Carry on Cleo (1964)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writers:

Talbot Rothwell (original screenplay)
William Shakespeare (original idea)

Release Date:

25 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

She had Lotions . . . and Potions . . . and Motions!

Plot:

Two Britons are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. Hengist Pod creates useless inventions...

Plot Keywords:

Carry On | Sequel | Ancient Rome | Egypt | Historical

Cast

Sid James	...	Mark Antony (as Sidney James)
Kenneth Williams	...	Julius Caesar
Kenneth Connor	...	Hengist Pod
Charles Hawtrey	...	Seneca
Joan Sims	...	Calpurnia
Jim Dale	...	Horsa
Amanda Barrie	...	Cleopatra
Victor Maddern	...	Sergeant-Major
Julie Stevens	...	Gloria
Sheila Hancock	...	Senna Pod
Jon Pertwee	...	Soothsayer
Francis De Wolff	...	Agrippa
Michael Ward	...	Archimedes
Brian Oulton	...	Brutus
Tom Clegg	...	Sosages

Also Known As:

Caligula: Funniest Home Videos (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Chobham Common, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Adder

Trivia:

Bernard Cribbins was asked to appear in the film but he chose to do a play instead.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the beginning, Hengist and Horsa are watching a young cave couple dragging each other around. Hengist is pouring Horsa a drink and you can see him pour, raise the jug, then Horsa takes a sip from his cup. All this time it is obvious that no liquids are in the vessels.

Quotes:

Bilius: Caesar, there is a messenger here without.
Julius Caesar: I'm not surprised, if we stay here much longer we'll all be without.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Carry on Quizzing (2006) (VG)

Of senapods and Seneca… A Yank's perspective

As an American interested in British humor of all periods, I was fascinated to finally see some examples of the `Carry On' comedies, a beloved institution in England. The recent DVD releases are region 2 PAL format only, so they continue to be for the British market exclusively.

I believe these films were considered racy in their time, but are quaint indeed by today's standard. `Cheeky' is the best word I can think of to characterize them. I was familiar with Kenneth Williams and Sid James as voices on a couple of old `Round the Horn' radio shows I'd heard. They didn't look quite as I'd pictured them. The cast is colorful and likable, but the pace and form of the humor seem to me very English, or maybe more accurately, not very American. Sometimes the jokes make references that simply wouldn't register with Americans, and I can see why it was probably decided long ago that they wouldn't travel well. Still, if you are something of an Anglophile, and have seen and appreciated a great deal of British movies and television, as I have, you're likely to get the jokes.

One of the characters in `Carry On Cleo' is named `Hengist Pod,' and his wife's name is `Sena' – hence, `Sena Pod,' hardy-har! Now, I must have come across a hundred or more references to `senapod' in British comedies, and as an American, this was a great mystery to me. As far as I have been able to determine from countless sniggering references, a senapod was (is?) some sort of strong laxative. Ah, you saucy English and your beloved poo-poo humor!

Anyway, this is probably a good introduction to the `Carry On' films for the uninitiated, as it is colorfully filmed with lavish sets and costumes left over from the Burton/Taylor production of `Cleopatra.' In addition, as much of it is set in ancient Rome, it may not seem as provincially English to non-Britons as some of the others in the series. I was delighted to finally make the acquaintance of the `Carry On' films, and look forward to seeing more.