Carry On Cabby – 1963 | 91mins | Comedy | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Carry On Cabby began life as a script that Paul Rothwell had worked on at the request of Peter Rogers, Call Me A Cab. Following the premise of an established authority figure (Sid James) and a collection of clumsy bumblers (Charlie Hawtrey prominent among them). The moving portrayal of the marriage on the rocks between Sid and Hattie Jacques is at the heart of the film and even the well organised revenge on Sid’s love of taxi driving has a sense of pathos and guilty emotion. No one could have bettered the performance of Sid James as the ultimate rogue talking, man-about-town, war weary, quick thinking, unromantic battler of the black cabs. Whether it be seductively chatting to Hattie over his taxi radio, doggedly trying to whip his new recruits into shape, performing a brilliantly timed chain-smoking sequence with Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale, Sid shines throughout.

Kenneth Connor acts as Sid’s comrade-in-arms, fighting the restrictions of female ties from Jacques and Fraser and continually trying to brighten Sid’s spirits with outlandish ideas and helpful opinions. Gerald Thomas‘ sparkling homage to the Hollywood Western, as Sid’s hoard of cabs come to the aid of the hapless heroines, is a typically fun-filled and touching community geared close to an early Carry On. Thomas orchestrates the sequence with subtle skill, and it remains one of his most polished and exciting cinematic contributions.

Review© Robert Ross: Carry on Companion.