The makers of the first two Carry On films weren't thinking about making a long series, this was the third film to use the leading title, and obviously twenty seven more followed. Basically at Maudin Street Secondary Modern School the students overhear that Headmaster William 'Wakie' Wakefield (Ted Ray), who has been there for twenty years, is planning to leave and apply to another school as Headmaster. To stop him from going anywhere, and knowing that he wants all the staff to run everything smoothly for the visit to the school by Ministry of Education Inspector Felicity Wheeler (Rosalind Knight) and child psychiatrist Alistair Grigg (Leslie Phillips), the students start a revolution of sorts. They start by creating chaos in the classrooms that the visitors will be visiting, by making the teachers slip up, including science master Gregory Adams (Kenneth Connor), English master Edwin Milton (Kenneth Williams), music teacher Michael Bean (Charles Hawtrey), gym mistress Sarah Allcock (Joan Sims) and maths teacher Grace Short (Hattie Jacques). While the students are succeeding in ruining Wakefield's chances of leaving with his good reputation going in tatters, Griggs has other things on his mind, such as his affection for Miss Allock, and vice versa. Miss Wheeler does feel very disgusted by the youngsters behaviour towards some of the teachers, but she is distracted too by her feelings towards Mr. Adams. Knowing that his chances of going to the new school are going down the drain, Wakefield decides to get Adams to tell Miss Wheeler his true feelings towards her, he is unsuccessful for a while, but he does eventually come out with it. The students meanwhile are trying to sabotage the last day of term, they are caught in the act and taken to the Headmaster, and they explain how upset they were to hear that he might be leaving, Miss Wheeler is moved to give a good report, and Wakefield also moved said he won't leave and will see all the students next term. Also starring Cyril Chamberlain as Alf Hudson, Richard O'Sullivan as Robin Stevens and Carol White as Sheila Dale. Like the hospital set films later in the series, the school does make a good setting for the story, the cast of course are all likable, the slapstick and occasional double entendre innuendo based jokes are funny, and it is just a good fun British comedy. Carry On films were number 39 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Good!
Review of Carry on Teacher
