I came to this film as somebody who'd never watched an episode of the television series of which it's a spin off and I went away having enjoyed it. It's no classic, for sure, but it does prove to be a pacey, gag-packed and charming way to spend an hour and a half.
The film is, in essence, a time capsule of the early 1960s, with all the outrageous fashions you could wish for. Sid James plays himself as an irascible family man, forever at the mercy of his nagging wife, cute daughter Sally (sister of Judy) Geeson and cheeky son Robin Askwith (CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER).
The loose plot sees popular comedy tag-team, Terry Scott and June Whitfield, moving in next door at which point all manner of over-the-garden-fence hijinks occur. There aren't really any stand-out gags to mention, but most of the cast are quite charming and there's plenty of mileage in the illegal-distillery antics in the garden shed.
With Gerald Thomas directing and Peter Rogers producing (not to mention Sid James starring) this feels very much like a late CARRY ON film, and it has an easygoing edge over some of the lacklustre entries in that series. Enjoyment also comes from nostalgia of the era, and in the excellent supporting cast (including Bill Maynard, Peter Butterworth, Patsy Rowlands, Marianne Stone and Frank Thornton).
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