Carry On Sergeant

William Hartnell - Sergeant Grimshawe
Shirley Eaton - Mary Sage
Eric Barker - Captain Potts
Dora Bryan - Norah
Bill Owen - Corporal Bill Copping
Charles Hawtrey - Peter Golightly
Kenneth Connor - Horace Strong
Kenneth Williams - James Bailey
Terence Longdon - Miles Heywood
Norman Rossington - Herbert Brown
Hattie Jacques - Captain Clark

Carry on Sergeant was the beginning of the long running Carry On series. Rogers' main coup was his casting of William Hartnell in the title role, his combination of aggression and affection is invaluable. Fellow refugees from ITV were Norman Rossington and Charles Hawtrey, while others included Bob Monkhouse, Gerald Campion, Terence Longdon, Kenneth Williams and Kenneth Connor. While the comic vignettes were given the full flamboyant treatment by the eccentric squad members, Monkhouse wanders through the proceedings as an every man caught up in frustrating bureaucracy. It is he who is separated from his young wife (Shirley Eaton) and bluffs and whines his way through the hellish National Service system. It is undoubtedly Connor who leaves the deepest comedic paw print on the film.

While the dubious romantic ducking and diving and stolen kisses of Monkhouse and Eaton are at the plot's centre, the real joy of the script is the army environment and the battle between officialdom and the man in the street. The finest moments come from the recruits' failure at every turn of their basic training: the priceless unease of Connor as he swings on the rope, Williams' high-brow objections to the bayonet practice, Rossington's bumbling and eventual, quick skill at dismantling the rifle. The ultimate message of the film is the love and affection that the recruits hold for the dreaded figure of Hartnell who has a wager with the sardonic figure of Sergeant Terry Scott that this, his last batch of recruits before retiring, will win the title of 'star squad'.
Review© Robert Ross: Carry On Companion.