Carry On Admiral (aka The Ship Was Loaded) (1957)

After a boozy night in which two old friends, a government minister (David Tomlinson, BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS) and a Navy officer (Brian Reece) get drunk and change clothes, a case of mistaken identities threaten to destroy their careers the following morning. This frantic farce, despite its title, is not part of the popular CARRY ON series but based on a 1947 farcical play. It's hard to go wrong with mistaken identity comedies but this one is spotty and saddled with rather charmless male leads. The material appears to be there but the director Val Guest's (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT) pacing is off. Still, there are laughs to be had, however infrequent. Shot in scope 2.35 but alas, the transfer I saw was pan and scanned while the wide screen format might have added something to the lunacy. With Peggy Cummins, Eunice Gayson (FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE), Joan Hickson and a nicely played befuddled performance by A.E. Matthews.