60 years of Carry on Cabby: vintage film comedy and cars at their best

The Pinewood classic is up there with James Bond for spectacular automotive product placement

Charles Hawtrey in Carry on Cabby, 1963
Charles Hawtrey in Carry on Cabby, 1963 Credit: Alamy

Sixty years ago, in November 1963, a low-budget black-and-white comedy went on release. Carry On Cabby, originally titled Call Me a Cab, was the seventh in the Carry On series and was a major box office attraction. It is also among the finest examples of automotive product placement in any British film.

The plot centred on the rivalry between Speedee Taxis with its fleet of Austin FX3 taxis, provided by the London General Cab Company, and Ford Consul Cortina ‘Glamcab’ minicabs. The scriptwriter, Talbot Rothwell, was inspired by the ‘Minicab Wars’ between London cabbies and the Renault Dauphine minicabs operated by Michael Gotla of Welbeck Motors.

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These occurred a couple of years before the movie’s release and were significant enough to be reported in the national media. On August 5, 1961, The Telegraph reported: ‘Traffic jams built up in Parliament Square yesterday afternoon as taxi drivers drove round and round in protest against minicabs.’ Some cabbies were given prison sentences for their attacks on minicab drivers, but Rothwell’s screenplay inevitably took a more farcical approach; the scene of Kenneth Connor wearing women’s clothes to infiltrate the Glamcabs operation is fairly unlikely to have been based on a genuine incident. 

As for the choice of cars, the producer Peter Rogers is said to have initially approached the British Motor Corporation, which required payment for using the Morris 1100. Rogers was renowned for underpaying his cast, and the location work for Cabby meant it cost £10,000 more than the previous film in the series – Carry on Cruising – so he was unlikely to spend money promoting the Morris. 

Speedee Taxis’ Austin FX3s, provided by the London General Cab Company Credit: Alamy

However, Ford GB proved more amenable and was eager to showcase the Cortina Super that launched in January 1963. Few discerning motorists could resist the combination of a 1.5-litre engine, duotone paint, fitted carpets, a cigar lighter, and even a heater as standard.  At that time, Ford GB dealership F. H. Peacock & Co of 219 Balham High Road in south London had a contract with Pinewood Studios, so they arranged the Glamcab fleet.  

The result was a mixture of Ford’s PR cars and various dealer demonstrators. Hypercritical viewers may note that not only do the Glamcabs lack a coherent livery, but they also feature several two-door models. The reason for the latter was a lack of four-door Super demonstrators, while the cheaper De Luxe and Standard versions appear in the background. 

But Cabby was great publicity for Ford; The plot even included a mock-up of Peacock’s showroom to encourage cinemagoers to dial Balham 1271 to book a test drive after the film. The posters featured the Glamcabs while local dealers announced “Carry On Cabby presents the New Cortina Super” from £669 19s 7d. The four-door model cost another £18 3s 6d.

The Glamcab fleet of Cortinas Credit: Alamy

Aside from the stellar cars, the street scenes in the film have their own fascination. Many Carry Ons were loath to stray too far from Pinewood, and the streets of Windsor are filled with Renault Dauphines, Standard Eights, and Bedford TKs. Meanwhile, Rogers saved more money using the same set for Speedee Taxis and Glamcabs, and having only the wireless operator in the police Wolseley utter a line. The driver has to content himself by nodding sagely.

Carry on Cabby is also – subjective though these matters are – a rather jolly picture. Sid James and Hattie Jacques are on excellent form. It’s also the sole entry in the series with an elaborate car chase; the final round-up at Bulstrode Park was controlled via a walkie-talkie and a transistorised loudhailer.

Few people in the film industry would have expected an audience for Carry on Cabby 60 years after its release. But it enjoyed a long afterlife on television, and the Glamcabs of the Goodwood Revival are a reminder of the Cortina’s impact long after the picture’s first run.