YMMV / Carry On, Sergeant

• Adorkable: Horace, the first of many such characters in the Carry On films played by Kenneth Connor. Despite being a clumsy hypochondriac, he is good-natured and an object of audience sympathy.
• And You Thought It Would Fail: Many in the British film industry predicted that the film would flop, as it shared three cast members with The Army Game, which could be watched at home for free.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The film's two main authority figures (Sergeant Grimshawe and Corporal Copping) are played by William Hartnell and Bill Owen, who were ironically later known for playing an endless source of disruption and a frequent speaker-out against corrupt authority and the scruffiest man in Yorkshire.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Although Sergeant Grimshawe was typical of the roles that William Hartnell was known for playing at the time, he is best remembered today for playing the First Doctor in Doctor Who, which premiered five years after this film's release.
  • Mary Sage is played by Shirley Eaton, who would later be best known for playing Jill Masterson in Goldfinger.
  • Corporal Copping is played by Bill Owen, who would later be best known for playing Compo Simmonite in Last of the Summer Wine.
  • Sergeant O'Brien is played by Terry Scott, who would join the Carry On films' main cast in the late '60s starting with Carry On Up the Khyber and would later be best known for playing Terry Fletcher in Happy Ever After and Terry Medford in Terry and June.
  • Sergeant Russell is played by Ed Devereaux, who would later be best known for playing Matt Hammond in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
  • One of the specialists is played by Arnold Diamond, who would later be best known for playing Colonel Latignant in The Saint.
  • Two of the recruits are played by Jack Smethurst and Benny Lee, who would later be best known for playing Eddie Booth in Love Thy Neighbour and Mr. Klein in Are You Being Served? respectively.

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