Storyline

Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond looks after the British outpost near the Khyber Pass. Protected by the kilted Third Foot and Mouth regiment, you would think they were safe. But the Khazi of Kalabar has other ideas. He wants all the British dead! But his troops fear the "skirted-devils"; they are rumoured not to wear anything underneath. Then one is caught with his pants on...—Simon N. McIntosh-Smith

Plot Keywords

kilt, magician, escape, 19th century, innuendo, parody, satire, india, harem, british empire, palace, disguise, coward, massacre, dinner, execution, underwear, affair, photograph, tea

Short Review

The Carry On franchise seems to have been one of the less stalwart to survive to 21st century pop culture, despite the sheer magnitude of the series; I had no idea that this totally unexpected property even existed before trying to clear the BFI Top 100 British films of the 20th century. Perhaps the films have been forgotten in part because critics and audiences are enamored with the idea of preserving the homogeny of the exceedingly dry style of humor in the Alec Guinness/Ealing Studios comedies of the immediate postwar years, and believe that this style continued uninterrupted until Monty Python came to town. However, this doesn't seem to be the case at all! The Carry On series may lean a bit too heavily on one-note humor, but is still far more conventionally entertaining and has plenty of classic punches, even today; the dialogue (if not the physical and visual humor) seems to be a direct influence upon the ZAZ comedies that would take the world by storm a couple of decades later. A short runtime and relentless stream of jokes help keep Up the Khyber from getting stale, and make me believe that this is an entirely unappreciated little gem of period humor; distinctly English without some of the characteristic weaknesses of using dry wit exclusively. (3.5/5)

Trailer

Streaming Service

1. Amazon Video : Rent from $1.99, Or $0.00 with a Prime membership