Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- None
- breezy
- irreverent
- witty
- classic comedy night
- lazy afternoon
What critics said
Critics generally found the talented comic cast intermittently funny but limited by a weak story, well-worn situations, and uneven writing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot places a motley platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen under Sergeant Grimshaw's demanding training regime.
The Star Squad competition and Grimshaw's attempt to impose order turn army routines into comic obstacles.
Critics identify its traditionally English farcical situations, comic postcard characters, and old-fashioned jokes.
Grimshaw's final platoon and his desire to retire after winning the Star Squad prize provide the central dramatic engine.
Films like Carry On Sergeant, and why
Carry On Nurse
shared British farce, military spoofing, and broad character comedy
The Army Game
shared old-fashioned English comic situations, ensemble buffoonery, and service-life satire
Private's Progress
shared postwar British barracks comedy, eccentric servicemen, and irreverent institutional humor
Will Hay's The Goose Steps Out
shared slapstick military setting and ensemble of incompetent recruits
Movie Details
- Director
- Gerald Thomas
- Release Date
- 1958-08-31
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (76)
Cast
- William Hartnell
- Bob Monkhouse
- Shirley Eaton
- Eric Barker
- Dora Bryan
- Bill Owen
- Charles Hawtrey
- Kenneth Connor
- Kenneth Williams
- Terence Longdon
Common questions
- What is Carry On Sergeant about?
- A retiring sergeant faces his most chaotic platoon yet in a broad, affectionate send-off to British National Service farce.
- What is Carry On Sergeant like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Carry On Sergeant as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Carry On Sergeant violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Carry On Sergeant.
- What did critics think of Carry On Sergeant?
- Critics generally found the talented comic cast intermittently funny but limited by a weak story, well-worn situations, and uneven writing.
- Which films are like Carry On Sergeant?
- Films with a similar feel include Carry On Nurse, The Army Game, Private's Progress, and Will Hay's The Goose Steps Out.
- How long is Carry On Sergeant?
- Carry On Sergeant runs 84 minutes.
