''I Only Arsked!'' is a 1958 British

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Montgomery Tully Montgomery Tully (6 May 190410 October 1988) was an Irish film Film director, director and writer. Film career Born in Dublin, Tully studied at the University of London, and originally entered the film industry as a director of documentaries. ...

and starring

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 ...

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He first ...

and

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

. The screenplay was by Sid Colin and Jack Davies based on the television series ''

The Army Game ''The Army Game'' is a British television sitcom that aired on ITV from 19 June 1957 to 20 June 1961. It was the first ITV sitcom and was made by Granada, and created by Sid Colin. It follows the exploits of Hut 29, a dysfunctional group of ...

'' (1957–1961). It was made by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

Plot

Slapstick ensues when inept army recruits are transferred to a post in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Cast

as Private "Popeye" Popplewell *

as Corporal Springer *

as Private "Excused Boots" Bisley * Geoffrey Sumner as Major Upshott-Bagley * Charles Hawtrey as Private "Professor" Hatchett *

Norman Rossington Norman Rossington (24 December 1928 – 21 May 1999) was an English actor best remembered for his roles in ''The Army Game'', the ''Carry On'' films and the Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night''. Early life Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, ...

as Private "Cupcake" Cook * David Lodge as Sergeant "Potty" Chambers *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Sir Redvers *

Marne Maitland James Marne Kumar Maitland (18 December 1914 – March 1992) was an Anglo-Indian actor and voice artist. He worked extensively in Britain, mainly in character roles, but also appeared in many Italian productions, after moving there in the 1 ...

as King Fazim *

Michael Bentine Michael Bentine (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother's ...

as Fred * Francis Matthews as Mahmoud *

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor who appeared in many British horror and science fiction films. Career Ripper began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 195 ...

as Azim *

Wolfe Morris Wolfe Morris (born Woolf Steinberg, 5 January 1925 – 21 July 1996) was an English actor, who played character roles on stage, television and in feature films from the 1950s until the 1990s. He made his film debut in '' Ill Met by Moonlight''. ...

as Salaman * Ewan MacDuff as Ferrers *

Basil Dignam Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...

as General Bender *

Martin Boddey Albert Martin Boddey (16 April 1907 – 24 October 1975) was a British film and television actor. Boddey started acting when he was nearly 40, often portraying irritable authority figures such as police officers or magistrates. He was a fo ...

as Colonel Danvers * Claire Gordon as harem girl * Marie Devereux as harem girl

Reception

Box office

According to ''

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' the film performed "better than average" at the British box office in 1959. ''Variety'' also said the film was one of the most popular of the year in Britain.

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Two acid take-offs of memorable scenes in ''

Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic film, epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai, ''The Bridge over the River Kwai'', written by Pierre Boulle. Boulle's novel and the film's screen ...

'' and a few moments of communal insanity from the five practised actors who take the brunt of the action are the highlights of this modest and relaxed army lark. There is no departure here from the tradition of service farces, except that some, at least, of its humour is composed of private jokes inherited from the TV programme from which the idea was taken." ''

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

'' wrote, "The level of humour in ''I Only Arsked!'' will perhaps best be appreciated by fans of the original series." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' noted "An enjoyable British slapstick comedy." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Hit TV series goes east to mix satire with slapstick."

References

External links

* 1958 films British comedy films 1958 comedy films Films directed by Montgomery Tully Films based on television series Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Military comedy films Hammer Film Productions films The Army Game Films with screenplays by Sid Colin Films set in the Middle East 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language comedy films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub