Carry On Teacher (1959)

A reasonable early CARRY ON outing, but not up there with the highs of CARRY ON NURSE. TEACHER starts off well, with the regular team appearing as teachers in a school inhabited by variously ill-behaved children (the reason for the kids' bad behaviour is strained and fairly unbelievable). There are the usual St Trinians-style hijinks, with glue and itching powder on the seats, gin in the kettle and various other badly-behaved antics. So far, so good.Sadly, things start to disappoint around halfway through. There are endless scenes involving a supposed bomb that the pupils are making and these go nowhere and achieve nothing. There are few jokes in this section, making it fairly boring. The good news is that things rally round for a better climax involving a disastrous school play that makes up for the previous slow patch.Of the cast, Kenneth Connor (as a love-struck science teacher) and Charles Hawtrey (as a fussy music teacher) come off the best, with the latter particularly strong. Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques are both slightly underused, and I found Leslie Phillips chasing after Joan Sims to be a bit sleazy this time around. Ted Ray, in a straight role as the headteacher, is a dull, although it's worth looking out for future TV star Richard O'Sullivan as one of the pupils. It's just a shame the gags couldn't have been sustained throughout as then this would have equalled the highs of the same year's NURSE.

The simple story has been well told by others but its enough to say that this movie remembers kids and schools as places quite different from what they are now. I would hate to be a teacher today but way back then it was a different, kinder and nicer world. This is not an hilarious movie but its a charming one. The great Brirtish actors are all there. The stylish Leslie Philips was always the most unlikely actor to be considered a sex symbol but he was always fun to watch. The great Hawtry of course continues to steal every scene he is in. THe others are all there. An extra bonus is Ted Ray who plays the head. This actor was well known to British audiences but quite unknown outside the UK. He gives a beautifully restrained performance and his final scene is very moving. One fine performance in this movie comes from Rosaling Knight as Miss Wheeler. This lovely actress enchanted many a movie. One of those great reliable actresses, we never knew her name but the minute she appeared the screen lit up. The only real jarring note in most Carry on movies was Kenneth Connor. I find his characters annoying and his mumbling was simply irritating back then but now its just woeful. Carry on teaching is not the funniest of films but its full of charm. The itchy powder scene however is great fun and that Romeo and Juliet production is not unlike some school plays we have all endured.This is a sweet innocent movie anda delightful piece of nostagia.

I saw this film last night and its not bad!!!. The cast are trying and it does show!!!. Kenneth Williams gives a good performance as does Charlie and Kenneth Connor Joan is good as is Hattie and Leslie Philips Rosalind Knight gives a fantastic performance.Larry Dann is good even though he only appears only for a short time.Ted ray gives a great performance as Williams Wakie Wakefield the headmaster.This is definitely one of the best highlights of the first 12 films. This is classic Carry on , there are only a few regulars but they do a cracking job. The trouser ripping scene is hilarious.The gin in the tea is classic comedy.10/10

The third Carry On film and arguably the best of the first three, this one is amusing from start and always full of laughs. The jokes are funnier than in the two previous entries, and Leslie Phillips is in particularly good form this time. It is still very silly, and in terms of the plot it is not all that much better than 'Carry On Sergeant' and 'Carry On Nurse', with the practical jokes becoming a bit tiresome towards the end and a story that is very simplistic. Still, the film comes highly recommended from me, as everything seems to fit together rather well, including appropriately used music. It is not a perfect film, but definitely a bit of a delight to watch.