Carry On Up the Jungle

Dir: Gerald Thomas

1970

***

Carry On Up the Jungle is the nineteenth Carry On film to be made and although there is much to enjoy, it is one of the more half-hearted entries. When I say half-hearted I don't mean in terms of set, I mean in term of story. The story is one huge misconception, with Africa being confused with India, Africans being cannibals and the mix of Tarzan spoof and 'Cave Girl' parody confusing the story. It just seems like it was written in a hurry, which it more than likely was. It is a huge departure from the sixteenth Carry On, Carry On Up the Khyber, that got it so right and only two years previous. It also recycles many of the great lines from previous Carry On films which is very noticeable and rather lazy of Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas. It also features Bernard Bresslaw 'blacked up' which is a rather unfortunate sign of the times. The biggest issue I have with the film and the biggest flaw most Carry On fans will have, is that Kenneth Williams is absent. That said, Terry Scott as a loin-clothed Tarzan is a work of genius. Frankie Howard returns of his second and final Carry On outing and is a welcome inclusion as is the great Kenneth Connor after a nine film sabbatical. One wonders whether the film would have worked better had it been split into two different movies; a Tarzan spoof and a 'Cave women' film. Alas, Carry On Up the Jungle represents the franchise just as the wheels were starting to loosen, with the franchise losing its way from here on with only one really good film to come out of the twelve that would follow.