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Carry On Cleo
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| Year: |
1964
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Director: |
Gerald Thomas
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| Stars: |
Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Amanda Barrie, Kenneth Connor, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Julie Stevens, Sheila Hancock, Jon Pertwee, Victor Maddern, Francis De Wolff, Peter Gilmore, Warren Mitchell
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| Genre: |
Comedy, Historical |
| Rating: |
  8 (from 5 votes) |
| Review: |
Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams) returns to Rome after conquering Britain to encounter an uprising and trouble abroad from Cleopatra. Mark Antony (Sid James) is sent to Egypt to sort her out, while two British slaves (Kenneth Connor and Jim Dale) are caught up in the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar.
This is one of the best of the Carry Ons, scripted, as usual, by Talbot Rothwell. It's suggested by Shakespeare, according to the credits, but was more of a spoof of the endurance test that was 1963's blockbuster Cleopatra. You'll have more fun watching this.
Some go for Khyber, some go for Screaming, others go for Henry, but I'd probably place this one at the top. It's the most consistently funny one, with clever wordplay and some hilarious jokes. It looks quite expensive, too, unlike many of the others. You have Kenneth Williams saying, "Infamy!", Sid James doing that growl thing when he sees an attractive woman, Kenneth Connor going "Phwoar" when he sees the same, Charles Hawtrey beaming, "Hellooo!", Joan Sims being a battleaxe and Jim Dale, um, being Jim Dale. Although there's no Hattie Jacques, Barbara Windsor or Bernard Bresslaw, this is very close to being the definitive Carry On (the definitive historical one, anyway). And Amanda Barrie is a more entertaining Cleo than Elizabeth Taylor.
If you like the Asterix comics, this is the Carry On for you. Also with Sheila Hancock (as Senna Pod), Jon Pertwee ("Sooth! Sooth!"), Victor Maddern, Francis De Wolff, Peter Gilmore and Warren Mitchell (of Marcus and Spencius). "What are you doing with your thing?"
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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