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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 77080" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Watching <em>Nurse </em>last night it's easy to understand why the Carry Ons took the path they did into broad comedy. Not because it was necessary, but because <em>Nurse</em> is a pretty perfect film. And how does one improve on perfection?</p><p></p><p>Each time I watch these first half dozen films I appreciate them a little more. That goes for the films from the same company during this period that are Carry Ons in all but name (<em>Please Turn Over; Twice Round The Daffodils </em>and the above-mentioned <em>Nurse On Wheels) </em>including a couple that come very close albeit with different writers<em> (Watch Your Stern and Raising The Wind</em>).</p><p></p><p>These early Carry Ons rarely seem to get much love amongst casual fans. They're almost forgotten, overshadowed by Barbara Windsor's boobs and the grotesque caricatures that some of the present company evolved into.</p><p></p><p>But the Norman Hudis era is so very charming, its stories and characters full of heart. Kenneth Williams, for example, is an actor here, rather than "doing" another six monthly Carry On. He gets to go broad (hear his signature braying shriek as he sharpens his tools while under the influence of alcohol and laughing gas during the operating room sequence), but it's all balanced nicely by his character's chaste romance with Jill Ireland, which would have been unthinkable a few years down the line. Of the long-term Carry On-ers, the exception in the subtlety regard is Charles Hawtrey who is essentially playing his eccentric self, just as he would when portraying Charlie Muggins or Sir Roger De Lodgerly. But it's not to the detriment of the film at all. He even gets to do the first of many, many drag sequences when he impersonates a nurse.</p><p></p><p>The actors chosen for these early films are engaging. Terence Longdon; Rosalind Knight; Leslie Phillips; a very young June Whitfield; Bill Owen; Joan Hickson.</p><p></p><p>Even the female eye candy has a great deal of substance here. There's something very proper, almost homely, about Ireland; Susans Stephen and Beaumont and even Shirley Eaton. There are a number of moments where they get objectified and sexually harassed, but there's a sense that they're primarily there (both as actresses and characters) to do their job to the best of their ability. The closest thing to an object here is Marita Stanton whose only memorable scene involves chasing Hawtrey in her underwear demanding her nurse's uniform back. But even this is tastefully done.</p><p></p><p>Last night I found myself fascinated by Ann Firbank whose status is quite lowly according to her placement in the credits, but who brought something very special to every scene she was in. I believed she was a nurse who was professional to her fingertips which allowed me to believe in the playfulness too, when it came (Firbank's character delivered what is perhaps <em>Nurse's</em> most memorable line of dialogue where, after fighting Kenneth Connor to whip off his boxer shorts, she flatly declared "What a fuss about such a little thing"). She's quite sexy but in an upmarket Sixties kind of way.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsF/5720-3005.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><img src="https://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m-SfOhDffcGt1zS99L1jrHQ.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Truthfully I've often struggled to tell which nurse is which, apart from Eaton, Knight and Joan Sims. I kind of know which is which but I've never got their names. So - mainly for my own memory:</p><p></p><p>Ann Firbank</p><p><img src="http://movie-dude.co.uk/1Actors%20Images/Ann%20Firbank%20%20Carry%20On%20Nurse%20(1958).jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Susan Beaumont</p><p><img src="http://img6.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/j/2/j2iixtzcnlmrxizj.jpg?djet1p5k" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Susan Stephens</p><p><img src="http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsS/16465-3005.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Marita Stanton</p><p><img src="http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsS/28319-3005.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 77080, member: 23"] Watching [I]Nurse [/I]last night it's easy to understand why the Carry Ons took the path they did into broad comedy. Not because it was necessary, but because [I]Nurse[/I] is a pretty perfect film. And how does one improve on perfection? Each time I watch these first half dozen films I appreciate them a little more. That goes for the films from the same company during this period that are Carry Ons in all but name ([I]Please Turn Over; Twice Round The Daffodils [/I]and the above-mentioned [I]Nurse On Wheels) [/I]including a couple that come very close albeit with different writers[I] (Watch Your Stern and Raising The Wind[/I]). These early Carry Ons rarely seem to get much love amongst casual fans. They're almost forgotten, overshadowed by Barbara Windsor's boobs and the grotesque caricatures that some of the present company evolved into. But the Norman Hudis era is so very charming, its stories and characters full of heart. Kenneth Williams, for example, is an actor here, rather than "doing" another six monthly Carry On. He gets to go broad (hear his signature braying shriek as he sharpens his tools while under the influence of alcohol and laughing gas during the operating room sequence), but it's all balanced nicely by his character's chaste romance with Jill Ireland, which would have been unthinkable a few years down the line. Of the long-term Carry On-ers, the exception in the subtlety regard is Charles Hawtrey who is essentially playing his eccentric self, just as he would when portraying Charlie Muggins or Sir Roger De Lodgerly. But it's not to the detriment of the film at all. He even gets to do the first of many, many drag sequences when he impersonates a nurse. The actors chosen for these early films are engaging. Terence Longdon; Rosalind Knight; Leslie Phillips; a very young June Whitfield; Bill Owen; Joan Hickson. Even the female eye candy has a great deal of substance here. There's something very proper, almost homely, about Ireland; Susans Stephen and Beaumont and even Shirley Eaton. There are a number of moments where they get objectified and sexually harassed, but there's a sense that they're primarily there (both as actresses and characters) to do their job to the best of their ability. The closest thing to an object here is Marita Stanton whose only memorable scene involves chasing Hawtrey in her underwear demanding her nurse's uniform back. But even this is tastefully done. Last night I found myself fascinated by Ann Firbank whose status is quite lowly according to her placement in the credits, but who brought something very special to every scene she was in. I believed she was a nurse who was professional to her fingertips which allowed me to believe in the playfulness too, when it came (Firbank's character delivered what is perhaps [I]Nurse's[/I] most memorable line of dialogue where, after fighting Kenneth Connor to whip off his boxer shorts, she flatly declared "What a fuss about such a little thing"). She's quite sexy but in an upmarket Sixties kind of way. [IMG]http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsF/5720-3005.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]https://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m-SfOhDffcGt1zS99L1jrHQ.jpg[/IMG] Truthfully I've often struggled to tell which nurse is which, apart from Eaton, Knight and Joan Sims. I kind of know which is which but I've never got their names. So - mainly for my own memory: Ann Firbank [IMG]http://movie-dude.co.uk/1Actors%20Images/Ann%20Firbank%20%20Carry%20On%20Nurse%20(1958).jpg[/IMG] Susan Beaumont [IMG]http://img6.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/j/2/j2iixtzcnlmrxizj.jpg?djet1p5k[/IMG] Susan Stephens [IMG]http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsS/16465-3005.gif[/IMG] Marita Stanton [IMG]http://www.aveleyman.com/Gallery/ActorsS/28319-3005.gif[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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