Don't Lose Your Head

"Carry On laughing until you have hysterics, but... Don't Lose Your Head!"

1967 1h 37m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 63★6.5IMDB · 3,190

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Amidst the French revolution, Citizen Robespierre is beheading the aristocracy! When word gets to England, noblemen Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy Pue take it upon themselves to aid their French counterparts. Sir Rodney is a master of disguise, and becomes 'The Black Fingernail' scourge of Camembert and Bidet, leaders of the French secret police.

“Carry On laughing until you have hysterics, but... Don't Lose Your Head!”

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Cast

Sidney James
Sir Rodney Ffing, the Black Fingernail
Kenneth Williams
Citizen Camembert
Jim Dale
Lord Darcy Pue
Charles Hawtrey
Duc de Pommfrit
Peter Butterworth
Citizen Bidet
Joan Sims
Désirée Dubarry
Dany Robin
Jacqueline
Peter Gilmore
Citizen Robespierre

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gerald Thomas
Writers: Talbot Rothwell
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Carry On Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Gerald Thomas, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eric Rogers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rod Nelson-Keys shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sidney James and Kenneth Williams and Jim Dale carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Carry On laughing until you have hysterics, but... Don't Lose Your Head!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0060330 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gerald Thomas directs. Alan Hume behind the camera. Eric Rogers scores. Rod Nelson-Keys cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

159 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Carry On Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Gerald Thomas, shot by Alan Hume. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Eric Rogers. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Rod Nelson-Keys shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sidney James and Kenneth Williams and Jim Dale carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Carry On laughing until you have hysterics, but... Don't Lose Your Head!".
8IMDB entry: tt0060330 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 63 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "france", "england", "legend", "brother".

The technical file

Cinematography: Alan Hume
Original score: Eric Rogers
Editing: Rod Nelson-Keys
Costume design: Emma Selby-Walker
Makeup / hair: Geoffrey Rodway
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Don't Lose Your Head (1967)
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 3,190 votes

Part of

Carry On Collection

This is classic British comedy at it's best! This collection contains all 31 hilarious Carry On movies. Starring: Kenneth Williams Charles Hawtrey Jim Dale Joan Sims Barbara Windsor Hattie Jacques Windsor Davies Valerie Leon Peter Butterworth Bernard Bresslaw Terry Scott Bill Maynard Phil Silvers Patsy Rowlands and Frankie Howerd.

Also by

Gerald Thomas

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-07-26
★ 6/10
I found this to be one of the cleverer "Carry On" films with Kenneth Williams on good form as the revolutionary "Citizen Camembert" aided by his sidekick "Bidet" (Peter Butterworth) making sure that all the nasty aristos turn up for their appointment with madame guillotine. The fly in their ointment soon becomes the enigmatic and chivalrous Brit "Sir Rodney Ffing" (Sid James) and his aide-de-camp "Pue" (Jim Dale) who are bent on frustrating their French nemeses and rescuing the "Duc de Pommfrit" (Charles Hawtrey) before trying their best to ensure that the famous vertical chopper gets two, more appropriate, victims. Instead of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" we have the "Black Fingernail" but otherwise, it's a fairly enjoyable parody of the Orczy story with some good one-liners, a nice dynamic between James and Butterworth and, mercifully, little of the annoying Dale to clutter up the proceedings. It looks good, the jokes are frequently quite pithy and for my money this is James at his best. Good fun.

Production companies