Final "Carry On" film of series regular actor Charles Hawtrey. The picture was the last cinema movie Hawtrey ever made and its completion marked the end of his 50-year career. He went into semi-retirement, living in Deal, Kent, England.
Along with the previous film Carry on Matron (1972), this entry in the series featured the greatest number of "Carry On..." regulars: a total of eleven. They were: Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Hattie Jacques, Bernard Bresslaw, Patsy Rowlands, Sidney James, Jack Douglas, and Charles Hawtrey. The only regular stars missing are Jim Dale and Terry Scott, both of whom never appeared together in a "Carry On" film.
The Pinewood Studios car-park was covered in sand to portray the Spanish resort of Elsbels.
The television premiere attracted 18 million viewers in the UK in 1978, which was a record viewing audience at the time. The figure still stands today as one of the highest viewed premieres on British television. There were only 3 channels then.
Bette Davis is said to have burst into the makeup room where the "Carry On..." team were larking about during the filming. She gave them a dressing-down for their unprofessional behaviour and for disturbing her while she was resting in the adjacent dressing room. She was making a film at Pinewood Studios at the time.
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