Carry On Sergeant

Carry On Sergeant had not been conceived as the start of a film series; only after the film's surprising success did the producer Peter Rogers and the director Gerald Thomas set about planning a further project. After reusing the Carry On prefix and some cast members in their next project Carry On Nurse (1959) and having success with that film, the Carry On series of films evolved.[3] The term "Carry on" is typically issued by an officer to an NCO when handing over control of a parade or inspection.

Newly married Mary Sage (Shirley Eaton) is distraught when her husband Charlie (Bob Monkhouse) receives his call-up papers during their wedding breakfast. He travels to Heathercrest National Service Depot, meeting fellow recruit Horace Strong (Kenneth Connor), a terminal hypochondriac who is devastated at having been passed as fit.

The new recruits are assigned to Sergeant Grimshaw (William Hartnell). Grimshaw will soon be retiring from the army and takes on a £50 bet with Sergeant O'Brien (Terry Scott) that his last bunch of squaddies will be his first champion platoon.

With beady-eyed inspection from Captain Potts (Eric Barker) and disgruntled support from Corporal Copping (Bill Owen), Grimshaw decides to use some psychology and treat his charges kindly rather than simply shouting at them. But basic training does not start well and he struggles to take his platoon through it. They include failure Herbert Brown (Norman Rossington), upper-class cad Miles Heywood (Terence Longdon), rock 'n' roller Andy Galloway (Gerald Campion), delicate flower Peter Golightly (Charles Hawtrey) and supercilious university graduate James Bailey (Kenneth Williams). His attempts seem doomed.

Mary is determined to spend her wedding night with her husband and smuggles herself into the depot to get a job in the NAAFI, a situation Charlie is eventually able to legitimise. Strong spends most of his time complaining to the Medical Officer, Captain Clark (Hattie Jacques). It is only the adoration of doe-eyed NAAFI girl Norah (Dora Bryan), which he initially rejects, that makes him realise his potential and inspires him to become a real soldier.

On the eve of the final tests, Grimshaw is in despair, but he is overheard bemoaning his lot to Copping. The squad decide to win the best platoon prize at all costs. On the day, they indeed beat the other platoons at all tasks and Grimshaw is awarded the cup for best platoon.

• William Hartnell as Sergeant Grimshaw
• Bob Monkhouse as Charlie Sage
• Shirley Eaton as Mary Sage
• Bill Owen as Corporal Copping
• Charles Hawtrey as Peter Golightly
• Kenneth Connor as Horace Strong
• Kenneth Williams as James Bailey
• Terence Longdon as Miles Heywood
• Norman Rossington as Herbert Brown
• Gerald Campion as Andy Galloway
• Hattie Jacques as Captain Clark, R.A.M.C.
• Eric Barker as Captain Potts
• Dora Bryan as Norah
• Terry Scott as Sergeant Paddy O'Brien
• John Mathews as Sergeant Matthews
• Ed Devereaux as Sergeant Russell
• Cyril Chamberlain as Bren Gun instructor
• Leigh Madison as Sheila
• Martin Wyldeck as Mr Sage (uncredited)
• Helen Goss as Mary's mother (uncredited)

"Carry on, Sergeant" is a normal expression for an Army officer to use; the American equivalent is, "As you were." The title that replaced The Bull Boys was suggested by Stuart Levy to cash in on the popularity of the 1957 film Carry on Admiral, which was written by Val Guest.[4] At the time, the success of Carry On Sergeant prompted applause and audience laughter in serious settings where the phrase was used, including amongst audiences of the film The Devil's Disciple (1959).[5]

• Budget – £73,000 (estimated)
• Gross – £500,000 (UK)
• Modern Budget Equivalent: £1,573,126.06
• Modern Gross Equivalent: £10,774,836.00

The film was the third most successful movie at the British box office in 1958.[6][7]

Kinematograph Weekly listed it as being "in the money" at the British box office in 1958.[8]

• Filming dates – 24 March 1958 – 2 May 1958

Interiors:

• Stage B, Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire

Exteriors:

• Army camp: Cardwell's Keep, Stoughton Barracks, Stoughton Road, Stoughton near Guildford, Surrey
• Wedding scene: St Mary's Church of England, Church Hill, Harefield, Middlesex
• Church scenes: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

Variety summarized Carry On Sergeant as a "Corny but mostly very funny Army farce that will click in U.K. provinces, and is not designed for any other type of audience" adding, "A bunch of talented character comedians have been handed these situations and, in their respective styles, they wring a lot more out of them and the dialog than the writers provide."[9] The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "a traditionally English mixture of old farcical situations, well-worn jokes, and comic postcard characters. Charles Hawtrey, as a weedy incompetent, and Kenneth Williams, as a condescending intellectual, provide some genuine laughs. The rest of the humour is either overdone or half-baked."[10]

• Davidson, Andy (2012). Carry On Confidential. London: Miwk. ISBN 978-1-908630-01-8.
• Sheridan, Simon (2011). Keeping the British End Up – Four Decades of Saucy Cinema. London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-0-85768-279-6.
• Webber, Richard (2009). 50 Years of Carry On. London: Arrow. ISBN 978-0-09-949007-4.
• Hudis, Norman (2008). No Laughing Matter. London: Apex. ISBN 978-1-906358-15-0.
• Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema by Simon Sheridan (third edition) (2007) (Reynolds & Hearn Books)
• Ross, Robert (2002). The Carry On Companion. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8771-8.
• Bright, Morris; Ross, Robert (2000). Mr Carry On – The Life & Work of Peter Rogers. London: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-55183-6.
• Rigelsford, Adrian (1996). Carry On Laughing – a celebration. London: Virgin. ISBN 1-85227-554-5.
• Hibbin, Sally & Nina (1988). What a Carry On. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-55819-4.
• Eastaugh, Kenneth (1978). The Carry On Book. London: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7403-0.

• Carry On Sergeant on IMDb
• Carry On Sergeant at The Whippit Inn
• Carry on Sergeant at BFI Screenonline