Carry On Matron (1972)

Written by CinemaSerf on July 26, 2023

You can tell that the producers were beginning to run out of ideas for these as this hybrid of "Carry on Nurse" (1959) and "Carry on Doctor" (1967) hits the screen. This time Sid James isn't a patient. He is "Carter", audaciously planning to rob the "Finisham" hospital of it's supply of valuable drugs. To facilitate this crime, he decides that his son "Cyril" (Kenneth Cope) should don the garb of a nurse an impersonate one until he can get the lay of the land for their burglary. Meantime, "Dr. Prodd'' (Terry Scott) has the job the philandering bumbler, Hattie Jacques is this time a less ruthless matron and Joan Sims takes the cake as the eternally pregnant "Mrs. Tiday" who is quite happy to eat the place out of house and home while her poor railwayman husband (Kenneth Connor) grows steadily older and more frustrated in the waiting room. At times, there are still traces of the old style of slapstick humour; the writing is quite funny now and again and there is plenty of "how's your father" - real or imaginary for us to chortle at. It's not the best, nor anywhere near - but it's got plenty going on before an ending that did actually smack of sequel coming!!