Trivia / Carry On England

• Actor-Inspired Element: Patrick Mower came up with the "I know a Fokker when I see one" line.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Melvyn Hayes only appeared in the film because he wanted to say he had been in a Carry On.
• Backed by the Pentagon: Some of the weapons used were actual World War II weapons from the Imperial War Museum.
• Billing Displacement: Despite only playing a supporting role, Diane Langton was given billing above Carry On regulars Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth on the original VHS release.
• Box Office Bomb: To the point many cinemas dropped the film after less than a week.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Despite the fact that her role of Private Ffoukes-Sharpe originally was intended for Penelope Keith, Joan Sims was intended to be in the film's cast from the start although her original role is unknown.
• Completely Different Title:
  • Finland: Let's Go, England.
  • Germany: Saviour of the Nation.
  • Hungary: Continue in England!.
  • Italy: Mixed Barracks.
  • Netherlands: Sexperimental Battery.
  • Portugal: Way to Go... England.
  • Russia: Keep it Up, England!.
  • Sweden: Let's Take England!/Look! Let's Take the Lump.
• Costume Backlash: Joan Sims despised the army uniform she had to wear because it was too tight and didn't fit properly.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: The book The Carry On Films by Steven Gerrard at one point incorrectly claims that Kenneth Connor plays Major S. Melly in this film. His character is actually a Captain.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Tellingly, this is the only Carry On film not featured in That's Carry On!.
  • Kenneth Connor, Joan Sims, Peter Butterworth, and Jack Douglas all opposed the scene where the women go out on parade while topless.
  • Sims also admitted to feeling out of place in this film:
    There was certainly a decline in yours truly. That face, which was coming out of that uniform, I mean it was horrific. I thought "Go home and put your feet up, love".
  • Patrick Mower thought the scene that introduces Sergeant Major Bloomer dragged on too long.
  • Patricia Franklin wasn't fond of the film as she found it far too coarse. She herself said in a 2018 interview:
    I think my one line was probably the best one in the film!
  • Julian Holloway thought the film was pathetic in how it was trying to compete with the Confessions of a... Series.
  • Melvyn Hayes thought England was the worst Carry On film and called it dreadful.
• Deleted Role: Vivienne Johnson is included in the credits, and cast lists say she played "Freda", but she is seemingly absent from the film. In a 2018 interview, Patricia Franklin confirmed that there were more scenes with the canteen girls, which would have included Freda, but they were cut. As a result, Freda is still in the film, but as little more than an extra. Another canteen girl, Lill, suffered the same fate, but her actress didn't make it to the credits.
• Deleted Scene:
  • A scene where Major Carstairs, The Brigadier and Captain Melly gather in a conference room was cut.
  • Patricia Franklin recalled that the canteen girls had more scenes that were cut, rather than just the one line her Corporal Cook role has in the film.
    Sergeant Able: Well, what is it then?
    Corporal Cook: What d'you think?
    Sergeant Able: I'm asking the question.
    Corporal Cook: Well, it's, er, it's... Here, Freda, what is it?
    Freda: Well, obvious, it's, er, well, it's like- (Beat) Here, Lill, what's on today, then?
    Lill: Liver, what's it look like?
    Sergeant Able: I'd hate to tell you.
  • A scene that involved Sergeant Able hurting his foot.
  • Several segments were taken out for being too near the knuckle, but were later restored for the special edition DVD.
    • Sergeant Able's line about knowing a Fokker when he sees one.
    • Several shots of the topless parade sequence.
• Died During Production: Sid James was not considered for being in the movie because he was still touring with the theatre show The Mating Season, although in a cruel irony, the day that the pre-production meeting was scheduled was the day that he died of a heart attack on stage.
• Dolled-Up Installment: Started life as an episode of the Carry on Laughing! TV series, but Peter Rogers claimed to have liked the script so much that he had it produced as a film instead. In reality, it's more likely that this happened because the risqué elements of the script wouldn't have gotten past network censors, and/or Rogers was having trouble replacing Talbot Rothwell, the since-retired writer of nearly all the previous Carry On films.
• DVD Commentary: With Carry On historian Robert Ross talking to Patrick Mower (Sergeant Leonard Able).
• Follow the Leader: Before production started, Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas took a visit to the cinema to watch some of the films in the Confessions of a... Series, which prompted them to inject more risqué qualities into the film.
• Money, Dear Boy: Julian Holloway later admitted he only returned to the series for some extra money during a theatre tour.
• Orphaned Reference:
  • Early in the film, Major Carstairs tells Captain Melly to get to his feet and come to the conference room. Originally there was a scene in the conference room between the two and The Brigadier, but it was cut.
  • When Sergeant Able comes up with the idea to tunnel into the women's hut, he is noticeably limping, a remnant of the cut scene where he hurt his foot.
• Promoted Fangirl: Judy Geeson was a big fan of the Carry On... Series growing up prior to her casting as Sergeant Willing.
• Real-Life Relative: Kenneth Connor's (Captain S. Melly) son Jeremy played Gunner Hiscock.
• Saved from Development Hell: The title Carry On England had been registered in 1961, fifteen years prior to the film's release.
• Wag the Director: Judy Geeson refused to do the topless scene, despite knowing it was in her contract from the start. Her defiance also led several of the other actresses to refuse to do it too.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Dave Freeman (who wrote Carry On Behind, the previous film) was planning another Carry On before England was picked up from the writers of Carry on Laughing!.
  • Gerald Thomas also expressed an interest in making a Carry On starring Kenneth Connor as King Arthur before receiving the England script.
  • Eric Rogers refused to score the film when he found out that his orchestra would be halved, so Max Harris was brought in as his replacement.
  • Sid James was unavailable to be in the film because of his stage commitments performing in a revival tour of The Mating Season.
  • The part of Private Alice Easy was written for Barbara Windsor before going to Diane Langton due to Windsor appearing in The Mike Reid Show at the same time.
  • Penelope Keith was going to play Private Jennifer Ffoukes-Sharpe before the role was given to Joan Sims.
  • The Brigadier part was written for Kenneth Williams but he was unavailable due to stage commitments for Signed and Sealed, leading to the casting of Peter Jones.
  • After appearing in Carry On Behind, Ian Lavender was hoped to return to the series in the role of Sergeant Able, but for whatever reason he didn't, and the role went to newcomer Patrick Mower.
  • Tricia Newby replaced Carol Hawkins in the role of Bombardier Murray, as Hawkins refused to appear in the film due to the excessive nudity.
  • Peter Rogers' desired cast also included Bernard Bresslaw, James Bolam, Adam Faith, Richard O'Sullivan, Adrienne Posta, Michele Dotrice, Susan Penhaligon and Anne Aston.
  • The topless parade scene was supposed to have Sergeant Willing lead the women in defiance, but Judy Geeson refused to do the topless scenes (despite stripping in Three into Two Won't Go), so her lines were given to Tricia Newby's Bombardier Murray.

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