Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968)

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writer:

Talbot Rothwell (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

12 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

Gales of laughter as the wind blows up the Khyber and the kilts of the 'Carry On' army! [Australia theatrical]

Plot:

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond looks after the British outpost near the Khybar pass. Protected by the kilted Third Foot and Mouth regiment...

Plot Keywords:

Parody | Kilt | Colonialism | Rebellion | British Empire

Cast

Sid James	...	Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond (as Sidney James)
Kenneth Williams	...	The Khasi of Kalabar
Charles Hawtrey	...	Pte. James Widdle
Roy Castle	...	Capt. Keene
Joan Sims	...	Lady Ruff-Diamond
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Bungdit Din
Peter Butterworth	...	Brother Belcher
Terry Scott	...	Sgt. Major Macnutt
Angela Douglas	...	Princess Jelhi
Cardew Robinson	...	The Fakir
Julian Holloway	...	Major Shorthouse
Peter Gilmore	...	Private Ginger Hale
Leon Thau	...	Stinghi
Wanda Ventham	...	Khasi's First Wife
Alexandra Dane	...	Busti
Michael Mellinger	...	Chindi
Dominique Don	...	MacNutt's Lure
Derek Sydney	...	Major Domo
Steven Scott	...	Burpa guard
David Spenser	...	Bungdit Din's servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Allen	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Josephine Blain	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Johnny Briggs	...	Sporran Soldier (uncredited)
Simon Cain	...	Bagpipes Soldier (uncredited)
June Cooper	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Carmen Dene	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Anthony Dutton	...	Burpa (uncredited)
Eve Eden	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Barbara Evans	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Burpa (uncredited)
Liz Gold	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Angela Grant	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
John Hallam	...	Burpa on Rooftop (uncredited)
Katherina Holden	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Nigel Kingsley	...	Indian Boy (uncredited)
Valerie Leon	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Tamsin MacDonald	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Vicki Murden	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Lisa Noble	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Anne Scott	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Larry Taylor	...	Burpa at Door-Grid (uncredited)
Sue Vaughan	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)
Patrick Westwood	...	Burpa in Crowd (uncredited)
Vicki Woolf	...	Khasi's Wife (uncredited)
Karen Young	...	Hospitality Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Gerald Thomas

Writing credits
Talbot Rothwell		(screenplay)
Larry		(additional material) uncredited

Produced by
Peter Rogers	....	producer

Original Music by
Eric Rogers

Cinematography by
Ernest Steward		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alfred Roome

Casting by
Weston Drury Jr.		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Alex Vetchinsky		(as Vetchinsky)

Costume Design by
Emma Selby-Walker

Makeup Department
Stella Rivers	....	hairdresser
Geoffrey Rodway	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Swinburne	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Weingreen	....	assistant director
Ivor Powell	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Chisholm	....	props (uncredited)
Freda Pearson	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Richard Rambaut	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	sound recordist
R.T. Macphee	....	sound recordist (as R. MacPhee)
Colin Miller	....	dubbing editor
Nicolas Le Messurier	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Charlie McFadden	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Otto Snel	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Bawden	....	camera operator
Neil Binney	....	camera operator: Khyber location
H.A.R. Thomson	....	director of photography: Khyber location
Keith Blake	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Steve Claydon	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Harry Gillard	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dorothy Edwards	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Jack Gardner	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Eric Rogers	....	conductor

Other crew
Larry	....	title sketches
Yvonne Richards	....	continuity
Gladys Goldsmith	....	continuity (uncredited)
Julie Mendez	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rank Organisation, The (presents) (as The RANK ORGANISATION)
• Peter Rogers Productions (as A Peter Rogers Production)

Distributors

• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1968) (UK) (theatrical)
• VCI Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Australia:M | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) (2001) (2003)

Filming Locations:

Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

First and only "Carry On..." film for Roy Castle. He replaced Jim Dale, who was unavailable.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film is set in 1895. When dictating a communication to Queen Victoria, Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond adds a PS "Love to Albert". Prince Albert, Victoria's husband, died in 1861, 34 years before the film's events supposedly take place.

Quotes:

Lady Joan Ruff-Diamond:[brushing off a collapsed ceiling] Oh dear! I seem to have got a little plastered!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (2006) (TV)

Carry On at its best.

The Carry On series had many ups and downs, but this offering is the best of the entire series and a fantastic comedy in its own right. The jokes come fast and often and the overall quality of the film is apparent. This is the perfect Carry On line up too, Sid James, Kenneth Williams lead the cast which includes Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butterworth, all of whom are at the peak of their craft. The addition of Roy Castle to the cast as the heroic lead is perfect and the sets and set pieces are great.

The story, which is one of the most coherent, is set during the British occupation of India during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond (Sid James) is thrust into the middle of a plot to reveal the feared 'Devils in Skirts' the British army who traditionally wear nothing under their kilts as underwear wearing oppressors by the Khasi of Kalabar (a deliciously sneering Kenneth Williams) who intends to start a revolution and end Sir Sidney's cushy job. Stiff upper lips, cross dressing, randy missionaries, stolen underwear and a final brilliant dinner scene in the midst of a full scale revolt showcase the reason that the Carry On Series and not Monty Python is the best representation of British comedy at its finest.

Take a tea break and check out this comedy gem from the bosom of the British Empire.