Ranking Every Carry On Film Ranked From Worst to Best

Carry On Dick

Bringing back the vibe of Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head, Sid James is Big Dick Turpin and once again playing the criminal rogue in disguise against Kenneth Williams who’ll bumble to try to capture him. Bernard Bresslaw is also great in one of his angry villainous roles to show that he doesn’t always have to be the loveable giant.

Carry On Up the Khyber

For many, the Carry On films were never better than Up the Khyber. For me, this was a good if not great film. Lots of fun to be had with the Devils in Skirts, but feel there are better historical Carry Ons out there.

Carry On Henry

Everyone always says that Henry the Eighth was the role that Sid James was born to play…and it’s easy to see why. He is clearly having so much fun as the King who married six times…or should that be eight times if you follow the history laid out in this movie. Terry Scott is great as the somewhat cowardly Cardinal and Kenneth Williams brings his best evil edge as Thomas Cromwell. Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims are also wonderful as the two new wives of Henry.

Carry On Cowboy

A film form the middle of the run of Carry On films when they tried a few movie parodies rather than just picking a profession. This has everything the western films of the time did, but with a Carry On twist. A fun mistaken identity plot sees Jim Dale’s Marshal P Knutt suddenly as a Marshall tasked to take out Sid James Rumpo Kid, when in reality Marshal is just his name and he’s just a glorified plumber.

Carry On Jack

Bernard Cribbins is at his very best as Poopdecker in this adventure which has very few of the regular Carry On cast involved. This film is proof that a Carry On film can still be a Carry On film with a cast of non regulars as long as you get the story, jokes and presentation to match what a Carry On is.

Carry On Up the Jungle

My nostalgia for Up the Jungle may make me look at it through rose tinted glasses, as I can’t imagine any film coming out these days that was so obviously not filmed in a jungle, with a man in a gorilla suit and obviously stock wildlife footage. Quite possibly, they knew at the time that it was blatant and that is part of the joke, but the humour and characters in this film is what makes it a winner, not the lack of budget. Frankie Howard is on great form and this is also one of the best places to learn about the Oozleum Bird.

Carry On Cruising

One of the best of the early films, and the first Carry On film shot in colour, Cruising is a hilarious comedy of mishaps and errors as the new recruits under Sid James’ captain give him headaches and send on the search for a drink…namely the Aberdeen Angus.

Also this is a great film to learn what not to put in a celebration cake!

Carry On Matron

After two medical Carry Ons set mainly on a men’s hospital ward and another set at a weight loss clinic, the Carry On team finally find their way to the maternity ward! Joan Sims is the main female patient who wants to avoid giving birth so she can continue to enjoy being pregnant, and Kenneth Williams is great as the hypochondriac Doctor who believes he is turning into a woman.

The main plot comes from Sid and his gang of crooks sending in his son as an undercover nurse. Kenneth Cope is great in the young naive role and has great scenes as Terry Scott discovers his rolled up socks.

Carry On Spying

The final black and white Carry On is the one film that even if they all could have been filmed in colour, it would have been better in black and white. A classic spy caper that was closely watched by the James Bond producers as they worried it was too close to the Bond flicks. Funny when you consider they were all produced at Pinewood next to each other.

Bernard Cribbins is fab as the incompetent spy who must save the world from the evil Stenchmen. Barbara Windsor makes her Carry On debut and instantly won over audiences and Kenneth Williams is the best version of his loveable idiot persona here.

Carry On Abroad

After the success of Carry On Camping it would only be so long before there was another holiday based Carry On film. This one took the cast abroad to Peter Butterworth’s hotel which was not only far from being finished, but would start to fall apart by the film’s close.

Featuring every major player who was doing the Carry On films at the time, this is a great and fast paced flick that show the funny and ridiculous side of British people on holiday.

Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head

One of two Carry On films that didn’t feature the name Carry On in the title when it was first released. Despite this, it was a Carry On through and through and features the cast on top form to tell the story the antihero known as The Black Fingernail played by Sid James. Kenneth Williams and Peter Butterworth also play the best version of the comedic villain double act on film maybe ever.

Carry On Follow That Camel

One of the best historical Carry On films, it has a suitably ridiculous premise of Jim Dale joining the foreign legion after the disgrace of being accused of tripping a friend and love rival in a cricket match.

Phil Silvers brings a different vibe to the Carry On movies, but as a rare American actor to appear in a main role in the series he doesn’t seem out of place and carries his weight for the laughs. Stories of his poor health meaning difficulties on set are an anecdote that don’t stop this being one of the best films in the series.

Carry On Cleo

The best looking of all the Carry On films, they were able to use a set build with a Hollywood budget…because it was built with a Hollywood budget for another movie.

Cleo sees so many of the cast on their best form with Kenneth Williams being at his best snide coward that you can somehow still love to laugh at, and Kenneth Connor perfected his nervous but loveable fool as Hengist Pod.

Carry On Screaming

A parody of the Hammer Horror films at the time, Screaming has a plot, which on paper could actually be a horror movie if played serious. A mad scientist uses monsters which have been revived by electricity to kidnap women and turn them into wax statues…ok maybe that doesn’t sound as plausible as something like Saw or Sharknado, but House of Wax was a similar concept.

Harry H Corbett plays the lead in his only Carry On film and it was a shame he didn’t do more. Peter Butterworth also shows that he is the best comedic sidekick between this and Don’t Lose Your Head.

Carry On Camping

Camping is the movie which features the most famous scene out of all of the Carry On films. The infamous early morning exercise session which sees Barbara Windsor’s bikini ping off into Kenneth Williams face as Sid and Bernie watch on form their tent.

This and great performances and stories from everyone from Terry Scott as the downtrodden husband, to Hattie Jaques once again being a Matron (almost for the sake of it) who is desperately in love with Kenneth Williams.

Carry On Doctor

Hattie Jaques again dominates the screen in all her scenes in her best performance as Matron, and Kenneth Williams is upgraded from being a patient in Carry On Nurse to being the head Doctor. The authority of Jaques and Williams causing an uprising and revolution from the patients which is lead by Sid James and the fantastic Frankie Howard. Howard’s role is brilliant as the self help guru who starts the film saying you don’t need doctors and soon believes he is dying after mishearing his diagnosis.

Everyone in the film is on perfect form and this perhaps gets the best combination of big jokes, the perfect pace and the best cast to be what I’d consider the greatest of the Carry On films. Oooh Matron!

Do you think another Carry On movie should be ranked number one?

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