Carry on Jack is a naval-based entry (the Navy, not bellybuttons) which parodies Mutiny on the Bounty.

Just like Carry On Cabby, this entry was also a different film (Up The Armada) before it was adapted into a fully fledged Carry On.

This may explain why most of the usual troupe are missing apart from Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale (for all of five minutes).

But, for this entry we also get the considerable talents of Bernard Cribbins (as a character called Albert Poop-Decker!), Juliet Mills and Donald Houston.

Thankfully, Carry On Jack is filmed in colour and is just as beautiful as Carry On Cruising. In fact, with this being a historical sea-based film, the colour really brings out the gorgeous outfits and detail.

There’s also an interesting gender swap aspect to the film with Mills pretending to be male and Cribbins appearing in a nightie in an early scene.

Carry On Jack feels like a Carry On but also feels strangely different. Does it still work? Yes, definitely. It’s still funny and very amusing. Williams and Hawtrey shine as ever and the new cast members are also very good. But this wouldn’t be a ‘go to’ Carry On for me. I still enjoyed it though.

3 out of 5 stars