Although it may feature a few vintage cast and crew members, this isn't really a Carry On film. The main players in the Carry On cast are absent (Sid James having passed away that year), the writers were different, the DoP was different, the composer was different, and overall it just felt like part of a different series.
There are far too many new faces for it to be considered part of the Carry on family, and what is there of the old guard are somewhat pushed to the back.
The film forgoes the fun and saucy seaside humour for rather dross sleaze, which doesn't always work. Also, for being so expensive the film looks incredibly drab, with the muted greens and browns of the army barracks feeling rather cheap.
It's not all bad though. The series regulars of Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth, Jack Douglas, and Kenneth Connor are just as good as always, and Windsor Davis is magnificent as the shouty Sargent-Major with the wicked chuckle- a role he was born to play.
As films go it's not absolutely awful, but it's not great either. If it was called something else it may very well be seen as one of those tacky 70s British films which is a decent timekiller on a Sunday afternoon. However, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth by pretending to be a Carry On film when so much of the classic formula is missing.
Carry On Dick was the last film to feature all the core cast and crew of the classic Carry On Series, and although afterwords they did hit a surprising gem with Carry On Behind, a second stroke of luck was always going to be a bad bet.
Carry on England is a poor attempt to continue a series which had lost too many of its necessary parts to work, and despite a few good points, it's not really something that can be recommended. At least, not as part of the Carry On series.
There are far too many new faces for it to be considered part of the Carry on family, and what is there of the old guard are somewhat pushed to the back.
The film forgoes the fun and saucy seaside humour for rather dross sleaze, which doesn't always work. Also, for being so expensive the film looks incredibly drab, with the muted greens and browns of the army barracks feeling rather cheap.
It's not all bad though. The series regulars of Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth, Jack Douglas, and Kenneth Connor are just as good as always, and Windsor Davis is magnificent as the shouty Sargent-Major with the wicked chuckle- a role he was born to play.
As films go it's not absolutely awful, but it's not great either. If it was called something else it may very well be seen as one of those tacky 70s British films which is a decent timekiller on a Sunday afternoon. However, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth by pretending to be a Carry On film when so much of the classic formula is missing.
Carry On Dick was the last film to feature all the core cast and crew of the classic Carry On Series, and although afterwords they did hit a surprising gem with Carry On Behind, a second stroke of luck was always going to be a bad bet.
Carry on England is a poor attempt to continue a series which had lost too many of its necessary parts to work, and despite a few good points, it's not really something that can be recommended. At least, not as part of the Carry On series.