I maintain that the sixties (the sixties being defined as 1963-72 as a cultural phenomenon) was the defining cultural period of the second half of the twentieth century.
I do not know how well the Carry On series of films are known outside the UK, they seem so rooted in British ideas of class and sauciness I am not sure how well they would travel. They remain staples of Bank Holiday television in the UK, despite their lack of political correctness and off colour jokes.
Despite the sexual nature of the humour, they are loved but children for the slapstick and silliness. I did not get the rude meaning of Carry on Up the Khyber until I was an adult, some adults I know still do not get the joke (cockney rhyming slang; Khyber Pass – arse).
I was still under 7 when I first saw Carry On Camping (the first film my parents saw at the cinema after I was born). My brother and I sat in silence watching, scared that any sound would get us sent to bed as it was well past that time. The fact that it was shot in November (with the ground sprayed green) and is blatantly a set of short vignettes linked at the end did not bother me. I loved it. I know my brother was very much affected by the famous Barbara Windsor bra scene.
It is always said that the films are the cinematic version of the saucy seaside postcards beloved of the British. I imagine they were liked as Britain remained repressed about sex to a far greater degree than many other European countries, as well as for a lot longer.
The films did not quite start like that. The first few focused on professions starting with the Army and National Service (following by nursing, the police and teaching) which do feel very like the 1950s. The next one was a combination of many jobs (Carry on Regardless – one of the worst examples of the films being a collection of sketches with a tenuous linking thread (Carry on Loving is a later example)).
The series is odd, as a couple of films were made Carry on Films late on (Carry on Cabby and Carry on Jack) both with few regulars and a couple that were part of the series that were not advertised that way on initial release (Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head and Carry On Follow That Camel – the titles are a giveaway really as they do not really work). The films become saucier throughout the sixties with a mixture of genre spoofs (Carry on Spying, Carry on Screaming and Carry on Cowboy) and historical romps (Carry on Henry and Carry on Up the Khyber), they also return a further three times to the hospital environment which offered so much opportunity for humour with randy doctors (horny for the Americans reading this) and busty nurses.
(Carry On Screaming)
The trouble was that society caught up and went past what the films could do and the cast were getting older. Sid James was a comic genius and never looked young, but the sight of him chasing young girls as he reached his late 50s was worrying to the production team, even then. Sid would have been in even more films if not due to his health as the roles of Harry H Corbett (Screaming), Phil Silvers (Camel) and Windsor Davies (Behind) are totally written for him.
Carry on Abroad (a rehash of Camping with added foreigner jokes) and Carry At Your Convenience were the final hurrahs really. They tried quite an extensive recasting in Carry On Behind (partly due to financial considerations, but they were being beaten in the sex and nudity stakes by other films. The least said about the last two entries in the 70s the better.
They did the job and are a definite taste of being young for me, though I am not blind to their flaws. Their evolution reflects the changes in Britain over a transformational period. Watching them can give insights into societal changes over a key period of change.
(The Walker Brothers)
This entry is backwards musically as I discovered Scott Walker’s solo work first (and that features higher up the list). When I was one of Compact Music’s highest spending customers a Walker Brothers compilation came out. I knew The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore (though check other versions like the one by Jay and the Americans too) and First Love Never Dies, Mike Read on the Radio One Radio Breakfast Show played that a lot. First time I heard this track I was blown away by how good it was. The horns, the violins and the voices. The Walker Brothers’ evolution through Scott’s solo career and their mid-70s reunion are a microcosm of musical changes in that period.
Living Above Your Head
Playlist:
- Make It Easy On Yourself
- First Love Never Dies
- Love Her
- My Ship Is Coming In
- Young Man Cried
- In My Room
- Saturday’s Child
- Living Above Your Head
- The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
- After the Lights Go Out
- Saddest Night in the World
- Deadlier Than the Male
- Archangel
- Mrs Murphy
- Everything Under the Sun
- Orpheus
- Stay With Me Baby
- Turn Out the Moon
- Walking in the Rain
- Baby Make it the Last Time
- No Regrets
- Boulder to Birmingham
- Lines
- The Electrician
Five Miles Out 