Carry On Spying
Encyclopedia
Carry On Spying is a 1964 film, the ninth movie in the Carry On film
series. It marks Barbara Windsor
's first appearance in the series. Series regulars Kenneth Williams
, 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). Eric Barker
appears for his third entry (his final appearance would be in Carry On Emmannuelle
14 years later). Dilys Laye
returns after her debut in Carry On Cruising
. Carry On Spying is the last Carry On film shot in black and white.
reluctantly sends the only agent he has left, the bumbling and snide Agent Desmond Simpkins, (Kenneth Williams
), and his three trainees, Agent Harold Crump, (Bernard Cribbins
), Agent Daphne Honeybutt, (Barbara Windsor
), and Agent Charlie Bind (Charles Hawtrey
), to find the formula.
The Agents are hot on the trail, chasing the villains across the world. Their pursuit takes them to Vienna
, and to Algiers
. Upon the way they encounter the STENCH agents, the Fat Man and Milchmann (who stole the formula disguised as a milkman). Unfortunately the agents' lack of experience results in their contact agent, Carstairs (Jim Dale
), being floored in an encounter with the Fat Man, and they also encounter the mysterious Lila (Dilys Laye
), whom they are uncertain if they can trust.
producer Albert R. Broccoli
objected to the character name "James Bind agent 006½" and threatened legal action. Producer Peter Rogers
therefore changed the name to Charlie and the agent's code number to double 0 - ooh! Poster artist Tom Chantrell
also had to modify the poster when similar complaints were voiced that the artwork was too similar to From Russia with Love
.
The film pokes fun at various spy movies, James Bond being the least of them. They include The Third Man
(coincidentally, Eric Pohlmann - who played The Fat Man - also had a minor part in The Third Man), and Casablanca
. One or two of Crow's female assistants wear hairstyles similar to that of Modesty Blaise
, whose adventures had started in the Evening Standard
the previous year.
Interiors:
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. It marks Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
's first appearance in the series. Series regulars 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...
, 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 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...
are present. Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
makes the second of his three Carry On appearances (although it would be 28 years before he returned). Eric Barker
Eric Barker
Eric Leslie Barker born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films.-Career:...
appears for his third entry (his final appearance would be in Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle
Carry On Emmannuelle is the 30th Carry On film, and was released in 1978. This was the last Carry On film to be made until Carry On Columbus in 1992. The film was to be the final Carry On for many regulars including Kenneth Williams , Kenneth Connor , Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth...
14 years later). Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for comedy roles. She died of cancer aged 74.- Early life :...
returns after her debut in Carry On Cruising
Carry On Cruising
Carry On Cruising is the sixth Carry On film and was released in 1962. It was the first in the Carry On series to be filmed in colour and was based on an original story by Eric Barker. P&O - Orient Lines were thanked in the credits. Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor appear in...
. Carry On Spying is the last Carry On film shot in black and white.
Plot
A top secret chemical formula has been stolen by STENCH (the Society for the Total Extinction of Non-Conforming Humans). Fearful of what would happen if that formula fell into the wrong hands, the Chief of the Secret ServiceSecret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
reluctantly sends the only agent he has left, the bumbling and snide Agent Desmond Simpkins, (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...
), and his three trainees, Agent Harold Crump, (Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins
Bernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
), Agent Daphne Honeybutt, (Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
), and Agent Charlie Bind (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...
), to find the formula.
The Agents are hot on the trail, chasing the villains across the world. Their pursuit takes them to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. Upon the way they encounter the STENCH agents, the Fat Man and Milchmann (who stole the formula disguised as a milkman). Unfortunately the agents' lack of experience results in their contact agent, Carstairs (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...
), being floored in an encounter with the Fat Man, and they also encounter the mysterious Lila (Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye
Dilys Laye was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for comedy roles. She died of cancer aged 74.- Early life :...
), whom they are uncertain if they can trust.
Cast and Crew
- 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 Desmond Simkins - Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
as Daphne Honeybutt - 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 Charlie Bind - Bernard CribbinsBernard CribbinsBernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
as Harold Crump - 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 Carstairs - Eric BarkerEric BarkerEric Leslie Barker born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British Carry On films.-Career:...
as The Chief - Richard WattisRichard WattisRichard Cameron Wattis , was an English character actor.He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the family electrical engineering firm before becoming a professional actor. After his debut with Croydon Repertory Theatre he made many stage...
as Cobley - Dilys LayeDilys LayeDilys Laye was an English actress and screenwriter, best known for comedy roles. She died of cancer aged 74.- Early life :...
as Lila - Eric PohlmannEric PohlmannEric Pohlmann was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor.Born Erich Pollak in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, he was a classically trained actor who studied under the renowned director Max Reinhardt...
as The Fat Man - Victor MaddernVictor MaddernVictor Jack Maddern was an English actor.Born in Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, Maddern was one of large group of dependable supporting actors that British film produced over the years....
as Milchmann - Judith FurseJudith Furse-Career:A member of the noted Furse family, her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a celebrated stage designer and painter who occasionally worked in films....
as Dr Crow - John BluthalJohn BluthalJohn Bluthal is a Polish-born British film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width and The Vicar of Dibley.-Early life:Bluthal was born in Galicia, Poland, of Jewish...
as The head waiter - Renee HoustonRenee HoustonRenée Houston was a Scottish comedy actor and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles.Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gibbin, she toured music halls and revue with her sister Billie Houston as the Houston Sisters.In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film,...
as Madame - Tom Clegg as Doorman
- Gertan KlauberGertan KlauberGeorge Gertan Klauber was a British character actor.He played small roles in many of the Carry On films, and appeared as mad king George III in Blackadder the Third....
as Code clerk - Norman MitchellNorman MitchellNorman Mitchell was an English television, stage and film actor.Born in Sheffield, his father was a mining engineer and his mother a concert singer. He attended Carterknowle Grammar School and the University of Sheffield, before appearing in repertory theatre and with the Royal Shakespeare Company...
as Native policeman - Frank Forsyth as Professor Stark
- Derek Sydney as Algerian gent
- Jill Mai Meredith as Cigarette girl
- Angela Ellison as Cloakroom girl
- Hugh FutcherHugh FutcherHugh Futcher is an English actor in theatre, television, and film. He was a member of the stock company of the Carry On films, with notable parts in Carry On Spying, Carry On At Your Convenience, and Carry On Behind...
as Bed of nails native - Norah Gordon as Elderly woman
- Jack TaylorJack Taylor (actor)Jack Taylor is an American actor. He first relocated to Mexico in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and later to Spain, where he has appeared in many films, mostly horror and cheesy exploitation pictures...
as Thug - Bill CummingsBill CummingsBill Cummings knicknamed "Wild Bill", won the 1934 Indianapolis 500 and set the diesel . Cummings died driving a passenger automobile on State Road 29 in Indianapolis, when he hit a guard rail and plunged into Lick Creek...
as Thug - Anthony Baird as Guard
- Patrick Durkin as Guard
- Virginia Tyler as Funhouse girl
- Judi Johnson as Funhouse girl
- Gloria Best as Funhouse girl
- Audrey Wilson as Amazon guard
- Vicky Smith as Amazon guard
- Jane LumbJane LumbJane Lumb was a fashion model and actress in the 1960s.Lumb was well known for appearing in series of advertisements for Fry's Turkish Delight.-Background:...
as Amazon guard - Marian Collins as Amazon guard
- 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 Amazon guard - Christine Rodgers as Amazon guard
- Maya Koumani as Amazon guard
- 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....
& Sid ColinSid ColinSid Colin was an English screenwriter, working for both television and the cinema. He is best rememberd for the television comedies The Army Game , Up Pompeii! and the film Percy's Progress... - Music - Eric Rogers
- Songs - "Too Late" by Alex Alstone & Geoffrey Parsons and "The Magic of Love" by Eric Rogers
- Associate Producer - Frank Bevis
- Art Director - Alex VetchinskyAlex VetchinskyAlex Vetchinsky was a British film designer, nominated for BAFTA Film Award.-External links:...
- 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....
- Editor - Archie Ludski
- Camera Operator - Godfrey Godar
- Assistant Director - Peter Bolton
- Unit Manager - Donald Toms
- Continuity - Penny DanielsPenny DanielsPenny Daniels is a communications consultant and trainer and a former American television news anchor who once hosted the TV show A Current Affair.- Early life and education :...
- Hairdressing - Biddy Chrystal
- Sound Editor - Christopher Lancaster
- Sound Recordists - CC Stevens & Bill DanielsBill DanielsRobert W. "Bill" Daniels was a pioneer in the cable television industry, commonly known as the "Father of Cable Television". He was an owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and a founder of the United States Football League ....
- Costume Designer - Yvonne Caffin
- Make-up - WT Partleton
- 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...
Production
James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
producer Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
objected to the character name "James Bind agent 006½" and threatened legal action. Producer Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers was a British film producer.Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper before graduating to scriptwriting religious informational films...
therefore changed the name to Charlie and the agent's code number to double 0 - ooh! Poster artist Tom Chantrell
Tom Chantrell
Tom Chantrell was a British illustrator and film poster artist.-Biography:The son of a trapeze artist, Chantrell was the youngest of nine children...
also had to modify the poster when similar complaints were voiced that the artwork was too similar to From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
.
The film pokes fun at various spy movies, James Bond being the least of them. They include The Third Man
The Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
(coincidentally, Eric Pohlmann - who played The Fat Man - also had a minor part in The Third Man), and Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
. One or two of Crow's female assistants wear hairstyles similar to that of Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows the adventures of Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin...
, whose adventures had started in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
the previous year.
Filming and locations
- Filming dates – 8 February-13 March 1964
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
External links
- Carry On Spying at The Whippit Inn
- Carry on Spying BFI Film & TV DatabaseBritish 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...
- Carry on Spying Britmovie article
- Carry on Spying EmpireEmpire (magazine)Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
review