When Sergeant Bilko was demobbed, Phil Silvers came to England to play Sergeant Nocker of the Foreign Legion in this high-spirited satire of adventure epics.
Unjustly accused of being a cheat, Beau West (Jim Dale) joins the French Foreign Legion, where he immediately falls foul of the obnoxious Sergeant Nocker and Sheikh Abdul Abulbul (Bernard Bresslaw).
Not originally a Carry On film, that title was added almost at the end of production, and didn’t even appear in the finished product.
Nevertheless, with Kenneth Williams (“there’s many a good fiddle played on an old dune”) and company in attendance, the film is a classic of the series.
Camber Sands near Rye in Sussex doubled for the Sahara Desert during filming. Shooting was stopped three times in two days because of snow!
Phil Silvers received £30,000 for his appearance – the highest fee ever paid to an actor in a Carry On film.
Sgt Nocker
Phil Silvers
Bertram (Beau) Oliphant West
Jim Dale
Simpson
Peter Butterworth
Captain Le Pice
Charles Hawtrey
Commandant Burger
Kenneth Williams
Corktip
Anita Harris
Zigzag
Joan Sims
Sheikh Abdul Abulbul
Bernard Bresslaw
Lady Jane Ponsonby
Angela Douglas
Corporal Clotski
John Bluthal
Riff
Larry Taylor
Raff
William Hurndell
Captain Humphrey Bagshaw
Peter Gilmore
Director
Gerald Thomas