Carry On Columbus

Carry On Columbus is a 1992 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and written by Dave Freeman and John Antrobus. The 31st and final release in the Carry On film series, it starred Carry On regular Jim Dale in the title role, alongside a range of younger actors associated with alternative comedy.

The Carry On series had stalled since the negative critical reception to 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. Following several unrealised attempts to reignite the series, the filmmakers were inspired by the high budget films which were being released to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.

Critical reaction to the film was largely negative, with reviewers particularly commenting upon the script, which had been quickly written to meet the tight production schedule. Scholars have observed the incongruity of progressive alternative comedians performing in a Carry On film.

Christopher Columbus believes he can find an alternative route to the far East and persuades King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his expedition. But the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who makes a great deal of money through taxing the merchants who have to pass through his country on the Silk Road, sends his best spy, Fatima, to wreck the trip...

The Carry On series had ended in 1978 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, when Carry On director Gerald Thomas and film producer John Goldstone's attempts to reignite the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope Road to movies, which were popular in the mid-twentieth century, stalled, they began to return their attention to the Carry On franchise. With several films being released in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' 1492 arrival in America, Goldstone realised that the subject would be a good fit for a Carry On revival. Thomas, according to a later interview with his daughter, though that Columbus would work with a "new generation" and wanted to encourage younger talent. Goldstone, known for his work on Monty Python's Life of Brian and The Rocky Horror Picture Show would produce Columbus; Peter Rogers, who had produced all of the previous Carry On films, gave the project his blessing, and is credited as executive producer'.

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 and several episodes of the Carry on Laughing television series, was tasked with writing the screenplay within three weeks so that the film could be released in summer 1992. John Antrobus, who had written Carry on Sergeant, also contributed to the script. Freeman would later express unhappiness with his experience of the project, relating that he has been "pushed and shoved in all direction by the producer and director", and how he could have done a "better job" with more time.

Many of the series core cast members had died by the time Carry on Columbus was in pre-production. When Robbie Coltrane declined the offer to play the title role, Jim Dale agreed to play Columbus to bring 'star power', out of affection and loyalty to the series and its producer and director. Surviving members such as Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor and Joan Sims declined the minor supporting roles that they were offered. Windsor, who had refused to play in the explicit Carry on Emmannuelle, was particularly critical of the script, labelling it as a "bad Confessions film, crude and awful" rather than the double entendres of the style of the McGill saucy postcards which the Carry On films were known for. Windsor says that she conferred with Sims and Bresslaw, who both felt the same. Windsor rejected a further draft of the script, branding it "still appalling", and in her autobiography refutes rumours that she had declined because she was unhappy at not receiving residuals from the Carry On television compilations. However, 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 in Blackpool from May 1992, with rehearsals in London potentially clashing with filming.

In her autobiography, Joan Sims says that she had "little enthusiasm" to appear in Columbus when asked by Gerald Thomas, and was "relived" that she could tell him "in all honesty" that filming clashed with other commitments, particularly the BBC sitcom On the Up. Veteran Carry On performer Frankie Howerd was signed up to play the King of Spain, but he died in April 1992 shortly before production started; his role was played by Leslie Phillips.