I Only Arsked – 1958

Columbia Corporation Pictures present
A Hammer Film Production
Based on Granada’s Television Series “The Army Game”
Copyright MCMLVIII by Lawrie Productions Ltd. All rights reserved.
All characters in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Approved MPAA Certificate No. 19140
RCA Sound recording
Produced at Bray Studios
Black & White 79 Mins
Storyline
A group of misfit soldiers are desperately trying to fiddle themselves some leave. Instead they wrangle a posting to the British Middle-East protectorate of Darawa. Their frustrations and disappointment at landing one of the harshest territories is compensated when they discover a secret passage to the King’s harem.



Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | ||
Click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | |||||
Art Director | John Stoll | 45 | 13 Dec 1913 | 25 Jun 1990 | 76 | 5 | 5 | |
Associate Producer | Anthony Nelson-Keys | 47 | 13 Nov 1911 | 19 Mar 1985 | 73 | 41 | 41 | |
Ast. Director | John Peverall | 28 | 1 Jan 1931 | 3 Oct 2009 | 78 | 21 | 21 | |
Camera Operator | Len Harris | 42 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 52 | 1 | 53 |
Continuity | Doreen Dearnaley | 30 | 20 Nov 1928 | 3 Feb 1992 | 63 | 13 | 13 | |
Director | Montgomery Tully | 54 | 6 May 1904 | 10 Oct 1988 | 84 | 4 | 4 | |
Director of Photog. | Lionel Baines | 54 | 27 Jul 1904 | 1996 | 91 | 1 | 1 | |
Editor | Alfred Cox | 34 | 1925 | 2005 | 80 | 21 | 4 | 25 |
Executive Producer | Michael Carreras | 31 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 82 | 3 | 85 |
Hair Stylist | Henry Montsash | 53 | 17 Sep 1905 | 29 Sep 1974 | 69 | 16 | 16 | |
Make-up | Phil Leakey | 50 | 4 May 1908 | 26 Nov 1992 | 84 | 48 | 48 | |
Music Composed & Conducted by | Benjamin Frankel | 53 | 31 Jan 1906 | 12 Feb 1973 | 67 | 3 | 3 | |
Producer | Anthony Hinds | 36 | 18 Sep 1922 | 30 Sep 2013 | 91 | 84 | 1 | 85 |
Production Manager | Don Weeks | 54 | 15 Nov 1904 | Mar 1988 | 83 | 30 | 30 | |
Song “AloneTogether” | Sid Colin | 43 | 31 Aug 1915 | 12 Dec 1989 | 74 | 4 | 4 | |
Song “AloneTogether” | Walter Ridley | 45 | 28 Feb 1913 | 23 Jan 2007 | 93 | 1 | 1 | |
Sound Recordist | Jock May | 54 | 1 Jan 1905 | 8 Jan 1991 | 86 | 30 | 1 | 31 |
Special Effects | Sid Pearson | 9 | 1 | 10 | ||||
Supervising Editor | James Needs | 39 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 |
The “Army Game” Theme | Pat Napper | 1 | 1 | |||||
Wardrobe | Molly Arbuthnot | 50 | 19 Dec 1908 | 31 Oct 2001 | 92 | 48 | 4 | 52 |
Written | Sid Colin | 43 | 31 Aug 1915 | 12 Dec 1989 | 74 | 4 | 4 | |
Written | Jack Davies | 45 | 25 Nov 1913 | 22 Jun 1994 | 80 | 2 | 2 | |
Uncredited | ||||||||
Additional Music | Naim Al-Basri | 1 | 1 | |||||
Focus Puller | Harry Oakes | 38 | 16 Jan 1921 | 11 Dec 2012 | 91 | 53 | 53 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
Click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Alfie Bass’s song | Alfie Bass | 42 | 8 Apr 1916 | 15 Jul 1987 | 71 | 3 | 3 | ||
Azim | Michael Ripper | 46 | 27 Jan 1913 | 28 Jun 2000 | 87 | 34 | 2 | 36 | |
Colonel Danvers | Martin Boddey | 51 | 16 Apr 1907 | 24 Oct 1975 | 68 | 4 | 4 | ||
Corporal Singer | Michael Medwin | 35 | 18 Jul 1923 | 26 Feb 2020 | 96 | 6 | 6 | ||
Cupcake | Norman Rossington | 30 | 24 Dec 1928 | 21 May 1999 | 70 | 1 | 1 | ||
Excused Boots | Alfie Bass | 42 | 8 Apr 1916 | 15 Jul 1987 | 71 | 3 | 3 | ||
Ferrers | Ewen MacDuff | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Fred | Michael Bentine | 37 | 26 Jan 1922 | 26 Nov 1996 | 74 | 1 | 1 | ||
General Bender | Basil Dignam | 53 | 24 Oct 1905 | 31 Jan 1979 | 73 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
Mahmoud | Francis Matthews | 31 | 2 Sep 1927 | 14 Jun 2014 | 86 | 4 | 4 | ||
Major Upshot-Bagely | Geoffrey Sumner | 50 | 20 Nov 1908 | 29 Sep 1989 | 80 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Olding | John McClaren | 47 | 9 Oct 1911 | 9 May 1970 | 58 | 1 | 1 | ||
Popeye | Bernard Bresslaw | 24 | 25 Feb 1934 | 11 Jun 1993 | 59 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
Professor | Charles Hawtrey | 44 | 30 Nov 1914 | 27 Oct 1988 | 73 | 3 | 3 | ||
Salaman | Wolfe Morris | 34 | 5 Jan 1925 | 21 Jul 1996 | 71 | 5 | 5 | ||
Sergeant Chambers | David Lodge | 37 | 19 Aug 1921 | 18 Oct 2003 | 82 | 10 | 10 | ||
Sir Redvers | Arthur Howard | 49 | 18 Jan 1910 | 18 Jun 1995 | 85 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Tuffnell | Max Brimmell | 31 | 27 Apr 1927 | 15 Feb 1993 | 65 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Uncredited | |||||||||
Arab | Earl Green | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Arab in Bar | Dido Plumb | 53 | 23 Jun 1905 | 4 Mar 1991 | 85 | 10 | 10 | ||
Arab in Bar | George Spence | 4 | 4 | ||||||
Brigadier | Basil Dignam | 53 | 24 Oct 1905 | 31 Jan 1979 | 73 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
Harem Girl | Claire Gordon | 18 | 16 Jan 1941 | 13 Apr 2015 | 74 | 1 | 1 | ||
Harem Girl | Pauline Chamberlain | 26 | 2 Oct 1932 | 14 Jan 2021 | 88 | 5 | 5 | ||
Harem Girl | Maureen Moore | 20 | 1939 | 84 | 1 | 1 | |||
Harem Girl | Pamela Chamberlain | 26 | 2 Oct 1932 | 90 | 1 | 1 |
Production
FILMING BEGAN | 21 July 1958 | |
UK RELEASE | 9 February 1959 | |
STUDIO | Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England |
Footnotes
This was the first film to be made based on a British sitcom, namely The Army Game (ITV).
Montgomery Tulles also directed Hammer’s “36 Hours” (1954) and “Five Days” (1954).
Francis Matthews later appeared in “Revenge of Frankenstein” (1958) and “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” (1966). He also provided the voice for Captain Scarlet in Gerry Andersons TV series “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons” (1967).
Twins Pamela and Pauline Chamberlain appear uncredited here.
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection