Don't Lose Your Head (1967)

The time of the French revolution, and Citizen Robespierre is beheading the French aristocracy. When word gets to England, two noblemen, Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy take it upon ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writer:

Talbot Rothwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sidney James	...	Sir Rodney Ffing / The Black Fingernail
Kenneth Williams	...	Citizen Camembert
Jim Dale	...	Lord Darcy Pue
Charles Hawtrey	...	Duc de Pommfrit
Peter Butterworth	...	Citizen Bidet
Joan Sims	...	Désirée Dubarry
Dany Robin	...	Jacqueline
Peter Gilmore	...	Citizen Robespierre
Marianne Stone	...	Landlady
Michael Ward	...	Henri
Leon Greene	...	Malabonce
David Davenport	...	Sergeant
Richard Shaw	...	Captain of Soldiers
Valerie Van Ost	...	Second Lady / Girl at Execution
Jennifer Clulow	...	First Lady

Storyline

The time of the French revolution, and Citizen Robespierre is beheading the French aristocracy. When word gets to England, two noblemen, Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy take it upon themselves to aid there French counterparts. Sir Rodney is a master of disguise, and becomes "the black fingernail", scourge of Camembert and Bidet, leaders of the French secret police...

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Plot Keywords:

french revolution | carry on | thirteenth part | three word title | 1790s | 

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Taglines:

Carry On laughing until you have hysterics, but...Don't Lose Your Head!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Carry On Pimpernel

Filming Locations:

Denham church, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Rogers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in France and England in 1789.

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Goofs

After the duel in the Garden of Fragrance, Sir Rodney asks Pommfrit where the Bastille is. But he had in fact been there earlier in the film, masquerading as a soldier, so he should already know where it is.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Paris, 1789. The Great Revolution has begun. The hands of the masses are smeared with the blood of the poor bleeding aristocracy. Every day the tumbrels run a regular half-hour service between the Bastille and the many guillotines around the city. The growing mounds of noble heads are only matched by the growing mounds of unused return tickets. No-one is spared. Madame La Guillotine claims them all. Dukes and Duchesses, Lords and Ladies, men and women of both sexes. A dozen times ...

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Alternate Versions

As usual with the Carry On films the BBFC objected to many of the lines when the script was submitted to them, though in the end only a few cuts were made. These included a reference to Jacqueline having 'a pluck' and a stuttered use of 'fishing' during the opening narration.

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Connections

Referenced in QI: Cheating (2005)

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Soundtracks

Don't Lose Your Head
Written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
Executed by Mike Sammes (as The Michael Sammes Singers)

User Reviews

good movie

Carry on don't lose your head is based on great scarlet pimpernel story from 19th century France. It is performed by the carry on team and is one of the carry on historical setting films of the 1960s like carry on cleo and up the Khyber. It is regarded as one of the strong carry ons of series. One half of the carry on team is on one side, the other half is on other. Sid james stars as scarlet pimpernel pitted against kenneth williams as french authorities pursuing citizen bidet. There are big sets used for film such as mansion where fancy dress ball held with dancing, posh costumes and jokes between sid james, kenneth williams and joan sims as sid james pretends to be an aristocrat. Other memorable sets are sunrise big gardens duel between sid james and authority enemy charles hawtrey and the public guillotining of criminals in France which the scarlet pimpernel hoping to avoid