Carry
On Girls Trivia
- Bernard Bresslaw has the same name used by Terry Scott
in Camping, Peter Potter.
- Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas were desperate to have
Kenneth Williams in the film, but he kept refusing due to work commitments
with a play called My Fat Friend. They kept reducing the size
of the role but he still wouldn't budge, so they gave it to Jimmy Logan in
the end. He should have done the film, as the play was a flop.
- The Censors wanted to give Girls an AA certificate, but
a few cuts here and there got it through as an A. Although when the
BBC first showed it, it was after the 9.00pm cut off time.
- Barbara Windsor had never ridden a motorbike and had a
few lessons so she could, but if you watch the sequence, you can see she
is not very sure of herself.
- Jimmy Logans part of Mr Gaybody was obviously written
for Charles Hawtrey, but due to the excesses of drink Peter Rogers didn't
want him in the Carry Ons anymore.
- Jack Douglas was up for an award for best newcomer, but
lost out to Day Of the Jackel.
- Although Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas were wished
great success at the close of the pre-production meeting for this their 25th
Carry On, none of the press adulation that had greeted Carry On Henry’s 21st
entry was in evidence. Indeed, for such a milestone in the series, it was
notable for being the very first Carry On film to star neither Kenneth
Williams nor Charles Hawtrey. Kenneth was committed to the stage show My Fat
Friend in the West End and Charles had been unceremoniously dropped from the
team. The film certainly missed them and for a production whose original
title was due to be Carry On Beauty Queens it seems strange that the only
camp element is provided by the burly Scots guest star Jimmy Logan.
- The mythical seaside resort of Fircombe is the Carry
On’s second use of Brighton for location filming. In stark contrast to the
free-wheeling fun day out of Carry On At Your Convenience, Carry On Girls
uses ‘London-by-the-Sea’ to symbolise the drudgery of Britain’s coastal
holiday destinations. Scriptwriter Talbot Rothwell was very familiar with
the town, having worked as a clerk in Brighton’s Town Hall as a young man.
Brighton’s favourite son, the cheeky chappie himself, Max Miller, was also
the Carry On scribe’s comedy idol.
- Amazingly, the Brighton location filming occupied
just three days of the tight filming schedule, with the sequences filmed
between Monday 16th and Wednesday 18th April, the first days of the six week
shot. Indeed, the very first scene in the can was Margaret Nolan’s
unconcerned nude modelling for jittery press photographer Robin Askwith and
frustrated Admiral Peter Butterworth. The scene was shot on Brighton’s
distinctive pebble beach parallel to Clarges Hotel whose exterior was also
used during filming as Joan Sim’s establishment.
- The sterling supporting cast faced some hasty
reshuffling at the very last minute. Renee Houston, who had previously
appeared in Carry On Cabby, Carry On Spying and excelled as Kenneth Cope’s
mother in Carry On AT Your Convenience, was originally contracted to play
the dotty resident of the hotel, Mrs Dukes. Ill-health prevented her playing
the part and Joan Hickson, in her fifth and final Carry On appearance, was
cast. Bill Maynard, who, despite his role in Carry On Abroad hitting the
cutting room floor, had worked on all the films since Carry On Loving, was
originally cast as the Police Inspector. However, director Gerald Thomas
agreed to release the actor from his contract so he could accept a leading
television assignment. David Lodge was enlisted in his place. His first
appearance in the series since his debut in Carry On Regardless (1961),
David went on to appear in the next three films.
- After two brief film appearances and a leading role
in the 1972 Carry On Christmas television special, Jack Douglas came into
his own with Carry On Girls, notching up his first name check on the poster
and even being nominated for The Best Film Newcomer Of The Year. He lost out
to Edward Fox in The Day Of The Jackal. On 8th November 1973 Peter Rogers
wrote to Jack telling him that: “you’re bloody good in the film and I’m very
happy that you “happened along” and I look forward to the next film with
you.” Indeed, with the next film Jack would be elevated to Carry On star
status, a position helped by his appearance in the Carry On London! Stage
show from September 1973.
