Talbot Rothwell

It sounds clichéd, but the story of how Talbot Rothwell started out as a writer really would make a great movie. Apparently, while serving as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, his plane was shot down over Norway and he was incarcerated by the Germans. There he befriended Peter Butterworth, who would later become a popular British comedy actor and associate of his, and the pair wrote and performed shows that initially did not seem well-received by their fellow prisoners (although legend has it that the booing covered up the noise of an escape tunnel being dug). Rothwell is best remembered as the writer of the "Carry On" series of films--known for slapstick antics and parodying institutions of all sorts--from 1963 to 1974. While under the old writer, "Carry On" featured a lot of relatively tame humor, under his pen it became more risqué, and by the early '70s nudity and unabashed sexual references replaced the innuendo of prior years. Highlights of his tenure included the '60s installments "Carry On Cleo," which tried for the epic feel of "Cleopatra," and in which Rothwell borrowed two radio personalities' line, "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" for star Kenneth Williams. There was also the hit "Carry On Camping," which centered around a disastrous trip to the outdoors (and costarred his old pal Butterworth). Prior to catching on with the franchise, he spent the '50s writing for various comedians and troupes in films and sketch programs.