There were thirty-one films, four TV Christmas specials, one television series of thirteen episodes, and three West End and provincial stage plays, all made on time and to a strict budget.
The 31 films in the series (if you include That's Carry On , a compilation film released in cinemas in 1978) were all made by the team of producer Peter Rogers and director Gerald Thomas between 1958 and 1978, with the belated Carry On Columbus appearing in 1992.
The cast were poorly paid—around £5,000 per film for a principal performer. In his diaries Kenneth Williams lamented this, and criticised several of the movies despite his declared fondness for the series as a whole.
The final surviving regular actor who had a lead role in the films is Jim Dale. Now aged 87, Dale - who is also a singer, comedian, narrator, and author - made his first appearance in 1963's Carry on Cabby.
James and Sims are ridiculously old for their roles as a courting couple still trying to get to first base (he was fifty-five, she thirty-eight), as is Barbara Windsor as a naughty schoolgirl (she was thirty-one!).
He then had a tiny role in the comedy Raising the Wind (1961) as a trombone player who thwarts orchestral conductor Kenneth Williams. However, he is best known in Britain for his appearances in eleven Carry On films, a long-running series of comedy farces, generally playing the hapless romantic lead.
Silvers was paid a fee of £40,000 in total, the highest of any actor in the history of the series. Carry On Doctor was the first medical theme–based Carry On film for eight years, and was the first of two Carry On films to star the comedian Frankie Howerd.
How much was Kenneth Williams paid for Carry On films?
He was quick to find fault with his own work, and also that of others. Despite this, he spoke fondly of the Carry Ons in interviews. Peter Rogers, producer of the series, recollected, "Kenneth was worth taking care of because, while he cost very little—£5,000 a film, he made a great deal of money for the franchise."
Phil Silvers was paid £30,000 for his role, making him by far, the highest paid star in the history of the series, which provoked a great deal of animosity among the regular Carry On team. The location filming took three weeks, the longest in Carry On history.
Between 1958 and 1979 there were 29 Carry On films made, most with variations of the same leading cast, plus many notable guests, the last of the regular series being Carry On Emmanuelle. A revival film, Carry on Columbus, was released in 1992.
Three scripts were written for an intended sub-sequel to the successful Carry On Nurse film, the second installment of the Carry On series. All three attempts failed, and so the film has never been made.
1962's "Carry On Cruising" (the 5th in the iconic Brit-com 'Carry On' series (not counting clip compilation 'Carry On Regardless')) was again written by Norman Hudis and directed by Gerald Thomas (with his bro Ralph this time) BUT was the first to be shot in colour (gloriously) AND it shed many previous regulars while ...
Why was Charles Hawtrey dropped from the Carry On films?
Charles Hawtrey's alcoholism had become so severe (it had worsened from the alcohol antics in Carry on Cowboy (1965)) that Peter Rogers recalled having to sober him up with black coffee every time he was due in front of the camera. Hawtrey was fired from the series after this film, as the crew's patience had run out.
The original Carry On films are owned by STUDIOCANAL, ITV - who own the Carry On name - and Warner Brothers. Further details about the new films will be revealed in due course.
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 role of the ship's cook Wilfred Haines was originally intended for Charles Hawtrey, but was re-written for Lance Percival, after Hawtrey quit in a dispute with the producer over billing and pay. He also demanded a gold star on his dressing room door.
His biggest stars, Kenneth Williams and Sid James, took home a maximum of £5,000 a film, while the women, including Barbara Windsor, got half of that. Now, more than 50 years after the first Carry On film, Mr Rogers appears to have finally made amends . . .
Renowned for being low-budget, the producers didn't venture too far from Pinewood Studios with many of the locations being situated in Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead and other areas close to the world-famous studio.
There was a provision for his 87 year old mother Louie, via instructions left to Kenneth's friend Michael Whittaker. However, the remainder of his estate was split between his close friend and neighbour Paul Richardson, his Godson Robert Chiddell and his agent.
Location work was shot during the early months of 1967 when scenes set in the Sahara were filmed at Camber Sands near Rye, East Sussex, England. Shooting had to be halted several times because there was snow on the sands. Other shots occurred at Birkdale beach near Southport, Lancashire.
In 1967, James was intending to play Sergeant Nocker in Follow That Camel, but was already committed to recording the TV series George and the Dragon (1966–1968) for ATV, then one of the ITV contractors. James was replaced in Follow That Camel by the American comic actor Phil Silvers.
How many movies did Cary Grant make with Alfred Hitchcock?
Cary Grant starred in four films in association with Alfred Hitchcock, resulting in some of the best work from both men. They are Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959).
He has starred in dozens of stage productions with the British National Theatre Company and on Broadway, and in 1980 he won the Tony Award for his performance in Barnum. He currently stars in his own one-man show, Just Jim Dale at the Roundabout Theater Company in New York City.
What was the last Carry On film with Charles Hawtrey?
Filmed in Wales and Corsica, this adventure series featured three small brothers nicknamed Toughy, Smarty and Mouse, who run away to find an uninhabited island. Hawtrey's last film was Carry On Abroad (1972), after which he was dropped from the series.
