{"id":15198,"date":"2023-12-12T05:57:13","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T00:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/bimbos-not-a-bit-of-it-the-carry-on-girls-always-outsmarted-the-men-films-entertainment\/"},"modified":"2023-12-12T05:57:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T00:27:13","slug":"bimbos-not-a-bit-of-it-the-carry-on-girls-always-outsmarted-the-men-films-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/bimbos-not-a-bit-of-it-the-carry-on-girls-always-outsmarted-the-men-films-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Bimbos? Not a bit of it. The Carry On girls always outsmarted the men | Films | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Kenneth<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques in Carry On Doctor (Image: ITV)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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It was 5.30am and still dark when Sally Geeson arrived at Pinewood Studios to start filming Carry On Abroad. In spring 1972, the comedy franchise already had legions of adoring fans, tickled pink by its bawdy humour. But the 21-year-old actress wasn\u2019t sure what reception to expect from the established cast.<\/p>\n

She had heard, for instance, that Kenneth Williams could be \u201ctough\u201d with newcomers. So, it was with slight trepidation that Sally climbed the stairs to the makeup room \u00aduntil, suddenly, something made her stop dead on the spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could hear this hysterical laughing coming from the makeup room,\u201d the actress, now 73, recalls today. \u201cI thought, \u2018Who is that? What is that?!\u2019\u201d Edging closer, she poked her head around the door. \u201cBarbara Windsor was there laughing her head off and so was Charles Hawtrey in the makeup chair,\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey looked round, I said, \u2018Hello, I\u2019m Sally,\u2019 and they said, \u2018Oh, hello Sally.\u2019 They were so nice and friendly, I thought, \u2018I\u2019m going to enjoy this, I know I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Don’t miss… <\/strong> The Lad Himself returns to the small screen <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Her instincts soon proved right. \u201cThere was never an unhappy moment,\u201d Sally continues. \u201cI used to get home and I\u2019d be tired, and I\u2019d say to my boyfriend: \u2018Oh, I\u2019m worn out laughing.\u2019\u201d The actress appeared in three Carry On<\/em> films altogether, including 1973\u2019s Carry On Girls<\/em>, whose 50th anniversary has been celebrated with a lavish new book, The Carry On Girls<\/em>, written by husband and wife team Gemma and Robert Ross.<\/p>\n

The couple wanted to pay homage to \u00adthe fun, feisty and determined women \u2013 from Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims to June Whitfield and, of course, Barbara Windsor \u2013 who helped popularise the much-loved series alongside leading men Sid James and Kenneth Williams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe films show women having a good laugh,\u201d says Gemma.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you can see Hattie and Joan aren\u2019t always acting because they genuinely find what they are saying is funny, whether it\u2019s opposite men or women.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sid<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Sid James and Barbara Windsor in Carry On Girls (Image: ITV)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Rather than being merely bimbos or nags, she says the female characters were empowered figures who outsmarted men or were in on the jokes. Robert agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very strong characters. They \u00adare sexually confident and the men are a bit silly, but it\u2019s a comedy film and everybody\u2019s a bit silly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see Kenneth Williams with his trousers around his ankles as much as you see Barbara Windsor in a bikini. It\u2019s all a comedy of embarrassment and sexual frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although fashions and tastes in humour change over time, often according to younger generations who decide what is in vogue or is no longer deemed acceptable, the Carry On films continue to delight all ages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    They\u2019re available to watch on BritBox but you\u2019ll also find titles on Netflix and Channel 4, where unorthodox content rules. \u201cIt\u2019s because they\u2019re funny,\u201d says Sally of their appeal. \u201cPeople like that silly humour and they can identify with the situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

    She references Carry On Abroad<\/em>, number 24 in the 30-strong franchise, in which the gang heads to Spain for an all-inclusive stay at the Elsbels Palace Hotel, a play-on-words of \u201cHell\u2019s Bells\u201d. \u201cNot only is the name funny but the films remind people of their own experiences, such as the package holidays they went on when they were young,\u201d says Sally.<\/p>\n

    Robert has another theory about Carry On<\/em>\u2019s enduring appeal. \u201cThere\u2019s no guideline about who gets attacked,\u201d he says. \u201cThe team is made up of various people, be it gender, sexuality or social class.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe only people we [the audience] don\u2019t like in a Carry On<\/em> film are people who don\u2019t have a good time. Kenneth Williams is \u00ad\u00ad
    usually the baddie, and Sid James or Barbara Windsor are the goodies, but there\u2019s no \u00adreal agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s hard to remember a time before the franchise dominated the comedy landscape, which launched with Carry On Sergeant<\/em> in 1958. Robert, Carry On<\/em>\u2019s official historian, says the plotlines always reflected the time in which they were made, even if the material was historical.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"Sally<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

    Sally Geeson appeared in three Carry Ons (Image: Lawrence Lawry\/Avalon\/Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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    Take Carry On Matron<\/em>, filmed in 1972 and featuring unmarried mothers. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole plotline about stealing contraceptive pills,\u201d says Robert.<\/p>\n

    \u201cYou could never have talked about \u00adcontraceptive pills in the late 1950s when the series started. The boundaries are pushed a bit more each time, right the way up to Carry On Columbus<\/em> in 1992.\u201d<\/p>\n

    In Carry On Girls<\/em>, the 25th film, the \u00ad\u00adaction revolves around a \u00adseaside town\u2019s beauty \u00adcontest organised by a local councillor, played by Sid James, to perk up its \u00adboring image. Today\u2019s feminists may have a lot to say about the skimpy outfits and seaside postcard innuendo.<\/p>\n

    Even the trailer, accompanied by close-up shots of bosoms, carries the slogan: \u201cThe most sizzling Carry On ever!\u201d But Sally, who wore two-pieces, says she was never \u00addisrespected on set, nor in Carry On Abroad<\/em>, even when she was in her bra and pants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cIt didn\u2019t bother us, it wasn\u2019t a problem,\u201d she insists. And Gemma says this view is shared by all the actresses she interviewed. \u201cWhat came out of my conversations with the girls was the love they have for director Gerald Thomas, creator Peter Rogers, and for each other. Nobody\u2019s had a bad word to say about anybody.\u201d Long-time Carry On<\/em> director Gerald went to great lengths to ensure the women were \u00adprotected during any scenes involving semi-nudity or rumpy-pumpy.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat people don\u2019t realise is that the \u00ad\u00adsets were closed,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cYou were only there if you really had to be there. Nobody was allowed to linger about.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Robert interjects: \u201c[British film director] Ken Russell was filming The Devils at this time. He saw Barbara Windsor and told her \u2018You get a closed set for half a bum cheek? You want to come and see what we\u2019re doing over here!\u2019 Other directors were shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Sally was 10 and still \u201ca \u00adlittle girl with plaits\u201d when she made her first Carry On appearance in 1961\u2019s Carry On Regardless<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    As a child, she attended Corona Stage Academy with her sister, Judy Geeson, who made her stage debut opposite Sidney Poitier in the 1960s British school drama \u00ad\u00adTo Sir, with Love<\/em>. In her late teens, she played free-loving Nikki in the comedy film What\u2019s Good For The Goose<\/em>, alongside legendary entertainer Sir Norman Wisdom, before she won the part of Sid James\u2019s daughter, also named Sally, in Bless \u00ad\u00adThis House<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    She did six seasons in total and formed a close relationship with her screen father who helped her land her second Carry On<\/em> picture. Sid was \u201cthe most genuine, \u00adgorgeous man\u201d, Sally says.<\/p>\n

    They met in the office of her then \u00adfuture husband, the quizmaster and television producer William G. Stewart, who \u00adproduced and directed Bless This House<\/em>. Sally and William were married in 1976 for a decade before they divorced.<\/p>\n

    Of her first encounter with Sid, Sally recalls being taken aback \u00adby meeting a man of elegance \u00adand sophistication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"Authors<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

    Authors Gemma and Robert Ross (Image: )<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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    \u201cHe had the most beautiful clothes and shoes on,\u201d she remembers. \u201cHe stood up and said, \u2018Hello, my darling.\u2019 He just was not what I expected. I imagined him to say, \u00ad\u2018Cor blimey!\u2019 I thought he\u2019d \u00adbe the Sid James I saw in the Carry \u00adOn<\/em> films.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHe was so gentle and quiet and sweet. And straightaway we got on.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The rambunctious cast was known for continuing their fun on big nights out once the cameras stopped rolling, but Sid was ever the gentleman.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHe looked after me, wherever I went, I could always see Sid,\u201d says Sally. \u201cHe would look at me and say, \u2018Are you alright, Sal?\u2019 He was always my little guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Today, there hasn\u2019t been a new \u00ad\u00adCarry On film for more than 30 years. But everyone agrees they could make a return with the right script.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"<\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cCarry On Sergeant<\/em> was very \u00addifferent to Carry On Columbus<\/em>,\u201d says Gemma. \u201cThey\u2019re 36 years apart. So if one is made today it would have to reflect 2023 and what we find funny, and then it would work.\u201d<\/p>\n

    A cost-of-living crisis and brutal foreign conflicts may not seem like \u00adside-splitting topics but it\u2019s about \u00ad\u00adfinding the funny in everyday life, Robert says. \u201cWe are going through particularly bad times but anyone who can make people laugh is a godsend.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf a new Carry On can make an \u00adaudience laugh like they did back in the 1970s, that\u2019s got to be a good thing, hasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

    It certainly is.<\/p>\n

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    • The Carry On Girls<\/em> by Gemma Ross and Robert Ross (History Press, \u00a325) For free UK P&P, visit expressbookshop.com or call Express Bookshop on 020 3176 3832<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [ad_1] Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques in Carry On Doctor (Image: ITV) It was 5.30am and still dark when Sally Geeson arrived at Pinewood Studios to start filming Carry On Abroad. In spring 1972, the comedy franchise already had legions of adoring fans, tickled pink by its bawdy humour. But the 21-year-old actress wasn\u2019t sure …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[765],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}