Production
Pre-production
The Carry On series had ended in 1978 after 30 films following the negative critical reception to Carry On Emmannuelle . Plans to reignite the series with projects such as Carry on Down Under, Carry on Dallas, and Carry on Again Nurse did not come to fruition. However, film producer John Goldstone identified a number of films being released in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' 1492 arrival in America, and that the subject would be a good fit for a Carry On revival. [3] The project developed with some speed so that the film could be released in 1992. Comedy writer Dave Freeman, who had previous written 1975's Carry on Behind , was tasked with writing the screenplay within three weeks. [4]
Casting
Main series regulars present are Jim Dale (in his eleventh Carry On), Peter Gilmore (also in his eleventh), Bernard Cribbins (in his third), Leslie Phillips (in his fourth), Jon Pertwee (in his fourth) and June Whitfield (also in her fourth). The only actor to bridge the gap between Carry On Columbus and the previous entry was Jack Douglas, making his eighth appearance in the series.
Many of the series core cast members had died by the time Carry on Columbus was in pre-production. Surviving members such as Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor and Joan Sims declined the minor supporting roles that they were offered, [3] although some sources claim that Windsor and Bernard Bresslaw were unable to appear because they were already committed to a Blackpool summer show called Wot A Carry On, which clashed with filming. [4] Veteran Carry On performer Frankie Howerd was signed up to appear, but he died in April 1992 shortly before production started; his role was played by Leslie Phillips. [3]
Robbie Coltrane declined the offer to play the title role. Jim Dale agreed to play the role to bring 'star power', out of affection and loyalty to the series and its producer and director. Harry Enfield declined to play Columbus' brother because as a Carry On fan, he felt it odd that so many of the original cast were not involved. [3]
The producers managed to persuade a number of alternative comedians such as Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, Julian Clary and Nigel Planer (all of whom except Clary are from The Comic Strip ) to appear in the film.
Filming and locations
The film was shot between 21 April and 27 May 1992 with interior shooting at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire and location shooting at Frensham Common. The latter location was previously used nearly 30 years earlier for the similarly nautical Carry On Jack .
Reception
Critical reception was mixed. Writing for Sight and Sound , Andy Medhurst says that the film "is not the disaster it might have been" but its "timidity" is disappointing, and that it is "a text of pleasure rather than pure bliss". [5] Medhurst later reflected that Columbus was a Carry On in name only without its most recognisable stars. [6] a sentiment reflected by critics such as Mervyn Cooke [7] and Frances Gray. [8] Variety's Derek Elley says that the script begins "weakly", and while it contains the expected double entendres , the "by-the-numbers comedy lacks the conviction of old". Elley commends Alan Hume's "bright and handsome" cinematography, and how the tight editing helps Thomas' "no-frills" direction. [9] However, Michael Dwyer in The Irish Times described Carry on Columbus as a "flaccid, feeble comeback effort" and a "wretched and pathetic attempt which is singularly unfunny". [10] Scholar Asela Laguna compares Carry on Columbus positively to the BBC's comedy Bye, Bye, Columbus , commending "the introduction of an international intrigue" when the Sultan of Turkey finds out that Columbus "is planning to find a new route to Asia from Portugal". [11] Another scholar, James Chapman, reflects upon the incongruity of alternative comedians, characterised as "non-discriminatory, non-racist, and non-sexist", in a Carry On film. [12]
Nonetheless, Carry On Columbus took more money at the UK box office (£1,667,249) [1] than the two other Columbus films released in 1992, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery and 1492: Conquest of Paradise , although all three films flopped. Carry On Columbus was also shot on a much lower budget than the other two films, a budget of £2.5 million compared to the other two budgets of $45 million and $47 million respectively. [13]
In a 2004 poll of British film actors, technicians, writers and directors on British cinema, Carry On Columbus was voted the worst British film ever made. [14] In a 2018 retrospective on the series, the British Film Institute named Carry On Columbus as one of the series' five worst films, alongside Carry On Girls (1973), Carry on England (1976), That's Carry On! (1977), and Carry On Emmannuelle (1978). [15]
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