Trivia / Carry On Nurse

• Actor-Shared Background: Hattie Jacques, who played Matron, was a nurse in the VAD during World War II.
• Blooper:
  • When the night nurse is found hidden in bed, she runs away. However in her next scene, both her hairstyle and petticoat are different.
  • The "L" plate that the Colonel sticks to Nurse Dawson disappears without being removed.
• Completely Different Title:
  • Belgium/South America: 40 Degrees of Love.
  • Denmark: Isn't It Wonderful Doctor.
  • Finland: Laughing Gas & Beautiful Girls.
  • Germany: 41 Degrees of Love.
  • Greece: Nurse Does All the Work.
  • Hungary: Go on, Sister!.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Norman Hudis wasn't a fan of the drunken operation scene, calling it "an absurd scene that didn't work".
  • Wilfrid Hyde-White wasn't told his character would have a daffodil placed in his bottom and threatened to sue when he believed that a stand-in was used to show this. Hudis has also since expressed regret for the gag, claiming the Colonel didn't deserve such an appalling indignity and thought it made the nurses look too malicious.
• Creator's Favorite Episode:
  • Kenneth Connor never watched his own films, but this was the exception, due to his son being in it.
  • Shirley Eaton said this was her favourite Carry On film.
• The Danza:
  • Norm is played by Norman Rossington.
  • Oliver's love interest, Jill, is played by Jill Ireland.
  • Bernie Bishop's young son Jeremy is played by Jeremy Connor. ^note Kenneth Connor's actual son.
• Deleted Role:
  • The anesthetist played by John Horsley.
  • The guard with his Alsatian and Home Sister, from the mortuary scene mentioned below, as well as a patient whose relationship was crumbling all didn't make it past the script.
• Deleted Scene:
  • After the nurse says Bernie has "such a little thing", the shot of him peering under the sheet was cut. Peter Rogers complained about this:
    People got the gag anyway. So, we got one laugh when, perhaps, we could have had a pair.
  • Originally there was a joke in the film concerning the lead weights holding Perc's leg in the air. When the punchline "Yes, you can pick up Mr. Hickson's balls" was put before the censors, they thought it too much and cut it.
  • A bizarre Dream Sequence Ted has after being injected with anesthetic involving him making moves on Nurse Axwell before Sister forces him back into bed with a whip.
  • Ted's article writing subplot was trimmed down, losing scenes of him highlighting the nurses' low pay.
• Dolled-Up Installment: The film was based on the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale.
• DVD Commentary: With Carry On historian Robert Ross talking to Shirley Eaton (Staff Nurse Dorothy Denton) and Terence Longdon (Ted York).
• Enforced Method Acting: The reason the Colonel looks so relaxed before being told he's had a daffodil stuck in his rear end? Wilfrid Hyde-White wasn't told of his fate during filming. When Hyde-White found out and believed a stand-in bottom was used to show the flower, he was infuriated and threatened to sue, although didn't in the end.
• Fake Brit: The Australian Ed Devereaux plays the British Alec Lawrence.
• Never Work with Children or Animals: Jeremy Connor only said his lines when director Gerald Thomas promised him sweets.
• On-Set Injury: While filming the scene where Nurse Dawson crashes into a trolley and falls over, Joan Sims was left with a deep gash in her shin and had to be whisked away for stitches.
• Real-Life Relative: Kenneth Connor's (Bernie Bishop) son Jeremy played his son (Jeremy Bishop) in the film.
• The Red Stapler: The closing visual joke with the daffodil was so popular with American audiences, that plastic daffodils were given away at theatres screening the film.
• Referenced by...:
  • A colourised version of the film can be seen playing in reception in the CASUAL+Y episode "Gas".
  • In episode 2 of House of Cards (UK), Peter McKenzie ends his conference speech with the film's title.
  • In the Dinnerladies episode "Monday", Bren mentions the film by name.
  • The novel When It's a Jar mentions a film called Carrion Nursing from a popular low-budgeted film series called Carrion.
• Throw It In!: In one scene where the Colonel is seen placing bets with Mick, Wilfrid Hyde-White changed the name of the horse from the scripted "Bloody Mary" to "Rambler", which Hyde-White had backed earlier in the day. Harry Locke visibly reacts to the name change but doesn't spoil the take.
• Uncredited Role: Bernard Bresslaw, who played Ted's feet (Terence Longdon's feet didn't look right on camera).
• Vacation, Dear Boy: Wilfrid Hyde-White, living in America at the time, agreed to play the Colonel without reading the script and getting paid to return to England so allowing him to attend the Grand National Horse race. A picture of a horse is seen on the bedside locker cupboard next to him during scenes.
• What Could Have Been:
  • John Antrobus wrote additional material, although none of it was used.
  • Bob Monkhouse was offered to play Ted York, but passed because he thought the fee being offered was far too low.
  • Despite being the most prominent female Carry On star, Joan Sims nearly missed her chance to appear in any of the films as she was only chosen to play Stella Dawson after Dora Bryan (who had previously appeared in Carry On, Sergeant) was unavailable.
  • Peter Rogers cut a scene from the script where Nurses Dawson and Axwell return to the nurse's home late, resulting in Nurse Dawson hiding in the mortuary to hide from Home Sister and frightening a porter as he thought it wasn't believable, despite actually happening to writer Norman Hudis' wife:
    Nurse Dawson: Come quick! The porter - first-aid!
    Nurse Axwell: P-porter? What about me? Ooh, the shock!
    Nurse Dawson: Quick, he may be dead!
    Nurse Axwell: If he is, he won't have far to walk...
  • Rogers also axed a sad scene about a patient whose relationship is failing. It was eventually replaced with the drunken operation scene.
  • Ed Devereaux was told that he was to play Alec Lawrence with one permanent "boss-eye". After days of practicing to be able to do it, Rogers revealed he was only playing a joke on him and that it wasn't needed.
  • The BBFC tried to have the line "Get the doctor to give you something to make you sleep" removed.
  • Originally, the film ended with the projected romance between Ted York and Nurse Denton. However, the daffodil scene was thought to make a stronger ending.
• Working Title: Nurse and Ring for Nurse.
• Write What You Know:
  • Norman Hudis' wife was a nurse and helped provide some ideas. He hit writer's block until he was rushed into hospital with appendicitis. Inspired, after being discharged he wrote the script in a week, with the scene where Oliver and Matron argue over the bedclothes was something that actually happened to him, if not a little less well-spoken than Kenneth Williams was on-screen.
  • Hudis also got the famous daffodil joke from his mother-in-law.

---