User Reviews

Nurse on wheels is directed by Gerald Thomas and adapted to screenplay by Norman Hudis from the novel Nurse Is a Neighbour written by Joana Jones. It stars Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, Joan Sims, Noel Purcell, Esma Cannon, Raymond Huntley, Athene Seyler and Norman Rossington. Music is by Eric Rogers and photography by Alan Hume.

With much of the production team and some of the same actors coming from the British institution that is the Carry On series of films, Nurse on Wheels has been marketed over the years as being an unofficial Carry On movie. Even the Region 2 DVD release proudly proclaims that it is "funnier than Carry On Nurse" (1959), while the back of the cover wrongly states that folk legends like Sid James and Charles Hawtrey also star in the movie! It certainly feels like a Carry on movie in production terms, from Eric Rogers' musical score to the characterisations on show, it carry's the same attributes. What it doesn't have, however, is the bawdy nature and dialogue innuendos so firmly ensconced in Carry On lore.

Nurse on Wheels is a throw back to a quaint time in British cinema, where comedy structure was simple and the actors enjoyed their work. The plot takes young new District Nurse Joana Jones (Mills) into the village of Blandley (hee hee), where she has the unenviable task of replacing the previous, older and much trusted, nurse of the village. Not only does she have to put up with gossip and suspicion, but also the attentions of red blooded males; some unwanted, one other encouraged. It holds absolutely no surprises and the comedy, even with the odd slapstick moment, is as gentle and harmless as it gets. With its eccentric characters, a sweet affecting backdrop of village life and all round warm glow, it's perfect afternoon viewing for the family really. The stalwart cast are faultless, with Mills utterly lovely and Cannon lighting the screen up with another of her jumping-bean performances. While Gerald Thomas was a good pro, and here he once again proves to be unobtrusive with his direction.

It's more about putting a smile on your face and a glow in your belly than splitting your sides, and there's nothing wrong with that. 7/10

She gets more screen time here than in most of her films and she grasps the opportunity with both hands.She is splendidly dithering.She reminds me of Billie Burke who played dithering matrons in Hollywood. Much of this film is familiar stuff.It looks as if Norman Hudis has taken the driving lesson sequence from Please Turn Over.Nevertheless it is still entertaining.

NURSE ON WHEELS does feel very much like a non-canon CARRY ON film, a feeling exacerbated by the presence of not one, not two, but three CARRY ON big names: Gerald Thomas as director, Peter Rogers as producer, and Norman Hudis as writer. Add in the presence of a number of CARRY ON players in support and you have pretty much a CARRY ON movie in all but name.

The tag line proclaims this as "funnier than CARRY ON NURSE!" and I would have to disagree with that statement. The early black and white CARRY ONs were all very good indeed; there was no time taken to get the series up to speed, they had the formula correct from the word go and the resulting films feel fresh and sparkly even now. NURSE ON WHEELS spoils things a bit by including a large romantic sub-plot which makes this sometimes feel like a light romance from the 1940s rather than an early '60s comedy.

Still, there are plenty of reasons to tune in, not least the efforts of the solid cast. Juliet Mills is full of warmth and humour as the district nurse lead, although the fish-out-of-water type humour feels very quaint and even antiquated for a modern viewership. Ronald Lewis is stuck with the stodgy role of a farmer, although Noel Purcell shines as the eccentric general store owner. Sadly, one of the best known of the CARRY ON actors, Joan Sims, has her comic talents wasted in the part of a jealous rival. Still, Esma Cannon is delightfully eccentric, old talents like Joan Hickson and Renee Houston remain amusing, George Woodbridge is cast delightfully against type, and Jim Dale makes a mark early on in his career.

This type of movie played a major part of my childhood/early 'teens. During the school holidays (or when ever I was off ill during term time), there was always an old black and white movie playing on Monday and Friday afternoons.

Sometimes a thriller or a war movie, most of the time a comedy, all of them 'forgotten' movies such as this one.

Re-watching 'Nurse On Wheels' after almost twenty years a few things become obvious. The most important being that, despite what some marketing people have tried to do recently, this isn't a 'Carry On' movie under a different name. The humour is more gentle and sentimental (though the movie ends with a variation on 'Carry On Nurse's famous 'daffodil gag') and comes across as a slightly more serious 'Doctor' movie. In fact parts of it verge on comedy-drama, for example Raymond Huntley's Vicar is no comedy eccentric, but a man going through a crisis of faith (or simply compare Jim Dale's comic turn as an expectant father in 'Carry On Cabby', with his more serious role in this).

Once again Juliet Mills lights up the screen, proving to have genuine screen presence and she is backed by a typically strong cast of familiar British faces. Not a movie to watch for belly laughs, but a pleasant, charming movie that they really do not make any more.

As many reviews have said, this is an easy watch, one of lots of similar films from that postwar era, the cast featuring quite a few British acting stalwarts.

Despite the film's advertising, it should NOT be confused with Carry On films, though the production team were involved with them too, at least not what many folk think of as the Carry On model, bawdy seaside jokes, innuendo on a grand scale, and silly names throughout (The firm W. C. Boggs in Carry On Convenience comes to mind!).

The first few Carry Ons were rather different, humorous characters and situations, more like the Doctor series (James Robertson Justice and many more) without the innuendo, which gradually appeared. This Nurse film is much more like them, though Joan Sims & Jim Dale (Carry On regulars) were in this one, Dale pretty much doing an audition for his later hapless nitwit roles!

Other reviews have described the plot, which is nicely worked out, and the outside filming was mostly done near High Wycombe, so fans of the Midsomer Massacres TV series should recognise the flinty walls and cottages of that area (Little Missenden was the nurse's adopted village).

Star Juliet Mills went on to enjoy a career mostly in American TV and films, and she gets to deliver the final joke in this, which wouldn't have been out of place in a carry-on (based on a lavatory seat!).

Juliet Mills was rewarded for her charming performance as a nurse in 'Twice Round the Daffodils' with the title role in this breezy little comedy in black & white.

A strong female supporting cast includes Esma Cannon as Mills's feather-brained mother ("How your mind wanders. I wonder who you get it from!"), Joan Sims in a refreshingly 'normal' role, with a name - Deborah Walcott - to match, and Athene Seyler in her final big screen appearance.

Among the men Jim Dale plays the first of two expectant fathers in a row for director Gerald Thomas, and Ronald Lewis (who's Land Rover carries a tax disc bearing an April 63 expiry date) is unfortunately a boor as Mills's supposed love interest (which makes it a pleasure to see him scared witless by her driving in a white-knuckle drive through the fictional village of Blandley which is probably the film's comic highlight).

A fun little British film, Nurse On Wheels stars Juliet Mills as Nurse Jones, who passes her driving test and takes the job as District Nurse. It's all very light and fluffy. Some clever sight gags and word play along the way. Lots of fun little scenes, as she gets her drivers license, and as she and her relatives plot to catch a man. Of course, she'll be best known as Nanny, on Nanny and the Professor. Good, clean fun. Whimsical. Even a couple of "naughty-ish" lines in the script, if you catch them. A Fun one. Shows on Turner Classics.

A side addition made by the Carry-on Team and should have been called 'Carry on District Nurse' or something like that because this is made in the same style as the early Carry-On's like Carry On Nurse and with many of the same actors.

Apart from Juliet Mills (who was also in 'Carry on Jack') it included Joan Sims, Jim Dale, Esma Cannon and Joan Hickson from those films, and bit role actor Norman Rossington, it also included a few other characters that had odd roles in that series and odd character roles in many 50's and 60's British films, all usually good.

The leading role is played by the irrepressible and very pretty Juliet Mills who does a great job, and leading man Ronald Lewis who acts ok but does not look right for the part, he usually does heavies, villains or soldiers, here he plays a country boor, someone unlikely to win the affections of a pretty, intelligent district nurse, despite that they do ok, the problem is the ditzy characters that the rest cast is made up from, it is set in an English village, which does have the odd character, but in this case too many and too daft, I think that the makers thought "throw in a lot of daft characters and it will be great", it wasn't, also the music is a bit cheesy.

The film is made to the usual standards of the day, and that is ok, so I gave it a 6 for that and (the still lovely) Juliet Mills.

Juliet Mills is the new district nurse in a rural English village in this slight but amusing movie, populated by amusing eccentrics, in this mild version of CARRY ON NURSE. She deals with the usual comic issues of the National Health service and is pursued by a sturdy and stiff young doctor, with the usual mishaps one would expect in a movie directed by Gerald Thomas.

Juliet Mills is pretty, young and handles her standard-issue role very well, as one would expect of some who had a movie career stretching back more than twenty years (her first role was as a baby in IN WHICH WE SERVE under the direction her godfather, Noel Coward). One would hardly expect less of a daughter of John Mills, whose sister Hayley was a juvenile star. Even so, this is a slight affair; her role was intended for Joan Sims, who wound up taking a supporting role. Given the popularity of "young women in the world" comedies in the 1960s, this is not particularly memorable.

A marvellous bit of whimsy from Britain's film industry of the early 60's, when we knew how to make this kind of light-hearted comedy/drama. Almost everyone is perfectly cast - especially the pretty and pleasant Juliet Mills as Nurse Jones - and her mother, played by the incomparable Esma Cannon very nearly steals the show; the scene with the sink plunger never misses. Raymond Huntley's vicar is a bit thin on plot, but then he is there only to provide Joan Sims with a purpose anyway. However, on every DVD and TV showing I've seen, the reels seem to have been assembled in the wrong order and the plot strand concerning Joan Sims applying for a job seems back-to-front! Despite this, Nurse on Wheels is a pleasant 90 minutes of classic British gentle comedy with a fine cast of regulars. I can only agree with other posters who have said 'they don't make them like this anymore'.

This film is funny. Make no mistake about that. It's a gem of a comedy which provokes out-loud laughter in abundance. A whole host of comic characters are at hand to deliver some unforgettable lines amid a very simple, ungarnished plot.

Passing her driving test qualifies nurse Joanna Jones (Juliet Mills) for a position as a district nurse. So she, together with her dotty mother, moves into an out-of-the-way village to take up her new duties. After twenty-odd years under the care of an elderly district nurse, the villagers are somewhat distrustful of the young and beautiful Nurse Jones. This leads to some hilarious situations as the new district nurse is thrown amongst the village's inhabitants. Abel Worthy (brilliantly played by the irascible Noel Purcell) is felled by a tin of corned beef - just one in a series of delightful mishaps. And the dialogue is even funnier. `You know Dr Golfrey's secretary? That flighty young thing? Well, she's flown.'

Esma Cannon relishes the role of Joanna's eccentric mother and Norman Rossington plays a blinder as George Judd, the lovelorn hob-jobber but Juliet Mills is nothing short of outstanding in the lead role.

All in all, Nurse On Wheels is a wonderful example of English comedy. It may be a cliché but they don't make 'em like this anymore.

In the style of the carry on films with producer and music from the above, and full of so many of the best famous names in British film comedy ! It may not be one of the greatest films, but with the cast and the music it's still a class example British film comedy of the 1960's.

Underneath the opening credits of this gentle, old-fashioned (even when it was made) corny comedy, we see Juliet Mills riding her bike through a provincial town. She looks very nervous; probably because she knew there'd only be one take, and that there were no safety measures. The producers of this British relic (I don't mean Ms Mills) were known for their cheese-paring parsimony. It shows in the lighting set-ups and the straightforward, episodic storytelling. That's not to say that Gerald Thomas didn't know how to tell a story. He had plenty of practice. He also knew that the host of tried and true character actors who populate this mild comedy, were prone to hamming outrageously if given the chance; he gave them the chance and they don't disappoint - with the exception of Mr Huntley and Ms Seyler, who are restrained. The handsome (and, film-wise, under-used, for health reasons, I understand) Ronald Lewis stars as the nurse's love interest; and Ms Mills, in her professional English way is a very charming nurse. I thought it very light when I first saw it at the Regal cinema, in Putney, in South London. Even then I was surprised it scraped in as a main feature. I expect it had some pretty strong support - a western perhaps, in colour. Nowadays Nurse on Wheels seems almost amateurish; but if you like those thesps of yore, check it out. They're the main attraction.

As gentle a movie as you will find, easy on the eye and puts a smile on your face. Lovely to see so many old favourite British actors popping up in little cameo roles and an 'Ear Worm' soundtrack that will be going round in my head for days. Beautiful views of the English countryside too.

This was a simple, pleasant, feel-good movie. The acting and energy were all enjoyable. This felt like an Andy Griffith episode meets a better Hallmark movie within a sketch comedy.

One sub-plot thoroughly confused me, but that was explained perhaps by a switched reel? There was also one too many name mix-ups that caused confusion, or perhaps that was a reel issue as well.

Regardless, a delightful film. There is something refreshing about seeing a witty lady from that era who handles unwanted advances and jerkiness with firm lightheartedness. The way the nurse handles her paramour was superb and educational. The main character's mother was also a delight. Lastly, the final line is the envy of many sketch writers who struggle to end a scene.

Nurse Joanna Jones finally passes her driving test and thus is eligible to take the job as District Nurse in a small country village. When she manages to get to her new location with her dotty mother in tow, she finds that she has got to fill the very large shoes of her predecessor Nurse Merrick. Settling into her job, Jones gets to know the eccentric set of patients she has to deal with – not to mention the attractive Dr Golfrey and the embittered local vicar.

Modern packaging and marketing of this film would have you believe that it is part of the Carry On series but even a viewing of the first 15 minutes will tell you that, other than Joan Sims, this has very little in common with Carry On Nurse (which was of the similar period). Instead of the freewheeling irreverence of that series this is much more structured and actually a mix of a light humour with a reasonable story. This is not to say that it is brilliant of course, because it is a fairly unremarkable affair although it is enjoyable if you meet it on its own terms. The humour is consistently gentle but does coax out some laughs while producing an amusing tone throughout, it isn't hilarious of course but I quite liked it and did find it a bit more refined than the other Nurse film (although it does have some similar joking, including a "bottom" joke at the end that is reminiscent of Nurse's famous daffodil conclusion).

The cast are quite pleasing and they seem to take to the relaxed tone of the material easier than the rather forced "wackiness" of the Carry On films. Mills is pretty and pitches it well in the lead role, but many of her scenes are stolen from her by Cannon's wonderfully comic dotty mother. Support features some good turns from Sims, Dale and a few others but I must admit that I wasn't overly taken by Howard as Dr Golfrey.

Overall this is an enjoyable film even if it isn't anything special and is never hilarious at any point. The cast do well with the tone of the material and the film delivers a consistent good humour within a story that is well enough structured to stand up better than some of the Carry On films that did feel a bit like a collection of sketches at times.