This is one of the best films in the Carry On series as it had a reasonably good story and wasn't overly smutty. Set in British India near the Afghan border the film follows the exploits of the 3rd Foot and Mouth Regiment; known to their enemies as the 'Devils in skirts' because of their kilts. One day the enemy; the Burpas, discover that one of the soldiers is wearing underwear under his kilt. When word gets back to the governor he heads out to see the local ruler, the Khasi of Kalabar, with two of his men. He orders them to raise their kilts to prove that not all of the regiment wore pants but unfortunately these two did as well. Once back he orders the entire regiment to 'raise kilts' and they are all similarly dressed
to make matters worse his wife takes a photograph and takes it to the Khasi thinking he may appreciate her more than her husband. With this evidence the Khasi sets about persuading the Afghans to help him defeat the Devils in Skirts and ultimately drive the British out of India.
This film is a lot of fun starring the best-known members of the Carry On team including Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey, they are also joined by Terry Scott and Roy Castle. The story was obviously silly; if it weren't it wouldn't be a Carry On film, however it did feel like a proper story rather than just a pretext for some cheeky jokes like some of the later films in the series. The film is likely to be best remembered for its excellent final scene where the Governor and all but one his guests enjoy dinner seemingly oblivious to the battle raging outside. In this age were it is rightly considered unacceptable for white actors to play non-white parts it was a surprise to find this still being shown on television, I'm glad it was though as the viewer is never really expected to believe they are anything more than the Carry On team playing all the main roles unlike some other films of the time where one is expected to accept the white actor as a member of another race.
This film is a lot of fun starring the best-known members of the Carry On team including Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey, they are also joined by Terry Scott and Roy Castle. The story was obviously silly; if it weren't it wouldn't be a Carry On film, however it did feel like a proper story rather than just a pretext for some cheeky jokes like some of the later films in the series. The film is likely to be best remembered for its excellent final scene where the Governor and all but one his guests enjoy dinner seemingly oblivious to the battle raging outside. In this age were it is rightly considered unacceptable for white actors to play non-white parts it was a surprise to find this still being shown on television, I'm glad it was though as the viewer is never really expected to believe they are anything more than the Carry On team playing all the main roles unlike some other films of the time where one is expected to accept the white actor as a member of another race.