Robert Morley demanded a fee of fifteen thousand pounds sterling when offered the part of Sir Lancelot Spratt. As this would have constituted nearly one-sixth of this movie's proposed budget, the filmmakers instead hired James Robertson Justice at one-tenth the salary. Justice scored a great personal triumph in this movie, and played the role again in five sequels. It was to remain his best-known movie part.
The most popular movie of its year at the U.K. box-office.
This movie was made on a budget of just ninety-seven thousand pounds sterling. Producer Betty Box claimed that it got back almost its entire cost during its initial run at one cinema in London's West End.
In between takes, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden and Donald Houston would interact with each other on the set. By contrast, Dirk Bogarde kept pretty much to himself.
Comedian Tommy Cooper was in one scene, but it was cut from the finished film.