Charlie Hawkins runs Speedee Taxis who are very successful but to the detriment of his marriage. His wife Peggy wants to spend more time with her husband but he’s always working. As revenge, she secretly starts Glam Cabs with an all female workforce. Very quickly they start to pinch all of Speedee Taxis’ business. Which fleet will survive?

My first surprise on watching Carry On Cabby was that it was shot in black and white whilst the previous film was in colour. On further investigation, I found out that it was only halfway through production that the film (originally called Call Me A Cab) was suddenly turned into a Carry On film.

Another shock was the absence of Kenneth Williams as he declined the project as he found the script to be of inferior quality.

However, we get Jim Dale, Amanda Barrie and Milo O’Shea instead.

In fact, the whole cast are excellent. The relationship between Charlie and Peggy is very heartwarming, when the battle of the s*xes is put to one side.

Again, Carry On Cabby seems to be more character driven and each character is fleshed out, well rounded and three dimensional.

But it’s Charles Hawtrey as Terry ‘Pintpot’ Tankard who steals the show. Maybe because Kenneth Williams isn’t present, Hawtrey can shine more and have more of the spotlight. His natural charisma and gift for line delivery and slapstick comes through loud and clear.

I also had Deja vu regarding a scene featuring Hattie Jacques. The scene in which she ventured onto a set of bathroom scales reminded me of a similar scene featuring Divine in John Waters’ Polyester. Jacques blames her towel, Divine kicks the bathroom scales under the bed. Both funny scenes in two very funny movies.

Carry On Cabby holds much affection amongst fans of the franchise. I can fully understand why.

4.5 out of 5 stars