An agreeable comedy-cum-horror yarn that makes fun of all the "old dark house" clichés, WHAT A CARVE UP! never reaches the outrageous heights that made the later CARRY ON SCREAMING so memorable but instead provides a continuous stream of gentle humour that makes you wish nostalgically for the more amiable days of comedy. If you watched it with the sound off, you would think you were watching an old-fashioned black and white horror yarn full of creeping shadows and mysterious characters, as the film happily plays up all the clichés and genre conventions thus harmlessly spoofing them throughout. The script is fairly witty and humorous and after a laborious beginning, constantly moves from one scene of action to another to retain the interest. I think this film would be a lot harder to sit through were it not for the dream central casting of Carry On stars Kenneth Connor and Sid James who play out the comic aspects of the storyline to the full and display their full range of comic talents.
In this film, Connor is portrayed as a nervous idiot (not unlike most of his other roles) whereas James is the straight man of the partnership. Both actors are at the top of their game and play each other off perfectly, particularly James who gives a flawless performance (perfect timing and delivery, everything). Horror fans and devotees of classic British cinema in general will be astonished at the role-call of talent that this film has to offer; indeed the astonishing cast is one of this movie's biggest strengths. First up is the ever sinister Donald Pleasence as the creepy man-in-black solicitor Sloane; although he doesn't actually do anything this has to be one of his most quietly menacing roles.
Then there's Shirley Eaton as the young attractive blonde foil for Connor; Dennis Price, already stereotyped in his career as an alcoholic; Michael Gwynn as a loopy organ-playing relative and finally the great Michael Gough really hamming it up as the sinister Lurch-like family butler, complete with a hilarious limp. Although there's nothing in WHAT A CARVE UP! to really surprise or impress the viewer, the overall effect is a warming one and there are enough worthwhile jokes to make this a solid comedy, and indeed a superior one.
In this film, Connor is portrayed as a nervous idiot (not unlike most of his other roles) whereas James is the straight man of the partnership. Both actors are at the top of their game and play each other off perfectly, particularly James who gives a flawless performance (perfect timing and delivery, everything). Horror fans and devotees of classic British cinema in general will be astonished at the role-call of talent that this film has to offer; indeed the astonishing cast is one of this movie's biggest strengths. First up is the ever sinister Donald Pleasence as the creepy man-in-black solicitor Sloane; although he doesn't actually do anything this has to be one of his most quietly menacing roles.
Then there's Shirley Eaton as the young attractive blonde foil for Connor; Dennis Price, already stereotyped in his career as an alcoholic; Michael Gwynn as a loopy organ-playing relative and finally the great Michael Gough really hamming it up as the sinister Lurch-like family butler, complete with a hilarious limp. Although there's nothing in WHAT A CARVE UP! to really surprise or impress the viewer, the overall effect is a warming one and there are enough worthwhile jokes to make this a solid comedy, and indeed a superior one.