Quotes

I'll do anything for my actors, except pay them.

[Speaking about the "Carry On..." films] "They were all alike, weren't they? We made 31 films out of one gag."

"We were always having problems with the censors, we were always playing games with the censor we were always putting things in order that they would take things out." (1998)

"Matrons is hospitals tell me that the patients feel better when a "Carry On..." film is on." (1998)

We had a camel in that film who wouldn't walk on sand. We couldn't get the bugger to walk on sand! We had to get this metal stuff then he would walk on it. [Speaking about Carry on Follow That Camel (1967)]

[Speaking in 1998 about Carry on Sergeant (1958)] "We didn't know it was going to be a big success. It broke the ice in Pinewood which was regarded to be a very expensive studio, proving that you could make a very modest budget in Pinewood, it only cost about £70,000".

Producers used to say to me 'You can make an epic now', I used to say 'I don't want to make an epic, I'm staying in my back yard!'" [Speaking in 1998 about the "Carry On... films]

[Speaking about Carry on Cruising (1962)] "The most important member of the cast was the title "Carry On...", I would not allow anybody to go above it. The press said at the time (1962) if it didn't have Charles Hawtrey in it, it would not be worth seeing. This of course went straight to his head a bit, so his agent asked for more money, wanted to be the star, and have a star on his dressing room door. It was all rather silly, so we didn't use him".

[Speaking about Carry on Spying (1964)] "I was threatened with a writ if I used double oh (as in James Bond 007) anything. I had lawyers on the set making a huge fuss. Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli had just made Dr. No (1962) and we were talking downstairs in Pinewood discussing the success of the "Carry On" films. Harry said to Albert 'perhaps we should make a comedy'. I said 'I thought you had?'. They were furious!"

When I first met Frankie Howerd I had hurt my leg. He suggested that I had fallen over my wallet! He was a very nice person and a very good artist.

[Speaking about Carry on Sergeant (1958), the first "Carry On..." film] "Everyone was nervous because it was an experiment. I never knew I would make a series, you can't take the audience for granted - that would be arrogant".

I'm a script writer. I had a few plays on in London, one lasted a week and one lasted ten days. One the lasted ten days was a comedy, I thought I should concentrate on that! [Speaking about his early career in 1999]