Carry On Spying

Dir: Gerald Thomas 1964
Shown at The FeckenOdeon on 20th October, 2001
"Carry On Spying" (1964) is regarded as one of the funniest in the series. The music is intentionally reminiscent of the zither theme from "The Third Man" and there are many references made to this film - hardly surprising when you learn that director Gerald Thomas had been Assistant Editor on Reed's classic. The film also alludes to the sixties smash hit series of Bond films.
Barbara Windsor makes her Carry On debut as Daphne Honeybutt whose talents include a photographic memory, a complete imperviousness to pain… and a large chest. Barbara came direct from Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and had appeared in TV’s “The Rag Trade”. Bernard Breslaw is reputed to have been struck by “plastic bullets” during the filming and vowed never to appear in another Carry On - a vow destined to be broken time and time again.
The usual Carry On crew (minus Hattie Jaques on this occasion) play with a freshness that is lacking in the later films (this was the ninth) and the film rattles through a catalogue of quick fire gags and clever visuals like a dose of salts (Ooh Matron!!).