Carry On Cowboy
Encyclopedia
Carry On Cowboy is the eleventh in the Carry On
series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth
and Bernard Bresslaw
. Series regulars Sid James
, Kenneth Williams
, Jim Dale
, Charles Hawtrey
and Joan Sims
all feature and Angela Douglas
makes the first of her four appearances in the series.
s, it is set in the fictitious town of Stodge City (alluding to the real-life Dodge City). An outlaw known as The Rumpo Kid (played by Sid James
) arrives in town and quickly turns the quiet town into a base for his network of cattle rustlers and thieves, despite the limited protests of the inept Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams
).
In Washington DC, Englishman Marshal P. Knutt (Jim Dale
), a "sanitation engineer first class", arrives in America
in the hope of revolutionising the American sewage system. He accidentally walks into the office of the Commissioner, thinking it to be the Public Works Department, and is mistaken for the new US Peace Marshal
for Stodge City.
The Rumpo Kid hears of the new Marshal, and tries all he can to kill the Marshal without being caught, including sending out a pack of Indians, led by their Chief Big Heap (Charles Hawtrey
) and hanging the Marshal after framing him for cattle rustling. Knutt is saved only by the prowess of Annie Oakley
(Angela Douglas
), who has taken a liking to Knutt.
Eventually, Knutt runs the Kid out of town, but once Rumpo discovers that Knutt is only a sanitary engineer and not the Peace Marshal he once thought, the Kid swears revenge, returning to Stodge City for a showdown. By hiding beneath the manholes in the main street, Knutt kills off Rumpo's gang, but fails to capture Rumpo, who escapes into the dusk.
Interiors:
Exteriors:
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
series of films. It was released in 1965 and was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth
Peter Butterworth
Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'...
and Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw
Bernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...
. Series regulars Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
, Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
, Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
, Charles Hawtrey
Charles Hawtrey (film actor)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
and Joan Sims
Joan Sims
Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
all feature and Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas , born Angela McDonagh, is an English actress.-Early life:She was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire...
makes the first of her four appearances in the series.
Plot
A parody of WesternWestern (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s, it is set in the fictitious town of Stodge City (alluding to the real-life Dodge City). An outlaw known as The Rumpo Kid (played by Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
) arrives in town and quickly turns the quiet town into a base for his network of cattle rustlers and thieves, despite the limited protests of the inept Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
).
In Washington DC, Englishman Marshal P. Knutt (Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
), a "sanitation engineer first class", arrives in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the hope of revolutionising the American sewage system. He accidentally walks into the office of the Commissioner, thinking it to be the Public Works Department, and is mistaken for the new US Peace Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
for Stodge City.
The Rumpo Kid hears of the new Marshal, and tries all he can to kill the Marshal without being caught, including sending out a pack of Indians, led by their Chief Big Heap (Charles Hawtrey
Charles Hawtrey (film actor)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
) and hanging the Marshal after framing him for cattle rustling. Knutt is saved only by the prowess of Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley , born Phoebe Ann Mosey, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar.Oakley's most famous trick is perhaps...
(Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas
Angela Douglas , born Angela McDonagh, is an English actress.-Early life:She was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire...
), who has taken a liking to Knutt.
Eventually, Knutt runs the Kid out of town, but once Rumpo discovers that Knutt is only a sanitary engineer and not the Peace Marshal he once thought, the Kid swears revenge, returning to Stodge City for a showdown. By hiding beneath the manholes in the main street, Knutt kills off Rumpo's gang, but fails to capture Rumpo, who escapes into the dusk.
Cast
- Sid JamesSid JamesSid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
as Johnny Finger/The Rumpo Kid - Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
as Judge Burke - Jim DaleJim DaleJim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
as Marshal P Knutt - Charles HawtreyCharles Hawtrey (film actor)George Frederick Joffre Hartree , known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English comedy actor and musician.Beginning at a young age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to the radio...
as Big Heap - Joan SimsJoan SimsJoan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...
as Belle - Peter ButterworthPeter ButterworthPeter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'...
as Doc - Bernard BresslawBernard BresslawBernard Bresslaw was an English actor. He is best remembered for his comedy work, especially as a member of the Carry On team.-Biography:...
as Little Heap - Angela DouglasAngela DouglasAngela Douglas , born Angela McDonagh, is an English actress.-Early life:She was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire...
as Annie Oakley - Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
as Sheriff Albert Earp - Percy HerbertPercy Herbert (actor)Percy Herbert was an English character actor who often played soldiers, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese and Tunes of Glory. However, he was equally at home in comedies and science fiction...
as Charlie - Sydney BromleySydney BromleySydney Bromley was an English actor. He appeared in more than sixty films and television programmes. On stage, he appeared in St. Joan, by George Bernard Shaw, in 1924...
as Sam Houston - Edina RonayEdina RonayEdina Ronay FRSA is an Anglo-Hungarian fashion designer and former actress, the daughter of food critic Egon Ronay and mother of actress/writer Shebah Ronay....
as Delores - Lionel MurtonLionel MurtonWilliam Lionel Murton was a British-Canadian character actor. He most often played Americans/Canadians in numerous films and television series, from the late 1940s...
as Clerk - Peter GilmorePeter GilmorePeter Gilmore is a British actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Captain James Onedin in the BBC Television period drama The Onedin Line. He also had roles in eleven Carry On films, and played the heroic lead in the adventure film Warlords of Atlantis...
as Curly - Davy KayeDavy KayeDavy Kaye MBE , born as David Kodeish, was a British comedy actor and entertainer.-Early life:...
as Josh - Alan GiffordAlan Gifford-Selected filmography:* The Kangaroo Kid * A Yank in Ermine * The Flying Scot * Visa to Canton * Town Without Pity * Carry on Cowboy * Only When I Larf * Phase Four...
as Commissioner - Brian RawlinsonBrian RawlinsonBrian Rawlinson was an English actor and writer who was prolific in films and TV from the 1950s....
as Stagecoach guard - Michael NightingaleMichael Nightingale-Selected filmography:* The Man Who Watched Trains Go By * Man in the Shadow * Ice-Cold in Alex * The Stranglers of Bombay * Watch Your Stern * The Young Jacobites * The Silent Weapon...
as Bank manager - Simon Cain as Short
- Sally DouglasSally DouglasSally Douglas was a glamorous British supporting actress of the 1960s and 70s.She appeared in over 30 films and television series that were mostly comedies....
as Kitkata
- Cal McCord as Mex
- Garry Colleano as Slim
- Arthur Lovegrove as Old cowhand
- Margaret NolanMargaret NolanMargaret Nolan, also known as Vicky Kennedy, is a British artist and a former actress and glamour model.-Career:...
as Miss Jones - Tom Clegg as Blacksmith
- Larry Cross as Perkins
- Brian Coburn as Trapper
- Ballet Montparnasse as Dancing girls
- Hal Galili as Cowhand
- Norman Stanley as Drunk
- Carmen Dene as Mexican girl
- Andrea Allen as Minnie
- Vicki Smith as Polly
- Audrey Wilson as Jane
- Donna White as Jenny
- Lisa Thomas as Sally
- Gloria Best as Bridget
- George Mossman as Stagecoach driver
- Richard O'BrienRichard O'BrienRichard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
as Rider - Eric Rogers as Pianist
Crew
- Screenplay - Talbot RothwellTalbot RothwellTalbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot....
- Music - Eric Rogers
- Songs - Eric Rogers & Alan RogersAlan RogersAlan Rogers may refer to:*Alan Rogers , XXth century Bishop of Mauritius, Bishop of Fulham and Bishop of Edmonton*Alan Rogers , camping enthusiast and publisher...
- Associate Producer - Frank Bevis
- Art Director - Bert Davey
- Editor - Rob Keys
- Director of Photography - Alan HumeAlan HumeAlan Hume, B.S.C. was a British cinematographer.Hume started work at Denham Film Studios in 1942, and in the late 1940s he worked for Cineguild production company....
- Camera Operator - Godfrey Godar
- Assistant Director - Peter Bolton
- Unit Manager - Ron JacksonRon JacksonRonnie Damien Jackson is a coach and a former player in Major League Baseball. He was a hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2003-2006...
- Make-up - Geoffrey Rodway
- Sound Editor - Jim Groom
- Sound Recordists - Robert T MacPhee & Ken BarkerKen BarkerKen Barker is an Australian Roman Catholic priest. He is the moderator of the Missionaries of God's Love religious congregation and founder of the Young Men of God Movement....
- Hairdressing - Stella Rivers
- Costume Designer - Cynthia Tingey
- Assistant Editor - Jack Gardner
- Horse Master - Jeremy TaylorJeremy TaylorJeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
- Continuity - Gladys Goldsmith
- Producer - Peter RogersPeter RogersPeter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
- Director - Gerald ThomasGerald ThomasGerald Thomas was an English film director, born in Hull.-Early life:Thomas was training in medicine when the Second World War began. He then served in the British army during the war, in Europe and the Middle East...
Filming and locations
- Filming dates – 12 July-3 September 1965
Interiors:
- Pinewood StudiosPinewood StudiosPinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, Buckinghamshire
Exteriors:
- Chobham Common, Surrey
- Black Park, Fulmer, Buckinghamshire
External links
- Carry on Cowboy at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...