Carry on Spying [DVD]

The ninth movie in the series (and the last in black and white) sees the team having go at the Bond series. Eric Barker makes a welcome return as the head of MI6 (in his last Carry On... for 15 years). Barker has no option other than send out a gang of trainee agents on the latest mission as no other agents are available. A secret formula has been stolen and it's their job to find it. Heading the agents is Desmond Simpkins (Kenneth Williams in "snide" voice for the whole film) joined by Harold Crump (Bernard Cribbins in his last Carry On... for 27 years!), Charlie Bind (Charles Hawtrey) and Daphne Honeybutt (Barbara Windsor in her series debut). Throughout the film we encounter Jim Dale and Dilys Laye in supporting roles. It's a fast-paced, riotous farce from beginning to end and some of the Bond observations are spot on. The best performance comes from Williams who uses his "Stop messin' about" voice throughout.

Carry On Spying marked the debut appearance in a Carry On Film of the bubbly Barbara Windsor who would become a sex symbol in the series. This amusing paraody of the James Bond films is another classic in the series. Desmond Simpkins (Kenneth Williams) along with his three extra-special agents by his side (Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbins, Charles Hawtrey) all plot to take on the malevolent powers of STENCH, namely Dr. Crow, Milchmann and The Fat Man, members of the Society for the Extinction of non-conforming Humans. Clues to the exact location of STENCH HQ lead the quartret of spies into the heart of Harry Lime country in Vienna, the Casbah and finally the corridors of the Orient Express.

Fun and adventures all the way with the gangs reaching new heights of invention and parody in this one. The cast are all excellent, especially Barbara Windsor who sparkles in every scene. A comic gem!

There are three grades of the classic 'Carry On' Film. Grade 1 includes Cleo, Screaming and Up the Kyber. These are best, cinematic gold, good stories, settings and humour. Grade 3 include any made after 1969 or so, when the progressively diminishing budgets started to have a direct impact on the writing and the subject matter such that the settings became more domestic and bland by necessity. The fact that the British economy was going into the toilet at the same time was probably not a coincidence - we had less to laugh about after 1969.

'Spying' is, in my opinion, a Grade 2. The sets (recycled?) are superb and the supporting actors are flawless with a debut by a grossly underused Jim Dale as British uber-spy Carstairs.

The problem is that the main actors, Williams, Windsor, Hawtree and Cribbins suffer from a lame script and poor characterisation. Kenneth Williams, who was brilliant in the Grade 1 movies above is grossly under-used here and simply reprises his annoying foil from his time opposite Tony Hancock. Hawtree blunders about to no effect and Windsor and Cribbins have a weak love thing going.

So what's to enjoy about this film? Well its tongue-in-cheek homage to 'The Third Man', including zither music, 'Casablanca', with its own fat man (the actor in question had a part in 'Third Man') and 'Dr No' complete with hermaphroditic mad scientist and Modesty Blaise clones. This film does not look cheap as the later ones tended to do.

The film ends too quickly with a wrap-up that disturbs the flow, as if they were running over time or over budget and had to call a halt.

But if you ignore these flaws and simply immerse yourself in the comparatively high and detailed production values in front of you then you will enjoy this film. The opening tracking shot of Victor Maddern as the evil Milkman up to no good is a treat.

So, all in all, this film is worth your valuable viewing time and as the DVD will set you back a bit less than buying a large-sized meal at Burger King, why not?