Film / Carry On Abroad

Bert: Hey, son. Hey! Is this for the dirty weekend?

Mr. Farquhar: This is the four-day trip to Elsbels, if that's what you mean.

Bert: Heh, same difference, innit? Ha-hah!

— Bert Conway and Stuart Farquhar boarding the coach to the airport.

Carry On Abroad is a 1972 film and the 24th in the Carry On series. It starred Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey (in his last film in the series), Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth, Jimmy Logan, June Whitfield, and Hattie Jacques.

It takes place at Elsbels, an island in Spain. The Palace Hotel run by Pepe (Butterworth), his wife Floella (Jacques), and his son Giorgio (Ray Brooks) is open for business, even though several floors are yet to be built, and many interior walls and ceilings haven't been installed.

British tourist company Wundatours arrive, headed by Stuart Farquhar (Williams) and his assistant Moira Plunkett (Gail Grainger). Among the people on the trip are pub owners Vic and Cora Flange (James and Sims); Sadie Tomkins (Windsor), a young woman who catches Vic's eye when she stops by his pub, prompting Cora to decide to join them on holiday to keep an eye on Vic; Lily Dickey (Sally Geeson) and Marge Mace (Carol Hawkins), two women hoping to find a holiday romance; married couple Stanley and Evelyn Blunt (Connor and Whitfield), the former of whom is hoping to get his wife to relax and re-develop an interest in sex; Rob Tweet (John Clive) and Nicholas Phipps (David Kernan) two men, Rob implied to be Nicholas' Gay Best Friend; Eustace Tuttle (Hawtrey), an alcoholic Mummy's Boy; Bert Conway (Logan), a loud Scotsman hoping to find a one-night stand; and Brother Bernard (Bresslaw), Brother Martin (Derek Francis), and several other monks looking for the tomb of Saint Cecilia.

Mr. Farquhar hopes that this will be the best holiday tour he has ever given, but his best-laid plans fall to pieces as the holidaymakers have to endure unfinished rooms, terrible cooking, unrequited love, a trip to prison, and eventually the destruction of the Palace Hotel as Hilarity Ensues.

For other Carry On films about vacations, see Carry On Cruising, Carry On Camping and Carry On Behind.

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Tropes Included:

• Accentuate the Negative: While the Palace Hotel is awful, Evelyn complains more than all the other guests put together.
  Evelyn: I think I'm going up to change now, and in the meantime, Stanley, I do wish you'd do something about our room. I was cold in the night and there was no hot water. The toilet doesn't flush. That coffee is cold. Oh, and that sun is too hot.
  Vic: Apart from that, she's havin' a wonderful time.
• Accidental Misnaming:
  • Pepe accidentally calls Brown Windsor soup "Brown Bristols soup"
  • Pepe's poor English leads him to call Stuart Farquhar "Mr. Farki-Hars", Bert Conway "Mr. Connies", Stanley Blunt "Mr. Blunks", Vic Flange "Mr. Flunks" and Eustace Tuttle "Mr. Tuttles".
  • Stanley himself calls Pepe "Peepee".
• Accidental Pervert: Neither Brother Bernard nor Lily realise they can see into the other's room as their wardrobe has no back wall. This causes Brother Bernard in his Y-fronts to catch a view of Lily in just her bra and knickers, much to her horror and his embarrassment.
• Actor Allusion:
  • When Mr. Farquhar assures the holidaymakers that any new hotel is bound to have teething troubles, he uses the "Snide" voice used by his actor Kenneth Williams on Hancock's Half Hour.
  • When Mr. Tuttle arrives at Vic and Cora's pub at the end of the film, Vic cheerfully announces "Time, gentlemen, please!". Vic's actor Sid James had appeared in a film called Time Gentlemen, Please! twenty years prior.
• Actually Pretty Funny: After Evelyn reveals tried drinking and smoking once and didn't like it, Vic calls her strange, to which Evelyn defends that her daughter is just the same. When Vic remarks she must be her only child, Stanley bursts out laughing, despite the fact he had been unhappy with his Sexless Marriage throughout the film.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Pepe calls Floella "Mama".
  • Bert calls Giorgio "George".
  • When trying to appease the Chief of Police, Vic calls him "Chiefy".
• The Alcoholic: Mr. Tuttle will drink large quantities of anything alcoholic. ^note  Not coincidentally, Charles Hawtrey's own alcoholism was becoming ever more problematic, leading to his dismissal from the series after this film.
• Alliterative Name:
  • Marge Mace.
  • Pepe serves Brown Bristols soup.
• All Men Are Perverts: Most of the men are looking forward to the holiday in the hope that they'll find a one-night stand (Vic, Bert, Nicholas) or that their spouses will have holiday sex with them (Stanley).
• All There in the Script: Cast lists for the film reveal Rob's first name is actually "Robin".
• All Women Are Prudes: Evelyn is very uptight with everything and hasn't touched her husband Stanley in ages, to the point where she doesn't realise that he's intending for them to be intimate on this holiday. She also makes him leave the room as she is changing out of her travelling clothes.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign:
  • The local language shown on the signs bears a resemblance to Romance tongues but is not standard Spanish (castellano). While all the Spanish regions have their own dialects, Franco forbade their use, insisting that the whole country speak castellano, so the proprietors of the businesses displaying signs in dialect would be risking trouble with the law.
  • "Giorgio" is an Italian name; the Spanish equivalent is "Jorge".
• As You Know: A deleted scene saw these very words uttered by Mr. Fiddler, who uses them to remind Mr. Farquhar that the Elsbels trip is Wundatours' first weekend package holiday, so he doesn't want anything to go wrong.
• Bathtub Scene: Evelyn catches Mr. Tuttle in her bath and gets the fright of her life.
  Evelyn: Stanley, there is a man in our bath.
  Stanley: What? Well, what sort of man?
  Evelyn: What does it matter "what sort of man"? They're all the same, aren't they?
• Bite of Affection: When Evelyn complains about her bites (from the mosquitoes), Vic asks Stanley what he's been up to.
• Black Widow: Sadie lies to Bert that she killed her second husband with rat poison and Vic lies that she killed her first by drowning him in a swimming pool. In reality both of Sadie's husbands were firemen who died on the job.
• Blatant Lies:
  • When Cora catches Vic with a topless Sadie, Vic tries to tell her that Sadie didn't notice and he was trying to help her out. Cora doesn't believe him for a second.
  • As the Palace Hotel collapses, Pepe tries to pass off the holes in the floor as the work of "very big mices".
• Bookends: The film starts and ends with Vic and Cora serving drinks in their pub.
• Brick Joke:
  • Mr. Tuttle plays leapfrog with Marge and Lily early on, and later gets in trouble at Madame Fifi's brothel when he tries it with her girls.
  • During the Carnival Night party, Mr. Farquhar asks Pepe if he's talking to him, or his brother Mario, referring to how Pepe had used the name Mario earlier when pretending to be the doorman.
  • Bert falls through his balcony into wet cement around the middle of the film, and when he goes on Sadie's during the climax it happens again.
  • When Pepe shows Vic and Cora how to open their windows, he walks through them to get the lock because they didn't have the glass installed yet. When Vic tries this during the climax, he crashes through the newly installed glass causing him and Cora to shriek with laughter.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Pepe is quite attracted to Evelyn's breasts:
  Pepe: She's very lovings. You are very lucky mans.
  Stanley: You think so?
  Pepe: Yes, yes. Zhe big hip, zhe small waist... and boom-boom!
• Censor Suds:
  • Mr. Tuttle's penis is covered by soap when Evelyn walks in on him in the bath.
  • Averted. When Vic catches Sadie in the shower, she tries to hide her body from him and turns around, only for Vic (and the audience) to get a good view of her rear:
    Vic: You haven't got any soap on that bit.
• Character Catchphrase: Bert uses an exclamation of "Jings!" at several points throughout the film.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Cora, although she arguably has a good reason to be, seeing how obviously Vic and Sadie flirt with each other in the pub.
• Clothing Damage:
  • Brother Bernard rips off Lily's skirt accidentally.
  • Mr. Farquhar's pants get ripped during the brawl in the village.
• Comedic Underwear Exposure:
  • Brother Bernard accidentally tears off Lily's skirt, showing off her panties.
  • When Mr. Farquhar's pants are ripped during the fight outside of Madame Fifi's brothel.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • When Evelyn is complaining about being caught in her underwear:
    Evelyn: I think I'm going to go mad.
    Stanley: Well, hang on, please, before you go anywhere, I think I'd better go an' check.
  • When Mr. Fiddler explains how important the Elsbels trip is to Mr. Farquhar in a Deleted Scene:
    Mr. Fiddler: This Elsbels trip. As You Know, this is our first venture into the weekend package deal, so I don't want any boobs, understand?
    Mr. Farquhar: Any what, sir?
    Mr. Fiddler: "Boobs", man, "boobs"!
    Mr. Farquhar: Oh, well, I haven't had a chance to inspect all the passengers yet, but-
    Mr. Fiddler: Mistakes. Foul-ups!
    Mr. Farquhar: Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. I thought you meant...
• Copycat Mockery: Cora copies Sadie's high-pitched voice when slagging her off to Vic:
  Cora: "Are you goin' on the same trip too? Oh, well, fancy that! Yeah, fancy that!" Well I don't fancy that at all!
• Covered in Gunge: Twice, Bert falls through a balcony and lands in wet cement. The first time he angrily flicks some at Pepe in disgust.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Mr. Tuttle is rather absent-minded, partially due to his alcoholism and partially due to the fact he is played by Charles Hawtrey:
  Mr. Farquhar: Have you got a ticket?
  Mr. Tuttle: Yes, I have. Have you?
  Mr. Farquhar: Of course. I'm the courier, sir, in charge of the party.
  Mr. Tuttle: How nice.
• Crash-Into Hello: Miss Plunkett and Vic bump into each other outside the Wundatours building.
• Crazy Jealous Guy:
  • Rob hates when Nicholas even looks at girls, and is extremely annoyed when he begins courting Lily.
  • Vic becomes one when drunk:
    Vic: Where's my wife? What 'ave you done with 'er?
    Mr. Farquhar: Me, Mr. Flange? I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest idea.
    Vic: Don' give me that! She's with that twit, Blunt, i'n' she, i'n' she?
• Credits Gag: The Technical Advisor was credited as "Sun Tan Lo Tion" (a play on "suntan lotion").
• Crossword Puzzle: Evelyn complains that this'll be her only entertainment if she doesn't go on the excursion to the village.
• Cue the Rain: Everyone is soaked by a downpour after Mr. Farquhar proudly tells the holidaymakers that Wundatours especially chose Elsbels for the package holiday due to its perfect sunshine record.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Cora becomes this whenever Vic talks about Sadie or considers following her.
    Vic: Gorblimey, I wouldn't touch her with a barge pole!
    Cora: No, but you would with anything else that came to hand.
  • Stanley has one notable moment after being frustrated by Evelyn at dinner:
    Giorgio: A beautiful wine, for a beautiful lady.
    Evelyn: Well, was that supposed to be a compliment?
    Stanley: Better taste the wine first.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Evelyn is a changed woman after waiter Giorgio woos her, and becomes more sexually open with Stanley.
• Destructo-Nookie: During the Carnival Night party, Nicholas and Lily slip away upstairs to have it off. When the Palace Hotel begins to collapse, their shagging begins to crack the ceiling in the dining room. Then once Stanley and Evelyn go upstairs for a bit of the same, Stanley launches himself at her and sends their bed careening through the floor into the dining room and nearly squashing Pepe! Not that they notice though, as once they realise where they are, they slip under the covers and get busy.
• Dirty Cop: The Elsbels Chief of Police locks up the holidaymakers for a brawl Madame Fifi and her girls started. Vic tries to protest that Madame Fifi is a "cheatin' old boiler", but the Chief of Police is her brother and refuses to free the holidaymakers, until Miss Plunkett takes the law into her own hands and sleeps with him.
• Dirty Old Man: Bert is in a way, even though Sophie isn't the age of a teenager. He even points out that he'd never go after young girls like Lily and Marge because they're "touch me and I'll tell my dad" territory.
• Dirty Old Monk: Lily believes Brother Bernard to be one after he accidentally sees her in her underwear, and especially after he accidentally tears off her skirt.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Brother Bernard doesn't listen to Brother Martin talk about finding the tomb of St. Cecilia because he's too busy looking at a bikini-clad Lily and Marge.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: During the Carnival Night party, Mr. Farquhar notices the... unusual way some balloons are arranged. Said balloons have one long tube balloon, with two smaller circular ones at the top, resembling a dick and balls.
• Dogged Nice Guy:
  • It seems that Mr. Farquhar's assistant Miss Plunkett has strong feelings for him, especially the way she thanks him for allowing her to chaperone the guests. The two do become a couple on the last night, however.
    Miss Plunkett: Mr. Farquhar, I do want you to know how thrilled I am to be with you this trip. I feel we're going to be just wonderful together.
    Mr. Farquhar: Please, Miss Plunkett, you're squashing my itinerary.
  • Brother Bernard has a crush on Lily, but she wants nothing to do with the clumsy monk. Luckily her friend Marge appreciates his kindness and the two go to the Carnival Night party together.
• The Door Slams You:
  • As Pepe dashes inside the hotel to tell Floella that the holidaymakers are early, the doors swing shut and bump into him.
  • Cora slams a door into Vic's face after he accidentally pulls off Sadie's top and leaves him with a sore nose.
• Dope Slap:
  • Cora hits Vic in the head with her umbrella after he bends over to get a better view of Marge's behind.
  • Floella slaps Pepe in the back of the head to show her disapproval of Carnival Night.
• Double Entendre:
  • Right off the bat the film starts off with a saucy conversation between Vic and Sadie as he pours her a drink:
    Sadie: Oh, ta. 'Ave you got a large one?
    Vic: I've 'ad no complaints so far. Ah-haha!
    Sadie: Seeing's believin'.
    Vic: You won't need a magnifyin' glass!
  • As Mr. Farquhar and Miss Plunkett are getting ready to take the holidaymakers to the airport:
    Mr. Farquhar: Right, well, should we get them out now?
    Miss Plunkett: Why, Mr. Farquhar!
    Mr. Farquhar: The people for the coach, I mean!
• Double Take:
  • Evelyn banishes Stanley to the balcony while she undresses, so he decides to look at the view. It takes him a second to realise that Lily and Marge are in their underwear on the next balcony over.
  • Stanley has to look twice when Lily dashes through the Palace Hotel without her skirt on.
  • Mr. Farquhar has one when he realises the balloons he's standing next to resemble a cock and balls.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: When Pepe catches Floella standing on a chair and screaming for him, the first thing he assumes is that she's seen a mouse.
• Either/Or Title: Carry On Abroad or What a Package or It's All In or Swiss Hols in the Snow.
• Extremely Short Timespan: The entire movie takes place between four days and a week. To be fair, considering the pacing of many Carry On films, it wouldn't be surprising that you'd be questioning how much days have passed.
• Face Your Fears: Cora has a fear of flying but pushes through it to ensure Vic can't have an affair on his holiday:
  Vic: Flyin'. You don't like flyin', remember?
  Cora: I don't like washing floors, but I'd still rather do that than you get some other scrubber.
• Fanservice:
  • There are quite a few scenes of Lily and Marge in various states of undress or in bikinis.
  • Sadie gets caught in the shower, allowing us to see Barbara Windsor's breasts and behind.
  • Santa Cecilia's Elixir gives the drinker temporary X-ray vision - just an excuse for the film to show us Miss Plunkett and Sadie in their underwear.
• Flat Joy: Mr. Farquhar pressures Miss Plunkett to liven up the Carnival Night party. This is her response, lacking in any enthusiasm whatsoever:
  Mr. Farquhar: Moira, dear, a lot depends on the report they give when they get back. For goodness' sake, do something to brighten it up!
  Miss Plunkett: Whoopee.
• Food Fight: Mr. Tuttle flings fruit at people during the brawl in the village.
• Foreign Queasine: The Spanish Pepe considers the British food he serves to be rubbish:
  Mr. Farquhar: No, we expected some foreign food.
  Pepe: Foreign? Zhat's foreign. You not thinking we eating zhis rubbish?
• Foreshadowing: When the monks board the coach to the airport, Brother Bernard can be spotted smiling back at where Lily and Marge are sitting, the first hint that he will show an interest in Lily, and later get together with Marge.
• Frying Pan of Doom: Floella wields one on the film's poster.
• Funny Background Event:
  • As Mr. Tuttle drinks tanning oil, Lily watches on from behind him in utter disbelief.
  • When the holidaymakers are in jail, Mr. Tuttle can be seen sleeping through the whole thing.
  • Just watch Mr. Farquhar's facial expressions when Vic nearly says the word "brothel" to the Chief of Police. His reaction speaks for itself.
• Funny Foreigner:
  • Pepe, who spends the film frantically trying to run the Palace Hotel basically all by himself:
    Mr. Farquhar: Trouble with these foreigners - so damned excitable!
  • In a lesser case, his wife Floella who has screaming matches with him in the kitchen, and lazy son Giorgio who manages to woo the frigid Evelyn.
• Gasshole:
  • Mr. Tuttle lets out a burp after drinking a whole bottle of tanning oil.
  • Stanley burps after drinking Santa Cecilia's Elixir.
• Gay Best Friend: Rob is Nicholas' and seems to have feelings for him, although whether Nicholas knows of Rob's sexuality or not is up for debate.
  Giorgio: You like to meet nice girls? Elsbels?
  Nicholas: Yeah, great.
  Rob: Certainly not!
• Get Out!:
  • Evelyn kicks Pepe out of her room after he catches her in a state of undress.
  • Vic wanders into the bathroom shared by him, Cora and Sadie, and catches Sadie having a shower. Sadie is extremely embarrassed and yells at him to leave before Cora catches them.
  • As Bert tries to invite Sadie to Carnival Night, Sadie doesn't want anything to do with him knowing that he's only after her for sex, and throws things at him while screeching that he needs to get out of her room.
• Going Commando: Sadie doesn't wear a bra to the Carnival Night party.
• Goofy Print Underwear: Lily wears a bikini where her breasts are labelled "THIS" and "THAT".
• Handbag of Hurt: Cora hits a policeman with her handbag during the brawl in the village.
• Hangover Sensitivity: Bert is left with a terrible headache after the first night, which isn't helped by the 5 o'clock construction:
  Bert: Mah heid, it's splittin'!
  Mr. Farquhar: Oh, what a shocking noise!
  Bert: Can you can hear it too?
• Haute Cuisine Is Weird: None of the guests are happy with the small portions at the Palace Hotel:
  Pepe: 'Ot zoups. Is good.
  Vic: Better get in quick, before it evaporates.
  Brother Martin: For what we are about to receive, O Lord, make us truly grateful.
  Brother Bernard: (Beat) I don't think He could have heard you.
• Henpecked Husband:
  • Vic's a mild version, seeing as how his wife Cora doesn't really have much control over him, but he was about to reluctantly cancel his holiday trip over her complaints.
  • Stanley, to the point of hoping that the vacation will make his wife Evelyn loosen up and they can finally have sex:
    Evelyn: Now come along and stop making such an exhibition of yourself.
• Home-Early Surprise: When Vic tries to talk to Sadie about the affair they haven't been able to start back inside the hotel, away from Cora, Sadie doesn't want to talk about it and tries to leave. Unfortunately, Vic tries to grab her shoulder to stop her but grabs her top just as she starts to walk away, causing him to pull it off. Even worse for Vic is that Cora sees the whole thing.
• Hot for Preacher: Marge falls for Brother Bernard after seeing how sweet he is to her friend Lily.
• Incompatible Orientation:
  • Rob clearly has a crush on his best friend Nicholas, who is far too busy chasing after Lily to notice.
  • When Lily and Marge first see Rob before realising he is gay, they consider him to be quite dishy.
  • Upon meeting Bert, Rob gives him a flirty hello, despite the fact Bert would be more interested in someone like Sadie.
• Inconsistent Spelling:
  • Barbara Windsor's character's last name is sometimes mistakenly spelt with a "p". However, both a place card with her name and the DVD subtitles correctly spell it as "Tomkins".
  • Whether Peter Butterworth's character's name is spelt with an "e" or an "é" is up for debate. The script calls him "Pepe", while the DVD subtitles call him "Pépé".
  • Is Nicholas' last name spelt "Phipps" or "Fipps"?
  • Is Ray Brooks' character called "Giorgio" or "Georgio"? The DVD subtitles use the former.
• Insatiable Newlyweds: Mr. and Mrs. Sockett were characters from an early draft of the script who couldn't be separated from each other, and would've had it off the second they arrived at the Palace Hotel.
• Interrupted Intimacy:
  • When Vic and Cora climb into bed to have it off, the tarp being used as their ceiling splits and the rain filling up in it soaks them, killing Vic's passion. Luckily, Cora uses her umbrella to block the water and the two get back to business.
  • Nicholas and Lily have to end their love making on the last night early when the hotel begins collapsing.
• Intoxication Ensues: The holidaymakers get smashed on spiked punch on the last night and end up too drunk to care about the fact the Palace Hotel is collapsing all around them as they dance or make love.
• Jump Cut: One happens during dinner on the first night, which causes Pepe to disappear from the shot and Mr. Farquhar to appear out of nowhere.
• Latin Lover: Pepe's son Giorgio, who manages to seduce the frigid Evelyn and help end her sexual repression.
• Lazy Bum: Giorgio, who would rather nap than work:
  Pepe: Where's-a Giorgio?
  Floella: Should I blooding know? Sitting on his blooding arse, I suppose!
  Pepe: Giorgio! Get off zhe blooding arses! Zhe peoples are here!
• Lethal Chef: The quality of Floella's cooking is one of the holidaymakers' many complaints about their holiday, and it doesn't help that she has trouble using a coke stove:
  Miss Plunkett: She sounds pretty distressed.
  Mr. Farquhar: She's probably tried some of 'er own cooking!
• Love Dodecahedron: Vic is married to Cora, but wants to have an affair with Sadie, who's recently grown attached to Bert. Meanwhile, Cora is pursued by Stanley, who is unhappily married to Evelyn, who has an affair with Giorgio.
• Low Clearance: Harry bangs his head on the door to Vic and Cora's pub.
• Luminescent Blush: Evelyn reaches into Stanley's pocket to get their coach tickets. When she fumbles around, he groans, gurns and moans, getting redder and redder in the face before telling her it's in the back pocket.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Stanley believes Pepe is suggesting that he and Evelyn should have sex on the kitchen floor when he frantically asks for help with the collapsing foundations:
  Evelyn: He's trying to get me upstairs again, Monsieur Pepe.
  Pepe: Oh, no, no, I show you. On zhe kitchen floor!
  Stanley: I say, steady on old chap! Remember, we're British! (Beat) I don' know though. Oh-hwow!
• Malaproper:
  • Pepe's English is spotty at best, and he often adds an "S" to words that don't need it:
    Pepe: Ladies and gentlemans! Welcoming to Palace Hotels!
  • Floella is better than her husband, but still says things such as "blooding" or "electric-tricity".
• Male Gaze:
  • Stanley watches Lily and Marge from his balcony and the audience gets a good view of them in their underwear.
  • Brother Bernard looks at Lily and Marge when they arrive at the beach in bikinis and the audience gets a close up of their upper halves.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Evelyn Blunt certainly is when she complains.
  • The Deleted Role of Mr. Fiddler, who got quite hands-on with Miss Plunkett.
• Mistaken for Gay: After Sadie says she and Bert are on their own at dinner, Bert reminds her that he's with Mr. Tuttle. Sadie briefly believes he means that he's in a relationship with him before Bert corrects her.
• Mistaken for Murderer: Bert is led to believe that Sadie will try and kill him after he hears that she had killed her previous two husbands:
  Sadie: Oh well, there is safety in numbers.
  Bert: I hope so.
• Mistaken Identity: When Vic tries to explain about how he changed his booking from him and Sadie going on holiday to him and his wife Cora going on holiday, Mr. Farquhar at first believes Cora is Sadie, and the change of surname meaning the two were newlywed.
• Modesty Towel: After Evelyn catches Mr. Tuttle in her bath, he comes out to apologise wearing only a small towel, while Evelyn wraps herself in a blanket so he can't see her undergarments.
• Mosquito Miscreants: The first night dinner goes from bad to worse when the doors are opened and hundreds of mosquitoes attack the guests:
  Evelyn: Mosquito bites, look.
  Stanley: Trouble with mosquitoes - no taste. (Beat) I mean they don't care whom they bite.
  Cora: Well, one thing's certain - they're eating better than we are.
• Ms. Fanservice: Miss Plunkett has a nice body, and she knows it, such as the fact she's the only girl not to freak out when caught naked by the builders and when she has sex with the Chief of Police to get her and the holidaymakers out of jail.
• Mummy's Boy: Eustace Tuttle, who is implied to be still living with his mother and is even escorted to the coach by her.
• My Beloved Smother: Mrs. Tuttle is far too involved in her son Eustace's life, even though he is a grown man:
  Mrs. Tuttle: Oh, you will look after him, won't you?
  Mr. Farquhar: We look after everyone on a Wundatour, madam.
  Mrs. Tuttle: Yes, but he's not like the rest.
• My Local: Vic and Cora run a typical British pub, known as "The Bull and Bush" in early drafts of the script.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Music from Carry On Loving plays when Miss Plunkett goes off to have sex with the Chief of Police.
  • Eric Rogers reuses his party theme from Doctor in Trouble for the Carnival Night party scenes.
• The Name Is Bond, James Bond: How Stanley introduces himself to Vic and Cora:
  Stanley: Er, my name is Blunt. Stanley Blunt.
• Naked Freak-Out:
  • Evelyn freaks out when Mr. Tuttle sees her in her underwear and tries her best to stop Pepe from seeing too.
  • A Running Gag for Lily: She gets a fright after Brother Bernard sees her in her underwear through the wardrobe, she runs through the Palace Hotel screaming when she loses her skirt, and she gasps in horror when some builders enter her room while she is topless.
  • Sadie has two: She tries hiding behind a shower curtain when Vic catches her in the bathroom, and she screams when he accidentally pulls her top off.
  • When Mr. Farquhar's underpants are exposed during the brawl in the village, he screams and tries to hide in the coach.
• Nasal Trauma: Cora slams a door in Vic's face and bangs his nose with it.
• No Full Name Given:
  • We don't get to know Pepe, Floella, Brother Bernard, Giorgio, Brother Martin, Harry, Madame Fifi or Brother Paul's last names.
  • The same can be said for Miss Dobbs and Mrs. Tuttle's first names.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Mr. Farquhar mentions he once knew a girl who had all her hair shaved off by foreign policemen.
  • A Deleted Scene saw Mr. Farquhar and Mr. Fiddler talking about Mr. Farquhar's previous package holiday to Venice. All we find out is that he went with a hostess known as Miss Fosdick and had to relocate the trip to Littlehampton after an airport strike.
• Not What It Looks Like: Brother Martin catches Brother Bernard chasing after a skirt-less Lily with the aforementioned skirt in his hands and assumes the worst, but in reality all that had happened was that he had torn it off by accident and was trying to return it.
• Not So Above It All: Floella spends the whole movie yelling and bitching in the kitchen, but loosens up when the holidaymakers invite her to drink with them at the Carnival Night party.
• Oh, Crap!: Pepe, after seeing the British holidaymakers have arrived for their holiday when the Palace Hotel is still nowhere near finished being built.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: After Brother Bernard catches a view of an undressed Lily, she never forgives him or tones down her hostility towards him.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Both Evelyn and Rob call Room Service at the same time, so Pepe redirects their calls to each other and both Evelyn and Rob believe the other person talking to them is from Room Service:
  Rob: Oh, for Heaven's sake. Hello? Hello?
  Evelyn: Ah, Room Service?
  Rob: And about time. Now listen, my drawers have got no bottoms in them.
  Evelyn: What? Who is that? I want Room Service.
  Rob: Well so do I! Get off the line! (Beat) Room Service?
  Evelyn: Ah. It's about our bathroom.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: While never stated in the film, Rob is short for "Robin".
• Only Sane Man:
  • Rob considers himself to be the only one of the holidaymakers who is normal. While he's still as neurotic as many of the others, he is noticeably the only one not to be arrested following the fight in the village or return to Vic and Cora's pub after the Time Skip (barring the monks other than Brother Bernard):
    Rob: I've never had a trip like that in all of my life. And with such fearsome people. Have you ever seen anything like them? I swear they're all odd.
  • In a parallel to Carry On Up the Khyber, Peter Butterworth's character, Pepe, is the only one who seems at all concerned by the gradual collapse of the Palace Hotel during a torrential rainstorm which causes the nearby river to overflow; the British tourists are too busy getting completely smashed or making love to notice, much less care, even as giant holes begin appearing in the floor:
    Pepe: Yes, alright! You complaining about zhe mices, and zhe whole hotel is falling down!
• Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Brother Bernard follows Mr. Tuttle, Lily and Marge outside and hears quite an interesting conversation before realising they were only playing leapfrog:
  Marge: Oh no, Mr. Tuttle, no more. Ya too old for it.
  Mr. Tuttle: Oh, come on. You do enjoy it.
  Lily: I don't.
  Mr. Tuttle: Oh, just once more. Bend over, dear.
  Marge: All right then, but this is the last time.
• Parasol of Pain: Cora hits Vic with her umbrella after she catches him leering at Miss Plunkett.
• Parenthetical Swearing: Rob treats us to some when being rude to the monks at the Carnival Night party:
  Brother Martin: Manners.
  Rob: "Manners" yourself.
• Plot Hole:
  • Why do the builders leave the Palace Hotel? And then why do they decide to come back to work after?
  • If Pepe didn't know when the Wundatours group would be arriving, then why would he have letters for Mr. Farquhar?
  • Cora asks Vic to open the windows and get some fresh air, and later it is revealed there was no glass in the windows. If this is the case, then how couldn't Cora feel any fresh air?
• Potty Emergency: The monks' search for St. Cecilia's tomb gets delayed when they have to search for a bathroom for Brother Bernard.
• Pretending to Be One's Own Relative: To create the allusion of hotel staff, Pepe wears several different outfits for each job and pretends that he is one of his brothers:
  Pepe: I am Monsieur Pepe.
  Mr. Farquhar: But you were the doorman!
  Pepe: Eh? No, no, zhat's Mario. My brothers.
• Pun: When Stanley lies that the brothel is a fire station, Cora asks about the girls inside, so Stanley tells her they are the "fire belles".
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
  • Mr. Farquhar correcting Pepe on the pronunciation of his name:
    Mr. Farquhar: Well, I'm the representative of Wundatours - Stuart Farquhar.
    Pepe: "Stupid" what?
    Mr. Farquhar: Stuart! Stuart! Farquhar!
  • When Floella and Pepe argue about the reliability of the coke stove:
    Floella: Is! No! Good!
    Pepe: Is! Good!
• Punny Name:
  • The island is called Elsbels, which sounds like the slang expression "Hell's bells", and judging by the state of the Palace Hotel, no wonder.
  • Vic and Cora Flange.
  • Stuart Farquhar sounds a bit like "Stupid fuck", which is what Pepe nearly calls him during their first encounter.
  • Rob Tweet may not sound funny, but when cast lists reveal that Rob is short for Robin, meaning he's named Robin Tweet? Hilarious.
  • A Deleted Scene had Mr. Farquhar mention another hostess at Wundatours called Miss Fosdick.
• Really Gets Around: Both Lily and Marge accuse each other of being guilty of this after Marge starts to take an interest in Brother Bernard:
  Lily: I knew it was a mistake comin' on holiday with you. Anything in trousers.
  Marge: Hark who's talkin'! (Beat) Anyway, he's not wearin' trousers.
• Rhymes on a Dime: Evelyn does when complaining about the mosquitoes:
  Evelyn: I have never had such a night. I am absolutely covered in bites.
• Right in Front of Me:
  • When Mr. Farquhar insults a policeman while demanding to see the Chief of Police:
    Mr. Farquhar: Well, I'm not going to bandy words with an idiotic, jumped-up popinjay like you anymore. I demand to see the Chief of Police!
    Chief of Police: I am the Chief of Police.
  • Vic then insults Madame Fifi to the Chief of Police, unaware that she is his sister.
• Rule of Three: Lily has a Naked Freak-Out three different times.
• Running Gag: Lily suffering from a Naked Freak-Out.
• Sassy Secretary: Miss Dobbs, who snarks at Mr. Farquhar's kind words:
  Mr. Farquhar: Afternoon, Miss Dobbs. Lovely day for it.
  Miss Dobbs: That's what they all say, Mr. Farquhar, but it won't get you anywhere.
• Say My Name: Brother Martin yells out Brother Bernard's name when he catches him applying sun cream to Marge's back.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Mr. Farquhar sees the police arrive to arrest the holidaymakers, he tries to hide out in the coach that took them to the village.
• Sex for Services: Miss Plunkett has sex with the Chief of Police to get the holidaymakers a large amount of fruit and free them from jail.
• Sex Tourism: This is what most of the holidaymakers (except the monks) are hoping the package tour will turn out to be. Vic wants to have an affair with Sadie, Bert wants to find an attractive woman, Lily and Marge want to find young men, Stanley wants his wife Evelyn to loosen up sexually, and Nicholas wants to find a girl.
• Sexless Marriage: Stanley and Evelyn never have sex because Evelyn is so frigid. When she finally loosens up thanks to Giorgio, Stanley can't even remember what to do:
  Evelyn: What is it, dear?
  Stanley: I've forgotten what you do...
• She Is All Grown Up: Miss Plunkett mentions this about herself after pressing against Mr. Farquhar:
  Miss Plunkett: Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I keep forgetting what a big girl I am now.
• Shirtless Scene:
  • Mr. Tuttle has two: When he is caught in Evelyn's bath and when he sleeps through the downpour on the beach.
  • Lily and Marge's wardrobe has no back wall, meaning they can see into Brothers Bernard and Martin's room and vice-versa, causing trouble when she catches Brother Bernard in only his underwear.
  • Nicholas gets a few: When he relaxes on the beach, when he cleans himself up after being freed from jail, and as he dashes through the collapsing corridor on the last night.
• Shout-Out:
  • Floella sarcastically calls Pepe "the Richard Burton of Elsbels".
  • Pepe compares himself to the little Dutch boy who saved Holland when he uses his rear to plug a hole in the kitchen.
  • Vic suggests the holidaymakers all sing "'Twas on the Good Ship Venus" during the Carnival Night party.
• Shower Scene: Vic walks on Sadie mid-shower and we get a good view of her bottom.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Almost all of Floella's lines are peppered with the word "blooding" (how she pronounces "bloody").
• Slipping a Mickey: Miss Plunkett, Vic, and Bert all separately spike the punch with Santa Cecilia's Elixir at the Carnival Night party on the last night, leading to a mass exodus of the guests to their bedrooms.
• Slut-Shaming: Cora calls Sadie a "scrubber" for trying to have an affair with Vic.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Harry only appears in the scenes that Bookend the film, but without him, Cora would've never discovered Vic's plan to have an affair with Sadie, and so wouldn't gone to Elsbels with him.
• Soft Glass: Vic smashes through the glass in the door to his balcony on the last night with no effort at all. He simply walks into it and it shatters around him.
• Something We Forgot: Stanley ensures that Evelyn gets left behind on the excursion to the village so he can flirt with Cora.
• Sound-Effect Bleep: Vic telling some builders "Oh, fuck off!" is drowned out by the sounds of drills.
• Spit Take: Harry does this when Vic tells him about his holiday plans, as he realises that he and Sadie will be on the same trip.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Pepe has to masquerade as most of his absent staff, so he pretends each staff member he dresses up as is one of his brothers:
  Mr. Farquhar: Hey! More champers! Good ol' Pepe... or is it Mario?
• Stuff Blowing Up:
  • Brother Martin plugs a portable radio into the wall, and it explodes in his hand.
  • When all the holidaymakers call Room Service at once it is too much for the switchboard to handle and it explodes while Mr. Farquhar shrieks in terror.
• Tagline: "The holiday of a laughtime!".
• Talk to the Fist: When a policeman harasses Marge during the brawl in the village, Brother Bernard's first instinct is to deck him in the face.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: Bert is led to believe that Sadie killed her second husband with rat poison.
• Tempting Fate: Just after Mr. Farquhar and Vic have a conversation about the weather in Elsbels, it begins pouring with rain:
  Mr. Farquhar: Good morning, everybody. What a lovely day! Aha. Oh. Well, yes, that's right, enjoy the sunshine.
  Vic: That's somethin' you can't muck up.
  Mr. Farquhar: Ah well, Wundatours has specially chose Elsbels for the perfect holiday weekend because of its wonderful sunshine record!
• The Teetotaler: Evelyn tried alcohol once and didn't like it (ditto for smoking):
  Vic: Strange.
  Evelyn: Not at all, my daughter is just the same.
  Vic: Your only child, I presume.
• Those Two Guys:
  • Lily and Marge who come on holiday together to find young men.
  • Nicholas and his Gay Best Friend Rob (who seems to have feelings for him).
  • While there are several monks on holiday, Brother Bernard and Brother Martin are the only two with plot relevance and so share several scenes together.
• Time Skip: After the Palace Hotel collapses on the last night, the film cuts ahead an unspecified amount of time back to Vic and Cora's pub.
• Toilet Humour: Bert flushes the toilet in his room and is blasted with water that shoots out of it:
  Mr. Farquhar: I am confident that things will get better.
  Bert: An' they need to, if I'm gonnae get a shower every time I take a leak.
• Trrrilling Rrrs: Brother Martin does so when asking Brother Bernard if he sees nothing wrong or sinful in taking Marge to the Carnival Night party.
• Twisted Echo Cut: Pepe gives Mr. Farquhar the phone for Room Service as everyone begins calling at once. Hilarity Ensues:
  Mr. Farquhar: Ah hello, Room Service.
  Evelyn: There is a man, in my bath-
  Rob: With no bottom-
  Lily: An' nothing on the other side-
  Bert: An' as I bent ovah-
  Vic: She was standin' there, starkers-
  Bert: An' when I pressed the thing-
  Brother Martin: And tried to plug it in-
  Miss Plunkett: Sand shot out of it-
  Bert: An' soaked me from head t'foot.
  Brother Martin: And now it won't work at all!
• Tyop on the Cover: The back of the Australian Carry On Abroad/Carry On England two video pack misspells "Elsbels" as "Esbels".
• Undercrank: Played for Laughs when a prostitute shoves Stanley into a market stall.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Rob and Nicholas have a rather... close relationship. Rob seems to be crushing on him, but Nicholas is too busy with Lily to notice. ^note The DVD Commentary (which includes actors John Clive and David Kernan) reveals that their relationship was intended to be exactly that, but the censors of the day wouldn't allow it, explaining why that aspect of the plot never goes anywhere.
• Unusual Euphemism: Evelyn is annoyed that she has to share a room with her husband, but Stanley is ready to enjoy himself, so Evelyn immediately snaps that he only wants to try "that nastiness" again.
• Unwanted Rescue: During the brawl in the village, a young woman holds down Vic and he motorboats her. Mr. Farquhar tries to free him, but Vic doesn't appreciate the help:
  Mr. Farquhar: Let him go!
  Vic: Oh, shove awf! Go rescue somebody else!
• Verbal Backspace:
  • Vic does so after seeing Sadie on her balcony:
    Vic: Yes, well I think I'll just go up an' grab a bit of fun. Er, sun.
  • Vic does it again when discussing Madame Fifi with the Chief of Police:
    Vic: Well, surely you don't doubt our word against that of a cheatin' old boiler that runs the local bro- ah, er, broken-down boarding 'ouse?
• Very False Advertising: A group of holidaymakers are off for a cheap package holiday on the island of Elsbels at the Palace Hotel. However, the Palace Hotel is still under construction, and eventually is completely destroyed by a big rainstorm.
• Visible Boom Mic: Early prints of the film have one at the bottom of the screen when Cora tells Vic he doesn't need to bother getting her a chair. Later TV showings and the DVD release edited this out.
• V-Sign:
  • The foreman gives Pepe one when the builders storm off.
  • The Chief of Police also gives one to Mr. Farquhar and taunts him that as a Brit he should recognise the gesture.
• Wardrobe Malfunction:
  • Brother Bernard accidentally tears off Lily's skirt and everyone gets a good look at her knickers as she runs back to her room.
  • When trying to stop Sadie from running off, Vic grabs her and accidentally pulls off her top.
  • Mr. Farquhar's pants end up getting ripped during the brawl in the village and show off his underwear.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Floella disappears from the film after the couples begin to slow dance, and we never find out if she safely escaped the Palace Hotel's collapse.
  • Rob is the only holidaymaker outside of the group of monks to be absent from the visit to Vic and Cora's pub after the Time Skip.
• When It Rains, It Pours: When the holidaymakers are at the beach, a massive downpour starts and sends them fleeing for the shelter of the hotel, with the exception of Mr. Tuttle who is too drunk to notice.

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