A Write Carry On - A Screenwriting Bestseller

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A Write Carry On - The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

by Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

 

Imagine growing up with the Carry Ons. Getting to hobnob on a regular basis with the likes of Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Frankie Howerd, Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale and Kenneth Williams. Well, I was that lucky guy. The catalyst for my meetings with the cream of saucy British comedy was Talbot‘Tolly’ Rothwell.

Tolly wrote the scripts for twenty-two of the big-screen Carry Ons, and was a close family friend for all of those glorious mega-grossing box office years.

 

A Write Carry On catalogues not only his eleven years with the Carry Ons, but also Tolly’s time as a Second World War captive at the notorious POW camp, Stalag Luft III (best known for two famous prisoner escapes that took place there by tunnelling, which were depicted in the films The Great Escape (1963) and The Wooden Horse (1950), and the books by former prisoners Paul Brickhill and Eric Williams from which these films were adapted).

Along the way you will get a behind-the-scenes peek at the lives and personalities of all the major Carry On stars. There were a lot of laughs but also a few tears. Oh, and the odd illicit affair too!

I really enjoyed reading about the real people that i only knew from the carry on films.
It was so interesting finding out about the man behind the scripts, a true genius.
Funny, sad and informative from an unusual perspective.
Would recommend this to all. (Verified Amazon Buyer Review)



‘The spine of the book lists his name. The title looks familiar. Even the dust jacket speaks of ideas that had once come so easily to him. But here, in this now unfamiliar room, his past belongs to another and the present holds few clues to his self. Fear takes a grip.’ ('A Write Carry On')

This was the moment when one of the great unsung heroes of British comedy writing knew the game was up. Having been responsible for a rollercoaster half-decade of screenwriting twenty Carry On films, as well as Up Pompeii and The Crazy Gang, Talbot ’Tolly’ Rothwell could no longer recognise the keys on his typewriter. His past had caught up with him.

 

Talbot went on to receive an OBE - yet still managed to be 'A Man In The Shadows’.

 

Featuring the likes of Kenneth Williams, Sid James, Frankie Howerd, Hattie Jacques et al, this gripping tale takes the reader deep into the complex characters who have, even after their passing, become a mainstay of British comedy.

 

‘A Write Carry On’ also take the reader behind enemy lines during the Second World War, when Talbot was incarcerated in the notorious Stalag Luft III. There he teamed up with Peter Butterworth to produce camp concerts which aided tunnelling escape efforts.

"Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" - Kenneth Williams (Julius Caesar) Carry On Cleo (1964)

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A Man In The Shadows Remembered

I remember him well. Those whisky tones and with a smile to illuminate even the darkest room.

Rolling summer green. Shades of the boy and a glimpse into the soul of a loving man.

Where I can escape to. Slip into his stream and journey beyond everyday demands.

Where I can hear his laughter. Of his presence so engaging so omnipresent and serene.

There he is still out walking. Over the hills and on through valleys. A spirit born to guide. A feature carved into chalk and a memory to survive.

Rolling summer green. Colours of the joy and a soul enlightened by a man in the shadows who left an indelible mark.

A place I can escape too. Slip into his stream and journey beyond everyday demands.
Where I can hear his laughter. Of his presence so engaging so omnipresent and serene.

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A Write Carry On - The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

by Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

The Right-Wing 'Carry On' That Shed The Most Pounds

A little bit of politics in a mainstream comedy film can stem the flow of cash at the Box Office. Take ‘Carry On At Your Convenience’; the twenty-second film in the series.

With ‘Convenience’ a lot of audience goodwill went out the window. In a time of bitter industrial disputes, scriptwriter Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell explored the political themes of the trade union movement.

The script had a noticeable right-wing slant; both mocking and sending-up the unions of the day. In doing so, Tolly alienated the traditional working-class audience of the series.

It was originally conceived with the overtly communist title of 'Carry On Comrade' in reflection of the negative treatment of the union and union bosses.

The film was re-titled 'Carry On Working'. That title was ultimately retained in the film’s closing sequence, a dialogue scene that didn’t appear in Tolly's final draft of the script.

To add even further confusion, the word ‘convenience’ wasn’t used for lavatories in America or Australia, so the film was re-labelled 'Carry On Round The Bend' for release in those countries.‎

The plot centred on a bolshie union representative Vic Spanner, played by Kenneth Cope, who continually stirs up trouble in the works, to the irritation of his co-workers and management.

He calls a strike for almost any minor incident – or because he wants time off to attend a local football match.

Sid Plummer (Sid James) is the factory foreman bridging the gap between workers and management, shrewdly keeping the place going amid the unrest.

'Carry On At Your Convenience' took a full five-years to cover its full production costs.

Available now at Amazon - iBookstore - Kobo

A Write Carry On - The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

by Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

Sid James & The Girl From The Evening Standard

Sidney ‘Sid’ James sat in his trailer sipping on a wisky and glancing absent mindedly at the new script he’d found awaiting him in a sealed brown envelope.

Sid had arrived mid-afternoon, having stopped off on the way for quick livener and a flutter on the Gee-Gees.

To do a full read through was too much like hard work, he decided. So he gave the script the quick once over before doing much the same to a passing Barbara Windsor. He watched her run to catch Kenneth Williams and wondered to himself what a nice girl like her was doing with a prat like him?

Sid was cold and wrapped himself in a blanket just as a light knock at the door sounded. He ignored it, but soon there came another, and then another. ‘Come in, why don’t you.’

The door opened and hesitantly a young blonde eased her way in, dusted herself down and turned to face Sid. ‘Kathy, Evening Standard, Mr Williams said it would be ok to talk to you.’

‘Did he now? The little fucker,’ smiled Sid. He patted the space next to him and Kathy nervously approached and brushed her skirt flat as she sat down.

‘Now, what can I do for you?’

‘Really, what I’m after is a few words on how you think the Carry On films have changed since Mr Hudis left and Mr Rothwell took over?’

‘Well, that’s different at least,’ cackled Sid. ‘Fancy a drink?’

You could say Sid was more than an average red blooded male. He worshipped the female form, and along with that came a deep respect for the love and support they could give him.

His much publicised affair with Barbara Windsor went beyond the simple attraction of an older man for a younger female. As Windsor has said on many occasions, what for her was a bit of a fling, was for him much more.

To find out what transpired when ‘Kathy, from the Evening Standard’, entered Sid James’ life .. read the bestselling ebook ..

A Write Carry On (Wholepoint Publications)

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Contact the author at editor@brighton.co.uk

Beating Up The Carry Ons! All Aboard The Good Ship Windsor

Barbara ‘Babs’ Windsor adored a bit of Motown and was more than a little partial to the sounds that emanated from the Stax label.

But thanks to fellow Carry Oners Sid James and Peter Butterworth, Talbot ‘Tolly’ Rothwell’s turntable spun to the antiquated dreariness of the crooners (Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Bing Crosby).

As the Carry On scriptwriter, Tolly wasn’t high on the pecking order when it came to selecting the aural ambience of his abode, especially on those rare weekends when the stars came out and illuminated the sleepy little Sussex village of Fulking.

But Babs was no shrinking violet, and often once the whisky and wine was in full flow, Tolly’s wall mounted speakers would throb to the wah-wah guitars and hard driving beat of The Temptations ‘Cloud Nine’. That’s when things got interesting .. especially if Kenneth Williams was in residence!

At first Kenneth would moan and bemoan the sudden competition for the room’s attention. He may have told his anecdotes many times over, but there was always an audience hanging on his every word.  

It wouldn’t be long before young Ken would note Sid James’ disdain at the ongoing racket, and that’s when, without a second thought, Kenneth would jump raft and come down on the side of the good ship, Windsor.

‘Turn it up, Barb’, he would scream. ‘Come on everyone, are we the only ones ‘ere with a pulse?’ Babs would love it, I loved it .. and Tolly would just give that ‘wink’ of his and retire graciously to the rear garden. 

The battle had been won. Soon, the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, Martha and the Vandellas, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Eddie Floyd and Wilson Pickett would drive Sid and his compatriots out of both the house and the party spirit. Kenneth may have been left with a much diminished audience, but it was an audience all the same!

Available now at Amazon - iBookstore - Kobo

A Write Carry On - The Untold Story Of A Man In The Shadows

by Mike Cobley

Wholepoint Publications

Charles Hawtrey: The Carry On Genius With A Dark Past

Carry On regular Charles Hawtrey was a strange one. Everytime I saw him he was sat quietly in a corner of a room keeping himself very much to himself.

It certainly wasn’t the job of a timid teen to make social interaction with someone as seemingly unapproachable as Mr Hawtrey.

My dad had warned me that it was best to stay well clear. He’d barely got a word out of the man. They were less than a year apart in age, yet my dad seemed decades younger. Hawtrey, to my fourteen year-old eye, had the presence and look of a man well past his lifespan.

But he was, without question, a comedy genius. His timing, movement and mere presence in a Carry On scene were enough to raise the neck hairs. He had come to acting as early in life after appearing on a series of recordings as a boy soprano. 

Carry On scriptwriter Talbot 'Tolly' Rothwell never had a bad word to say about the latter day recluse. He once told me that Hawtrey had suffered the fate of many gay men of the day. He’d kept his sexuallity a secret and remained tied to his mother’s apron strings. He also had a tough time of it when she went on develop senile dementia.

His mother was known to horde toilet rolls, as Hawtrey was reported to have hoarded bed knobs for future profit. It was a difficult time to be gay and little is known of Hawtrey’s private life.

I was in the presence of Hawtrey a handful of times. I remember once staring inquisitively at the small man and wondering how Tolly could believe him to be so full of humour.

Once, Hawtrey caught me looking at him and smiled back. I remember feeling sad because his smile had been so full of gloom. It was almost as though the very soul of Hawtrey was trapped.

I liked him, there was a kinship and I could sense a softness. His movements were gentle and he was polite. But sad, very sad.

Charles Hawtrey passed away in 1988 and the age of 73. A strange, private and talented man. I remember him fondly.

A Write Carry On (Wholepoint Publications)

available 1st May 2012.


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Contact the author at editor@brighton.co.uk

Talking Extramarital Affairs: Between The Sheets With Barbara Windsor

Affairs can be so destructive. But what’s a girl to do when a man wears her down? In the case of Barbara Windsor she was never going to hold out for long.

She’d already succumbed to the charms of George Best:

‘There was this vision, this absolute vision. In the Sixties he was so beautiful. Anyway, in the bar afterwards he came over to me and I said, “Look, don’t waste your time with me, darling. You’ve got all these lovely ladies after you. And he said, “Well, when do I ever get to talk to somebody like you?” Well, that did it. That was it. A magic moment. It was great, he was fabulous.’

But that wasn’t the affair we are eluding to here. Nor was Babs’ dalliance with a Bee Gee. She once had a ‘magic moment’ with Maurice Gibb:

‘I said to him, “Where would you like to go? My friend said we could go for coffee? And he said: “Look Bar, let’s get it over and done with, let’s go to bed”. Because he knew that he wasn’t giving it on stage, so we went and had a little moment. It was lovely.’

No, the affair on most people’s lips was the one between Barbara Windsor and her fellow Carry On, Sid James.

He expected they’d ‘just do it’ and that would be that. But things turned out differently.

“I cared deeply for him. I didn't at first, he was just my leading man, who liked me,” recalls Barbara.

But things got a little deep and more that just a little complicated. The pair’s union became common knowledge, not least on the Carry On set.

Kenneth Williams didn’t like it that’s for sure. The woman he adored shacking up with the man he had little time for. Not good.

Babs admits that she had five abortions, the first three before the age of 21 and the last when she was 42. She also believes that physically she’s an acquired taste:

‘I’ll tell you about men. They either really want to give me one – I’ve had them say, “Ooh, I could really give you one” – or [they say]: ‘No, you don’t do anything for me”.’

No, extramarital affairs are good for tittle-tattle but bad for the health:

‘I couldn’t have survived my depression without my current man,' admits Babs. It’s a relationship that’s lasted 26 years.

A Write Carry On (Wholepoint Publications)

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