1957 British comedy film by Val Guest
Carry on Admiral (released in the United States as The Ship Was Loaded) is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and featuring David Tomlinson and Ronald Shiner; Joan Sims, who later became prominent in the Carry On series, has a small part.[1] It predates and was not part of the Carry On series, and does not share any regular cast members beyond Sims, though it is similar in tone and style to the earliest films in the series.[2] Joan Hickson also made an appearance in this film and a few films in the Carry On series.[3] It was based on the 1947 stage play Off the Record, written by Ian Hay.[4]
Plot
In the course of a drunken reunion, two old friends (one a junior Government minister, the other a Royal Navy officer in uniform about to take command for the first time) switch clothes before passing out. Next morning, their changed clothes result in a series of cases of mistaken identity. The film follows the efforts of each to reunite himself with his own destiny.
Cast
The fictional ship HMS Sherwood in the film is played by a Daring-class destroyer. Other ships shown include the battleship HMS Vanguard and the frigate HMS Paladin during the title sequence, two Dido-class cruisers in early background scenes, and a Loch-class frigate during the closing credits. Several scenes were filmed in Admiralty House, in Portsmouth Naval Base.
Production
Val Guest said "George Minter approached me to see if we could make a film of it [the play], and we knew we couldn’t use the title Off the Record because it was a terrible title and it was all about the navy, and I came up with a series of titles of which we agreed we all liked Carry on Admiral... George Minter, unfortunately, didn’t register it, it was never registered and I don’t know why he didn’t, and it was just pilfered, willy-nilly, by the boys when they made the Carry on series."[5]
Reception
According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957.[6]
