Joan Sims Movies

In this drama, two young attorneys working for their uncle, find themselves facing off in court. One of the is defending a wife; the other, her husband who is suing for conjugal rights. As both lawyers are fresh from law school, things in court are often chaotic, and they suffer several fiascoes to the point where the judge is ready to disbar them. At the end of the tumultuous case, it looks as if the wife will win, when the other lawyer learns that the wife was afraid her husband would blackmail her if he found out that she was already married to a millionaire. Finally all is resolved and justice served. The two lawyers then decide to get married. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In one of the best of the long-running Carry On series, Western clichés are run through the Carry-On wringer. The film takes place in wild and woolly Stodge City, a town held in thrall to the nasty dealings of The Rumpo Kid (Sidney James). The Rumpo Kid holds the town in such abject terror that Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams) compels Sheriff Albert Earp (Jon Pertwee) to run The Rumpo Kid out of town. But when Earp confronts The Rumpo Kid, Earp is shot dead for his troubles. Burke puts out a call for a new lawman for the town and, due to a series of misunderstandings, an English custodian, Marshall P. Knutt (Jim Dale) is hired for the job. Arriving at the same time as Knutt is Annie Oakley (Angela Douglas), who has come to town to get vengeance for her father's murder (her father being the deceased sheriff). Events simmer and boil to a final confrontation between The Rumpo Kid and Nutt, who utilizes his custodial skills to defeat The Rumpo Kid and his evil gang. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Mr. Topaze was based on a play by Marcel Pagnol, previously filmed twice before with John Barrymore and Fernandel. Peter Sellers stars as a French college professor, known far and wide for his integrity. He refuses to improve a grade on the paper of one student, whose influential father sees to it that Sellers is fired. Cast adrift in the business world, Sellers is hired by a crooked liquor executive (Herbert Lom) to act as "front" for the benefit of the authorities. When Sellers catches on how much money there is in the business, his honesty evaporates and he becomes as underhanded as the next fellow. The love of Joan Sims enables Sellers to change his ways before his dishonesty can become disastrous. Mr. Topaze was rereleased in 1963 as I Like Money; once again, however, no one wanted to see a "straight" Peter Sellers in a role that called out for the broad comedy he did so well. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "Carry On" gang take on employment agencies in this labored edition to the long-running comedy series. Sidney James is Bert Handy, who starts an employment agency by the name of "Helping Hands, Ltd." Bert proceeds to hire a bunch of loonies to do a collection of screwball jobs employers want done. As is usually the case, the employees make hash out of every assignment given to them. In fact, the agency is so unsuccessful that their landlord (Stanley Unwin) tries to have the business removed from his premises by raising their rent. But the landlord makes a deal with Bert that if his company can fix up an old house, they can have a 99-year lease on the property. Chaos ensues. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, the daughter of a British aristocrat is sent to Parisian finishing school where she falls in love with a charming American student, and discovers that his father is a business associate of her own. Paternal trouble ensues when her young man forgets to deliver an important letter to her father and he is forced to fly to New York to do the business himself. While gone, he sends his daughter to Scotland with his friend. Her boy friend follows and slyly begins suggesting that they elope. When her father learns the lad's identity, he offers his blessing. Unfortunately, the young daughter has fallen deeply in love with his best friend's handsome son and they elope. Both fathers are very pleased. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Please Turn Over is an updated British variation on a theme put forth by the old Hollywood film Theodora Goes Wild. A bored young teenage girl (Julia Lockwood) causes a scandal when she pens a torrid bestseller. Those close to the girl recognize themselves as characters in the book; all they can hope for is that no one else does. But as the girl's fame escalates, her friends and family enter the realm of notoriety--which turns out not to be so bad after all. Clearly inspired by the Peyton Place brouhaha, Please Turn Over was based on the long-running West End stage farce Book of the Month by Basil Thomas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the fourth in a series of "doctor" films that began in 1953 with Doctor in the House. Unlike its predecessors, the chief medico is now Dr. Richard Hare (Michael Craig) and he tends to share the spotlight with a few colleagues, making this more of an ensemble effort. Dr. Hare is in his own hospital as a patient when he falls for the nurse (Moira Redmond) assigned to his room. That romance does not linger for long because he eventually meets the charming Dr. Barrington (Virginia Maskell) and really gives his heart away, metaphorically speaking -- this is not a transplant movie. Interspersed throughout the story of Dr. Hare and his colleagues are several funny episodes that have the imminently respectable protagonists turning up by accident at the wrong place -- such as a strip joint instead of a medical conference, or else they encounter unexpected characters, such as ladies of the evening, or they are involved in incidents that just seem to go from awkward to hilarious -- all making this a light-hearted spoof that would entertain any audience ready for an amusing film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This third entry in the "Carry On" sweepstakes concerns William Wakefield (Ted Ray), the much-loved headmaster at a British school, who applies for a new job at a recently built country school. When Felicity Wheeler (Rosalind Knight) and Alistair Grigg (Leslie Phillips) from the Ministry of Education come to the school to check out Wakefield's qualifications, the students, not wanting their headmaster to leave, disrupt the school procedures to sabotage Wakefield's job application. Their subversive behavior comes to a head during a school production of Romeo and Juliet which degenerates into a free-for-all where it becomes every educator and student for him or her self. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The "Carry On" gang take up residence in the men's ward of a British hospital in this wildly funny and wildly crude farce. There's not much of a plot, but plenty of nudging and winking, as the male patients line up by their bedpans as a mixed assortment of female nurses tend to their every whim. Included in the menagerie is Bert Albie (Wilfrid Hyde White), who enjoys killing time by taunting an overweight student nurse; Bernie Bishop (Kenneth Connor), a sharp-tongued boxer; and Hinton (Charles Hawtrey), who likes to amuse himself at the radio. There's also a slight romantic storyline, hinging around Ted York (Terence Longdon) and his amorous advances upon the attractive Nurse Denton (Shirley Eaton). But the gag's the thing in this rambunctious entry. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Corpulent "Goon Show" regular Harry Secombe plays the title role in the British comedy Davy. Set in the rarefied world of the British music halls, the film focuses in on the Mad Morgans, a family song-and-dance act. It is clear that Davy Morgan is the star of the act, but he loyally remains with his family, even though he seems destined to spend the rest of his life in the Small Time. At long last, Davy gets a chance to perform at the Covent Garden--but only as a solo. Will ambition win out over family solidarity, or vice versa? A stellar supporting cast enables Davy to overcome its occasional banalities and cliches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released in the U.S. as Your Past Is Showing, the British The Naked Truth is a wickedly funny satire of the tabloid-press industry. Dennis Price plays a scandal-sheet publisher named Nigel Dennis who lives high on the hog by blackmailing his wealthy targets. Several of Dennis' victims, including peer Lord Mayley (Terry-Thomas) and model Melissa Right (Shirley Eaton), plot to kill the extortion-grabbing publisher, to no avail. During a wild ride in a malfunctioning blimp, Dennis manages to accomplish by accident what his enemies have tried to do to him on purpose. Though second-billed, the real star of The Naked Truth is Peter Sellers as a smarmily "sincere" TV personality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The grass is always greener.... In this British comedy, two drunken comrades find out the truth of that saying when they decide to trade places for a while. One of the boozers is a public relations man who knows nothing about sailing, while the other is a captain for the Royal Navy. Riotous comic mayhem ensues as the hapless "captain" tries to run his ship and follow orders. When the bumbling fellow's inadvertence sinks one of the fleet's own ships, he ends up locked in a rubber room until the two manage to extort someone into helping them resume their rightful identities. The film was originally titled The Ship was Loaded, and bears no relation to the popular "Carry On" series. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy three bookies attempt to win back their recent losses by kidnapping the favored horse and substituting it with a heavily drugged nag. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide