''Carry On Spying'' is a 1964

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

spy

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film, the ninth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It marks

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''.

's first appearance in the series. Series regulars

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 '' ...

, Charles Hawtrey, and

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 ...

are present.

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

makes the second of his three ''Carry On'' appearances (although it would be 28 years before he returned in ''

Carry On Columbus ''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film, the 31st and final release in the ''Carry On'' film series (1958–1992). The film was a belated entry to the series, following 1978's ''Carry On Emmannuelle''. It was produced to coincide ...

'').

Eric Barker Eric Leslie Barker (12 February 1912 – 1 June 1990) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British '' Carry On'' films, although he only appeared in the early films in the series, apart from returning ...

appears for his third entry (his final appearance would be in ''

Carry On Emmannuelle ''Carry On Emmannuelle'' is a 1978 British comedy film, the 30th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film was to be the final ''Carry On'' for many regulars, including Kenneth Williams (in his 26th ''Carry On''), ...

'' 14 years later).

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 ...

returns after her series debut in ''

Carry On Cruising ''Carry On Cruising'' is a 1962 British comedy film, the sixth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It was based on an original story by Eric Barker. P&O – Orient Lines were thanked in the credits. Regulars Sid James, Kenn ...

''. This is the last film of the series to be shot in black and white.

Plot

A top-secret chemical formula has been stolen by STENCH (the Society for the Total Extinction of Non-Conforming Humans). Fearful of the formula falling into the wrong hands, the chief of the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. Fo ...

reluctantly sends the only agent he has left, the bumbling and silly Agent Desmond Simpkins and his three trainees — Agent Harold Crump, Agent Daphne Honeybutt, and Agent Charlie Bind — to retrieve the formula. The agents travel separately to Vienna, where each makes contact with Carstairs, who assumes a different disguise each time. Next, they rendezvous at the Cafe Mozart and later travel on to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

. Upon the way, they encounter STENCH agents the Fat Man and Milchmann (who stole the formula whilst disguised—befitting the English translation of his German name—as a milkman). Unfortunately, the agents' ineptitude results in Carstairs being floored in an encounter with the Fat Man. Daphne and Harold attempt to steal the formula back whilst disguised as dancing girls in Hakim's Fun House, where the Fat Man is relaxing. The agents also encounter the mysterious Lila, whom they are uncertain to trust. With the STENCH henchmen close on their heels, the agents have no other choice but to have Daphne memorise the formula with her

photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ; more commonly called photographic memory or total recall) is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''pho ...

, before the four of them destroy the formula papers by eating them with soup and bread. The four agents end up captives of STENCH. Daphne is interrogated by the evil Dr Crow (played by

Judith Furse Judith Furse (4 March 1912 – 29 August 1974) was an English actress. Career A member of the Furse family, her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse and mother Jean Adelaide Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a stage designer and ...

and voiced by John Bluthal), head of STENCH, but she fails to succumb until she accidentally bumps her head, causing her to reveal the formula. Simpkins, Crump, and Bind manage to escape their cell and to collect Daphne and Dr. Crow's tape recording of Daphne's recitation, but are caught up in an underground automated factory process, from which they escape only when Lila pulls a gun on Dr Crow, forcing her to reverse the process. Simpkins sets the STENCH base to self-destruct before rushing into a lift with the other agents, as well as Lila and Dr Crow. As the lift ascends, Lila reveals to Simpkins that she is a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...

working for SNOG (the Society for the Neutralising of Germs) and that she has a crush on him. The lift reaches the surface, which is revealed to be the office of the chief of the Secret Service; the headquarters of STENCH is right below the streets of London. STENCH headquarters self-destructs, choking the chief's office in a thick cloud of smoke.

Cast

as Desmond Simkins (codename Red Admiral) *

as Daphne Honeybutt (codename Brown Cow) * Charles Hawtrey as Charlie Bind (codename Yellow Peril) *

as Harold Crump (codename Bluebottle) *

as Carstairs *

as The Chief *

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the ...

as Cobley *

as Lila *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...

as The Fat Man *

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

as Milchmann *

as Dr. Crow

Crew

* Screenplay –

Talbot Rothwell Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, Order of the British Empire, 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 ...

& Sid Colin * Music – Eric Rogers * Songs – "Too Late" by Alex Alstone & Geoffrey Parsons and "The Magic of Love" by Eric Rogers * Associate Producer – Frank Bevis * Art Director – Alex Vetchinsky * Director of Photography –

Alan Hume Alan Hume, (16 October 1924 – 13 July 2010) was an English cinematographer. Life and career Hume arrived at Denham Film Studios in 1942, and worked for Cineguild Productions during the late 1940s. His early credits, prior to being called up t ...

* Editor – Archie Ludski * Camera Operator – Godfrey Godar * Assistant Director – Peter Bolton * Unit Manager – Donald Toms * Continuity – Penny Daniels * Hairdressing – Biddy Chrystal * Sound Editor – Christopher Lancaster * Sound Recordists – CC Stevens & Bill Daniels * Costume Designer – Yvonne Caffin * Make-up – WT Partleton * 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 ...

Production

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

, the producer of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film series, objected to the character name "James Bind agent 006½" (intended for Charles Hawtrey) and threatened legal action. Hence, producer

changed the name to Charlie and the agent's code number to double 0 – ooh! Poster artist

Tom Chantrell Thomas William Chantrell (20 December 1916 – 15 July 2001) was a British illustrator and cinema poster artist. Born the son of a circus performer in Manchester, England, he started work in advertising as an illustrator. During WWII he put hi ...

also had to modify the

film poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. Th ...

when similar complaints were voiced that the artwork was too similar to

Renato Fratini Renato Fratini (October 1932, in Rome – 1973 in Mexico)Branaghan, S. & Chibnall, S. (Ed.) (2006) ''British film posters: An illustrated history''. London: British Film Institute, pp. 185-190. was an Italian commercial artist who specialised ...

's '' From Russia with Love'' poster. The film pokes fun at various

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

s, the James Bond series being the least of them. They include ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten ...

'' (coincidentally, Eric Pohlmann, who plays The Fat Man, had a minor part in ''The Third Man'' and was the voice of SPECTRE No 1 in ''From Russia with Love''). One or two of Crow's female assistants wear hairstyles similar to that of ''

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents ...

'', whose adventures had started in the London ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' the previous year.

Filming and locations

* Filming dates – 8 February–13 March 1964 Interiors: *

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, Buckinghamshire

Critical reception

''Carry On Spying'' received critical acclaim, with critics praising its fast pace, satirical intent, and Kenneth Williams' performance which was largely based on his "Snide" persona from ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starr ...

''. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

it has an approval rating of 83% based on 6 reviews. ''Kinematograph Weekly'' called the film a "money maker" for 1964.

Bibliography

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

References

External links

* * * *
''Carry On Spying''
at The Whippit Inn
''Carry On Spying''
review at

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carry On Spying 1964 films 1964 comedy films 1960s parody films 1960s spy comedy films British black-and-white films British parody films British spy comedy films Spying 1960s English-language films Films directed by Gerald Thomas Films set in London Films set in Algiers Films set in Vienna Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films produced by Peter Rogers Films with screenplays by Talbot Rothwell Films with screenplays by Sid Colin Parody films based on James Bond films