If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

CARRY ON COWBOY, an extremely broad spoof of the ever-popular western genre, marks a real high for the Carry On team; this is even better than CARRY ON CLEO, and despite missing a couple of regulars in Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Connor, this proves to be a real highlight of the series.The film features a devilish turn from Sid James, who's having a ball as the Rumpo Kid, a gunslinger and outlaw who holes up in a western town and proceeds to wreak havoc. Up against him are nasally Mayor Kenneth Williams, the famous sharpshooter of legend Annie Oakes (played well by Angela Douglas), and Jim Dale as a would-be Marshall.Jim Dale is the real revelation, playing what was quite possibly his best role in a Carry On movie. He's charming, endlessly funny, and gives a decent performance too. I never much liked the guy when I watched these movies as a kid, but that's changed with his role here. CARRY ON COWBOY also features two additions to the stable, with the excellent Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw in minor parts. The humour is typically scattershot but it has a high threshold of laughs compared to groans, and fans will be in their element.

When the Rumpo Kid rides into Stodge City it isn't long before the mayor sends a telegram to Washington asking for a marshal. Soon Marshal P. Knutt is on his way however nobody there knows that there has been a misunderstanding; Marshal is his name not his profession; he is actually a drainage engineer! When Rumpo hears that a marshal is on his way he tries to get the local Indians to ambush the stagecoach. When three of them are shot the rest break off the attack and it is assumed that Marshal is a marksman… however he didn't shoot any of them; they were shot be fellow passenger; a woman by the name of Annie Oakley. Still unaware that Marshal isn't a real marshal Rumpo tries to get him lynched but once again he is rescued by Miss Oakley. When Rumpo learns the truth we have the inevitable shoot out at high noon; it isn't the same as most western shoot-outs though as the Marshal uses his true profession to gain an advantage.Carry on films have a reputation for innuendo and double-entendres but here both are almost entirely lacking; instead the humour is somewhat cleaner than is often the case. That isn't to say it isn't funny though; plenty of jokes had me chuckling. The story plays with several western tropes of the era although the most obvious film being referenced is High Noon. While it is all being played for laughs there is a decent story to the film and the regular Carry on team do well in their roles; Sid James was born to play outlaw Rumpo, Jim Dale was good as Marshal P. Knutt and Joan Sims was fine as saloon owner Belle. I laughed at Charles Hawtrey's portrayal of Indian Chief Big Heap although having a white actor playing an Indian wouldn't be allowed these days. While not best known member of the team Angela Douglas was good as the beautiful markswoman Annie Oakley. I enjoyed this far more than I expected to and would recommend it to people even if they aren't big fans of the Carry on Series.

When Judge Burke sends for help to rid Stodge City of The Rumpo Kid and his gang of trouble makers, he's delighted to hear that he is being sent a trained Marshall. Trouble is is that it's Marshall P. Knutt, a trained sanitary engineer.In 1964 the "Carry On" team has ventured into their first parody of the movies with Carry On Cleo. A huge success, and arguably the best film of the lot to many fans, it prompted the Thomas/Rogers/Rothwell team to believe that movie pastiche's was the way forward for the franchise. Enter Carry On Cowboy a year later. With a knowing of the genre and all its conventions, screenwriter Talbot Rothwell produced one of the better parodies to have ever been made. The stock cartoon fervour and cheeky asides still exist, but Carry On Cowboy is a more leaner, even darker "Carry On" than any of the others film's in the series. In its own right, with out the "Carry On" name attached, it's a fine comedy, with dashes of violence and even a revenge thread running thru it (courtesy of the gorgeous Angela Douglas as Annie Oakley). It's also one of the few film's in the series to demand a bit more from its actors outside of guffaw jinx and innuendos. Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Joan Sims rise to the challenge, happy in the knowledge that Jim Dale and Charles Hawtrey were there to grab (and get) the laughs. 8/10

The Carry On team this time, in a British film acting as Americans, spoof the great westerns. Basically Johnny Finger, the Rumpo Kid (Sid James) is the suspicious new arrival to the town of Stodge City, and Major Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams) is convinced he's either up to or guilty of something. So he sends for Marshal P. Knutt (Jim Dale), mistaking him for a Marshall when he's really a plumbing and drainage expert. There is no real plot or story to it, but then again, hardly any westerns I've seen do. It is a good film for all the misunderstandings jokes, some fight scenes, including with Chief Big Heap (an almost show stealing Charles Hawtrey) and just the whole Carry On premise. Also starring Joan Sims as Belle Armitage, Angela Douglas as Annie Oakley, Bernard Bresslaw as Little Heap, Peter Butterworth as Doc; Percy Herbert as Charlie, the Bartender and Jon Pertwee as Sheriff Albert Earp, but where's Barbara Windsor when you want her? Carry On films were number 39 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Good!