Jackson Booth-Millard The story of Henry VIII and his six wives is one of the most famous in history, and it is also quite a predictable one that the Carry On team would spoof. Basically King Henry VIII (Sid James) married Queen Marie of Normandy (Joan Sims), after killing current wife (Patsy Rowlands), but before they can consummate the marriage he finds she is eating too much garlic, and he wants a divorce. Henry now has to find a way to get ride of her, and wants someone to have an affair with her and confess to it, and Sir Roger De Lodgerley (Charles Hawtrey) may have just helped do it. Henry soon finds himself enjoying the company of a woman again with the lovely Bettina (Barbara Windsor), daughter of Charles the Earl of Bristol (Peter Butterworth). Meanwhile, the King's trusted friends Thomas Cromwell (Kenneth Williams) and Lord Hampton of Wick (Kenneth Connor) plan to kidnap and end the life of the King, but this fails, and they are sentenced to be beheaded in the end. Although, Henry stopped the sentence, wanting their help with another woman, they decided it's best they die. Also starring Terry Scott as Cardinal Wolsey, Julian Holloway as Sir Thomas, Peter Gilmore as King Francis of France and Star Wars' David Prowse as Beared Torturer. The innuendos are pretty average standard, it doesn't have the biggest amount of slapstick comedy, and the performances are okay, so it's not a complete waste of time. Worth watching!

crossbow0106 This farce about Henry the VIII is perfect fodder for the Carry On group. This film has the core cast which made the best Carry Ons. It stars the irrepressible Sid James as the king, along with the always fun to watch Kenneth Williams as Cromwell. That duo made the best Carry Ons, they just seemed to always work well together. Add in the always welcome Joan Sims, the always bubbly Barbara Windsor and the also welcome Charles Hawtrey as Sir Roger and you know you're going to enjoy this. There have been better Carry On films, and the film carries the usual sexual innuendos and once in a while too cheap laughs, but with this cast it hardly matters. Seek this out.

bob the moo The story told by this film is based on a manuscript discovered by one William Cobbler which reveals that Henry VIII did in fact have two more wives. Although it was first thought that Cromwell originated the story, it is now known to be definitely all Cobbler's – from beginning to end. With the beheading of his most recent wife, Henry hopes that new bride Queen Marie of Normandy will, erm, give it up to him in the bedroom. Things are going great until her habit of eating garlic all the time turns out to be a major turn-off on their first night together and Henry demands the wedding be annulled. Sadly the Pope has taken a stance and makes this impossible so Henry just tries to get some where he can and avoid his new Queen. Meanwhile a group of conspirators conspire to remove Henry from the throne as they see him as an embarrassment to England on the world stage.Although the 1970's saw the death of the Carry On series, this film is an example in the sort of vehicle that produced the team's most enjoyable work – namely a subject that is ripe for irreverent spoofing but yet produces an acceptable narrative at the same time. The worst of the series are the films that have little effort put into them and just seem to be a collection of uninspired pratfalls and crudity – of course those that dislike the whole series will argue that the best of the series pretty much consists of exactly that but I would disagree! Although hardly high art, Henry sends up the English historical dramas with good humour, providing a very basic plot with jokes that are suggestively rude without being out and out crude to any detrimental extent. The humour is not the sharpest you'll see (to say the least!) but it is at least witty and quite well delivered by the usual cast.James moulds Henry in the image of his own Carry On personae and it comes off well (oh-err). He is enjoyably rowdy although not above the standard of his usual work in this series. Williams is better because he uses his usual delivery well and has plenty of good lines; likewise Terry Scott is enjoyable in a supporting role. Sims is feisty and always suited the younger, sexual roles rather than the later "nagging wife" stuff she was put into. Hawtrey minces around the edges and gets some cheeky laughs with an easy performance while Windsor plays it all up front as usual! Support from Connor, Gilmore and others is good and the lot of them pretty much match the irreverent tone of the material.Overall this is not a fantastic nor a hilarious comedy but it is still one of the better in the Carry On series. The cast are mostly on board with serviceable performances that delivery the material well with a constant wink to the audience. The material sits within an acceptable narrative and good sets/costumes and the jokes are witty and funny, avoiding the uninspired crudity that would later kill the series.

Smalling-2 An unofficial tale about Henry VIII's two brief marriages between Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.The usual crude humour of the series is reasonably neglected in preference of real wit and poignancy, the acting shows unexpected sophistication, the dialogue sharp, and even the period detail seems stimulatingly accurate in this surprisingly effective travesty of "Anne of the Thousand Days", "Lion in Winter", "A Man for All Seasons" and other British historical sagas. One of the best efforts of all concerned.