On paper this could have been one of the funniest Carry On features, with plum parts for Sid James as Henry VIII and Kenneth Williams as the King's schemer-supreme Thomas Cromwell, but after the written prologue which describes what follows as a load of old Cobblers, I found little else to amuse me in this irreverent romp through Tudor England. This time, I found the bombardment of unsubtle innuendo and the casually sexist treatment of women in the film to be predictable and wearing, with too few funny lines to alleviate the smutty stream which pretty much permeates the whole film.
All the women are treated as sexual objects and are all, it seems, dressed with low-cut gowns leaving the menfolk to gawk at and grope them at will. Like so many other low-brow British comedies of the time on screens both big and small, this un-P.C outlook towards females really has dated very badly and lacks the saving grace of genuinely funny gags.
Old troopers like James, Williams and Joan Sims try hard but even with them it's possible to detect a discernible going through the motions and by the time we get to see Barbara Windsor's bare bottom well into the film, it's obvious that the series's best days are behind it (no pun intended).
At its best, as in say, "Carry On Cleo", "Carry On Cowboy" or "Carry On Up The Khyber", the series had lots of funny characters and a ready, typically saucy British seaside humour which made them easy to watch and chuckle along to. However this jaded effort really lets the side down and makes for a weak entry in its long-running history.
All the women are treated as sexual objects and are all, it seems, dressed with low-cut gowns leaving the menfolk to gawk at and grope them at will. Like so many other low-brow British comedies of the time on screens both big and small, this un-P.C outlook towards females really has dated very badly and lacks the saving grace of genuinely funny gags.
Old troopers like James, Williams and Joan Sims try hard but even with them it's possible to detect a discernible going through the motions and by the time we get to see Barbara Windsor's bare bottom well into the film, it's obvious that the series's best days are behind it (no pun intended).
At its best, as in say, "Carry On Cleo", "Carry On Cowboy" or "Carry On Up The Khyber", the series had lots of funny characters and a ready, typically saucy British seaside humour which made them easy to watch and chuckle along to. However this jaded effort really lets the side down and makes for a weak entry in its long-running history.