Twice Round the Daffodils

Carry On films contain a humour of another time. You could say they are dated by their attitude towards women, sex, relationships and causality; the consequences of characters' actions. A fantasy of misogynistic 60's men. The world has moved on and we have more refined tastes and equal rights for everyone. Well, you may be right, but then again looking at this era's comedy films, you may be wrong too. Maybe not too much has changed since the Carry On era. The humour may be more gross-out now, women have more prominent roles, but the film-making world is still mainly dictated by men.

Regardless, Twice Round The Daffodils is of a different time, when the world was black and white and people spoke clear and coherently. This will have an effect on your enjoyment of the tale of a group of male patients arriving at a sanatorium to be treated for TB and inevitably ending up in romantic hijinks with the female nurses. The first kiss begins with an assault on a nurse one of the characters has only known for less than five minutes. Welcome to 1962!

Classed as an un-official entry in the Carry On franchise, the film features the iconic Kenneth Williams but is a more low-key version of the more bawdy Carry On template. There’s more emphasis on the rehabilitation of the men, rather than slapstick or nudity. Still, it’s mainly for fans of the players involved, otherwise it's slightly more taxing on the rest of us, thanks to the glacial pace and predictable story. Kenneth Williams is clearly the highlight doing his usual shtick.