Carry on Henry

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with a passage, which states:
This film is based on a recently discovered manuscript by one William Cobbler, which reveals that Henry VIII did in fact have two more wives. Although it was first thought that Cromwell originated the story, it is now known to be definitely all Cobbler's... from beginning to end.
Henry VIII (Sid James) has his wife (Patsy Rowlands) beheaded and quickly marries Marie of Normandy (Joan Sims). This union was organised at the behest of bumbling Cardinal Wolsey (Terry Scott) as Marie is cousin of King Francis I of France. Henry's wedding night ardour dies when he finds she reeks of garlic, but she refuses to stop eating it. Marie gets frustrated so soon receives amorous advances from Sir Roger de Lodgerley (Charles Hawtrey who, while still in his camp persona, is playing against type as a ladies man).
Henry is keen to be rid of Marie, as he has met the lovely Bettina (Barbara Windsor, in her favourite Carry On role). Bettina is the daughter of the Earl of Bristol (Peter Butterworth, in a one scene cameo), a punning reference to Bristols. Thomas Cromwell (Kenneth Williams) assists in ousting Marie by organising Lord Hampton of Wick (Kenneth Connor) to kidnap the King in a staged plot. Cromwell and Lord Hampton also secretly plot to bring the king to harm as part of this escapade, but the false kidnapping fails.
Henry seizes on Marie's infidelity with de Lodgerley to be free of her; all he needs is a confession from de Lodgerley. He orders Cromwell to extract a confession using any means necessary. This leads to a running joke in the torture chamber as Henry keeps changing his mind about the confession due to political necessities, requiring multiple changes and retractions of the original confession. Wolsey is baffled by all the intrigue, and Cromwell is driven to treason by all of Henry's unreasonable demands.

Tags: historical fiction

Review:
CARRY ON HENRY may not have had quite the same effect - such is the unshakeable British obsession with the past, one of the film's main targets - but it's always nice to see that someone else found A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS and THE LION IN WINTER to be pompous tripe as well.HENRY, like CARRY ON UP THE KHYBER, is an example of a modest franchise miraculously finding an appropriate subject and creating a work of art.
The jokes are franker than were usual at this point, but clever rather than crude, and funny when they were crude.This is also the last time the cast would be as brilliant as this - a well-oiled machine perfectly in control of the material.
Kenneth Williams is aptly, hilariously Machiavellian; Charles Hawtrey is endearingly inappropriate as the brave knight and lover who undergoes all sorts of horrible tortures for his Queen - the heterosexual potency of these obviously gay stars are an uproarious counterpoint to the macho King's unsuccessful promiscuity.
But it is the godlike Sid James who rightly walks away with the film, cinema's best ever King Henry.
The merging of his usual persona - the chuckling lecher who is repeatedly thwarted in his amorous endeavours (itself a remarkable comment of tyranny throughout the ages), married to a sex-mad woman he can't abide - with the portrayal of an historical icon creates satire of great depth.Whereas the aforementined, Oscar-garlanded pageants are rigidly respectful of English history, HENRY is breezily sceptical.
The film quite clearly sets out its stall of bogusnes - it is based on recently discovered documents by William Cobbler - only to show how unreliable our grasp of history is; how it's always told in somebody's vested interests, at the expense of someone else.The film therefore prefigures the awesome Monty Python deconstructions of the 70s, with jokes about the Labour government, and with King's wenches who demand payment before favours, and whose fathers complain about taxation.
From the writers of Carry On comes this fantastic and comical portrayal of King Henry VIII (Sid James) and his French Queen Marie (Joan Sims).
Henry VIII of Great Britain has just married the French princess Marie and is eager to consummate the marriage- until he finds she has a taste for the revolting garlic.
Rather then give it up, the Queen holds the garlic close and Henry orders the marriage annulled, prompting his close ministers Cromwell (Kenneth Williams) and Wolsey (Terry Scott) to battle it out together.
And when a pretty lady (Barbara Windsor) enters Henrys court he makes up his mind to marry her, with hilarious consequences.
Carry On Henry tells of Henry VIII's other two wives, the ones that history forgot to mention: ample, French, garlic-munching Queen Marie (the delightful Joan Sims) and saucy blonde strumpet Queen Bettina (bubbly Barbara Windsor).
When Henry (Sid James) finds it impossible to consummate his marriage to the former thanks to her terrible aroma, he seeks a quickie divorce and an even quicker marriage to the latter, but in doing so threatens to upset both the Vatican and the King of France.Historically duplicitous and hysterically on the mark, this lively Tudor romp is hugely entertaining viewing thanks to a silly script that plays fast and loose with the facts (even throwing in fun anachronisms such as a breezy jazz rendition of Greensleeves, Guy Fawkes, and the guillotine), plenty of ribald innuendo, lots of heaving bosoms, and spirited performances from the Carry On regulars, with Sid James, in particular, excelling in the role of Henry, giving arguably the greatest (certainly the most memorable) cinematic portrayal of the formidable monarch..
An outstanding spoof of historical costume dramas, "Carry On Henry" is one of the best, if not THE best, of the Carry On series.
Sid James is in great form as the frustrated King Henry VIII, with fine support from Kenneth Williams & Terry Scott as the schemers Cromwell & Wolsey, Joan Sims as the buxom, garlic-addicted queen, Charles Hawtrey as her unlikely paramour, and Barbara Windsor as the giggly maiden pursued by the king.
The performers are all at their best, the script is packed with clever gags, and the production values could compete with any "serious" period piece of the time.
The 21st film of the long running Carry On series is a bawdy trip into the court of King Henry VIII (Sid James).
The King has recently married Queen Marie of Normandy (Joan Sims) but since she eats too much garlic, thus putting the King off his conjugal rights, he plots to get her out the way.
However, he must tread carefully as a war with France could easily arise should anything happen to the Queen.Some of the best colour Carry On movies would turn out to be set in an historical period.
Carry On Henry is not one of the best from the historical romps, but it's a goodie and for those who like the saucy side of the series then it has plenty of appeal.The presence of James on womanising and boozing form, and Barbara Windsor doing her no brain all sexuality act, gives this entry its saucy soul, while Terry Scott (superb visual ticks), Kenny Williams (a continuously wonderful foil for Scott) and Charles Hawtrey mince about with gleeful abandon.
This is a fabulously funny send up of history and the Carry on cast are in great form.
A glamorous great star.The gag of the garlic does not work today because this was made at a time when garlic was not something popular with the conservative English diet.
An unofficial tale about Henry VIII's two brief marriages between Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.The usual crude humour of the series is reasonably neglected in preference of real wit and poignancy, the acting shows unexpected sophistication, the dialogue sharp, and even the period detail seems stimulatingly accurate in this surprisingly effective travesty of "Anne of the Thousand Days", "Lion in Winter", "A Man for All Seasons" and other British historical sagas.
Carry on Henry is an entertaining enough entry in the comedy franchise, but I don't think it is as good as Carry on Cleo, Carry on Screaming or Carry On Up the Khyber.
It is true that Talbot Rothwell's script isn't the sharpest one on the block, though there are some great one liners("it's all cock and no pea") and some priceless scenes, especially the ones with Barbara Windsor.
Sid James is suitably merry as the monarch of the title, and Kenneth Williams is hilarious as always.
Barbara Windsor looked lovely and also gives a very funny performance.
Sid has his definitive role as Henry and it's alarming that he almost missed out due to other commitments, with Harry Secombe being considered for the part; no doubt Harry would have made a great King Hal, but it wouldn't have been the same at all.
Charles Hawtrey, with much more to do than usual, gives a glorious performance as the King's 'taster' who samples much more than the food.
Who could forget Barbara Windsor as Rothwell's Bettina, the best Bet to come Henry's way in years.
Joan Sims and the rest of the cast are excellent too, as is Alan Hume's photography, making HENRY look very lavish for a low budget film.
Only problem is I can't watch anything about Henry and his court without thinking of Sid, Kenny and the team..
On paper this could have been one of the funniest Carry On features, with plum parts for Sid James as Henry VIII and Kenneth Williams as the King's schemer-supreme Thomas Cromwell, but after the written prologue which describes what follows as a load of old Cobblers, I found little else to amuse me in this irreverent romp through Tudor England.
Like so many other low-brow British comedies of the time on screens both big and small, this un-P.C outlook towards females really has dated very badly and lacks the saving grace of genuinely funny gags.
Old troopers like James, Williams and Joan Sims try hard but even with them it's possible to detect a discernible going through the motions and by the time we get to see Barbara Windsor's bare bottom well into the film, it's obvious that the series's best days are behind it (no pun intended).At its best, as in say, "Carry On Cleo", "Carry On Cowboy" or "Carry On Up The Khyber", the series had lots of funny characters and a ready, typically saucy British seaside humour which made them easy to watch and chuckle along to.
A Good Carry On Film.
This film has the core cast which made the best Carry Ons. It stars the irrepressible Sid James as the king, along with the always fun to watch Kenneth Williams as Cromwell.
That duo made the best Carry Ons, they just seemed to always work well together.
Add in the always welcome Joan Sims, the always bubbly Barbara Windsor and the also welcome Charles Hawtrey as Sir Roger and you know you're going to enjoy this.
There have been better Carry On films, and the film carries the usual sexual innuendos and once in a while too cheap laughs, but with this cast it hardly matters.
You know what to expect with a CARRY ON film : A repertory of comedy actors , nudge nudge wink wink humour involving double entrendes and a few laughs too .
Unfortunately I`ve got to disagree with most of the comments here and say I don`t rate CARRY ON HENRY as one of the better films in the series and after the very funny caption " Mind my chopper " ( Which absolutely no one outside Britain will get ) the laughs are few and far between as the plot revolves around King Henry and his marital troubles .
It should be pointed out that all the best CARRY ON films like Up The Kyber , Screaming and Cleo had been made before this which probably indicates the series had run out of steam.
With such people as Charlton Heston, Richard Burton, Robert Shaw, and Montagu Love playing Henry VIII you get the idea it's both a plumb role and a serious part.
But the big screen never a Henry VIII like the one that Sidney James gives us in Carry On Henry VIII.Henry gets a couple extra wives in this one, dropped nicely between Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
After that James gets a present of French princess Joan Sims cousin of King Francis I of France and that seems like a good bet to solidify an alliance.But on the wedding night it turns out Henry can't stand her garlic breath.
Not to mention the machinations of Kenneth Williams as Thomas Cromwell and Terry Scott as Cardinal Wolsey.Then there's poor Charles Hawtrey who is the king's equerry and Queen Sims believes that her needs come first if the king isn't meeting them, maybe Hawtrey will.
That was quite the seduction scene.Medieval England never saw history like this, but Carry On Henry VIII gives out with a lot of laughs..
Patsy Rowlands is totally wasted which is a shame.Kenneth Williams and Terry Scott are very good.
The nude scenes with Babs is good clean carry on fun it does not spoil the reputation of the film.
CARRY ON HENRY is, for me, one of the weakest of the entire Carry On film series.
I always find their costume adventures slightly stodgy, but they usually make up for this with a witty script and great humour (the bit with Charles Hawtrey on the guillotine receiving the letter in CARRY ON DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD always springs to mind).
Unfortunately, CARRY ON HENRY came at a time when the wit was in short supply and the genuine laughs were outweighed five to one by an incessant array of lowbrow jokes and obvious humour.The inimitable Sid James stars as Henry VIII, dealing with a couple of extra wives thanks to the machinations of Talbot Rothwell.
Thus he has to deal with a garlic-munching Joan Sims and an often-naked Barbara Windsor as a young lady-in-waiting who he sets his sights on.
James is as fantastic as ever, and there are a couple of fine supporting roles from a nostrilly Kenneth Williams and a constantly gurning Terry Scott, but otherwise the film as a whole feels quite limited.The authenticity is present in the shape of some fantastic costumes and sets, and there are some nice, if minor, performances from an oddly dignified Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawtrey.
The Carry On Gang's unofficial leader, Sidney James, is rather preposterously miscast as Henry VIII in this bawdy episode from the infamous monarch's life.
Basic but broadly funny spoof that stands out as being one of the better film in the series.
The story told by this film is based on a manuscript discovered by one William Cobbler which reveals that Henry VIII did in fact have two more wives.
With the beheading of his most recent wife, Henry hopes that new bride Queen Marie of Normandy will, erm, give it up to him in the bedroom.
Things are going great until her habit of eating garlic all the time turns out to be a major turn-off on their first night together and Henry demands the wedding be annulled.
Meanwhile a group of conspirators conspire to remove Henry from the throne as they see him as an embarrassment to England on the world stage.Although the 1970's saw the death of the Carry On series, this film is an example in the sort of vehicle that produced the team's most enjoyable work  namely a subject that is ripe for irreverent spoofing but yet produces an acceptable narrative at the same time.
Although hardly high art, Henry sends up the English historical dramas with good humour, providing a very basic plot with jokes that are suggestively rude without being out and out crude to any detrimental extent.
The humour is not the sharpest you'll see (to say the least!) but it is at least witty and quite well delivered by the usual cast.James moulds Henry in the image of his own Carry On personae and it comes off well (oh-err).
Williams is better because he uses his usual delivery well and has plenty of good lines; likewise Terry Scott is enjoyable in a supporting role.
Hawtrey minces around the edges and gets some cheeky laughs with an easy performance while Windsor plays it all up front as usual!
Support from Connor, Gilmore and others is good and the lot of them pretty much match the irreverent tone of the material.Overall this is not a fantastic nor a hilarious comedy but it is still one of the better in the Carry On series.
The material sits within an acceptable narrative and good sets/costumes and the jokes are witty and funny, avoiding the uninspired crudity that would later kill the series..
Carry on Henry rates as one of the best of the Carry on Films, they couldn't really fail with this one.
Henry VIII is still one of the most interesting and fascinating figures in British history, Sid James was one of our best loved Carry on actors, couple that with one of the best scripts and some rather good production values and you get this bawdy, funny Royal romp.Some of the costumes wouldn't have looked out of place in a BBC production of the tudors, some really are exceptional, I suppose there wouldn't have been quite so many heaving bosoms.Lots of the carry on regulars are on good form, being the lead I think it's fair to say the show is all about Sid, it's one of his best performances.
Charles Hawtrey is also at his best as Sir Roger de Lodgerley, his his dialogues with Kenneth Williams and his torture scenes are hilarious.Brilliant film 9/10.
Set in the Court of Henry VIII, the king is having marital difficulties.
The situation is made harder for the king when he meets Bettina; a pretty lass who believes in waiting till she is married.This film is as funny as it is because the casting is spot on; Sid James does a fine job as the randy king doomed never to get any; Kenneth Williams does equally well as the scheming chancellor Thomas Cromwell and Charles Hawtrey is hilarious as Sir Roger, the man who bedded the queen and grew a couple of feet after a stretch on the rack!
Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor were also good as rivals for the king's attention Maria and Bettina.
Some later Carry On films rely on smut and innuendo rather too much; thankfully this one has plenty of funny clean jokes and what innuendo there is usually raises a chuckle.
Fans of the series will almost certainly enjoy this and even people who aren't usually keen on Carry Ons should get a few laughs; just don't expect historical accuracy..
Just an average Carry On film.
Sid James plays Henry VIII.
His helpers or crew consist of Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Terry Scott.
The story of Henry VIII and his six wives is one of the most famous in history, and it is also quite a predictable one that the Carry On team would spoof.
Basically King Henry VIII (Sid James) married Queen Marie of Normandy (Joan Sims), after killing current wife (Patsy Rowlands), but before they can consummate the marriage he finds she is eating too much garlic, and he wants a divorce.
Henry now has to find a way to get ride of her, and wants someone to have an affair with her and confess to it, and Sir Roger De Lodgerley (Charles Hawtrey) may have just helped do it.
Henry soon finds himself enjoying the company of a woman again with the lovely Bettina (Barbara Windsor), daughter of Charles the Earl of Bristol (Peter Butterworth).
Also starring Terry Scott as Cardinal Wolsey, Julian Holloway as Sir Thomas, Peter Gilmore as King Francis of France and Star Wars' David Prowse as Beared Torturer.