Barbara Windsor Movies
British comic actress Barbara Windsor was celebrated less for her acting than for her blonde hair, piled atop her head like a high-rise beehive. She made her screen debut as a tiny, squealy voiced student in The Belles of St. Trinian's (1955), then performed variations of this character in such films as Too Hot to Handle (1960), Operation Snafu (1961), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1963). From 1964 on, Windsor was a regular in the wacky Carry On series, comporting about in various stages of dishabille in Carry on Spying (1964), Carry on Doctor (1967), Carry on Camping (1969), Carry on Girls (1974), and other films of a similar aesthetic and intellectual bent. Barbara Windsor's films diminished in the early '80s, when it became unfashionable to be a dumb blonde. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1953
Belles of St. Trinian's was the first of several British comedies inspired by the fear-inspiring girl's school created by cartoonist Ronald Searle. The girls of St. Trinian's aim their deviltry at a gang of crooks who plan to steal a famous race horse. Alastair Sim wraps up the proceedings with his dual portrayal of the school's severe headmistress (!) and her bookmaking twin brother. Also worth watching is veteran supporting player George Cole, who makes a tidy profit on the alcoholic beverages produced in the girls' science lab, and toothy Joyce Grenfell as a diligent lady constable. Like most of the subsequent "St. Trinian's" farces, Belles of St. Trinian's was a joint effort of the producer/director/writer team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, (more)
- 1955
An 18-month-old baby disappears in London. The parents, US embassy worker David Knight and his wife Julia Arnall, are panic-stricken. Detective David Farrar tries to locate the child, but clues are scarce. At the last possible moment, Farrar rescues the infant from a grueling fate and collars the kidnappers. This nail-biting film is filled to capacity with many of Britain's top supporting players, including Thora Hird, Everley Gregg, Joan Sims, Shirley Anne Field, Joan Hickson, Dandy Nichols, Mona Washbourne, Barbara Winsor and George Woodbridge. Released in the US by Republic, under the title Tears for Simon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Farrar, David Knight, (more)
With dialogue ranging from flat to offensive and acting in the same range, this low-brow erotic crime drama by director Terence Young stars Jayne Mansfield as Midnight Franklin, a star stripper in a Soho club that is in serious rivalry with another strip joint. A reporter gets involved in the strip scene while writing a story on the clubs, and in the end he has quite a lot to write about. The competition between the two clubs heats up, and after one of the owners is the unknowing instrument in the death of a young (illegally young) stripper, both rival clubs head for a crash. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Leo Genn, (more)
- 1961
Versatile director Roy Baker tackles the question of racial bias in this dated but effective drama, a working-class version of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Jacko Palmer (John Mills) is a dedicated, talented union leader who manages to mediate an upheaval over a black foreman at work and prevent a strike. Meanwhile, Palmer's daughter Kathie (Sylvia Syms) has fallen in love with a schoolteacher colleague of hers, Peter Lincoln (Johnny Sekka), who happens to be black. The couple plan on marrying, and that creates havoc in the Palmer home where Kathie's mother throws a fit. The full gamut of racial prejudices unfolds, while the father tries to reconcile his own feelings and root out any biases that lurk there. Johnny Sekka might be better known to U.S. audiences as Dr. Benjamin Kyle in the TV series, Babylon 5. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1961
Alfred Lynch and Sean Connery star as a pair of klutzy RAF members, during World War II, who are more interested in running petty confidence scams that toting rifles. Though they doggedly avoid extra effort of any kind, Pope (Lynch) and Pascoe (Connery) are sent on a top-secret mission. The more the duo screws up, the more they succeed in pulling off their assignment, and through no real input of their own they become heroes. On the Fiddle more closely resembled an American service comedy than a British film, thus it was logical that its U.S. title was Operation SNAFU. During the James Bond craze, the film was retitled Operation Warhead and Sean Connery's participation was played up in the ads -- complete with the anachronistic inclusion of bikini-clad starlets! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfred Lynch, Sean Connery, (more)
- 1962
In this British crime drama, the sister of a suicide victim begins to question the real reason for her sibling's death after she learns that 7,000 pounds were removed from her bank account just prior to her death. She asks her sister's banker, but he claims to know nothing. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1962
This comedy features a commissionaire who hates shaving and establishes a strike at a razor manufacturing company to get his point across. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1963
This British comedy drama of the lower classes features actors with such thick cockney accents that some prints of the film were subtitled. James Booth stars as Charlie, a merchant seaman who returns home to the East End after two years to find that his wife Maggie (Barbara Windsor) has taken up with another man, a married bus driver named Bert (George Sewell). After taking his brother Fred (Roy Kinnear) hostage in a pub, Charlie gets a reunion with Maggie, who shows up pushing a pram. It seems she's given birth to a child, and the father's identity is uncertain. Charlie and Maggie reconcile, but not before a vicious row with Bert, who doesn't want to give up his girl. Windsor, a BAFTA Best Actress nominee for her role, also performed the film's title song. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Booth, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1964
Britain's long-running (some would say interminable) series of "Carry On" comedies managed to satirize virtually every film genre ever conceived over three decades. Since espionage dramas were hot in 1964, it was inevitable that the unwary world would be treated to Carry on Spying. The "maguffin" in this yarn is the top-secret Formula X, which has been pilfered by that insidious organization S.T.E.N.C.H. (Society for Total Extinction of Non-Existent Humans). Enter the heroes, the men and women of British Operational Security--better known as B.O.S.H. The good guys are understaffed, thus novice agent Kenneth Williams is put in charge of smashing the evil machinations of Dr. Crow (Judith Furse) and The Fat Man (Eric Pohlmann). The level of wit in Carry on Spying is sustained by the character name of leading lady Barbara Windsor, who plays the delectable Daphne Honeybutt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Williams, Bernard Cribbins, (more)
- 1964
In this comedy, crooks on the lam hide-out in an abandoned island monastery. Along with their leader, the robbers put on monks' habits and begin living a quiet pastoral existence centered around raising animals and crops. It takes them a while to get the hang of it. As they learn, they are occasionally visited by tourists, and at once point, by real monks. Trouble ensues when one of the "brothers" is caught gambling in town. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronald Fraser, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1965
In this British comedy, a group of aged travelers on vacation in France have many fun encounters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
In A Study in Terror the ever popular Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson search for the Victorian serial killerJack the Ripper in this well-made and exciting mystery produced, written and directed by James Hill. In this adaptation of the popular character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes (John Neville) aided by Dr. Watson (Donald Houston) and his brother Mycroft (Robert Morley) are called in to help catch the crazed killer of prostitutes. This film combines all the elements beloved by fans of Sherlock Holmes resulting in a satisfying and well-acted mystery. John Neville is good as the cool, logical Holmes and Robert Morley adds a nice dash of humor to liven up the story. A Study in Terror is highly recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes and should be enjoyed by any viewer who loves vintage mysteries. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Neville, Donald Houston, (more)
- 1968
The producers of the popular British "Carry On" series aren't going to fix something if it is not broken. This workable, slapstick comedy returns to a hospital setting and benefits from the same gags that made Carry On, Nurse a top draw in Britain. Instead of Dr. Kildare, this emergency unit has Dr. Kilmore (Jim Dale), the usual curmudgeon supervisor (Kenneth Williams) and a bedpan full of quirky quacks and petulant patients. The hospital staff is plagued by bathroom humor, romance, medical mistakes and beautiful nurses who distract the doctors and patients alike. Sight gags and comedy ensues, and this film is just what the doctor ordered for those in need of some laughs. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frankie Howerd, Sidney James, (more)
One of the stars of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke, is re-united with that film's composer and lyricist, Richard M.Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, in this big budget and bloodless children's fantasy musical, based on the children's book by James Bond author Ian Fleming. Van Dyke plays Caractacus Potts, a failed inventor who lives in a big house with his two children -- Jemima Heather Ripley and Jeremy Adrian Hall -- and eccentric father Lionel Jeffries. Potts has to raise 30 shillings so his children can buy a broken-down racing car from the junkyard. After a disastrous attempt to sell his invention of whistling sweets to Lord Scrumptious (James Robertson-Justice), the local candy maker, he finally gets enough money for the car by doing a Dick Van Dyke dance routine at the county fair. Potts takes the car and miraculously transforms the vehicle into a shiny new car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. While on a picnic with the children and Truly Scrumptious (Sally Ann Howes), Lord Scrumptious' beautiful daughter, Potts concocts a fantasy tale about the magical powers of the car, which can now float on water and fly. In the tale, Baron Bomburst (Gert Frobe) wants the car for himself and kidnaps the automobile and the inventor. But Bomburst captures Grandpa by mistake along with the wrong car, so Potts, Truly, and the children have to enlist Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on a rescue mission to Bomburst's lair to save Grandpa. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, (more)
- 1969
- R
The British "Carry On" series was in its 12th year when Carry On Again, Doctor was unleashed upon a panting public in 1969. Veteran Carry On-ers Kenneth Williams, Sidney James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Jim Dale and Barbara Windsor fill the principal roles in this hospital farce. Dale has the central role as a manic medico who stumbles upon a formula for weight control. The film's South-Sea setting permits plenty of female pulchritude to insinuate its way across the screen in between the one-liners and slapstick setpieces. Gerald Thomas directs, as ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Williams, Sidney James, (more)
- 1969
- R
The "Carry On" gravy train continues in this entry that registers high on the randiness and vulgarity levels. Sid Boggle (Sidney James) and his best pal Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) take off for the holidays with their girlfriends Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and Anthea meeks (Dilys Laye). The gals know that the boys are taking them camping -- what they don't know it that it is also a nudist camp. Once there they are attracted to other campers -- particularly a group of gals from the Chayste Place Finishing School. Sexual innuendoes and double entendres become the order of the day. . . and night. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Kenny Williams, (more)
- 1969
The British sitcom Wild Wild Women was set not in the American West (as might be expected), but in Victorian England. The stories revolved around a group of feisty young ladies who worked in a milliners' shop for autocratic Mr. Harcourt (Paul Whitsun-Jones). The leading character of Daisy was played by Penelope Keith in the pilot episode, which aired May 24, 1968, and thereafter by Pat Coombs. The series itself was broadcast from January 6 to February 10, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Whitsun-Jones, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1970
- R
This bawdy entry in the long-running series of British "Carry On" comedies is set in the court of King Henry the VIII and centers on the gang's attempt to freshen up the odiferous Queen Marie and thereby save her head. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1971
- G
The Boy Friend began life as Sandy Wilson's small-scale pastiche of British musical comedies of the 1920s. When the play was brought to America in 1954, its star was the
teenage Julie Andrews. Because The Boy Friend requires a minimum of sets, props, and costumes, it has become a favorite of amateur theater groups throughout the world. But director Ken Russell, notorious for his onscreen excesses, abandoned the film's simplicity. He fashioned a humongous parody of the Busby Berkeley film musicals of the 1930s, staged on a scale that made Berkeley seem stylistically modest. Fashion model Twiggy plays Polly Browne, an aspiring musical comedy star, working as stage manager of a production of The Boy Friend. She is transformed into a star when she replaces leading lady Rita Monroe (Glenda Jackson, unbilled), who twists her ankle seconds before the curtain goes up. Before the evening is over, Polly is scampering over outsized sets, and ducking around seemingly thousands of chorus girls and boys. Christopher Gable, who plays Polly's on-stage leading man, also choreographed the lavish musical numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
teenage Julie Andrews. Because The Boy Friend requires a minimum of sets, props, and costumes, it has become a favorite of amateur theater groups throughout the world. But director Ken Russell, notorious for his onscreen excesses, abandoned the film's simplicity. He fashioned a humongous parody of the Busby Berkeley film musicals of the 1930s, staged on a scale that made Berkeley seem stylistically modest. Fashion model Twiggy plays Polly Browne, an aspiring musical comedy star, working as stage manager of a production of The Boy Friend. She is transformed into a star when she replaces leading lady Rita Monroe (Glenda Jackson, unbilled), who twists her ankle seconds before the curtain goes up. Before the evening is over, Polly is scampering over outsized sets, and ducking around seemingly thousands of chorus girls and boys. Christopher Gable, who plays Polly's on-stage leading man, also choreographed the lavish musical numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Twiggy, Christopher Gable, (more)
- 1973
- R
The "Carry On" gang returns with Sidney Fiddler (Sid James) conning the local council into running a beauty pageant to promote their community. He's thrilled with the prospect of entertaining all the lovely young contestants, but his girlfriend has a different plan in mind. Soon, a women's liberation group invades the premises and takes over -- promptly ruining everything. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Joan Sims, (more)
The last of four "medical" entries in the Carry On series is also the lewdest; whether it's the funniest is a matter of taste (taste?) The action takes places at Finisham Maternity Hospital. If you liked that "Finisham" gag, you'll adore such characters as Susan Ball, Miss Willing, and Mrs. Putzova. Oh, yes, we must have a plot somewhere. It seems that a group of thieves hope to steal a huge shipment of contraceptives from the hospital. Alas and alack for them, Matron (Hattie Jacques) and head doctor Sir Bernard Cutting (Kenneth Williams) remain forever underfoot. Other stalwart Carry On-ers in the cast, many in surprisingly fleeting roles, include Kevin Connor, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
This film brings more ribald nonsense from the British "Carry On" gang. This time the setting is the Spanish resort town of Elsbels. A group of stereotypical British tourists - led by courier Stuart Farquhar (Kenneth Williams) show up for a four-day weekend at a "luxury hotel." There are only two setbacks: the hotel doesn't seem to be finished yet...and it's raining through the roof. Oh, yes...all the staff members look suspiciously like the same person. Stalwart "Carry On" troupers Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor and Hattie Jacques are in attendance, while the toothsome Barbara Windsor shows up as "Miss Sadie Tompkins". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Kenny Williams, (more)
- 1975
- R
This threadbare "Carry On" comedy is set in the 18th century and concerns a fellow with a dual identity: by day, he's the Reverend Flasher; after dusk, he moonlights as the treacherous highwayman Dick Turpin. (Both are played by Sidney James). Dogooders Captain Desmond Fancey (Kenneth Williams) and Sgt. Jock Strapp (Jack Douglas) search for this elusive scoundrel who is robbing travelers every evening. Adding fool to the fire is Mme. Desiree (Joan Sims) and her entourage of doxies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Barbara Windsor, (more)
- 1975
Lewis Flander and Carol Hawkins star in the hectic British farce Not Now Comrade. Flander plays a Russian ballet dancer who decides to defect. Unable to reach the British embassy, Flander hides out with London stripteaser Hawkins. There's an abundance of female flesh in this one, a fact that necessitated numerous snips in the TV version that made the UHF rounds in the 1980s. Watch for Not Now Comrade codirector Ray Cooney and veteran British funster Roy Kinnear in cameo roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Williams co-host That's Carry On, a best-of tribute to the rollicking Carry On series of English comedies comprised largely of clips from 28 of the films in the series. It includes extracts from such farces as Carry on Jack, Carry on Cowboy, Carry on Cleo, and Carry on Cabby. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
