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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 86435" data-attributes="member: 23">Again Doctor has reminded me how, even as they were made, nostalgia proved to be a very good thing for the Carry Ons.Presumably because of their origins with Nurse, the latter medical Carry Ons have a gentleness and heart to them that is missing from some of the surrounding films. Moments like Kilmore's sad farewell to the patients in Doctor feel quite Hudis-esqe. In amongst the physical comedy, slide whistles and one liners, Again Doctor finds time for a moments like this. It's a little surprising  - though perhaps less so with hindsight - that they're carried beautifully by that epitome of sauce and fluff, Barbara Windsor as Goldie Locks. She's there at the height of Jim Dale's drunken mania, set off by larger than life reaction shots of all the cast, adding a sense of grounding as the one person trying to restore order. She's the voice of reason to Jimmy's less than sensible idea of setting her up in a hospital room. And after choosing a different path, there's a powerfully effective moment where, left alone in her room after some harsh words from Jimmy, Goldie lies in silent reflection, sadness written all over her face. She looks for all the world as though she's considering the shallowness of her new life, wondering if her newfound success is worth the pain it's cost and deciding it isn't. Not a word is spoken, but it's a moment that resonates as deeply as anything else in the series. It's probably remembered as the film where Babs where's the four strategically placed love hearts (and she later ends up fully nude, shown from behind on a weighing scale), but for all that Windsor does some genuine straight acting here.Hattie Jacques's Matron role is smaller here than in Doctor. She's quite different too. Softer. More likeable. More human. Even Charles Hawtrey seems unusually restrained for most of the film, which makes his bursting forth in drag towards the end even funnier.The film is a Jim Dale tour de force, with a series of his own memorable stunts that showcase his talent for physical comedy and leave his mark on the series.In some previous watches, the Beatific Island sequence - with only two regulars - has been a bit of a chore for me. This time round I enjoyed the change of pace which felt like a way for the audience to catch its breath from the fast moving medical madness.At one point, Goldie comments about the bone replacing the boob as the fashionable look. I've always found that line very interesting. It's the nearest thing to an acknowledgement that the series - which has come to rely on tits more and more - is behind the times even at this point. But at the same time there's a sense that nobody is too worried about that.Next up was Carry On Christmas, which aired on TV between Again Doctor and Up The Jungle. There's something that I find very flat and lifeless about the TV shows compared to the films. The budget will be smaller, of course, but I also wonder if it's also down to Gerald Thomas's absence. Terry Scott and Sid James come out of it looking really good (with Scott in particular getting stuck into a number of great character roles from little girls to old men). Charles Hawtrey not so much. Frankie Howerd is good fun, but there's a lot more of his standard act in this than in his Carry On films, and it feels like a bit of a clash to me. It's worth noting that this marks Bernard Bresslaw's first dragging up in the series - something that would make it into the films in a big way before too long. The panto sequence seems to hold up the best. I suppose it's a pretty timeless tradition. Scott and Peter Butterworth chew up the furniture magnificently as Ugly Sisters.As I recall, this is the best of the Christmas specials. It's certainly the starriest.</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?