Carry On Cleo (1964)
 The Carry On series had come of age with this,
the tenth entry in the series.
Sid James, Kenneth Connor and Joan
Sims rejoined the fun and games while Jim Dale graduated to
official romantic lead.
In ancient Britain, square-wheel-maker Hengist Pod is among
those captured by the Roman forces of Mark Antony and taken to
Rome where he is sold in the slave market.
He and his friend Horsa manage to escape and find refuge in a
temple where they are welcomed with open arms by the sex-starved
Vestal Virgins.
Sought by troops, Horsa does mighty deeds with his sword before
making his escape. Left behind, the weak-kneed Pod is thought to
be the valiant warrior who has saved the life of Caesar, and the
latter promptly appoints him his bodyguard.
Thus Pod becomes the fear of all - except Mark Antony, who
guesses the truth.
 Caesar sends Mark Antony to Alexandria with
instructions to dispose of Cleopatra and install Ptolemy on the
throne of Egypt.
But Cleo and Mark hit it off so well together
that Mark disposes of Ptolemy instead and, returning to Rome,
induces Caesar to visit Cleo with the intention of assassinating
him.
The conspiracy collapses in unexpected but lively fashion, with
Pod once again getting credit where no credit is due.
Hengist Pod
is able to return with his friend Horsa to Britain where (thanks
to a love philtre which was the property of Cleo) his shrewish
wife finds him a completely changed man.
The film was, of course, a timely spoof of the mega-production Cleopatra
with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
The sets built at
Pinewood for the 20th Century-Fox blockbuster were left standing
when the film moved back to Hollywood, providing the perfect
chance to make an immediate comic version.
Thus, the sets were of
an amazingly high quality and the costumes were fresh from the
backs of Burton and Harrison.
At the heart of Carry On Cleo is the stunning and
delightfully dotty performance of Amanda Barrie (pictured below) as the seductive
Queen of the Nile, cleverly constructed as a naive and childish
figure.
 Amanda's simple-minded commands and fluttering eyelids are
a masterly piece of work and her relationship with Sid James is
priceless.
James comes fully to the fore in this, his first
venture into Carry On history.
When he joins forces
with Amanda Barrie's mindless Cleo, the gags flow thick and fast,
with Sid's streetwise hold on the situation highlighting the
childish naiveté of Barrie during the 'loan' word play.
Kenneth
Williams, in arguably his finest role as the manic Caesar, has the
perfect sounding board for his camp, flamboyant outbursts.
While these characters run the Roman Empire, back home in stone
age Britain, bumbling Kenneth Connor and hot-blooded hero Jim Dale
are enjoying the quiet life.
When the Britons meet the Romans it's
the cue for various comic misunderstandings, a hatful of corny
puns and the most polished comic epic ever filmed.
It is Connor's humbling Englishman abroad that gets the
funniest lines, when these Anglicised Romans don't understand his
cultural references.
Cleo is quite clearly a landmark in the history of Carry
On, with a perfect cast of expert players, a well rounded,
do-anything-for-a-giggle screenplay, and sets that the usual
budget could never have afforded.
All the elements come together
superbly for one of British cinema's most respected and effective
comedy films.
The production came under fire from Marks & Spencer for using
the company's official colours, green and gold, for Cleo's
slave market, Marcus & Spencius.
The joke treatment of the
company name wasn't a problem, but the use of their logo colours
was. The situation was amicably resolved and Marks & Spencer
enjoyed free and regular publicity for the next 30 years.
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