What a Carve Up! (1961)

This isn't Abbott and Costello meeting Frankenstein. But it is a very good British comedy with similarities to the 1948 comedy horror flick of the famous funny duo. The film is loosely based on "The Ghoul," a horror novel by Frank King. It had inspired a 1933 horror flick by the same name that starred Boris Karloff. In "No Place Like Homicide!" (released as "What a Carve Up!" in the U.K.), Sidney James and Kenneth Connor play well together as Syd Butler and Ernie Broughton. Syd is the tough guy, straight man, but also not overly intelligent. Ernie is a wisp of a guy next to Syd. He's the most comical in his fright, but he's also got some smarts. These two join a family night in the recently departed uncle's Gothic mansion that could be the model for most haunted houses. The rest of the cast includes some notables of British stage and film of the mid- to late-20th century. Among the cast are Donald Pleasence as Everett Sloane, Dennis Price as Guy Broughton, and a Tony award winner, Michael Gough, as Fisk - the Butler. They and the entire cast perform well. It's a night of madness and mayhem as homicide reigns. This is a fine comedy and mystery, with nary any horror. The best thing about this film is the script that's peppered with some very funny lines. For more of the funny dialog, see the Quotes section on this IMDb Web page of the film. Here are some of my favorite lines. Ernie Broughton, "I'm a beneficiary." Syd Butler, "You filthy swine. How long can they give you for that?"Ernie Broughton, "Syd, is this an omen?" Syd, "No, it's a Rolls Royce." Everett Sloane, "I'm not convinced your friend is the fool he makes himself out to be." Ernie, "Oh, yes I am." Linda Dickson, "It's ridiculous. He wouldn't hurt a fly." Everett Sloane, "The young man's attitude toward insect life does not concern us, Miss Dickson." Linda Dickson, "Inspector, there's a dangerous murderer somewhere in the house." Inspector Arkwright, "Dangerous?"Inspector Arkwright, "Who's been murdered?" Ernie, "Dr. Edward, Janet, Malcolm." Inspector (writing it down), "Dr. Edward Janet Malcolm. Where's the body?" Syd, "Body? Bodies. There's three of 'em." Inspector, "Three?" Syd, "Edward Broughton, Janet Broughton and Malcolm Broughton."

"What a Carve Up" is about the only time that Sid James appeared in a horror comedy. The tone of the film is a bit creepy and ghoulish but also very good in the laughter department. Kenneth Connor is summoned to this large Yorkshire mansion for the reading of his late Uncles will. Our Sid tags along for the journey, which is just as well, considering the events that unfold. Some of the dialogue doesn't quite work on occasion but the pace, the acting, the sets, the direction and photography are all great. The second half of "What a Carve Up" has a lot going on to keep the viewers glued to their seats. Donald Pleasence is suitably sinister as he is right at home. The supporting cast is a fine one. Dennis Price, George Woodbridge, Michael Gough, Michael Gwynn, Esma Cannon and Shirley Eaton. This is a low key film in that there are no extras employed just the essential cast and the film is based over a period of about two days. With comedies from this period, I sometimes expect the likes of Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Terry Thomas or Eric Sykes to appear. A masterpiece of comedy with horror elements blended in.

An agreeable comedy-cum-horror yarn that makes fun of all the "old dark house" clichés, WHAT A CARVE UP! never reaches the outrageous heights that made the later CARRY ON SCREAMING so memorable but instead provides a continuous stream of gentle humour that makes you wish nostalgically for the more amiable days of comedy. If you watched it with the sound off, you would think you were watching an old-fashioned black and white horror yarn full of creeping shadows and mysterious characters, as the film happily plays up all the clichés and genre conventions thus harmlessly spoofing them throughout. The script is fairly witty and humorous and after a laborious beginning, constantly moves from one scene of action to another to retain the interest. I think this film would be a lot harder to sit through were it not for the dream central casting of Carry On stars Kenneth Connor and Sid James who play out the comic aspects of the storyline to the full and display their full range of comic talents.In this film, Connor is portrayed as a nervous idiot (not unlike most of his other roles) whereas James is the straight man of the partnership. Both actors are at the top of their game and play each other off perfectly, particularly James who gives a flawless performance (perfect timing and delivery, everything). Horror fans and devotees of classic British cinema in general will be astonished at the role-call of talent that this film has to offer; indeed the astonishing cast is one of this movie's biggest strengths. First up is the ever sinister Donald Pleasence as the creepy man-in-black solicitor Sloane; although he doesn't actually do anything this has to be one of his most quietly menacing roles.Then there's Shirley Eaton as the young attractive blonde foil for Connor; Dennis Price, already stereotyped in his career as an alcoholic; Michael Gwynn as a loopy organ-playing relative and finally the great Michael Gough really hamming it up as the sinister Lurch-like family butler, complete with a hilarious limp. Although there's nothing in WHAT A CARVE UP! to really surprise or impress the viewer, the overall effect is a warming one and there are enough worthwhile jokes to make this a solid comedy, and indeed a superior one.

A good film that borrowed on the 'mousetrap' plot, & rather predictable. Acted out at a fast pace with great enthusiasm by all. Sid James was his usual brilliant self & Ken Connor too. Shirley Eaton played her part well. Dressed in a shift over a nylon slip for much of the film, strange how, when running from room to room, she'd continually hold her shift together in an attempt to stop it falling open thus giving us a glimpse of her slip underneath. Naively prudish of her, & ironic in that 2 yrs later she would appear in a Bond film wearing nothing but a coat of paint! At the time Ken Connor was one of the most sought after comedy film actors.