The movies have their own trivia pages. For the trivia to Carry On Christmas, click here.
- Adored by the Network: Even though the series wasn't owned by a television channel, ITV often aired the movies on the ITV3 channel almost twice every week in 2015-16; religious holidays are an exception, with many days in the week devoted to a marathon.
- Attention Deficit Creator Disorder: In 1974, Talbot Rothwell was writing Carry On Dick, the stageshow Carry On London, Further Up Pompeii and Carry On Christmas. He was so overworked that it got to the point where he had to dictate the film's script to his daughter.
- Beam Me Up, Scotty!: When the average person refers to the Carry On film series, it's common for another to squawk, "Ooh, Matron!" in a Kenneth Williams-like imitation — often in the context of Kenneth Williams misreading Innocent Innuendo. But in fact, the phrase "Ooh, Matron!" was never used once in the series, or that context — at least, not in the way that quoter has said it. There has been "Ah, Matron," and "Oooh!! ... Matron, take them away!", which both came from Carry On Camping, but never "Ooh, Matron!"
- Cast the Expert: Hattie Jacques is most famous for playing the Apron Matron in the hospital-based films. Fittingly, she had previously been a nurse.
- Channel Hop: Anglo Amalgamated Film Distributors Ltd produced twelve films (1958–1966), the Rank Organisation made eighteen (1966–1978) and United International Pictures made just one (1992).
- Creator Backlash:
- Kenneth Williams criticised several of the movies despite his declared fondness for the series as a whole. He was mainly upset at how little he and his fellow actors were paid.
- In fear of being only known for this series, a lot of actors regretted appearing in the films. Notable people were Kenneth Williams and Julian Holloway.
- Jon Pertwee, who made cameos in Cleo, Cowboy, Screaming and Columbus, once referred to the series as "hideous".
- Jack Douglas disliked the last three he was in - England, Emmannuelle and Columbus - because they deviated so much from the formula.
- Creator's Favorite Episode:
- Sid James and Joan Sims named Carry On Cowboy as their favourite.
- Kenneth Williams' favourite was Carry On Up the Khyber.
- Barbara Windsor's favourite was Carry On Henry.
- Leslie Phillips named Carry On Nurse as his funniest film. It was also the only one that Kenneth Connor rewatched, because his son was in it.
- Peter Rogers' favourite was Up the Khyber, while Gerald Thomas' favourite was Carry On Camping.
- The Danza:
- Many of Sid James' characters were named Sid or Sidney, although this also happened from time to time with Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor, and various others.
- Carry On Camping probably contains the most uses of this trope, with characters including Sid Boggle (James), Kenneth Soaper (Williams), Charlie Muggins (Hawtrey), Bernie Lugg (Bresslaw), Joan Fussey (Sims), and Babs (Windsor).
- The character of Sidney Bung in Carry On Screaming! was intended to invoke this, but when Sid James proved unavailable, the role was recast with Harry H. Corbett.
- Dawson Casting: Frequently used. For example, in Carry On, Sergeant, the National Service recruits, who should be in their late teens or early 20s, were all played by actors who were over 30 at the time of filming (in fact, Charles Hawtrey was over 40, Kenneth Connor nearly so). Similarly, in Carry On Camping, the finishing school girls were played by actresses in their late 20s or early 30s rather than in their late teens or early 20s (for example, Barbara Windsor was 31).
- Development Hell: An attempt to revive the series, Carry On London, was announced in 2003 by producer Peter Rogers and producer James Black but remained in pre-production well into 2008. The script was signed off by the production company in late March 2008, and "centred on a limousine company ferrying celebrities to an awards show." The film had several false starts, with the producers and cast changing extensively over time. Only the rather unknown Welsh actress Jynine James remained a consistent name from 2003 to 2008. Danniella Westbrook, David Jason, Shaun Williamson and Burt Reynolds were also once attached to the project. In May 2006 it was announced Vinnie Jones and Shane Richie were to star in the film, which was to be directed by Peter Richardson, though Ed Bye later replaced him as the named director. At the 50th anniversary party held at Pinewood Studios in March 2008, Peter Rogers confirmed that he was planning a series of Carry On films after London, subject to the success of the first.
- In early 2009, Carry On London or Carry On Bananas was once again 'back on', with Charlie Higson attached as director, and a different more modern cast list involving Paul O'Grady (as the acidic Kenneth Williamsesque character), Jynine James, Lenny Henry, Justin Lee Collins, Jennifer Ellison (as the saucy Barbara Windsor type), Liza Tarbuck (Hattie Jacques), Meera Syal, James Dreyfus, and Frank Skinner (filling in the Sid James role). Despite new media interest and sets being constructed at Pinewood film studios, the film once again was put on hold, and the project was shelved after the death of Peter Rogers in April 2009.
- In May 2016, producer Jonathan Sothcott of Hereford Films announced plans for a new series of Carry On films, beginning with Carry On Doctors and Carry On Campus. As of early 2017, no news had surfaced on if the planned reboot is still going ahead. On 12 April 2017, Sothcott confirmed to thehollywoodnews that he is no longer involved with the film series.
- Dolled-Up Installment:
- Carry On, Sergeant was based on the play The Bull Boys by R. F. Delderfield and was adapted into a script by Norman Hudis with John Antrobus contributing additional material and replacing the conscripted ballet dancers of the novel into a married couple.
- Carry On Nurse was based on the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale.
- Carry On Cabby pitched as a stand-alone film named Call Me A Cab, but eventually did through post-production.
- Carry On Jack started out as a script called Poopdecker R.N., but Peter Rogers who owned the rights to James Mitchell's Steady Boys Steady adopted it for Talbot Rothwell's script but it was quickly changed to Talbot's alternative Up the Armada, but the film censor thought it too lewd so it became a Carry On.
- Carry On Again Doctor raised problems with The Rank Organisation's legal adviser, who felt it was too similar to an unfilmed Doctor... Series script that Talbot Rothwell had previously submitted to producer Betty Box. Most notably, both scenarios featured the medical mission/slimming potion idea. As Box had not taken up the option on Rothwell's Doctor script, however, it was felt there were no legal problems with the use of those ideas in this film.
- Fake Nationality: The primary recurring cast members were all British (except for Sid James, who was born and raised in South Africa but tended to play Cockneys, making him a Fake Brit)note , but many of them played a variety of other nationalities across the series, usually without affecting the relevant accent. Carry On Cowboy was a notable exception, with the entire cast affecting American accents (of varying quality) except for Jim Dale (whose character was British) and Charles Hawtrey (the incongruity of an Indian chief looking and talking like Hawtrey being a source of humour). Bernard Bresslaw combined this with Blackface or Brownface in several films, playing a Native American in Cowboy, an Arab in Follow That Camel, an Indian in Up the Khyber, and a sub-Saharan African in Up the Jungle.
- Franchise Killer: The series was killed by the triple whammy of Carry On England, That's Carry On! and Carry On Emmannuelle''. An attempted reboot was made in 1992 that also sunk the franchise even further.
- Hostility on the Set:
- Kenneth Williams and Sid James had a famously antagonistic relationship. Williams was particularly scathing and personal about James' acting ability (as revealed in his posthumously published diaries), while James found Williams' loud and attention-seeking behaviour annoying.
- Williams had no time for Charles Hawtrey, due to his drunkenness and unreliability.
- Jim Dale revealed that while he got on well with his fellow castmates, he wasn't close friends with them, as he'd eschew night outs with them in favour of being a family man. According to Dale, they were so offended at him passing up Carry On Up the Jungle in favour of stage work that they snubbed his appearance on This Is Your Life.
- Irony as She Is Cast:
- Joan Sims often played mothers or mothers-in-law and in Carry On Matron, she played a long overdue pregnant woman. In reality, she was childless.
- Most of Peter Butterworth's roles in Armed Farces movies were cowardice old men who were incompetent with warfare, which is ironic because he was a sergeant major in the Second World War and was even imprisoned in a Nazi war camp, so he'd probably be the first to know about how to deal with himself in the army.
- Milestone Celebration: There have been many celebrations for the film series whenever they reach anniversaries. Often in the media, a documentary about the series would be made by ITV every couple years (so far, there's been What Is a Carry On? from 1998, and Carry On Forever from 2015) or a behind-the-scenes book would be released. The British Royal Mail service released mail stamps of the popular movies' posters when the series celebrated 50 years, and boxsets of the series were re-released.
- No Stunt Double: Jim Dale did his own stunts. On one occasion, he was told to turn his head to the camera to show the audience that it was really him and not a stuntman.
- The Pete Best:
- If anyone qualifies for this title it would probably be Shirley Eaton, who was the female lead in several of the early films, but ceased to be a regular cast member just before the series really hit its stride.
- Bob Monkhouse was probably the most famous cast member in Carry On, Sergeant (aside from William Hartnell), but never appeared again in the series.
- Radio comedy veteran Ted Ray played the beloved headmaster "Wakie" Wakefield in Carry On Teacher. The role of Sgt. Wilkins in Carry On Constable was intended for Ray, but a conflict with his contract with Associated British Cinemas meant he had to be dropped from the film and replaced with Sid James, who went on to make 19 Carry On films; Ray never returned to the series.
- Production Posse: The creators and actors remained close in media during the series' running. When Sid James' sitcom Bless This House had a feature film, Terry Scott and Peter Butterworth showed up, and it was directed and produced by Gerald Thomas and Peter Rogers.
- Recycled Script: In a way, considering how there were many motifs and running gags reappeared in the series. One of the most blatant ones was from the 1972 Carry On Christmas TV special in which Kenneth Connor ignores the sounds of bombs and bullets being fired at his mansion while his guests panic, much like how the dinner party ignored the warfare being fired at the building in Carry On Up the Khyber which made Peter Butterworth have a breakdown.
- Recycled: The Series: The first Carry On Laughing! was an attempt to bring the style of the Carry On films to television; it ran for 13 episodes across two series in 1975. The series was not a success, in part because only around half the film series' regular cast members were involvednote while long-time writer Talbot Rothwell had retired due to ill health, and while the films are still frequently repeated on British television to this day, Carry On Laughing! has been largely forgotten.
- Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Charles Hawtrey was sacked from the series after Carry On Abroad when his drinking got out of control, to the point where he literally had to be held up by fellow actors in scenes.
- Romance on the Set: Sid James and Barbara Windsor had an affair that lasted ten years. Problem was, she was married to gangster Ronnie Knight. James' obsession with Windsor was such that it was rumoured that her then husband Ronnie Knight had all of James's furniture rearranged at home as a subtle threat and, on another occasion, that he had put an axe in James's floor, but close friends of the time, including Vince Powell and William G. Stewart, have dismissed the suggestions.
- Star-Making Role: Arguably, for everyone. Although the majority of the actors had been successful in the theatre, radio, stand-up comedy and television, the biggest reason that they are still remembered to the present day is because the Carry On films have survived through pop culture better than their other work. Although, specifically:
- Jim Dale. Before becoming an actor, he was a singer with mediocre popularity, but that increased when he made a cameo on Carry On Cabby, followed by regular appearances as main characters throughout the rest of the 1960s. Arguably, without the Carry On films, Dale probably wouldn't've had a successful career in the United States like he did.
- Juliet Mills — the wife of Maxwell Caulfield and the sister of Hayley Mills. She may have appeared in one movie in the series, but she stated in an interview in 2015 that she got better acting opportunities after appearing in Carry On Jack.
- Barbara Windsor, who was already known in the media as the woman that married a gangster, got a very big positive reception after appearing in the series (despite her scandalous affair with Sid James in the early-1970s).
- Harry H. Corbett from Steptoe and Son. Some people assume that his appearance as the leading man in Carry On Screaming! lead Steptoe and Son to be un-cancelled.
- Typecasting: The series relied on certain actors to portray certain character types. It usually became familiar with the audiences and knew who was going to do what in the next film before any regular faces appeared on the screen.
- Unfinished Episode: There were several planned films that were due to be created but many never saw past the scriptwriting.
- What a Carry On, planned for 1961, no details known.
- Carry On Smoking was planned to be released in 1961 that was set in a fire station, which had a plot similar to Carry On Constable, but there has been no reason given to why it was scrapped.
- Carry On Again, Nurse was attempted to be brought back a couple of times — the first attempt became Carry On Doctor. The second attempt came in 1979, after the series left Rank Films and moved to Hemdale. A completed script had been written by George Layton and Jonathan Lynn in 1977. It was cancelled due to the financial loss of Carry On Emmannuelle. The third and final attempt came in 1988, with a script written by Norman Hudis. It was to revolve around a hospital set for closure, and set to star original actors Barbara Windsor, Jack Douglas, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Connor, and Joan Sims, with Sims filling in the role of matron that was previously held by Hattie Jacques. The end of the film was going to be a tribute to Jacques, with Sims turning around a photograph of the actress and asking "Well, did I do alright?" Production was scheduled to begin in June 1988, but the deaths of Williams and Hawtrey, combined with a budget of £1.5 million which was deemed too expensive, proved to be the end of the film and it was cancelled.
- Carry On Flying was abandoned in 1962, which was about RAF recruits — presumably a bit like Carry On Constable.
- Carry On, Spaceman was to be released shortly after Carry On Regardless, in 1961. It was scripted by Norman Hudis, and was to satirise interests in the Space Race from the Western world's point of view. The cast was to consist of three would-be astronauts who constantly bungled on their training and their mission into outer space – most likely the trio would have been played by the trinity of Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, and Leslie Phillips that had been established in Carry On Constable. Attempts to revive it in 1962 under Denis Gifford, again by Hudis, failed, and the project was subsequently abandoned.
- Carry On Robin, a planned spoof of Robin Hood was outlined by Gerald Thomas and registered with the British Film Producers Association in 1965, but never pursued.
- Carry On Escaping. Scripted by Talbot Rothwell in 1973, a spoof of World War II escape films.
- Carry On Dallas was written in 1980 and casting offers made to Williams, Connor, Douglas, Sims, Hawtrey and Dale. The production was abandoned when Lorimar Productions demanded a royalty fee of 20 times the total production budget.
- Carry On Down Under. In 1981, Gerald Thomas did some location scouting while on holiday in Australia and spoke to the Australian Film Commission. The production was abandoned when finance fell through.
- What Could Have Been: On top of these sections (Development Hell and Missing Episode), there many moments of this.
- Ted Ray could've continued the series after Carry On Teacher, but his contract with another production company held him back. This paved the way for Sid James to appear in Carry On Constable and a successful career after that.
- Alternatively, Sid James being unavailable to appear in Follow That Camel! and Carry On Screaming!!
- Harry Secombe potentially portraying Henry VIII in Carry On Henry.
- Barbara Windsor was originally wanted to portray Cleopatra in Carry On Cleo, but a private mishap occurred between her and the production team, which made them choose Amanda Barrie. She eventually got the team's intended wishes by playing her during the first Carry On stage production.
- Deborah Kerr was offered the leading role in Carry On Screaming!, but she turned it down.
- Leslie Phillips, having made a good impression in Nurse, Teacher and Constable, was asked to be a regular castmember, but he turned it down, due to fears of Typecasting and a desire to do more serious work. One can only wonder what the series would have been like if he'd stayed on (though he did return for Columbus).
- Ted Ray could've continued the series after Carry On Teacher, but his contract with another production company held him back. This paved the way for Sid James to appear in Carry On Constable and a successful career after that.
