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“Although not one of the greatest Carry Ons, Cowboy...”

written by raehippychick on 15/02/2007

Good Points
Jim Dale. Good fun. Jim dale. Joan Simms' dress. Jim Dale

Bad Points
The humour can be too childish for some people

General Comments
Although not one of the greatest Carry Ons, Cowboy does have the distinct advantage of Jim Dale starring in a good lead role for me to enjoy



The small western town of Stodge City is being terrorised by the infamous Rumpo Kid. For the beleaguered residents the final straw is when he kills their Sheriff so they send for a replacement. In a comedy standard a mix up occurs and instead of a United States Marshall Stodge's inhabitants get Marshall P Knutt; Sanitary Engineer. But all is not lost because Annie Oakley is not what she seems at first to be .



This Carry On has a lot the regulars in it. Roguish Sid James leers his way through the part of Johnny Finger the Rumpo Kid with a creditable American accent that although it slips quite often is not particularly cringe making. In sparkling form as his main love interest is Joan Sims in one of her more glamorous roles, before she became typecast as shrewish old harridans. In her figure hugging sequined black dress she shimmers and shimmies through the bar she owns. The bar is teetotal because of slimy, cowardly Judge Burke, played with delicious oiliness by Kenneth Williams. Again another slipping but suitable American accent with his trademark occasional shrill notes



Charles Hawtrey and Bernard Bresslaw are great fun as Big and Little Heap; father and son Indians. The gentle giant Bernie with his thick mock red Indian accent and craving to gain as many white-man scalps as he can, works very well with his diminutive father figure Charles who by contrast sports a jarring upper class English accent and a need of as much fire water as he can appropriate from Sid James when they begin to work in cahoots with each other



Marshall P Knutt; the handsome Jim Dale in his heyday provides his natural Carry On performance with plenty of physical clowning, whimsical grins and big soulful eyed looks. His romantic interest is played by a favourite actress of mine; Angela Douglas, who incidentally, was married to the great Kenny More of Reach for the Sky fame. She plays a very cute button nosed sex kitten, who has other more useful and, for the customary idea regarding a woman of the era, surprising skills



A cameo by Jon Pertwee, a former Doctor Who, is the short lived Sheriff Albert Earp. Hampered by severe deafness and extreme short sightedness it is not surprising that he gets bumped off fairly early in the film by the Rumpo Kid; a good move in my opinion as I feel that the deaf and blind jokes are extremely thin and become intensely irritating after a very short time. But the character of the Sheriff is pivotal in the plot as it is the reason the town needs a new Marshall and hence Jim Dale's arrival. The death of the sheriff also brings someone who is out for revenge, which brings intrigue and romance to things



As ever this is a typical Carry On that needs little, if any, brain power to watch. Ideal viewing for a lazy Sunday afternoon following a big lunch and/or pub visit! It is suitable for all the family even though it has some smutty innuendo, it is very innocuous and quite innocent, unlike some of the later films in this series which become cheap and tacky



Available on VHS at Amazon from as little as 99p - now that's a bargain for a pleasant afternoon of giggles! Summary: A lovely, silly, giggly film.