Carry On Teaching is 'old school' in more ways than one: the third film in the classic British comedy was made way back in 1957 and is set in a traditional secondary school, Maudlin Street, where the students run wild, playing a series of practical jokes on their teachers in an attempt to ruin any chance of their headmaster getting a job in a swanky new comprehensive.
This being only their third movie together, the gang still seem to be learning themselves. Their intention appears to be to emulate the success of the St. Trinian's movies, but the laughs just aren't there, with much of the zany humour and slapstick falling flat, the Carry On formula yet to be perfected (as such, certain scenes are quite embarrassing to watch, in particular, an awkward moment when the teachers get drunk and the dreadful itching powder scene).
That said, the cast are as likable as ever (with Joan Sims shining as Leslie Phillips' love interest), the general atmosphere is one of good-natured knockabout fun, and the ending is the epitome of 'feelgood' and should leave viewers feeling positive about the movie as a whole despite the lack of genuinely good laughs.
N.B. Look out for a young Richard O'Sullivan of Man About The House fame as ringleader of the prankster school-kids.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the delightful Joan Sims (who quite rightly receives a 'Ding Dong' from Phillips).
This being only their third movie together, the gang still seem to be learning themselves. Their intention appears to be to emulate the success of the St. Trinian's movies, but the laughs just aren't there, with much of the zany humour and slapstick falling flat, the Carry On formula yet to be perfected (as such, certain scenes are quite embarrassing to watch, in particular, an awkward moment when the teachers get drunk and the dreadful itching powder scene).
That said, the cast are as likable as ever (with Joan Sims shining as Leslie Phillips' love interest), the general atmosphere is one of good-natured knockabout fun, and the ending is the epitome of 'feelgood' and should leave viewers feeling positive about the movie as a whole despite the lack of genuinely good laughs.
N.B. Look out for a young Richard O'Sullivan of Man About The House fame as ringleader of the prankster school-kids.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the delightful Joan Sims (who quite rightly receives a 'Ding Dong' from Phillips).