An early member of the 'Carry On' franchise from a time when its humour hadn't surrendered completely to the comedy ethos of the seaside postcard.
There are plenty of double-entendres both sexual and medical, but also plenty of sight gags and character plays. Although somewhat limited in the usual gang members, we have Sid James playing against type as a professional Captain actually trying to be professional, instead of the usual lecher that became his typecast. In this role he performs surprisingly well, reminding us that before the franchise became his regular paycheque he was a very capable character actor in his own right, with outings as varied as 'Quatermass' and 'Hell Drivers' to his credit, as well as the long-suffering foil for depressive Tony Hancock.
Kenneth Connor features as a lovelorn ship's doctor, whilst that other mainstay Kenneth Williams takes the role of first officer. Other British B-movie regulars crop-up as and when.
Frankly, I like this movie more than many of the more typical 'Carry Ons' that came later. It's precisely because it doesn't concentrate exclusively on contrived toilet humour that I find it rather endearing. It's more like an 'ordinary' comedy set aboard a cruise ship, with all of the little vignettes of human behaviour that one would expect to see. Humour, misunderstandings, romance, loneliness, pathos and even a little moral self-discovery are thrown in. Perhaps it is the paucity of Gang Members that helps to mark this movie apart from the usual formula.
Whatever the case, it's a funny enough watch in its own right, and one of the few movies of the genre that could be considered family entertainment. As Comedians from Harry Worth to Harry Hill have repeatedly shown us; you don't have to be filthy to be funny.
There are plenty of double-entendres both sexual and medical, but also plenty of sight gags and character plays. Although somewhat limited in the usual gang members, we have Sid James playing against type as a professional Captain actually trying to be professional, instead of the usual lecher that became his typecast. In this role he performs surprisingly well, reminding us that before the franchise became his regular paycheque he was a very capable character actor in his own right, with outings as varied as 'Quatermass' and 'Hell Drivers' to his credit, as well as the long-suffering foil for depressive Tony Hancock.
Kenneth Connor features as a lovelorn ship's doctor, whilst that other mainstay Kenneth Williams takes the role of first officer. Other British B-movie regulars crop-up as and when.
Frankly, I like this movie more than many of the more typical 'Carry Ons' that came later. It's precisely because it doesn't concentrate exclusively on contrived toilet humour that I find it rather endearing. It's more like an 'ordinary' comedy set aboard a cruise ship, with all of the little vignettes of human behaviour that one would expect to see. Humour, misunderstandings, romance, loneliness, pathos and even a little moral self-discovery are thrown in. Perhaps it is the paucity of Gang Members that helps to mark this movie apart from the usual formula.
Whatever the case, it's a funny enough watch in its own right, and one of the few movies of the genre that could be considered family entertainment. As Comedians from Harry Worth to Harry Hill have repeatedly shown us; you don't have to be filthy to be funny.