Follow That Camel (1967)

A bogus legionnaire proves his mettle during an Arab attack.

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writer:

Talbot Rothwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Phil Silvers, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phil Silvers	...	Sgt. Nocker
Kenneth Williams	...	Commandant Maximilian Burger
Jim Dale	...	Bertram Oliphant 'Bo' West
Charles Hawtrey	...	Capt. Le Pice
Joan Sims	...	Zig-Zig
Angela Douglas	...	Lady Jane Ponsonby
Peter Butterworth	...	Simpson
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Sheikh Abdul Abulbul
Anita Harris	...	Corktip
John Bluthal	...	Cpl. Clotski
William Mervyn	...	Sir Cyril Ponsonby
Peter Gilmore	...	Capt. Humphrey Bagshaw
Julian Holloway	...	Ticket Collector
Larry Taylor	...	Riff
William Hurndell	...	Raff

Storyline

Bertram Oliphant West (also known as Bo West) wants to clear his unjustly smeared reputation. He joins the Foreign Legion, with Simpson his manservant in tow. But the fort they get posted to is full of eccentric legionnaires, and there is trouble brewing with the locals too. Unbeknown to Bo, his lady love has followed him in disguise...

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Plot Keywords:

carry on | legionnaire | foreign legion | fourteenth part | imperative in title | 

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Taglines:

Bilko joins the carry On Legion

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1967 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Carry On in the Legion

Filming Locations:

Swakeleys, Ickenham, uxbridge, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£230,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Peter Rogers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Title card: "England 1906".

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Goofs

When Simpson enters the tent in disguise to rescue West and Nocker, he is bashed on the head, wrapped in a carpet and West says "Get his clothes". With no intervening action or dialogue, he is then seen crawling out of the tent in uniform. He has had no time to recover, nor has it been established that the other two have discovered their mistake.

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Quotes

Sgt. Nocker: Ah, Egypt. Land of mystery. Home of the mighty fairies.
Bertram Oliphant West: You mean pharaohs.
Sgt. Nocker: I know what I mean.

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Connections

Follows Carry on Screaming! (1966)

User Reviews

Old-fashioned and genuinely funny

A surprisingly funny instalment of the CARRY ON franchise, given this film's poor reputation amongst fans. A lot of that ill feeling stems from the presence of Phil Silvers (SGT. BILKO) in the cast, replacing Sid James; Silvers is hardly a perfect fit here, but I found that come the end he had acquitted himself well with the material.

And the story is very enjoyable. This is a broad spoof of the Foreign Legion movie, with an upper class toff (Jim Dale, on fine form) and his manservant (Peter Butterworth, excelling in one of his larger roles) drafted into the Legion to do battle against Bernard Bresslaw (excellent) and his nefarious Arabs.

The cast give some very good performances in this one, particularly Kenneth Williams playing a (bizarrely) German officer. Inevitably the gags come thick and fast, and there's a fair share of hits among them too, including some great sight gags. What I noticed in particular, and it may be the nature of the spoof, is that CARRY ON FOLLOW THAT CAMEL has much more in common with the 1950s-era CARRY ON flicks than the crude 1970s ones, and that's perhaps a reason I enjoyed it so much.