Carry on Spying (1964)

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writers:

Talbot Rothwell (original screenplay) and
Sid Colin (original screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1964 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

No, No, Dr. Crow Here Come Secret Agents O.O.O.h ! [U.S. One Sheet and US Half Sheet]

Plot:

A top secret chemical formula has been stolen by STENCH (the Society for the Total Extinction of Non-Conforming Humans)...

Plot Keywords:

Formula | Gadget | Agent | Top Secret | Villain

Cast

Kenneth Williams	...	Desmond Simkins
Barbara Windsor	...	Daphne Honeybutt
Bernard Cribbins	...	Harold Crump
Charles Hawtrey	...	Charlie Bind
Eric Barker	...	The Chief
Dilys Laye	...	Lila
Jim Dale	...	Carstairs
Richard Wattis	...	Cobley
Eric Pohlmann	...	The Fat Man
Victor Maddern	...	Milchmann
Judith Furse	...	Doctor Crow
John Bluthal	...	Head Waiter / Doctor Crow - voice
Renee Houston	...	Madame
Jack Taylor	...	Thug
Tom Clegg	...	Doorman

Also Known As:

Agent Oooh!

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:U (video rating) | Australia:G (theatrical) | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (VHS rating)

Filming Locations:

Archive, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Peter Rogers Productions

Trivia:

The film was released under the title of "Agent Oooh!" in Europe.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bind lure the doorman from the fun house, Simpkins hits him with a copper pot, and his fez falls off and lands in the middle of the doorway. In the next shot, from inside the building, the fez is nowhere to be seen.

Quotes:

Harold Crump: [approaching Carstairs, in disguise as the filter tip bootlace salesman] I cannot smoke those, they make me deaf!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Paul O'Grady Show: (#8.10)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

TOO LATE

This Was A Surprise!

After "Carry On Cabby", I expected "Carry On Spying" to descend into the campy sixties, but truthfully, this one was entertaining. Without regulars Sid James, Hattie Jacques (I suspect she was offered the villianess role) and Kenneth Conner, I expected this one to focus entirely on Williams buffoonery.

He was more of a nitwit here than a snotty know-it-all, but he was given the spotlight this time.

So this was Barbara Windsor! She truly was entertaining and not just because of her physique. She's not boring to watch or listen to.

Obviously Bernard Cribbins was filling in the Kenneth Conner spot, and quite honestly, Cribbins (whom I only know from the Doctor Who movies with Peter Cushing) he wasn't as Jim Carrey-esque as Conner has been in the previous films.

What an entertaining series this is, watching the transition from "Carry On Sergeant" to "Carry On Spying" thus far. I do look forward to what I have left to see of these films.

After this, it is on to "Carry On Cleo"!