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A furrier's attempts to give his mistress an expensive mink coat lead to all manner of comic escapades when her gangster husband decides to give it to his own secret lover. Comedy, starring Leslie Phillips, Julie Ege, Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor
1973
Comedy
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Leslie Phillips
(Actor)
Joan Sims
(Actor)
Barbara Windsor
(Actor)
Ray Cooney
(Actor)
Julie Ege
(Actor)
David Croft
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
Leslie Phillips
(Actor)
Born:
April 20, 1924
in
London
Best Known For:
His catchphrase: 'Well, hel-lo.'
Early-life:
Leslie Samuel Phillips was born in north London, on April 20, 1924. His father worked for Main Gas Cookers and died when Phillips was nine, leaving his mother to bring up three children alone. Inspired by his victory in a beautiful baby competition, she enrolled her son at the Italia Conti stage school and put him on the boards to earn extra money. From age 14, he toured almost permanently. His mother also paid for elocution lessons to make sure he dropped his cockney accent and gained the plummy voice we all know and love.
Career:
His early career was interrupted by the Second World War, but he went into rep after being demobbed. On the big screen, his breakthrough film was Train of Events in 1949, which marked the beginning of a lengthy movie career. Phillips has appeared in Carry On films, the Doctor series and more dramatic movies such as The Sound Barrier and The Longest Day. He disappeared from the silver screen for nearly a decade before returning in Out Of Africa. Other recent films include The Jackal, Saving Grace, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Venus and Late Bloomers. He also provided the voice for the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter movies.
Quote:
'It's very flattering to be viewed as something of a hot property again at my age.'
Trivia:
He was awarded an OBE in 1998.
Joan Sims
(Actor)
Born:
May 09, 1930
in
Essex
Best Known For:
Her roles in the Carry On films.
Early-life:
Irene Joan Marion Sims was born in Essex on May 9, 1930. She was the daughter of a railway station master and would often put on performances for waiting passengers. After failing a number of auditions, she was finally accepted into Rada and graduated in 1950.
Career:
Sims went on to appear in a number of farces at Brian Rix's Aldwych Theatre but she preferred working on films. She made her first appearance on the big screen in 1953 opposite George Cole in Will Any Gentleman? She followed this up with roles in Trouble in Store and Doctor in the House. She continued her run in comedy films when she was offered a part in Carry On Nurse. She went on to become a regular in the Carry On series, appearing in 24, including Carry On Screaming, Carry On Henry, and Carry On Camping. After the Carry On films ended in 1978, Sims became a regular face on TV, making appearances in Worzel Gummidge, In Loving Memory, Doctor Who, Farrington of the F.O., Simon and the Witch, On the Up, As Time Goes By, and The Last of the Blonde Bombshells. She died on June 27, 2001, at the age of 71.
Quote:
'Men are put off by funny women.'
Trivia:
Years of heavy drinking took their toll and she suffered with ill health in her later years. She had difficulty working with Frankie Howerd because they could not stop laughing.
Barbara Windsor
(Actor)
Born:
August 06, 1937
in
London
Best Known For:
That naughty giggle.
Early-life:
Born Barbara-Ann Deeks in London on August 6, 1937, the only child of a dressmaker and a bus driver. Her mum worked extra hours to pay for elocution lessons. As a child, Babs loved singing and dancing and it was during a visit to the theatre with her grandfather that she decided on a showbusiness career, eventually adopting the stage name Barbara Windsor. She won her first stage role at the age of 12 in a London pantomime. In 1952 she got a job in the chorus of Love from Lucy and stayed in the show for two years. A number of minor film roles followed, but she remained largely a stage actress.
Career:
Two major film roles in 1962 - Death Trap and Sparrows Can't Sing - resulted in greater recognition, but it wasn't until stage show Fings Ain't What They Used to Be that Windsor found true fame. Her career really took off after her appearance in the comedy film Carry On Spying. Stereotyped as a glamorous dolly bird, she was seen as the ultimate Carry On girl and appeared in nine of the classic movies. In recent years, she has appeared in the long-running soap EastEnders, playing Peggy Mitchell and becoming a genuine soap icon. She left Walford in 2010, and since then has done panto and regularly stood in for Elaine Paige when she's been unavailable to host her Radio 2 show.
Quote:
'In my late 40s I found it difficult at casting interviews because people would still think I was as young as I appeared in the Carry Ons.'
Trivia:
Windsor voiced the Dormouse in Tim Burton's film version of Alice in Wonderland.
Ray Cooney
(Actor)
Julie Ege
(Actor)
David Croft
(Director)
