Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Sick Product of a Sick System

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

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. I'm still not quite sure what Bill Maynard's Guy Fawkes was doing in this period, but there you go. As expected, there's a ton of bawdy humour - the scene with Margaret Nolan in the barn is literally eye-popping - but as a whole the jokes seem to have been recycled from earlier entries (the bit with the water sprays from the body and the "up yours" joke, for instance). Thankfully the Carry Ons would return to form with their next three (contemporary) entries in the franchise, the triple whammy of CARRY ON AT YOUR CONVENIENCE, CARRY ON ABROAD, and CARRY ON MATRON.

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. Here the great tyrant appears as, well, Sidney James - a pint-sized, working class heel with a mug only a mother could love - chasing tavern wenches and princesses alike with equal-opportunity horniness. The production values are surprisingly good here, for a series that was basically a run of second features, with excellent candle-lit cinematography evoking the period, and everybody seems comfortable in period costume. Kenneth Williams pulls his usual turn as a cowardly schemer that you just know will get in the cogs of his own machine once the usual zaniness starts to get going. Joan Sims, as was often the case, is along to bring the production its occasional moment of class between calamities.

This farce about Henry the VIII is perfect fodder for the Carry On group. 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. Seek this out.

A great film. Everyone is showing interest. The gang are really trying hard to make this work and they make a great job of it!!. Sid is in top form as Henry the 8th. Barbara Windor is brilliant , Hawtrey is excellent as is Sims. Connor is good but his screen time is short. Patsy Rowlands is totally wasted which is a shame.Kenneth Williams and Terry Scott are very good. The whole film is great the acting the locations the gags and the plot. Overall the film is brilliant. The nude scenes with Babs is good clean carry on fun it does not spoil the reputation of the film. Unlike carry on England and Behind where the only way to get a cheap laugh was to flash Breasts and Bottoms. And as a result makes them look cheap unfunny crude and sad. This film has the lot 10/10