Another fine, early, memorable entry in the Carry On series. This one has a very loose story indeed, one that barely provides continuity between a series of sketches that mostly veer towards the very funny. Most of the regulars find themselves employed in Sid James' odd job agency, taking on all manner of work, with the inevitable mix-ups and crossed wires along the way.The ratio of funny to unfunny sketches is very high. Off the top of my head, the following are all highlights: Kenneth Connor trying to keep quiet in the library, Charles Hawtrey having a stab at boxing, Kenneth Williams walking a chimp, and of course the ending in the derelict house which is slapstick at its very Laurel and Hardy-style best.Stanley Unwin's gobbledegook-speaking character makes for some memorable interludes and the actors are at the top of their game, with everybody getting plenty of screen time aside from Hattie Jacques, who appears in a cameo (she was ill during filming). Liz Fraser, a Barbara Windsor prototype, also proves very good in a straight-type role, while Joan Sims gets a chance to let her hair down at a wine-tasting session. Watch out for the delightful Esma Cannon as the dotty receptionist, Fenella Fielding and real-life wrestler Joe Robinson as boxer 'Dynamite Dan'. This one's a treat!

The Carry on genre of films was in the late fifties, sixties and early seventies a British institution. I have a special soft spot for Carry on Regardless, as the exterior scenes of the Employment Exchange were filmed at Yiewsley Town Hall (Middlesex), just a couple or so miles up the road from Pinewood Studios, and more importantly for me just a few hundred yards from my school. Myself and several of my class mates bunked off school to watch the shooting, and although we were not allowed to get anywhere near the actors, the film crew let us watch from across the road, which was very exciting for an eleven year old. We got caned the next day for bunking off school, but in hindsight it was worth it. Apart from my personal bias, I do think that Regardless was one of the funnier Carry On's, it had moved on from the rather twee Carry On Sergeant, rather silly Carry On Teacher, and showed the beginnings of saucy postcard humour which were to become the films trademark. Sadly, the Carry On films lost their way in the mid 70's, Carry on England being painful to watch and Carry on Emmanuel being more a porn film than a classic British comedy.

By 'Carry On' standards, the fifth film in the long running series could almost be considered avant-garde. No plot as such, just sketches based around a single premise - Bert Handy ( Sid James ) and secretary Miss Cooling ( the priceless Esma Cannon ) run the Helping Hands employment agency in London. If you want any job done, no matter how small, no matter how bizarre, approach them and they will find someone to do it. The mainly incompetent staff includes Montgomery Infield-Hopping ( Terence Longdon ), Francis Courtnay ( Kenneth Williams ), Gabriel Dimple ( Charles Hawtrey ), Lily Duveen ( Joan Sims ), Delia King ( Liz Fraser ). Mike Weston ( Bill Owen ), and Sam Twist ( Kenneth Connor ).The jobs include taking a chimpanzee for a walk in the zoo, wine tasting, male modelling, acting as seconds in a boxing match, trying on women's clothing, taking a patient's place in a hospital queue, and displaying the goods at the Ideal Home Exhibition. The sketches are variable, but all manage to be well performed and enjoyable.'Regardless' has one of the best ever 'Carry On' cast lists. Alongside the regulars, there is Patrick Cargill, Nicholas Parsons, Terence Alexander, Fenella Fielding, Howard Marion-Crawford, Betty Marsden ( as a 'Mata Hari' type ), and, the master of gobbledygook himself, dear old Stanley Unwin. Freddie Mills, the prizefighter who died in suspicious circumstances in 1966, has a role. Sally Geeson, later to play Sid's daughter in 'Bless This House', is one of the children who watches Williams demonstrating toys.Norman Hudis does not look back on the film favourably and while there are some ideas that don't work ( Sam's craving for cigarettes being one ), most do. My favourite is Sam's recreation of 'The 39 Steps' which involves him, wearing a hat and trench-coat, and sporting an American accent, travelling to Scotland via train and then jumping off at the Forth Bridge, only to land in a deep puddle. 'The 39 Steps' had then recently been remade ( starring Kenneth More ) by Gerald Thomas' brother Ralph.Hattie Jacques was due to take a major role but had to withdraw due to illness and so her lines were given to Joan Sims and Liz Fraser. She did appear briefly though as ( what else? ) a Matron! Unusually risqué for the time - Sid is mistaken for a doctor at one point and has to examine a line of nurses, all stripped down to their underwear, Fenella Fielding's sex-starved housewife goes by the name of 'Mrs.Panting', and when a bit of paper falls off a desk, Kenneth Williams picks it up and says: "Blew off!".In case you're wondering, "Cariochus" is Unwin's rendition of the film's title.

This film is definitely in the top three of Carry On films. Alongside the early line-up of usual players - Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Connor and Sid James - this film is notable for its host of cameo roles by other comedy greats. Some, such as Hattie Jacques and Fenella Fielding, had greater prominence in other Carry On films. Some, such as Betty Marsden, became famous elsewhere in comedy. Further familiar faces in cameo roles here include Molly Weir, Terence Alexander, Joan Hickson and Nicholas Parsons.The five main actors listed above are ably assisted by Liz Frazer, Bill Owen, Esma Cannon, Terence Longdon and Stanley Unwin, all united around an agency that aims to help customers in whatever way they can. Hence the great range of cameo roles available.Joan Sims performs one of her greatest drunk roles; Kenneth Connor does his best tongue-tied shy man, both in the company of temptress Fenella Fielding and when he's attempting to give up smoking; Charles Hawtrey wins a boxing match; and Kenneth Williams gets to walk a very unusual pet. The humour in this film is far superior to the sex and toilet jokes that later filled (and possibly destroyed) this great series of films. This is a film that the family can watch time and time again.