Carry on Cleo is one of 29 comedy film classics from the British series of low budget films which were made between 1958 and 1978. This offering was released in 1964, was the eighth Carry On released and is a personal favourite. It was made in full colour at Pinewood Studios, England, and utilised some of the set of the epic Cleopatra film which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. As usual the cast includes some of the Carry On regulars. The late Sid James plays a rather middle-aged and wrinkly Mark Anthony and Kenneth Williams is a very camp Julius Caesar, or Julie as he is known to friends. The female lead of Cleopatra is played by Amanda Barrie who will be known by some younger readers as a Coronation Street regular a little while ago. Representing the British, who were still in caves at the time of Caesar, according to this film, we have Kenneth Connor as a weak knee-ed, rather stupid inventor called Hengist Pod, who has been experimenting with square wheels. Jim Dale is the brave hero Horsa. On a wet and windy conquering trip to England the Romans capture Horsa and Hengist along with other scruffy Britons. The sequence of events sees a strange mish mash of history and a reversal of roles for two of the characters. There are, by the way, some good characters in this film and some funny scenes. I was surprised to read that this film's famous funny line, which is also one of my favourites, was actually from the comedy radio show Take It From Here. For those who have not seen the film it is Julius Caesar shouting 'Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me'. The characters, names are a mixture of real ones from history and the usual silly ones which are full of innuendos. For example, Sheila Hancock plays Hengist Pod's harridan of a wife who is called Senna. Then there is the guy selling the slaves who is called Spencius and he is one half of a firm called Marks and Spencius. As you can see there are many of the usual childish puns but they are fun. Carry on Cleo has a plot which very loosely follows some of history and is padded out with the usual nonsense. Is Carry On Cleo Recommended? Yes, but I always enjoy this film and have seen it plenty of times. It has the usual elements of farce and pantomime but is now somewhat of a classic. It has the vestal virgins as the young and busty female attraction but without becoming too crude and cringe worthy, this time. When Carry on Cleo was made there were epics such as Cleopatra and Ben Hur also playing at cinemas and so this spoof was very much of the time. However, perhaps because it is set in the distant past it has not dated quite so badly as some of the other Carry On films. Overall this film should appeal to avid Carry On Film fans and those looking for traditional British humour which is silly and easy to watch. The screenplay is by Talbot Rothwell but the story is credited to William Shakespeare! As usual it is directed by Gerald Thomas. The Cast includes:-
Sid James .....Mark Anthony Kenneth Williams ... Julius Caesar Amanda Barrie .... Cleopatra Charles Hawtrey .... Seneca Kenneth Connor .... Hengist Pod Joan Sims .... Calpurnia Jim Dale ... Horsa Victor Maddern .... Soldier Julie Stevens ..... Gloria Sheila Hancock ..... Senna Pod John Pert wee ... The Soothsayer Warren Mitchell .... Spencius Tom Clegg ... Sosages Peter Gilmore .... Galley Master And many more .... Produced by Peter Rogers Music by Eric Rogers Recommended? But of course.
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If you love classical music this album could be for you; however if, like this writer, you have quite an eclectic taste in music you may also be wowed by O Mio Babbino Caro by Soprano Arias. Whatever your musical taste though why not give this a listen? Our personal music collection includes rag-time Jazz, post-war Blues, early Dylan, Franz Ferdinand, Meatloaf, Pavarotti, Bob Marley, Santana and much, much more. You get the picture, the whole range collected over forty odd years. Although we have always had some classical music, this liking is something which has developed more with age. At one time, those screeching females, namely sopranos, had no appeal at all but times change. Is it more than a change in our hearing as we age? I’d like to think so. The album O Mio Babbino Caro' is a collection of famous soprano arias from Italian Operas and at one time we would not have given it house room let alone played it and often. The title track has the ability to reduce the listener to tears, including this writer. The tracks are:
Overall The brief text used to describe the tracks cannot do the music justice. This album begs to be listened to, and listened to properly. O Mio Babbino Caro will not suit all listeners, obviously. It will not even appeal to all opera lovers but for me it is a collection of 18-classic-tracks that all have something to offer. I am no opera buff but enjoy these female arias which all have great musical backing. Some have male voices accompanying them but in the main they are female sung tracks. None of them are sung in English but the words do not matter. The language is so fitting to the music and the strength of feeling comes through. However if you are interested the sleeve notes have the words of each track in Italian and then in English. As you have guessed from my snippets regarding each track, many of these operas are about unrequited love, death and strife but they are never boring. For me it is such a relaxing collection I can close my eyes and drift off to another world and time. Oh, and, O Mio Babbino Caro can bring a tear to my eye, even now. This compilation can be purchased relatively cheaply from many sources. Recommended 10/10 Availaible also on ITunes If you have never watched Some Like It Hot you are in for a treat; if you have watched it before why not watch it again now we have jolted you memories of this now classic comedy from a golden era in cinematography. Filmed in 1959, in black and white, this movie has a great cast, hilarious plot and seems to have stood the test of time. Younger viewers do not like black and white films but it fits with this film and the period it is set in so well, plus is still a very funny film, although obviously a little dated now. The story is not entirely about a light-hearted subject as it includes the mafia and tough gangsters. The film is set in America during prohibition. One cold winter's night two out of work musicians are struggling to find work, after the joint they are playing at is raided. They need to find work or starve. All that seems to be on offer is an opening for two female musicians out-of-town. When they witness a mass murder by the mob the pair, played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon need to get out of town and quick. With no work on the horizon for a male saxophonist and a male double bass player, they decide to give the two openings for such musicians in an all-girl band another glance. The catch is though that the job offer is only open for female musicians. Without spoiling the film for those few of you who may not have seen Some Like It Hot, at times it borders on farce, whilst at other times the humour is more subtle. When Jerry and Joe, Curtis and Lemmon, eventually end up in Florida romantic complications set in, that are more than a little strange. It's odd isn't it that when two men dress up as women, although they do not really look like women, they are often still sort of attractive? The main players are a youngish Marilyn Monroe alongside an equally youngish Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. As a fan of Jack Lemmon and his comedy this film was bound to be a hit however Tony Curtis does not do a bad job at all either. As he flits between being the male sax player, the fake owner of Shell Oil, with authentic sounding Cary Grant accent, and the female Sax player in the All Girl Band, he takes on all roles comfortably. George Raft as the leader of the gangsters is perfect, although his role is fairly brief. Equally good, but brief, is Pat O'Brien playing a role he had so many times before but never quite in a film like this. So many great characters, including a cheeky bell boy at the hotel, Beinstock the leader of the all-girl band and Osgood Fielding the third, who falls for Lemmon in drag thinking that he is a female. Among the Cast there is:- Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk Tony Curtis as Joe - 'Josephine'/'Junior' Jack Lemmon as Jerry - 'Daphne' George Raft as Spats Colombo Pat O'Brien as Detective Mulligan Joe E. Brown as Osgood Fielding the third. Nehemiah Persoff as Little Bonaparte Joan Shawlee as Sweet Sue Billy Gray as Sig Poliakoff George E. Stone as Toothpick Charlie Dave Barry as Beinstock Mike Mazurki as Spats' henchman Harry Wilson as Spats' henchman Grace Lee Whitney as Rosella Beverly Wills as Dolores
Barbara Drew as Nellie Edward G. Robinson, Junior as Johnny Paradise It was quite a cast but sadly most are no longer with us. Younger readers may not have heard of quite so many of the actors but they are all giants of the cinema. Don't let the age of this film and the fact that it is in black and white prevent you watching what is consistently voted one of the funniest films of all time. The soundtrack is equally good and has some classics such as:-
The Marilyn Monroe tracks show her during her very best singing period. During the filming Marilyn was not always up to scratch for learning lines, attending and more. However no-one can fault her sensual singing performances in this film. Classic lines for me are:- Sugar played by Marilyn Monroe 'Real diamonds! They must be worth their weight in gold! Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as Jack gets more into the role of a girl more than he should 'Jerry: Have I got things to tell you! Joe: What happened? Jerry: I'm engaged. Joe: Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl? Jerry: I am!' Finally Jack Lemmon guessing that they will never pull of impersonating females as he watches Sugar walk, 'Will you look at that! Look how she moves! It's like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it's a whole different sex!' There are far more funny lines in this great film and hopefully the review has not spoiled anyone's viewing experience. Check it out next time it is on the TV or buy yourself a copy for a pittance. It will be money well spent! Running Time 120 minutes Director Billy Wilder Recommended 10/10 Carry On Regardless is one of the earlier, British, Carry On films and as such is a black and white offering. Like them or loathe them the phrase Carry On has become part of our British language, as well as plainly representing this series of farcical comedy films. They are dated, often sexist by modern standards, over-the-top but still very funny. Carry On Regardless was released in 1961 and, to my mind, is Carry On at its very best. This film may be mistaken for being the first in the series but it is actually the fifth film out of the 29 made. The story line, although sketchy as always, to say the least, comes together quite nicely in this film. The Carry on team is a group of unemployed men and women who are struggling to find work. Being unable to do so they decide to team up and set up an agency called Helping Hands. This firm will supply the perfect person for most jobs, matching the temp with suitable work. Of course it all goes horribly wrong, especially when a muddle with the allocation cards sees the strangest matches with each job handed out. Small Spoiler* Here are a couple of my favourite bits. Kenneth Connor travels to Scotland to the Forth Bridge with visions of espionage and the Thirty-Nine Steps racing through his brain, when actually the hirer wants a fourth person to play bridge. Ken later gets a job in an all-male gentleman's club where he gets a fit of the giggles, which he cannot suppress, as a snoring old geezer's wig gently slips slowly down its owners face. Add to this Kenneth Williams, as the expert in speaking Chinese, accosting a group of school girls who he believes to be Chinese, but are all middle class English girls and it is classic carry-on. Spoiler finished* For me this film is so innocent, silly, of its day but still worth a giggle. There is very little which could be classed as offensive, if anything at all. There may be the odd double entendre but they are not vulgar as they sometimes appear in the later Carry On films but just a little naughty. Regulars from The Carry On films who are cast in this film are: Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey and Hattie Jacques. Stanley Unwin has a somewhat minor role and I always loved this guy and still do; other people, such as my Hubby, cannot stand him to this day. Strange thing humour I know. Among the other well-known names of the day are Bill Owen, who became Compo in last of the Summer Wine and the delightful, tiny Esma Cannon who appeared in so many comedy films of the day. Sadly most have now departed this world. As usual this Carry On is directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. Running Time is a brief 90 minutes. It is rated PG, but really there is nothing in it to worry a family audience. What more can I say other than Carry On! IMDb |