Carry On Columbus

Carry On Columbus is a 1992 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Jim Dale, Bernard Cribbins, Maureen Lipman, Peter Richardson and many other British comic actors.^[2] It was written by Dave Freeman and John Antrobus.

Carry On Columbus
Original UK quad poster
Directed by	Gerald Thomas
Written by	Dave Freeman John Antrobus
Produced by	John Goldstone Peter Rogers (executive producer)
Starring	Jim Dale Bernard Cribbins Maureen Lipman Peter Richardson Alexei Sayle Jack Douglas Rik Mayall Charles Fleischer Larry Miller Leslie Phillips Julian Clary Sara Crowe Rebecca Lacey Nigel Planer June Whitfield Richard Wilson
Cinematography	Alan Hume
Edited by	Chris Blunden
Music by	John Du Prez
Production company	Island World
Distributed by	United International Pictures
Release date	2 October 1992 (1992-10-02)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£2.5 million
Box office	£1.7 million[1]

It was the 31st and final release in the Carry On film series (1958–1992), a belated entry following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. It was produced to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.

Plot

Christopher Columbus believes he can find an alternative route to the far East and persuades King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his expedition. But the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who makes a great deal of money through taxing the merchants who have to pass through his country on the Silk Road, sends his best spy, Fatima, to wreck the trip...

Cast

• Jim Dale as Christopher Columbus
• Bernard Cribbins as Mordecai Mendoza
• Maureen Lipman as Countess Esmerelda
• Peter Richardson as Bart Columbus
• Alexei Sayle as Achmed
• Rik Mayall as The Sultan
• Sara Crowe as Fatima
• Julian Clary as Don Juan Diego
• Keith Allen as Pepi the Poisoner
• Leslie Phillips as King Ferdinand
• Jon Pertwee as the Duke of Costa Brava
• Richard Wilson as Don Juan Felipe
• Rebecca Lacey as Chiquita yes
• June Whitfield as Queen Isabella
• Nigel Planer as The Wazir
• Larry Miller as The Chief
• Jack Douglas as Marco the Cereal Killer
• Andrew Bailey as Genghis
• Burt Kwouk as Wang
• Philip Herbert as Ginger
• Tony Slattery as Baba the Messenger
• Martin Clunes as Martin
• David Boyce as Customer with ear
• Sara Stockbridge as Nina the model
• Holly Aird as Maria
• James Faulkner as Tomas de Torquemada
• Don Maclean as Inquisitor with ham sandwiches
• Dave Freeman as Inquisitor
• Duncan Duff as Inquisitor
• Jonathan Tafler as Inquisitor
• James Pertwee as Inquisitor
• Perry Cree as Inquisitor
• Toby Dale as Inquisitor
• Michael Hobbs as Inquisitor
• Peter Grant as Cardinal
• Su Douglas as Countess Joanna
• John Antrobus as Manservant
• Lynda Baron as Meg
• Allan Corduner as Sam
• Nejdet Salih as Fayid
• Mark Arden as Mark
• Silvestre Tobias as Abdullah
• Daniel Peacock as Tonto the Torch
• Don Henderson as The Bosun
• Harold Berens as Cecil the Torturer
• Peter Gilmore as Governor of the Canaries
• Marc Sinden as Captain Perez
• Charles Fleischer as Pontiac
• Chris Langham as Hubba
• Reed Martin as Poco Hontas
• Prudence Solomon as Ha
• Peter Gordeno as The Shaman

Production

Casting

Main series regulars present are Jim Dale (in his eleventh Carry On), Peter Gilmore (also in his eleventh), Bernard Cribbins (in his third), Leslie Phillips (in his fourth), Jon Pertwee (in his fourth) and June Whitfield (also in her fourth). The only actor to bridge the gap between Carry On Columbus and the previous entry was Jack Douglas, making his eighth appearance in the series.

Original Carry On performer Frankie Howerd was signed up to appear, but he died shortly before he was due to film his role. His part as the King of Spain was offered to original series regular Bernard Bresslaw, who turned it down. Leslie Phillips eventually took on the role, playing opposite June Whitfield as the Queen, a role turned down by both Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.

Veteran Carry On performer Kenneth Connor was offered the role of the Duke of Costa Brava but he turned it down, saying "I want to be remembered as a Carry On star, not a Carry On bit-player".

The producers managed to persuade a number of alternative comedians such as Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, Julian Clary and Nigel Planer (all of whom except Clary are from The Comic Strip) to appear in the film.

This was the last film that Gerald Thomas directed, as he died on 9 November 1993.

Filming and locations

The film was shot between 21 April and 27 May 1992 with interior shooting at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire and location shooting at Frensham Common. The latter location was previously used nearly 30 years earlier for the similarly nautical Carry On Jack.

Reception

The film was panned by critics. Michael Dwyer in The Irish Times described Carry on Columbus as a "flaccid, feeble comeback effort" and a "wretched and pathetic attempt which is singularly unfunny".^[3] However, Carry On Columbus took more money at the UK box office (£1,667,249)^[1] than the two other Columbus films released in 1992, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery and 1492: Conquest of Paradise, although all three films flopped. Carry On Columbus was also shot on a much lower budget than the other two films, a budget of £2.5 million compared to the other two budgets of $45 million and $47 million respectively.^[4]

In a 2004 poll of British film actors, technicians, writers and directors on British cinema, Carry On Columbus was voted the worst British film ever made.^[5]

In a 2018 retrospective on the series, the British Film Institute named Carry On Columbus as one of the series' five worst films, alongside Carry On Girls (1973), Carry on England (1976), That's Carry On! (1977), and Carry On Emmannuelle (1978).^[6]

References

1. "UK Top 50 Films". Screen International. 29 January 1993. p. 15.
2. "Carry On Columbus". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
3. Michael Dwyer, "Film Reviews". The Irish Times, 2 October 1992, (p.13).
4. Weinraub, Bernard (21 May 1992). "The Talk of Hollywood; It's Columbus Against Columbus, With a Fortune in Profits at Stake". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
5. "Smallweed". The Guardian. 21 August 2004. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
6. Mitchell, Neil (23 November 2018). "The 5 best Carry Ons… and the 5 worst". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.

Bibliography

• Davidson, Andy (2012). Carry On Confidential. London: Miwk. ISBN 978-1908630018.
• Sheridan, Simon (2011). Keeping the British End Up – Four Decades of Saucy Cinema. London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-0857682796.
• Webber, Richard (2009). 50 Years of Carry On. London: Arrow. ISBN 978-0099490074.
• Hudis, Norman (2008). No Laughing Matter. London: Apex. ISBN 978-1906358150.
• Ross, Robert (2002). The Carry On Companion. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0713487718.
• Bright, Morris; Ross, Robert (2000). Mr Carry On – The Life & Work of Peter Rogers. London: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0563551836.
• Rigelsford, Adrian (1996). Carry On Laughing – a celebration. London: Virgin. ISBN 1-85227-554-5.
• Hibbin, Sally & Nina (1988). What a Carry On. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0600558194.
• Eastaugh, Kenneth (1978). The Carry On Book. London: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0715374030.

External links

• Carry On Columbus at IMDb
• Carry On Columbus at The Whippit Inn at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-12-22)