''Carry On Doctor'' is a 1967

British comedy In film, television, and radio, British comedy has produced some of the most renowned characters in the world. In it, satire is one of the features of British comedy. Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively hosted on the BBC. History ...

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 a 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 South African–British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. Noted for his distinctive laugh, he was best known for numerou ...

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. 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 ''Carry ...

, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims,

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Bernard Bresslaw. Hattie Jacques returns for the first time since '' Carry On Cabby'' 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'' three years earlier. ''Carry On Doctor'' marks Anita Harris's second and final appearance in the series. The film was followed by ''

Carry On Up the Khyber ''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter But ...

'' in 1968.

Plot

Charlatan faith healer Francis Bigger, who convinces attendees, with the help of his assistant Chloe Gibson, that " mind over matter" 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 symptoms to stay in hospital; Ken Biddle who, while recovering from an operation, makes frequent trips to the ladies' ward to flirt with his love interest, Mavis Winkle; and Mr Barron, whose mental health has declined following news his wife is due to give birth to their first child, leaving him suffering sympathy pains. During Bigger's stay in hospital, he meets the clumsy yet charming Dr. Jim Kilmore, who is popular with the patients and loved from afar by the beautiful Nurse Clarke, who subsequently causes him trouble by accident while being checked over. The day after his admission, Bigger meets Dr. Kenneth Tinkle, Kilmore's superior, who is detested by the patients as much as is the battleaxe Matron, Lavinia, who harbors an unrequited love for Tinkle. Shortly after Bigger's arrival, the hospital receives a novice nurse, Sandra May, who reveals to Clarke that she intends to meet Tinkle to repay him for saving her life - although in reality, she was merely given treatment for tonsillitis. 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 an awkward situation by Kilmore and Matron. Fearing for his position, after the departure of May and Kilmore, Tinkle contrives with Lavinia to cover up the truth. An opportunity soon arises for Tinkle to be rid of Kilmore. The young doctor spots May going onto the roof of the nurse's home and believes 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 with 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. Nurse Clarke knows what really happened on the roof. With his reputation in ruins, Kilmore decides to resign, prompting Clarke to tell the male patients what she knows. 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 bring along Bigger who, after mishearing Tinkle's conversation with his assistant, believes he is dying. This has prompted him to marry Chloe. The gang capture Tinkle and Matron. While the women 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 the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the Large intestine, lower bowel via the anus.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word ''enema'' can also refer to the ...

, 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 new baby. Meanwhile, Bigger prepares to leave the hospital with Chloe, but resents the bickering he must endure and the fact that he must give up his work as a faith healer. On the way out, Bigger deliberately falls on the steps and injures his back again. As he is being brought back inside the hospital, he breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, 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. ...

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

Cast

as Francis Kitchener Bigger *

as Doctor Kenneth Tinkle *

as Charlie Roper * Charles Hawtrey as Mr Barron * Jim Dale as Doctor Jim Kilmore * Hattie Jacques as Lavinia, the Matron *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Bernard Bresslaw as Ken Biddle *

as Nurse Sandra May * Joan Sims as Chloe Gibson * Anita Harris as Nurse Clarke *

June Jago June Jago (31 March 1928 – 29 July 2010) was an Australian-born actress, who worked in stage, television and film in her native country and the United Kingdom, Biography Jago made her stage debut in Australia and went to Britain in the 1950s ...

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 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 appearances in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes (TV series), Sykes''. Early life Guyler was born in Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula, C ...

as Surgeon Hardcastle * Gwendolyn Watts as Mrs Mildred Barron * Dilys Laye as Mavis Winkle * Peter Gilmore as Henry * Harry Locke 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 app ...

as Mother * Jean St. Clair as Mrs Smith * Valerie Van Ost as Nurse Parkin * Julian Orchard as Fred * Brian Wilde as Cox & Carter man * Lucy Griffiths as Miss Morrison * Gertan Klauber as Wash orderly * Julian Holloway as Doctor Simmons * Jenny White as Nurse in bath * Helen Ford as Nurses Home nurse * Gordon Rollings as Night porter * Simon Cain as Tea orderly (uncredited) *Cheryl Molineaux as Women's ward nurse (uncredited) * Alexandra Dane 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 as Narrator (uncredited)

Crew

*Screenplay – Talbot Rothwell *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 film director, director. Biography Born in London, in 1908, he first worked in the film industry as a film editor on the 1932 British comed ...

*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 *Producer –

Peter Rogers Peter Rogers (20 February 1914 – 14 April 2009) was an English film producer. He is best known for creating the ''Carry On'' series of films. Life and career Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper, before graduat ...

*Director –

Gerald Thomas Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director best known for the long-running ''Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' series'' of British film comedies. Early life Born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding ...

Filming and locations

Filming dates: 11 September to 20 October 1967 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 Exteriors: * Maidenhead, where the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

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'' is an 1894 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, who ...

'' and '' Barbarella''. According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'', there were four British films in the top ten general releases of 1968: ''Up the Junction'', ''Poor Cow'', ''Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush'' and ''Carry on Doctor''.Kinematograph Weekly, 14 December 1968, p. 6

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'' at BFI Screenonline
{{Gerald Thomas 1967 films

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

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 Films scored by Eric Rogers (composer) British sex comedy films