1972 British comedy film by Gerald Thomas
Carry On Abroad is a 1972 British comedy film, the 24th release in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth and Hattie Jacques. It was the 23rd and final appearance for Charles Hawtrey. June Whitfield returned after appearing in Carry On Nurse 13 years earlier. Jimmy Logan and Carol Hawkins made their first of two appearances in the series.
Along with the previous film in the series (Carry On Matron), it features the highest number of the regular Carry On team, and actually surpasses it if you count Terry Scott, who had filmed a scene as an irate Wundatours customer, but his scene was cut from the final film. The only other member missing is Jim Dale, who had left the series by this point, but would return belatedly for Carry On Columbus in 1992. Dale and Scott were never in a Carry On film together. The film was followed by Carry On Girls 1973.
Plot
Pub landlord and frequent holidaymaker Vic Flange flirts with the widow Sadie Tompkins as his wife, Cora, looks on with disdain. Their friend Harry, who is prone to elaborate and violent twitches, arrives and reveals that the package holiday Vic has booked to the Mediterranean island Elsbels,[1] which is on the Costa Bomm, also includes Sadie, much to Cora's outrage. Cora, who avoids holidays because she hates flying, decides to accompany Vic on the trip, to ensure he keeps away from Sadie.
The next day, Stuart Farquhar, the representative of Wundatours Travel Agency, and his assistant, Moira Plunkett, welcome the motley passengers. Among them are the sex-starved Stanley Blunt and his unsupportive and demeaning wife Evelyn; drunken Eustace Tuttle; Scotsman Bert Conway; friends Lily and Marge, who are each hoping to find a man to fall in love with; and a party of monks, including Brother Bernard, who is having difficulty fitting into his new life.
Upon their arrival, they discover their hotel is only half-finished; the builders have just quit, leaving the remaining five floors uncompleted. Manager Pepe tries to run the place in myriad different guises – the manager, the doorman and the porter – and the chef is his wife Floella, who battles repeatedly with the stove while their son Georgio idles behind the bar. The hotel also hides various faults, and Pepe is overrun with complaints: Evelyn finds Mr Tuttle in her bath, Vic discovers Sadie naked in his shower; Lily and Marge's wardrobe has no back to it, allowing them to be accidentally seen by Brother Bernard in the opposite room; sand pours out of Moira's taps; the lavatory drenches Bert. The phone system is faulty, and the guests end up complaining to each other most of the time.
Dinner on the first night is foul, and made more unpleasant by the smoke from the burning food in the kitchen, which forces the holiday-makers to open the windows, prompting the arrival of mosquitos. Although agreeing to play leapfrog with Tuttle, Lily and Marge have their eyes on other things. Marge takes a shine to Brother Bernard, and they develop a romance, while Lily lures the dashing Nicholas away from his jealous (and, it is implied, gay) friend, Robin. Meanwhile, Stanley attempts to seduce Cora whilst his wife is not present, but Cora is more interested in keeping Vic away from Sadie, who grows fond of Bert. Vic tries to put Bert off Sadie by telling him that she is a black widow who murdered her two previous husbands, when in fact both were firemen who died on the job.
The next day, the holidaymakers are awakened early in the morning by the builders, who have returned to work. While most of the party go off on an excursion to the nearby village, Stanley ensures his wife is left behind so that he can spend the day attempting to woo Cora. Vic samples a local drink, "Santa Cecelia's Elixir", which blesses the drinker with X-ray vision and he is able to see through women's clothing. However, the tourists are arrested for causing a riot at Madame Fifi's local brothel after Vic, Bert and Eustace annoy the girls there; left-behind Evelyn is seduced by Georgio, which leads to her abandoning her frigid behavior as well as unaware for the tourists' arrest.
In the local prison, Miss Plunkett skilfully seduces the Chief of Police, and the tourists are released out of gratitude. Back at the hotel, Mrs. Blunt, having had an affair with Georgio, awakens her sex life with a surprised Stanley. The last night in the hotel starts as a success, with all the guests at ease with each other thanks to the punch being spiked with Santa Cecelia's Elixir. Midway through the night it begins to rain, and the hotel is shown to have been constructed on a dry river bed. As the hotel collapses, Pepe loses his patience (and his sanity) with the guests who, still intoxicated, party on oblivious to the fact the hotel is disintegrating around them.
Some time later, an Elsbels reunion at Vic and Cora's pub is held. Farquhar has lost his job at Wundatours and now works at the pub. All the guests are happy, and reminisce about the holiday they barely enjoyed.
Crew
- Screenplay – Talbot Rothwell
- Music – Eric Rogers
- Production manager – Jack Swinburne
- Art director – Lionel Couch
- Editor – Alfred Roome
- Director of photography – Alan Hume
- Camera operator – Jimmy Davis
- Continuity – Joy Mercer
- Assistant director – David Bracknell
- Sound recordists – Taffy Haines & Ken Barker
- Make-up – Geoffrey Rodway
- Assistant art director – Bill Bennison
- Set dresser – Don Picton
- Hairdresser – Stella Rivers
- Costume designer – Courtenay Elliott
- Dubbing editor – Peter Best
- Assistant editor – Jack Gardner
- Titles – GSE Ltd
- Processor – Rank Film Laboratories
- Producer – Peter Rogers
- Director – Gerald Thomas
Notes
The film's opening credits also include 'Sun Tan Lo Tion' (sun tan lotion) as 'Technical Director'.
The brothel keeper is played by Olga Lowe, one of the first actresses to work with Sid James when he arrived in the UK in 1946. Lowe was also the actress on stage with James on the night he died in Sunderland.
Filming and locations
- Filming dates – 17 April–26 May 1972 (The previous entry – Carry On Matron – was released during filming)
Interior/exterior film locations:
Bagshot, Surrey: The road to the airport.
High Street, Slough: The Wundatours travel agency shop (the site has since been redeveloped and is now Cornwall House).
Pinewood Studios: Elsbels airport terminal building (the studios' security block); the Whippit Inn pub; Elsbels hotel interior and exterior scenes. (The hotel was constructed in the studio backlot with a matte added to represent the upper floors and sections of scaffold.)
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