In contrast to his troop when Captain Melly's clothes all fall off, I did not find myself laughing uncontrollably. There are a few small laughs here and there but it's one of the worst films in the series, I'm afraid. Of the 27 previous films, the only one that I enjoyed less was "Carry On Jack". It's basically an unfunny rehash of the first film "Carry On Sergeant", which is not one of my absolute favourites anyway. The strongest cast members are the only old soldiers present, namely Kenneth Connor - who received top billing for the only time in 17 "Carry On" films - and Joan Sims. Unsurprisingly, they provide practically all of the laughs.The weakest cast members by far are once again Windsor Davies and Jack Douglas. Davies' constant shouting was just irritating and I have seldom seen anything less funny than Douglas' twitching slapstick, which he also did in several of the earlier films. This is the fourth and final "Carry On" film made during his lifetime in which Kenneth Williams does not appear and his absence has never been more apparent. Sid James sadly died only one week before filming began and Charles Hawtrey had been dropped from the series after "Carry On Abroad" so this is the first film in which none of my three favourite "Carry On" stars appear. On the bright side, Peter Butterworth, Peter Jones and Julian Holloway, absent since "Carry On at Your Convenience" and making his final appearance, have nice small appearances. However, I wish that Patrick Mower and Melvyn Hayes had appeared in one or more better films in the series.Overall, it's certainly a very poor entry in the series but it's dull as opposed to absolutely dreadful, which is worth something, I suppose. It didn't really make for painful viewing.

Carry on England. The worst of the lot. When you look back at some earlier Carry on films (such as Cleo or Up the Khyber) it makes you wonder how it came to this. The majority of the cast had never been in a Carry on film, while the regulars obviously weren't too enthusiastic. I've tried several times to watch this film but have failed to make it to the very end. The plot is as follows - wait, is there an actual plot? It is centred around Captain S Melly *sigh* played by Kenneth Connor. He is put in charge of a mixed-battery. During a very long scene, nearly the whole cast is introduced. Every joke and pun during this scene just falls flat - it's not funny at all. The soldiers do nothing but kiss each other. Windsor Davies plays Sergeant Major Bloomer, second in command to Smelly (I'll just refer to Kenneth Connor as that from now on). The next two biggest roles were Sergeant Able played by Patrick Mower, and Sergeant Willing played by Judy Geeson. To be honest, just too many of the characters names had a double entendre. I won't list anymore characters because there's just too many (because barely any are developed; NONE of them are interesting). The jokes are unfunny, the characters are uninteresting and the overall production leaves a LOT to be desired. This film is truly awful and that's all I can say really.

The much maligned Carry on England actually contains the germ of a good idea. It shows a mixed group of soldiers – men and women – made to suppress their sexual desires in order to join in the "war effort" and sub-textually sublimate their carnality in martial manoeuvres. In the right hands, this idea could have been an incisive and subversive satire on the mentality of militarism, an amalgamation of Kubrick's two films on a similar theme, Dr Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket. Unfortunately, the makers of this – the 28th Carry On film – didn't have the abilities to fulfil the promise of such a fierce idea. The details and characterisations in the script are lame, the direction is flat & dreary and the performers are, for the most part, completely charmless.Most of the cast are not the regular Carry On team, and most of them shouldn't be in a Carry On. Not only are the likes of Patrick Mower and Judy Geeson profoundly unfunny, they are also curiously dislikeable here. This is unfortunate, as these are the actors playing the put-upon soldiers, whose sexuality and rebellion we should sympathise with; as it is, they are so mean-spirited and without personality that our sympathies lie with the much put-upon martinet Captain S Melly (yes, that's the level of the humour) – played with professionalism if not success by Carry On veteran Kenneth Connor – whose job it is to turn the lusty recruits into fighting machines. He is assisted by Windsor Davies, who is simply recreating his "shut up!" routine from the TV series It Ain't Half Hot Mum and almost giving himself a hernia as he strains to be funny. He gets one or two laughs, which is more than can be said for his co-star in IAHHM Melvyn Hayes, who makes little impression as the aptly named Gunner Shorthouse, or Carry Onners Jack Douglas and Joan Sims, completely wasted in thankless parts. Peter Butterworth gets the most mileage out of his comic reactions to Brigadier Peter Jones (a poor replacement for Kenneth Williams)'s bad jokes.The was some controversy when this was first released in the UK, as it earned itself a 'AA' certificate from the BBFC, meaning that the series' largest audience, - kids - couldn't get in to see the film. The certificate was earned by a few very ribald double entendres and a lot more topless women than we usually see in a Carry On; one scene has almost the entire female section regiment with their knockers out; I say "almost" as they thankfully spared us the sight of a bare breasted Joan Sims.Despite the fine idea underlying the comedy, Carry on England is pretty much the worst of the series, if you discount the truly execrable and barely mentionable Carry on Columbus, which England looks like Shakespeare next to.

This is easily the closes you will get to Kubrick's 'Dr Strangelove' deep performances from a skilled cast. Yes, many of the original team are missing, but what a wonderful show. The attention to period costume is remarkable considering the small budget. The wit of the dialogue far outshines some of Oscar Wildes later work. It is a great satire, you could compare it to 'All quiet on the Western Front' but with a rich sense of humour. It takes the death aspect out of war, and that can only be a good thing. I was particularly amused by this bawdy romp through the humorous side of World War II. Those were the days. When you see this it makes you long for a Third World War, what a jolly good laugh that could be! Bravo!Ten out of ten! Fantastic entertainment!