Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Carry On Cowboy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 9, 2024

Gerald Thomas "Carry On Cowboy" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by critic Angela Douglas; vintage promotional materials; and original theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Rumpo Kid and his boys

Had Carry On Cowboy not been associated with the Carry On series it would have had a different fate. It would have earned a cult status and been considered one of the best of its kind. It is not a groundbreaking film. However, what it does, which is old-fashioned mockery, is very effective.

In a distant corner of the Wild West, The Rumpo Kid (Sidney James) rides into Stodge City and immediately guns down three strangers who dare to step in front of him. The paranoid but very ambitious Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams), who has self-appointed himself mayor of Stodge City, runs to Sheriff Albert Earp (Jon Pertwee), who is almost deaf and nearly blind, and orders him to get his gun and restore order. However, in the nearby saloon, which has replaced whiskey with ginger beer and some other sugary drinks, The Rumpo Kid empties his gun on Sheriff Earp and instantly becomes the most powerful man in Stodge City. Terrified by the new order, Judge Burke then sends an urgent request for help to Washington D.C.

Thousands of miles away from Stodge City, Judge Burke’s request is received in a busy Washington D.C. office right before clueless British sanitary engineer Marshal P. Knutt (Jim Dale) walks in with a stack of references looking for a job. Another clueless bureaucrat then promptly concludes that since Knutt is a marshal he is the right man to clean up the mess in Stodge City and points him in Judge Burke’s direction. Still feeling lightheaded, Knut jumps on the first coach heading West and, while sweating profusely, unexpectedly befriends Annie Oakley (Angela Douglas), who is also heading to Stodge City to do a job.

The remaining two-thirds of Carry On Cowboy are quite the mish-mash of references to several classic westerns and hilarious jabs at their famous characters. However, there is an abundance of original material too, plenty of which is even better.

Some of the best such original material features a sensational Charles Hawtrey, who plays Chief Big Heap, quite possibly the goofiest Indian chief to ever step in front of a film camera, and Joan Sims, who plays Belle a.k.a. My-Clients-Call-Me-Ding-Dong, the main star in the brothel. When the new ‘marshal’ arrives in Stodge City, The Rumpo Kid reaches out to Chief Big Heap with a request for help, but the whiskey-loving Indian screws up their arrangement, and shortly after all hell breaks loose.

Gerald Thomas directs with familiar confidence but as in previous Carry On films it is just as easy to tell that the great cast has a lot of freedom to improvise. On the other hand, Carry On Cowboy maintains a very consistent tempo too, so it does not feel like a collection of uneven segments where the cast has too much freedom to be creative. In some of the earlier Carry On films, there isn’t a shortage of such uneven segments.

It is perhaps fair to speculate that Carry On Cowboy could have been a more colorful film. However, it already has a lot of witty material with suggestive wordplay that feels pretty bold. The main characters are already outrageous enough as well, so making them unapologetically unhinged most likely would have degraded the quality of the laughs.

Alan Hume’s lensing gives Carry On Cowboy a surprisingly rich appearance that is very easy to associate with a big-budget production. More importantly, it makes Carry On Cowboy look like a legit classic American western that has gone crazy.

*Carry On Cowboy is one of four films that are included in Carry On: Film Collection 3. The remaining three films are: Carry on Cleo (1964), Carry on Spying (1964), and Carry on Screaming (1966).

Carry On Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.84:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carry On Cowboy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

Like the other Carry On films in the Carry On: Film Collection 3, Carry On Cowboy was also remastered by StudioCanal. Generally speaking, the bulk of it looks quite good, in some areas even very good. However, there are various spots where the visuals look a bit too dated, even a bit weak. For example, the opening credits are pretty shaky and rough, and a few outdoor panoramic shots simply do not convey the proper delineation and depth that ought to be there. Grain is exposure is pleasing, but encoding optimizations could have been introduced to ensure that it is as even as possible. Color balance is very good. Some minor adjustments in the saturation levels of select supporting nuances can be made, but color temperature and balance are convincing. A few blemishes can be seen, but there are no large cuts, debris, marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Carry On Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit and never encountered any troubling age-related anomalies. Clarity, sharpness, and balance were very good. Dynamic intensity was rather impressive too, though only during the mass scenes and the shootouts. The music does produce plenty of good dynamic contrasts, but I do not think that they can impress.

Carry On Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critic Angela Douglas.

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage theatrical trailer for Carry On Cowboy. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Gallery - a collection of vintage promotional materials for Carry On Cowboy.

Carry On Cowboy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A part of me wishes that Carry On Cowboy was a little more colorful because there are seemingly endless opportunities to target and smear a much bigger number of classic films and iconic characters. However, another part of me likes a lot how Carry On Cowboy veers off in random directions and produces very good original content. The rest is more of the familiar craziness that made the Carry On series so successful. Despite some uneven spots, Carry On Cowboy looks good on Blu-ray. It is included in Carry On: Film Collection 3, a four-disc, Region-Free box set. RECOMMENDED.