View source for Carry On Screaming!


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{{Infobox film
| name           = Carry On Screaming!
| image          = Carry on screaming (film).jpg
| caption        = Original UK quad poster
| director       = [[Gerald Thomas]]
| producer       = [[Peter Rogers]]
| writer         = [[Talbot Rothwell]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Harry H. Corbett]]
* [[Kenneth Williams]]
* [[Jim Dale]]
* [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]]
* [[Fenella Fielding]]
* [[Joan Sims]]
* [[Angela Douglas]]}}
| music          = [[Eric Rogers (composer)|Eric Rogers]]
| cinematography = [[Alan Hume]]
| editing        = Rod Keys
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[Anglo-Amalgamated]]
* Peter Rogers Productions}}
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros.|Warner]]-[[Pathé|Pathé Distributors]]
| released       = {{Film date|1966|8|16|df=y}}
| runtime        = 97 minutes{{sfn|Rigelsford|1996|p=61}}{{sfn|Ross|1998|p=152}}
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         = £197,500
}}

'''''Carry On Screaming!''''' is a 1966 [[United Kingdom|British]] [[comedy horror]] film, the twelfth in the [[Carry On (film series)|series of 31 ''Carry On'' films]] (1958–1992).<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=Carry On Screaming! |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150135883 |access-date=14 January 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> It was the last of the series to be made by [[Anglo-Amalgamated]] before the series moved to [[The Rank Organisation]].{{sfn|Rigelsford|1996|pp=53, 55}}<ref name="three">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-nat-cohen-part-three-1962-68/|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part Three (1962-68)}}</ref> Of the regular cast, it features [[Kenneth Williams]], [[Jim Dale]], [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]], [[Joan Sims]], [[Bernard Bresslaw]] and [[Peter Butterworth]]. It also features [[Harry H. Corbett]] in his only series appearance and [[Fenella Fielding]] making her second and final appearance. [[Angela Douglas]] makes the second of her four Carry On appearances. ''Carry On Screaming'' is a parody of the [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer]] horror films, which were also popular at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/466443/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Carry On Screaming! (1966) |work=screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> The film was followed by Carry On ''[[Don't Lose Your Head]]'' (1967).

==Plot==
In the [[Edwardian era]], in Hocombe Woods, Doris Mann and Albert Potter are courting. When Albert searches the woods for a [[Voyeur|peeping Tom]], Doris is abducted by a monster named Oddbod, who leaves a finger behind. Albert finds the finger and rushes to the police station to report the matter to Detective Constable Slobotham, who in turn tells his superior, the henpecked Detective Sergeant Sidney Bung, who has been investigating similar disappearances in the same woods.

After searching the woods for further clues, the group stumble across the eerie Bide-A-Wee Rest Home, and are shown to the sitting-room by the butler, Sockett.{{refn|A not dissimilar character to [[Lurch (The Addams Family)|Lurch]] in ''[[The Addams Family]]''.|group=N}} Sockett informs the mistress of the house, the seductive Valeria, of the men's presence, and she in turn awakens her [[Frankenstein|electrically charged]] brother, Dr. Orlando Watt. Dr. Watt speaks to the three, who are frightened from the house when Dr. Watt vanishes when his electrical charge runs down and reappears when he is plugged in.

The next day, Bung, Slobotham and Potter interview Dan Dann, a lavatory attendant who once worked at Bide-A-Wee as a gardener, but Dann is silenced by Oddbod before he can reveal anything. Meanwhile, the police scientist accidentally creates a second creature—Oddbod Junior —when subjecting Oddbod's finger to an electrical charge. After killing the scientist, Oddbod Junior makes his way to the mansion, where Valeria and Watt are turning people into mannequins{{refn|In the manner of ''[[House of Wax (1953 film)|House of Wax]]''.|group=N}} to sell. Bung arrives at the house to investigate Dann's death, but becomes infatuated with Valeria instead.

The next day, Potter discovers Doris—in mannequin form—in a milliner's shop but no proof can be found that it really is Doris. Bung returns to the house and discovers evidence that links Valeria and Watt to the mannequin but remains oblivious. Believing him to be on their scent, Valeria and Watt use a potion to turn Bung into [[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|a hairy monster man]] and order him to steal the mannequin for them. After recovering the next day, Bung and Slobotham decide to set a trap in Hocombe Woods, with Slobotham disguised as a woman for bait. Bung's sharp-tongued wife Emily follows, thinking that Bung is having an affair, and is captured by Oddbod Junior while Slobotham is captured by Oddbod. Bung, now teamed up with Potter, makes his way to the house whilst following their footprints.

After failing to dispose of Bung and Potter with a snake, the Oddbods are dispatched to deal with them. Bung and Potter are reunited with Slobotham and manage to return Doris to human form, but discover that Emily has been turned into a mannequin. A battle follows, in which Albert (in monster form) defeats the Oddbods. Dr. Watt menaces them with petrifying liquid but is threatened by the [[The Mummy (1932 film)|re-animated mummy]] of Rubbatiti, who has come alive following a lightning strike. Rubbatiti and Watt fall into a boiling vat in the cellar, killing them both. Albert and Doris marry some time later, and discover that Bung, whose home lacks electricity, is unable to return his wife to human form, and is now living with Valeria.

==Production==
Production of the film ran from 10 January 1966 to 25 February 1966; it was filmed at [[Pinewood Studios]] and on location in [[Berkshire]] and [[Buckinghamshire]].

''Carry On Screaming'' was the second film in the series to have a sung main title theme. The theme song "Carry On Screaming" (film version only) was credited as "Anon" and was thought to have been sung by [[Jim Dale]], who appears in the film. The singer is actually [[Ray Pilgrim]], a session singer who sang for the [[Embassy Records|Embassy]] label. A vinyl 45 rpm version of the song was also released in 1966 (Columbia DB 7972) by vocalist [[Boz Burrell]], before he became bassist for the bands [[King Crimson]] and [[Bad Company]]. 

[[Deborah Kerr]] was initially offered the role of Valeria, but declined. The character is frequently referred to as a vampire, despite the film never stating her to be. Rather, she is more a parody of [[Morticia Addams]].

The character of Orlando Watt was initially written as Valeria's father. This was changed at the request of actor Kenneth Williams, who wanted to play his own age (39), so that Orlando and Valeria are brother and sister in the finished version.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Williams, Kenneth, 1926-1988.|title=The Kenneth Williams diaries|date=1993|publisher=HarperCollins|others=Davies, Russell.|isbn=0-00-255023-7|location=London|oclc=59883309}}</ref>

Charles Hawtrey was added to the cast at the eleventh hour, after American distributors specifically requested him, as he was such a hit and crowd-pleaser with audiences there. He replaced [[Sydney Bromley]] in the role of Dan Dann, in what would have been a minor role in the film. Hawtrey thereby has the unique distinction of being the only actor to have a leading credit in a Carry On for less than five minutes' screen time.

[[Harry H. Corbett]] replaced [[Sid James]], who was committed to appearing as a robber in the pantomime ''Babes in the Wood'' at the London Palladium, which ran until June 1966.

==Cast==
* [[Harry H. Corbett]] as Detective Sergeant Sidney Bung
* [[Kenneth Williams]] as Dr Orlando Watt
* [[Peter Butterworth]] as Detective Constable Slobotham
* [[Jim Dale]] as Albert Potter
* [[Fenella Fielding]] as Valeria Watt
* [[Tom Clegg (actor)|Tom Clegg]] as Oddbod
* [[Bernard Bresslaw]] as Sockett
* Billy Cornelius as Oddbod Junior
* [[Joan Sims]] as Emily Bung
* [[Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914)|Charles Hawtrey]] as Dan Dann
* [[Angela Douglas]] as Doris Mann
* [[Jon Pertwee]] as Doctor Fettle
* [[Michael Ward (actor)|Michael Ward]] as Mr Vivian
* [[Norman Mitchell]] as Cabby
* [[Frank Thornton]] as Mr Jones
* [[Frank Forsyth]] as Desk Sergeant
* [[Anthony Sagar]] as Policeman
* [[Sally Douglas]] as Girl
* [[Marianne Stone]] as Mrs Parker
* Denis Blake as Rubbatiti
* [[Gerald Thomas]] as Voice of Oddbod Junior (uncredited)

==Filming and locations==
* Filming dates: 10 January – 25 February 1966

'''Interiors''':
* [[Pinewood Studios]], Buckinghamshire

'''Exteriors''':
* [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], Berkshire
* [[Fulmer]], Buckinghamshire

==Critical reception==
''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "Apart from an engaging performance by Jim Dale (and some appealing squeaks from monster Odbodd Junior, alias Billy Cornelius), this is glum stuff even by Carry On standards. The regulars, Kenneth Williams in particular, seem too bored to care; Harry H. Corbett overdoes every line; and the horror clichés are rather less amusing than the straight routines in some of Hammer's early epics."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1966 |title=Carry On Screaming! |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305820640 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=33 |issue=384 |pages=141 |id={{ProQuest|1305820640}} }}</ref>

In a 2018 retrospective on the series, the [[British Film Institute]] named ''Carry On Screaming!'' as one of the series' five best films, alongside ''[[Carry On Cleo]]'' (1964), ''[[Carry On Up the Khyber]]'' (1968), ''[[Carry On Camping]]'' (1969), and ''[[Carry on Matron]]'' (1972).<ref name="BFI">{{cite web|first=Neil |last=Mitchell |title=The 5 best Carry Ons… and the 5 worst |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/five-best-carry-ons-five-worst |website=[[British Film Institute]] |date=23 November 2018 |access-date=12 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415132835/https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/five-best-carry-ons-five-worst |archive-date= 15 April 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=N}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Rigelsford |first=Adrian |author-link = Adrian Rigelsford|title=Carry On Laughing: A Celebration |year=1996 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=1-85227-554-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Ross |first=Robert |title=The Carry On Companion |year=1998 |orig-year=1996 |publisher=Batsford |location=London |isbn=0-7134-8439-X}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title| 0060214}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes| 1209303-carry_on_screaming}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160311013544/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6fd00ac1 ''Carry On Screaming!''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
* {{Screenonline title| 466443}}
* {{BritMovie title| Carry-On-Screaming_1966}}
* [http://www.raypilgrim.co.uk/CarryOn.html Ray Pilgrim recalls the recording of the “Carry On Screaming” title song]
*{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113155228/http://www.thewhippitinn.com/carry_on_films/carry_on_screaming/|title=''Carry On Screaming'' at The Whippit Inn}}

{{Carry On Films}}
{{Gerald Thomas}}

[[Category:1966 British films]]
[[Category:1966 English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s historical comedy films]]
[[Category:1960s historical horror films]]
[[Category:1960s parody films]]
[[Category:1966 comedy horror films]]
[[Category:1966 films]]
[[Category:Anglo-Amalgamated Productions films]]
[[Category:British comedy horror films]]
[[Category:British detective films]]
[[Category:British haunted house films]]
[[Category:British historical horror films]]
[[Category:British parody films]]
[[Category:Carry On films|Screaming!]]
[[Category:English-language comedy horror films]]
[[Category:English-language historical comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about kidnapping in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Films about mannequins]]
[[Category:Films about missing people]]
[[Category:Films directed by Gerald Thomas]]
[[Category:Films produced by Peter Rogers]]
[[Category:Films scored by Eric Rogers (composer)]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1900s]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:Films shot in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Films shot in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Talbot Rothwell]]
[[Category:Police detective films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Carry On Screaming!|access_date=2026-02-28}}