''Follow That Camel'' is a 1967

British comedy In film, television, and radio, British comedy has produced some of the most renowned characters in the world. In it, satire is one of the features of British comedy. Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively hosted on the BBC. History ...

film directed by

Gerald Thomas Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director best known for the long-running ''Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' series'' of British film comedies. Early life Born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding ...

. It is the 14th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Like its predecessor ''

Don't Lose Your Head ''Don't Lose Your Head'' is a 1967 British swashbuckling comedy film, the 13th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It features regular team members Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey, and Joan Sims. Set ...

'', it does not have the words "Carry On" in its original title (though outside the United Kingdom it was known as ''Carry On In The Legion'', and it is alternatively titled ''Carry On... Follow That Camel''). It parodies the much-filmed 1924 book ''

Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a r ...

'', by PC Wren, and other

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

films. This film was producer

Peter Rogers Peter Rogers (20 February 1914 – 14 April 2009) was an English film producer. He is best known for creating the ''Carry On'' series of films. Life and career Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper, before graduat ...

's attempt to break into the American market;

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...

(in his only ''Carry On'') is heavily featured in a Sergeant Bilko-esque role. He appears alongside ''Carry On'' regulars

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In British ...

, Charles Hawtrey,

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for ...

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the '' Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, performed recordings and wrote a series of poetr ...

Angela Douglas Angela Douglas (born Angela McDonagh) is an English actress. Early life Douglas was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire circa 1940. Career Douglas started acting as a teenager, joining the Worthing, West Sussex repertory theatre, repert ...

makes the third of her four ''Carry On'' appearances, and

Anita Harris Anita Madeleine Harris (born 3 June 1942) is an English actress, singer and entertainer. Harris sang with the Cliff Adams Singers for three years from 1961 and had a number of chart hits during the 1960s. She appeared in the '' Carry On'' fil ...

makes the first of her two appearances. The film was followed by ''

Carry On Doctor ''Carry On Doctor'' is a 1967 British comedy film, the 15th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series ...

'' in 1967.

Plot

His reputation brought into disrepute by Captain Bagshaw, a competitor for the affections of Lady Jane Ponsonby, Bertram Oliphant "Bo" West decides to leave England and join the

, followed by his faithful manservant Simpson. Originally mistaken for enemy combatants at

Sidi Bel Abbès Sidi Bel Abbès (), also called Bel Abbès, is the capital''Sidi Bel Abbes'', lexicorient.com (Encyclopaedia of the Orient), internet article. of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya, Algeria. It is named after Sidi bel Abbass, a Muslim marabout or noble ...

, the pair eventually enlist and are helped in surviving Legion life by Sergeant Nocker, although only after they discover that when he is "on patrol" he is actually enjoying himself at the local cafe with the female owner, Zig-Zig. Meanwhile, Lady Jane, having learnt that Bo was really innocent, heads out to the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

to bring him back to England. Along the way she has several encounters with men who exploit the fact that she is naive and travelling alone. After several such run-ins, including with the Legion fort's Commandant Burger (who coincidentally had once been her

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

instructor, and joined the Legion in self-imposed shame after he had inadvertently cut her finger during a lesson), she meets Sheikh Abdul Abulbul and ends up becoming a part of his

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

and planned 13th wife. Nocker and Bo are kidnapped by Abulbul after being lured to the home of Corktip, a belly dancer at the Café ZigZig. Simpson follows them to the Oasis El Nooki but is also captured. After entering Abulbul's harem and discovering Lady Jane, Bo and Simpson give themselves up while Nocker escapes (or rather is allowed to by Abulbul) back to Sidi Bel Abbes to warn Commandant Burger of Abulbul's plans to attack Fort Soixante-Neuf (i.e. 69, the sexual position). However, during this time Zig-Zig has told the Commandant about Nocker's true destination when on patrol, and therefore upon his return his story is not believed. It is only when Nocker mentions Lady Jane that they realise he was telling the truth and the Commandant organises a force to reinforce the fort. Along the way they discover Bo and Simpson staked to the ground at the now abandoned oasis. The relief column marches on towards the fort but heat, lack of water and a sand castle building competition gone wrong decimates the force to a handful. The remaining members reach the fort to find that they are too late; the attack has already occurred and the garrison wiped out. After learning that Abulbul's celebration of the successful attack includes marrying Lady Jane, Bo, Burger, Nocker and Simpson rescue her from his tent, leaving Simpson behind dressed as a decoy. When Abulbul discovers the deception, he chases Simpson back to the fort where, through the imaginative use of a

gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

and a German marching song,

gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...

, coconuts, gunpowder and a cricket bat, the group holds off Abulbul's army until a relief force arrives. However, Commandant Burger ends up as the sole casualty among the protagonists. Back in England the group reunites for a game of cricket, with Nocker having been promoted to Commandant and Lady Jane having conceived a son by the late Burger. Bo is batting, but when he hits the ball, it explodes. The bowler is then shown to be Abulbul having gained his revenge, to which Bo, with a broken bat and burnt clothes, good-naturedly responds "Not out!"

Filming

Location work was shot during the early months of 1967 when scenes set in the Sahara were filmed at

Camber Sands Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, England, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex. Located east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay, it stretches to just beyond the Kent border, w ...

near

Rye, East Sussex Rye is a town and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England, from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the River Rother (Eastern), Rother, the River Tillingham, Tillingham and the River Brede, Brede. An ...

, England. Shooting had to be halted several times because there was snow on the sands. Other shots occurred at Birkdale beach near

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Some of the town sets were reused the year after in the production of ''

Carry On Up the Khyber ''Carry On Up the Khyber'' is a 1968 British comedy film, the 16th in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It stars ''Carry On'' regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter But ...

''.

Cast

as Sergeant Ernie Nocker *

as Bertram Oliphant "Bo" West *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

as Commandant Maximilian Burger * Charles Hawtrey as Captain Le Pice *

as Zig-Zig *

as Lady Jane Ponsonby *

Bernard Bresslaw Bernard Bresslaw (25 February 193411 June 1993) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the '' Carry On'' film franchise. Bresslaw also worked on television and stage, performed recordings and wrote a series of poetr ...

as Sheikh Abdul Abulbul *

as Corktip *

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his care ...

as Corporal Clotski * Peter Gilmore as Captain Bagshaw *

William Mervyn William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in ''The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose i ...

as Sir Cyril Ponsonby * Julian Holloway as Ticket collector * David Glover as Hotel manager *

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

as Riff * William Hurndell as Riff *

Julian Orchard Julian Dean Chavasse Orchard (3 March 1930, in Wheatley, Oxfordshire – 21 June 1979, in Westminster, London) was an English comedy actor. He appeared in four ''Carry On'' films: '' Don't Lose Your Head'' (1966), '' Follow That Camel'' (196 ...

as Doctor *

Vincent Ball Vincent Martin Ball, (born 4 December 1923) is an Australian retired actor of film, theatre and radio active in the industry for nearly 55 years (with a brief return) firstly in Britain starting in the late 1940s and then his native Australia ...

as Ship's officer * Peter Jesson as Lawrence (uncredited) *

Gertan Klauber George Gertan Klauber (5 March 1932 – 1 August 2008) was a Czech-born British actor, known for playing various character parts in films and television programmes, particularly the ''Carry On'' comedies. Early life Of Sudeten German and ...

as Spiv (uncredited) *

Michael Nightingale Alfred George Cyril Michael Nightingale (6 October 1922 – 8 May 1999) was an English stage, film and television actor. He appeared in 13 (9 credited and 4 uncredited) of the ''Carry On'' film series – the tenth highest number of appear ...

as Nightingale (uncredited) * Richard Montez as Riff (uncredited) *

Frank Singuineau Francis Ethelbert Dominic Singuineau (4 August 191311 September 1992) was a Trinidadian actor of stage and screen who worked in the United Kingdom, where he moved from Trinidad and Tobago in the 1940s.Stephen Bourne"Obituary: Frank Singuineau" ' ...

as Riff (uncredited) * Simon Cain as Riff (uncredited) *

Harold Kasket Harold Kasket (26 July 1926 – 20 January 2002) was an English actor in theatre, films and later television from the 1940s. Kasket usually played Arabs or mainland European types in many films and TV programmes such as '' Maigret'', '' The Sai ...

as Hotel gentleman (uncredited) * Edmund Pegge as Bowler (uncredited) *

Carol Sloane Carol Sloane (March 5, 1937 – January 23, 2023) was an American jazz singer. Biography Born Carol Morvan in Providence, Rhode Island to parents Frank and Claudia (Rainville) Morvan, she began singing professionally when she was 14, although f ...

as Harem girl (uncredited) * Gina Gianelli as Harem girl (uncredited) * Dominique Don as Harem girl (uncredited) * Anne Scott as Harem girl (uncredited) * Patsy Snell as Harem girl (uncredited) * Zorenah Osborne as Harem girl (uncredited) * Margot Maxine as Harem girl (uncredited) *

Sally Douglas Sally Douglas (30 November 1941 – 1 September 2001) was a British supporting actress of the 1960s and 1970s. She died in September 2001 at the age of 59 from cancer. She appeared in many notable films and television series. Comedy film credi ...

as Harem girl (uncredited) * Angie Grant as Harem girl (uncredited) * Gina Warwick as Harem girl (uncredited) *Karen Young as Harem girl (uncredited) * Helga Jones as Harem girl (uncredited)

Crew

*Screenplay -

Talbot Rothwell Talbot Nelson Conn "Tolly" Rothwell, Order of the British Empire, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Life and career Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his earl ...

*Music - Eric Rogers *Production Manager - Jack Swinburne *Director of Photography - Alan Hume *Editor -

Alfred Roome Alfred Wallace Roome (22 December 1908 – 19 November 1997) was an English film editor and occasional film director, director. Biography Born in London, in 1908, he first worked in the film industry as a film editor on the 1932 British comed ...

*Art Director -

Alex Vetchinsky Alex Vetchinsky ( Alec Hyman Vetchinsky; 9 November 1904 – 4 March 1980) was a BAFTA nominated British film art director and production designer. He worked on more than a hundred productions during a career that lasted between 1928 and 1974. Ve ...

*Camera Operator - Alan Hall *Assistant Director - David Bracknell *Continuity - Joy Mercer *Assistant Editor - Jack Gardner *Make-up - Geoffrey Rodway *Sound Recordists - Dudley Messenger & Ken Barker *Hairdresser - Stella Rivers *Costume Designer - Emma Selby-Walker *Dubbing Editor - Wally Nelson *Location Manager - Terry Clegg *Producer -

*Director -

Dates and locations

*Filming dates – 1 May – 23 June 1967 Interiors: *

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, Buckinghamshire Exteriors: * Rye and Camber Sands,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

* Swakeleys House,

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britai ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

* Osterley Park House,

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

, Middlesex

Production notes

The character named "Corktip" is a parody of "Cigarette" in the 1936 film '' Under Two Flags'', a film about the

in the Sahara. The name refers to cigarettes, such as the

Craven A Craven A ''(stylized as'' Craven "A"'')'' is a British brand of cigarette, cigarettes, currently manufactured by British American Tobacco. Originally founded and produced by the Carreras Tobacco Company in 1921 until merging with Rothmans Internat ...

brand, which had a cork tip.

was paid £30,000 which was a great deal more than any other cast member, which provoked animosity among the regular ''Carry On'' team. Silvers also could not, or would not, learn his lines, so boards were placed behind the camera so he could read them as shooting was taking place. Despite Talbot Rothwell writing in January 1967 that the part "simply yells for Phil Silvers all the way along. I just can't get this Bilko image out of my mind", the central role of the fast-talking Foreign Legion Sergeant had originally been earmarked for Sid James. However, with a commitment to the ITV sitcom '' George and the Dragon'', James's part was recast. The song used by Bo and the others to trick Abdul into thinking there are reinforcements coming is "", a marching song made popular by German military and police units after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * *''Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema'' by Simon Sheridan (third edition) (2007) (Reynolds & Hearn Books) * * * * *

External links

*
''Follow That Camel'' at Carry On Line
* {{Beau Geste 1967 films 1967 comedy films 1960s parody films 1960s English-language films Carry On films British historical comedy films Films directed by Gerald Thomas Films about the French Foreign Legion British parody films 1960s historical comedy films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in East Sussex Films shot in Lancashire Films shot in London Military comedy films Films set in deserts Films set in England Films with screenplays by Talbot Rothwell Films set in the Sahara 1960s British films Films scored by Eric Rogers (composer) English-language historical comedy films