Carry On Columbus


Carry On Columbus is a 1992 British comedy film, the 31st and final release in the Carry On film series. The film was a belated entry to the series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. It was produced to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

Plotline

Christopher Columbus believes he can find an alternative route to the far East and persuades the King and Queen of Spain to finance his expedition. But the Sultan of Turkey, who makes a great deal of money through taxing the merchants who have to pass through his country on the current route, sends his best spy, Fatima, to wreck the trip...

Casting

Main series regulars present are Jim Dale, Peter Gilmore, Bernard Cribbins, Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield. The only actor to bridge the gap between Carry On Columbus and the previous entry was Jack Douglas, making his eighth appearance in the series.
Original Carry On performer Frankie Howerd was signed up to appear, but he died shortly before he was due to film his role. His part as the King of Spain was offered to original series regular Bernard Bresslaw, who turned it down. Leslie Phillips eventually took on the role, playing opposite June Whitfield as the Queen, a role turned down by both Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor.
Veteran Carry On performer Kenneth Connor was offered a cameo role in the film but he turned it down, saying "I want to be remembered as a Carry On star, not a Carry On bit-player".
The producers managed to persuade a number of alternative comedians such as Peter Richardson, Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, Julian Clary and Nigel Planer to appear in the film.
This was the last film that Gerald Thomas directed, as he died on 9 November 1993.

Cast

Crew and technical

Interiors:
Exteriors:
The film was panned by critics. Michael Dwyer in The Irish Times described Carry on Columbus as a "flaccid, feeble comeback effort" and a "wretched and pathetic attempt which is singularly unfunny". However, Carry On Columbus took more money at the UK box office than the two other Columbus films released in 1992, ' and ', although all three films flopped. Carry On Columbus was also shot on a much lower budget than the other two films, a budget of £2.5 million compared to the other two budgets of $45 million and $47 million respectively.
In later years, many Carry On cast members have spoken negatively of the film, such as Jack Douglas claiming he "would rather forget it", and in a 2004 poll of British film actors, technicians, writers and directors on British cinema, Carry On Columbus
was voted the worst British film ever made.