Movies - Carry On Sergeant

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	Movies - Carry On Sergeant

Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film, and its first public screening was on 1 August1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott. The film also starred William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Shirley Eaton, Bill Owen, Dora Bryan, Norman Rossington and Terence Longdon.

"Carry on sergeant" is a normal expression for an army officer to use; there was probably no thought of a series of "Carry on" films at the time.

Plot

Sergeant Grimshawe is an Army sergeant responsible for training National Service recruits at Heathercrest National Service Depot. They arrive as civilians then leave ten weeks later as fully trained soldiers. Grimshawe is due to retire after the current intake has completed their training and is desperate to leave his job as a success. A rival sergeant tells Grimshawe he will never have the champion platoon. Grimshawe takes exception to this and agrees to a £50 wager, but privately has his doubts. Included in his new platoon are newly-wed Monkhouse, intellectual Williams, hypochondriac Connor and effeminate Hawtrey. The film follows the group as a whole and several of the trainees individually as they progress from almost certain failure to surprising success. The film ends on a happy note as the recruits bundle into a van and wave goodbye to a smiling Hartnell, now dressed in civvies and retiring from the Army.

The film reflects the social structure of the time, with class divisions being very much in evidence. Grimshawe assumes one conscript is bound for officers' training because of his upper class bearing. It also highlights the difference between career soldiers and conscripts, and the differing backgrounds from which they are drawn. The characters can be seen as stereotypes, (Terry Scott's Paddy O'Brien being the Irishman, Gerald Campion the fat man), but the calibre of the principal actors makes them believable individuals.

As the first film of the Carry-On series, this set the tone for what was to follow, with emphasis on character to the fore. A few double-entendres were present, even at this early stage. The scriptwriting services of Hudis were retained for the next six films, and producer Peter Rogers and Director Gerald Thomas stayed with the series until the end (1993's Carry On Columbus).

Trivia

William Hartnell went on to become the first actor to play the Doctor in Doctor Who, staying in the part for three years and 134 episodes.
The film was inspired in part by the success of The Army Game, also starring Hartnell and several other cast members.
In 1928 a completely unconnected black and white silent film called "Carry On Sergeant" was made in Canada.
The film was based on a play The Bull Boys by R.F. Delderfield. Norman Hudis adapted this into a script with John Antrobus contributing additional material.
Shirley Eaton, who plays Bob Monkhouse's new wife, became one of the first James Bond Girls in 1964's Goldfinger
, where her character (Jill Masterson) was murdered by being covered in gold paint.
Bob Monkhouse appeared in other comedies (such as Dentist On The Job with Shirley Eaton) during the 1960s but later made a name for himself as a game show host, notably with Celebrity Squares, and Bob's Full House.
Hattie Jacques
appears as a formidable army medical officer, who examines Connor many times, but can't find anything wrong with him. This is the pattern of many 'Matron' types Hattie would play throughout her Carry-on career.
Terry Scott made a brief, and often unnoticed first ever Carry On appearance in this film as the fellow Sergeant that makes the £50 bet with Grimshawe (Hartnell). Ironically, his fee for this work was £50!

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