holloway (born 24 June 1944) is a British actor. He is the son of comedy actor and singer Stanley Holloway and former chorus dancer and actress Violet Lane. He is the father of author and former model Sophie Dahl. Early life Holloway wa ...

as Doctor Simmons * Jenny White as Nurse in bath * Helen Ford as Nurses Home nurse *

Gordon Rollings Gordon Charles Rollings (17 April 1926 – 7 June 1985) was an English actor who mainly appeared on television, but also appeared on-stage and in feature films. He was born in Batley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England in 1926 and start ...

as Night porter * Simon Cain as Tea orderly (uncredited) * Cheryl Molineaux as Women's ward nurse (uncredited) *

Alexandra Dane Alexandra Dane (born ''c''. 1940
''London Evening Standard'' (17 November 2011). Retrieved ...

as Female instructor (uncredited) *

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

as Anxious patient (uncredited) * Bart Allison as Granddad (uncredited) * Jane Murdoch as Nurse (uncredited) * Stephen Garlick as Small boy (uncredited) *

Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...

as Narrator (uncredited)

Crew

*Screenplay –

Talbot Rothwell Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Life and career Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, poli ...

*Music – Eric Rogers *Production manager – Jack Swinburne *Art director – Cedric Dawe *Editor –

Alfred Roome Alfred Wallace Roome (22 December 1908 – 19 November 1997) was an English film editor and occasional director. Biography Born in London, in 1908, he first worked in the film industry as a film editor on the 1932 British comedy film '' Thark ...

*Director of photography – Alan Hume *Assistant editor – Jack Gardner *Continuity – Joy Mercer *Assistant director – Terry Clegg *Camera operator – Jim Bawden *Make-up – Geoffrey Rodway *Sound recordists – Dudley Messenger and Ken Barker *Hairdressing – Stella Rivers *Dubbing editor – David Campling *Costume designer – Yvonne Caffin *Title sketches –

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

*Producer –

Peter Rogers Peter Rogers (20 February 1914 – 14 April 2009) was an English film producer. He is best known for his involvement in the making of the ''Carry On'' series of films. Life and career Rogers began his career as a journalist for his loc ...

*Director –

Gerald Thomas Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director, best known for the long-running '' Carry On'' series of British film comedies. Biography Born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, Thomas was educated i ...

Filming and locations

Filming dates: 11 September to 20 October 1967 Interiors: * Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire Exteriors: * Maidenhead, where the Town Hall doubled for the hospital * Masonic Hall, Uxbridge * Westbourne Street, London WC2

Reception

The film was the third biggest general release hit at the British box office in 1968, after ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, w ...

'' and '' Barbarella''."John Wayne-money-spinner", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 31 December 1968: p. 3

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'' by Simon Sheridan (third edition, 2007: Reynolds & Hearn Books) * *

External links

* * *
''Carry On Doctor Location Guide'' at The Whippit Inn''Carry On Doctor'' at BFI Screenonline
{{Gerald Thomas 1967 films

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

1960s English-language films Films directed by Gerald Thomas Films set in hospitals 1967 comedy films Color sequels of black-and-white films Films shot at Pinewood Studios American International Pictures films Films produced by Peter Rogers Films with screenplays by Talbot Rothwell 1960s British films Films about faith healing