Eric Barker Movies
British radio comedian Eric Barker gained popularity on such late 1940s series as Merry Go Round and Just Fancy, in which he costarred with wife Pearl Hackney. Like most English radio stars, Barker was best known by his catch-phrase, "Steady Barker." Though he'd been making films off and on since 1936, Barker didn't step before the cameras as a major character actor until 1957's Brothers In Law (for which he won a British Film Academy award), long after his radio fame had subsided. The actor appeared in several of the zany "Carry On" films, from Carry On Constable (1960) to the somewhat seamier Carry On Emmanuelle (1978). Some of the better-known films in which Eric Barker was featured were Heavens Above (1963), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) (as a French postman!), and There's a Girl in My Soup (1971). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
One in the series of St. Trinian's off-beat, irreverent comedies that began in 1953 and continued strong through the '60s, this farce by Frank Launder features the usual bevy of comely young women who attend the school. This time around, the femmes terribles have just burnt down the school and shock the world by getting acquitted when hauled into the Old Bailey. It seems the judge is keen on Rosalie (Julie Alexander) and besides, an unscrupulous shyster posing as a professor offers to rebuild the school. Instead, he takes the offenders on a bogus tour of Greece and once they are underway, he leads them to his real goal -- forced matrimony to the sons of an Arab sheik. As always, this St. Trinian's comedy is meant for audiences who enjoy its own brand of humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecil Parker, Joyce Grenfell, (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)
- 1961
Director Gerald Thomas and most of the cast and crew that worked in his "Carry On...." series of comedies are all back again in the funny, sometimes slapstick Raising the Wind. The plot is no more than a situation which then invites multiple sidetracks -- it seems the students at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Arts are going all out to get a coveted award. Thrown into their competitive ambiance is the classic absent-minded professor (Eric Barker), the more commonly found bad-tempered professor (James Robertson Justice), and a host of subsidiary characters, all played with gusto by professionals known for their comedic talents. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Phillips, Sidney James, (more)
Gamboling along in a series of sketches without great regard for anything except the next joke, this is a light-minded, unevenly funny comedy by family-oriented director Don Chaffey, put together not long before he began working for Disney studios. At the nexus of the action are David (Bob Monkhouse) and Brian (Ronnie Stevens), two students in the dental school, and Sam (Kenneth Connor) the petty thief who tricks them into selling stolen dental equipment. Humor derives from the antics of the two students after they discover the truth, as Brian the thief poses as a dental student. The usual college staff of deans and secretaries and lecturers throw in extra comic fodder. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Monkhouse, Peggy Cummins, (more)
- 1960
The "Carry On" gang take on law enforcement in this rude and crude slapstick comedy. When a flu epidemic leaves a British police station decimated with illness, three incompetent rookies are given the chance to prove themselves as police officers. The three screwy recruits are Tom Potter (Leslie Phillips), a two-bit lothario; Stanley Benson (Kenneth Williams), an uppity intellectual with unique views on law enforcement procedures; and Charlie Constable (Kenneth Connor), an obsessive type who is consumed with astrology. With the help of the swishy Special Officer Timothy Gorse (Charles Hawtrey), the stooges manages to mess up every assignment they are given. But when a criminal gang robs a payroll truck, the four nincompoops are forced to prove their worth. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney James, Kenny Williams, (more)
- 1959
This rollicking political satire stars Ian Carmichael as an impressionable British TV personality. His vanity is stroked by a group of political managers who talk him into running on the Conservative ticket during a political campaign. The managers hope that Carmichael's name value will draw voters, but don't intend to permit him anything like actual legislative power. Carmichael suddenly develops an abiding interest in politics when he meets his Labour Party opponent--lovely Patricia Breden. Left, Right and Center is blessed with an abundance of supporting character comedians, headed by Alistair Sim as Carmichael's avaricious uncle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Bredin, Eric Barker, (more)
- 1958
Bachelor of Hearts stars Hardy Kruger as Wolf, a German exchange student attending Cambridge University. Initially arousing the distrust and disdain of his classmates (WWII was, after all, only thirteen years in the past), the affable Wolf slowly wins them over. He also finds romance in the lovely form of an English miss named Ann (Sylvia Sims)-but only after he has gotten himself in quite a pickle by lining up several dates simultaneously (hence the film's title). Filmed on location at Cambridge, Bachelor of Hearts affords ample screen time to the music of the university's highly regarded Jazz Club. The script was cowritten by Leslie Bricusse, later the composer/lyricist/librettist of such filmusicals as Dr. Dolittle and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hardy Kruger, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1958
This soft-pedalled British comedy was adapted from Quiet Wedding, a play by Esther McCracken that had previous been filmed in 1940. On the eve of their nuptials, David (Ian Carmichael) and Janet (Janette Scott) have a serious falling out. It isn't really the couple's fault, however; as usual, their relatives have messed things up with their well-intentioned meddling. Patching up their differences, David and Janet decide that the best strategy is to hide out until the wedding, and to that end they embark upon a long motor trip. Unfortunately, a zealous traffic cop nearly prevents the couple's appearance at the altar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, (more)
- 1958
This first entry in the long-running (some would say interminable) British "Carry On" series is at base a collection of motheaten army jokes, albeit served up with freshness and energy. Future Doctor Who star William Hartnell plays Sergeant Major Grimshaw, whose fondest wish is to win the coveted Best Troop Award before his retirement. Alas, this may never come to pass: his newest batch of conscripts include some of the biggest and stupidest foul-ups in military history. Popular comedian-cartoonist Bob Monkhouse and cockney bombshell Shirley Eaton head up the supporting cast, which includes such "Carry On" stalwarts-to-be as Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey and Kenneth Williams. Carry On Sergeant was very loosely based on The Bull Boys, a novel by R. F. Delderfield. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, (more)
- 1957
The British Brothers in Law is a characteristically enjoyable Boulting-brother farce, again extracting humor out of the commonplace. Ian Carmichael stars as a novice attorney, full of notions but coming-on a bit too strong for his fellow lawyers. Thanks to the intervention of irascible judge Miles Malleson, Carmichael is forced to jump in and starts swimming with a particularly prickly case. The experience teaches Carmichael how to bend and shape law to his advantage--and also how to curry favor with the public. Brothers in Law was based on a novel by Henry Cecil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, (more)
- 1956
Writer/artist Roland Searle's diabolical "belles" of St. Trinian's Girls School return in this raucous British comedy. Because the girls cannot behave themselves, their headmistress (Alastair Sim in drag!) has been thrown in jail, and the school is surrounded by police and army troops. The students escape their durance vile by winning an all-expense-paid trip to Europe (by cheating, of course). While laying waste to the Continent (with Terry-Thomas driving the bus), the girls are enmeshed in a diamond theft instigated by the father (George Cole) of one of the students. The film ends with an elongated water polo game, played with the ladies' usual sense of sportsmanship and fair play. In the 1950s and 1960s, the "St. Trinians" series was as popular a British movie attraction as the "Carry On" films--but unlike "Carry On", they don't play quite as well with American audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terry-Thomas, George Cole, (more)
