''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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

spy

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film directed by

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 ...

. It is 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 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 ...

, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale are present. Bernard Cribbins makes the second of his three ''Carry On'' appearances (although it would be 28 years before he returned in '' Carry On Columbus'').

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 appeared only in the early films in the series, apart from returning ...

appears for his third entry (his final appearance would be in '' Carry On Emmannuelle'' 14 years later). Dilys Laye returns after her series debut in '' Carry On Cruising''. This is the last film of the series to be shot in black and white. The following film was '' Carry On Cleo'' later in 1964.

Plot

A top-secret chemical formula has been stolen by STENCH (the Society for the Total Extinction of Non-Conforming Humans). Hoping against hope to retrieve the formula from enemy 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. For i ...

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 achieve this goal. The agents travel separately to Vienna, where each makes contact with Carstairs, who assumes a different disguise for each rendezvous. Next, they meet at the Cafe Mozart and later travel on to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. Along 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 whether or not to trust. With the STENCH henchmen close on their heels, the agents have no choice but to have Daphne memorise the formula with her

photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ), also known as photographic memory and 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 ''photogr ...

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

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) * Bernard Cribbins as Harold Crump (codename Bluebottle) * Jim Dale as Carstairs *

as The Chief *

Richard Wattis Richard Cameron 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, Staffords ...

as Cobley * Dilys Laye as Lila *

Eric Pohlmann Eric 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, the primary antagonist of t ...

as The Fat Man * Victor Maddern as Milchmann * Judith Furse as Dr. Crow (voiced by John Bluthal)

Crew

* Screenplay – Talbot Rothwell and Sid Colin * Music – Eric Rogers * Songs – "Too Late" by Alex Alstone and Geoffrey Parsons and "The Magic of Love" by Eric Rogers * Associate Producer – Frank Bevis * Art Director – Alex Vetchinsky * Director of Photography – Alan Hume * 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 and 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 creating the ''Carry On'' series of films. Life and career Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper, before graduat ...

* Director –

Production

Albert R. Broccoli, the producer of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

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. The ...

when similar complaints were voiced that the artwork was too similar to Renato Fratini'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 film genre, 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 Jame ...

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

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' (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 those 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 talen ...

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

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' the previous year.

Filming and locations

Filming dates were 8 February–13 March 1964, with interiors shot at

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 radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

''. On

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it has an approval rating of 83% based on 6 reviews. ''

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' called the film a "money maker" for 1964. ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Straight off the Carry On assembly line, this spoof on James Bondery looses a few random and very limp satirical shafts, but is for the most part content to stick to routine: in other words, a few bright gags are buried in a waste of coy camp, female impersonation and mildly smutty jokes. Bernard Cribbins manages to be quite funny, especially when disguised as an Oriental harridan in an Algiers bordello ... twanging desultorily at a stringed instrument and emitting a piercing parody of Eastern song in quarter-tone style; as a newcomer to the team, Barbara Windsor is decidedly an asset; and Dilys Laye is charming as Lila.” The ''Radio Times Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Spy spoof mercilessly ribbing the Bond movies and Graham Greene's espionage entertainments, the ninth Carry On saw Barbara Windsor make her series debut as the most resourceful of a hamstrung quartet of agents sent to Vienna to recover a secret formula. The Casbah scenes rather slow things down, but the action picks up pace in STENCH's underground HQ (a wonderfully observed 007 send-up). Bernard Cribbins, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams are on form as Babs's weak-kneed accomplices and there are splendid turns from Jim Dale and Eric Barker."

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

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* *
''Carry On Spying''
review at

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

* {{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 Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...

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 Films scored by Eric Rogers (composer) English-language action adventure films