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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Warmth and spirit, 27 June 2007 Author: Edgewalker from Tuxford, England
Constable has aged remarkably well, it feels less like a museum piece and more like a living, breathing comedy that was made almost fifty years ago, but could have been made last week. Eric Barker gives the film strength and structure. Sid James makes his Carry On debut, but looks like he's been there forever. Shirley Eaton is charming beyond belief. Watch out for excellent cameos from Terence Longdon and Freddie Mills. Leslie Phillips does what you expect him to do, but still surprises you with his warmth and spirit. Charles Hawtrey somehow seems even more camp than usual, perhaps its the uniform. Constable never lets you down, it wouldn't know how to.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Early but promise., 24 January 2000 Author: Bing-18 (n.ferris@uea.ac.uk) from Norwich, England
This is one of the first Carry-On films and, consequently is one of the best. The chemistry of the stars is already there and Connor's as the superstitious constable in love with a co-workers from afar, and Williams as the scientific deduction 'expert' both shine above the rest.Sid James is surprisingly poorly used as the Sargeant supervising the chaos, but still a very funny movie throughout and one which should be included in anybody's Carry-On collection.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: I could certainly use a copper!, 7 June 2007 Author: lastliberal from Florida
Joan Sims (The Last of the Blonde Bombshells) the gym teacher in Carry On teacher is here as a constable. Just out of the Academy and wanting to do a good job. Unfortunately, she has caught the eye of a fellow copper.Shirley Eaton from Goldfinger is also here looking as good as ever.The usual antics and sight gags with the normal Carry On gang; only this time in a police station. Bonus nudity that has not been in any of the other ones I have seen. Sorry, it bare butts on guys running to the shower.It is kind of cute, even if the formula stays pretty much the same, just in different locations.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: My introduction to the Carry On films, 3 May 2007 Author: nellybly-3 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This was the first Carry On movie I ever saw and that was by accident. My father took me (10 years old) and my brother (4 years old) with him. He was wanting to see a Danny Kaye movie. It was probably during the summer otherwise I wouldn't have been going to a picture show at night, especially in the middle of the week when the program changed. What I remembered most clearly the shower scene. When the movie hit television, part of that scene was cut out (three guesses, first two don't count, as to which part).It was shown as a double feature with "Please Turn Over". What _was_ my father thinking??? It was both of those movies that started my love affair with British comedies. Though I never again saw any of the Carry On movies in a theater, I did see most of the '50s-early '60s installments on television. Sometimes I wonder what I missed since TV at that time (1960s) wouldn't have shown certain things (such as that "au natural" part of the shower scene).The Carry On movies haven't been shown in the U.S. in several years. :(
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Great ensemble comedy, 6 October 2001 Author: dis-6 from Urmston, Manchester, UK
This was the fourth of the Carry On series and although dated by the police uniforms is one of the best simply because all of the regulars are equally well used and for once Sid James is kept under control and used as a foil for some of the situations which works well with his expressive face. Kenneth Williams is still in the intellectual role which eventually gave way to the over-the-top persona in the later films. Leslie Phillips gels well with the others ( even better than he did in Carry On Teacher )If anything this film underuses the female stalwarts with Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims being love interests.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Amusing old fashioned fun with a nice touch of Carry On mischief, 13 February 2005 Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
With a flu epidemic decimating the ranks of the local bobbies, the police are forced to quickly take on some new recruits who in other circumstances may not have quite made the ranks – a decision made by Inspector Mills and then dumped on Sergeant Wilkins to deal with. However not even Wilkins' low expectations are met when at least a handful of the new recruits turn out to be barely able to manage themselves, never mind the wider community.This is quite an enjoyable little film that is never funny but manages to be amusing if you are in the mood for a light, dated comedy. The story is simply a rerun of Carry on Sergeant in the way that an efficient Sergeant (in this case Sid James) is charged with turning a bunch of bumbling, inept recruits (this time into the police) into an effective unit of men, encountering much amusing bumbling along the way (with even some of the same actors playing the same sort of characters). In this regard it is pretty much a cookie-cutter of a story but to look down on the film for being unoriginal and basic is to really miss the point when it comes to the Carry On films. Aside from the poor story, the film is actually quite amusing but never really made me laugh more than once or twice; certainly those not in a forgiving mood will dislike this because it doesn't have much life to it but those looking for a movie for a wet Saturday afternoon will maybe enjoy it.The cast are a selling point and do manage to do quite a bit with the basic material even if they don't raise it that much. Sid James has a minor role in his first Carry On film and, although he is a good presence, he is less effective than he was in other films. Barker is a nice straightman and holds up that side well enough while the main comedy is brought off by the recruits themselves. Connor repeats his "uptight and resisting love" performance to reasonable effect. Hawtrey and Williams do good work with their usual stuff (Williams playing upper-class early in the series) while Phillips makes a nice addition with his usual stuff. Sims and Jacques are OK but have very little to do around the edges but are nice filler.Overall this is nothing special but it is amusing in its own way despite never making me laugh. The script does throw up a few nice touches and is cheeky rather than smutty or anything like that and, despite being a rerun of Carry On Sergeant, it is still enjoyable in a rather amusing and light sort of way.
Sid James makes a solid debut in this delightful Carry On, 14 July 2009 Author: w22nuschler from United States
Sid James makes a stellar debut as a police sergeant constantly under fire from his boss. He must manage four new recruits because of a flu epidemic that has hit the regular officers. The four are played by Kenneth Conner, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey & Leslie Phillips. Hattie Jacques also plays a sergeant and Joan Sims plays a lady constable. Shirley also shows up in her last Carry On. The men use the cells as their place to sleep. There is a quick scene of bare butts when the men get into a cold shower. That scene was not needed. I was shocked to see that in a movie made in 1960. This is a different role for Sid James. He usually plays the guy causing trouble and here he must keep things under control. The four guys have some funny moments that make this an enjoyable entry. Add Sid James and you can't lose, he is the best. I root for him when he plays the bad guy.
I remember her..., 15 August 2008 Author: petersj-2 from Australia
The wonderful thing about watching some of these lovely early Carry ON movies is the small cameos of wonderful British actors. Some were never really house hold names but the thing is that every time they appeared in a movie they would light up and bring something very special to even the most mediocre movies. Esma Cannon as a deaf old woman in this movie is a superb example. This lovely actress always added something very special to every film she was in and after reading the biog on IMDb she had what looks like an incredibly impressive career. Joan Hickson just about steals the film as the tipsy lady fond of a tickle of booze. She is absolutely fabulous. We all know in later years she played a very understated Miss Marple but in this movie you see her at her glorious best.The great Irene Handl is there too and she lifted every film she was in. Miss Handl came to Australia to star in Goodnight Mrs Puffin and BusyBody. She was a brilliant actress but few would know who she was by name. Sid James is less tacky in this movie and I really enjoyed him in this. Kenneth Connor is still rather annoying and I still find him the weak link. I wonder if the shower scene in this film is the first time we saw some bum in a movie. Its very brief. The Hawtrey and Williams drag scene when they go under cover is delightful. Hawtrey remains my personal favourite, he was indeed camper in this than the early ones. Hatti Jaques and Joan Sims are wonderful as always. Hatti is becoming my favourite apart from Hawtrey. It is interesting to see Sid James before they made his characters tackier and tackier. I found this a very pleasant little romp, I cant say I really laughed but I did enjoy it The production values considering the budget in these films was very impressive. For me its the small cameos I loved the most.
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful: CARRY ON, CONSTABLE (Gerald Thomas, 1960) **1/2, 12 January 2008 Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
I wasn’t as taken with this one as the three previous “Carry Ons” I watched: truth be told, law and order is one of the most popular themes with star comedians (Chaplin’s EASY STREET [1917], Keaton’s COPS [1922], Laurel & Hardy’s THE MIDNIGHT PATROL [1933], Will Hay’s ASK A POLICEMAN [1939], Norman Wisdom’s ON THE BEAT [1962], etc.), so it couldn’t very well fail to find an audience – but I also felt the level of gags this time around to be curiously uninventive! The film marks the series debut of Sidney James as a police sergeant under duress (and constantly threatened with a transfer by Inspector Eric Barker) during a flu epidemic who’s assigned a quartet of rookies to help him – the trouble is that these are none other than Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams, Leslie Philips and Charles Hawtrey (the station, apparently, is so hard-up that the prison cells are to serve as their quarters)! The boys deliver their typical schtick: Connor is nervous as the constable whose last name happens to be Constable (and especially given his uncommonly superstitious nature), Williams is a snobbish know-it-all (he figures himself an expert in picking out criminal types – except that the one he approaches to steer on the path of righteousness turns out to be Scotland Yard man Victor Maddern!), Philips the lothario (he falls for a pretty blonde policewoman – but who conveniently comes down with the flu to make way for series stalwart Joan Sims – and then offers advise to guest star Shirley Eaton on matters of romance), while Hawtrey is the prissy but wisecracking member. Cyril Chamberlain is on hand once more, and CARRY ON NURSE (1959)’s Terence Longdon cameos as a confidence trickster plying his trade on rookie Williams.Again, there’s some tentative romance among the regulars – with James hitting it off with female sergeant Hattie Jacques and, as ever, Connor aching to attract the attention of a serious-minded colleague (in this case, Sims). As for flaws, I guess it boils down to a basic lack of plot: the film practically resolves itself into a series of sketches, some of which even turn repetitious – such as the rookies walking Barker’s dog or bursting into houses only to be met by scantily-clad females (which is how Eaton herself is belatedly introduced), while their helping old ladies in various ways is either unappreciated or greeted with outright hostility. Predictably, too, the quartet finally makes amends by taking the initiative to capture a gang of crooks. Incidentally, the film features some surprising male nudity as the rookies – intending to take an early-morning shower – are scalded and run out in panic; in the same vein, there’s definite camp value to seeing Williams and Hawtrey in drag (having gone undercover to catch potential shoplifters)! All in all, however, I must admit that I’m having a great time with these early “Carry Ons” – which I find generally more rewarding than the later bawdier, i.e. rather tasteless, entries.P.S. For some reason, the on-screen title of this one includes a comma after the “Carry On” epithet.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: police comedy film, 31 August 2009 Author: vwjti
The first carry on of the 1960s is based on police force. It has good strong screenplay and seems to be proper made film. It's important to stick to good script for film series which beginning and proving successful. It stars legend Sid james in his first carry on film which is notable for this. He's chief officer having to manage his misfits (the misfits being Kenneth williams, Kenneth connor, Leslie phillips and Charles hawtrey's characters) but has problem of being responsible to stern chief constable Eric barker and stern fellow constable Hattie jacques. It is the last Leslie phillips carry on film before he went on to star in other comedies like doctor films. There are good gags like Charles hawtrey and budgie and there are various situations that constables face and mess up like helping little lady across road. Filmed in black and white, maybe film seem different in colour. Police uniforms are black and white.
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