Up the Chastity Belt
Encyclopedia
Up the Chastity Belt is a 1971
British film, a spin-off from the TV series Up Pompeii!
that starred Frankie Howerd
and was directed by Bob Kellett
.
, the writer of the most successful of the Carry On movies from the 1960s, who also wrote the scripts for the TV series. Howerd played dual roles as King Richard the Lionheart and cowardly peasant Lurkalot (his character in Up Pompeii was the slave Lurcio). The plot served as an excuse to serve up the usual collection of puns and double entendres that characterized most British film comedy in the 1970s, but did feature Eartha Kitt singing "Oh for a Knight for My Nights" and Hugh Paddick (of Julian and Sandy fame in the Round the Horne BBC radio series) as a notable Robin Hood, leader of a band of men who were gay rather than merry. Reviewed in Keeping the British End Up, the history of British Sex Comedies.
gave birth to twin sons - Lurkalot first and then Richard. But the nobles of the country - led by Sir Braggart de Bombast (Bill Fraser) intercepted Lurkalot, stole him away and abandoned him in a forest
to die
. He was raised by a family of pigs who belonged to Sir Coward de Custard (Graham Crowden) who realised he wasn't a pig and took him in as a serf
. By way of remittance, Lurkalot aids his master by selling love potions and chastity belts as well as some unusual inventions in the local village as Sir Coward isn't particularly successful a noble. Lurkalot is also visited by strange "voices" in the middle of the night who speak to him and try to tell him who he really is but get drowned out by events like lightning.
All grown up, Richard is bored by ruling England
and decides to go on a crusade
. Meanwhile, Sir Braggart de Bombast wants to acquire Sir Coward's lands and daughter for himself and makes him an offer. Sir Coward refuses but invites Sir Braggart and his followers to a banquet so as not to offend where a scene is made and Sir Coward refuses to toast Prince John
. Offended, Sir Braggart challenges Sir Coward to a duel with Lady Lobelia (Anne Aston) as the prize. Lurkalot, although not a Knight
, takes up the challenge as the "Man with no name" and defeats Sir Braggart's champion, Sir Grumbell de Grunt (David Prowse
) with the aid of a giant magnet
. Realising that the rules of chivalry
have not been met, Sir Braggart declares the duel void and declares war. Lurkalot and Lady Lobelia flee the scene to his workshop
where to protect his master's daughter, he locks her up with a chastity belt.
Sir Coward responds to the challenge by running away to join the crusades whilst Lurkalot, encouraged by his voices, goes to find both him and Richard the Lionheart. Once in the Holy Land, he discovers that the "crusades" are actually a Bacchanalia
n orgy
, an excuse to leave the wives and families for a few years. Saladin
(Derek Griffiths
) is actually a friend of a crusader and started everything. Richard won't leave the Holy Land as he's in his tent
with Scheherazade
(Eartha Kitt) and insists on trying every position in the Kama Sutra
. Lurkalot's voices provide inspiration and he takes all the unused weaponry and fashions them into chastity belts. He then brings feminism
to Saladin's women, who go on strike
, and Richard is forced to return home, albeit very unwillingly.
In Germany
, Richard meets a local woman and decides to stay with her. He casually tosses Lurkalot the crown and says that if he looks like him, he can be him. Lurkalot returns to his home and attempts to rally the people but he is recognised as Lurkalot and is accused of witchcraft
following his earlier escape from the castle
where he used his flying machine. After being ducked
, he is sentenced to death via burning, but is rescued by Robin Hood
(Hugh Paddick). They plan an attack on Sir Braggart and are joined by Sir Coward, who is fed up with being bullied and fortified by smoking from a hookah
pipe. Meanwhile Richard has had to flee to England following an ignoble episode with his German woman and returns to Lurkalot's village, where he is captured by people thinking he's Lurkalot.
Sir Coward feigns severe illness to get him and Lurkalot into the castle, where they are incarcerated. He suffers withdrawal symptoms from the loss of his hookah and Lurkalot offers to make him a remedy based on sulphur and charcoal
but spills in saltpeter
by accident. He mixes it together, but Sir Coward, who hates taking medicine, throws it in the direction of a fire, where it ignites and blows open the door. Lurkalot calls his new invention "gone powder
" and they use it to open the castle gate, where Robin Hood can attack. Meanwhile Sir Braggart duels Lurkalot and reveals that he must be Richard's twin brother. The two battle all over the castle and he is eventually forced to flee in disgrace. Richard then resumes his rule and everything is right in the land. He agrees to marry Lady Lobelia and makes Lurkalot a Knight but in the final scene, Lurkalot gets Lady Lobelia whilst Richard returns to Scheherazade.
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
British film, a spin-off from the TV series Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and...
that starred Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
and was directed by Bob Kellett
Bob Kellett
Bob Kellett is an English film director, film producer and screenwriter.-Filmography:*Tightrope to Terror...
.
Synopsis
The follow-up to the film version of the BBC TV comedy series Up Pompeii, starring Frankie Howerd, was written by Talbot RothwellTalbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn Rothwell, OBE was an English screenwriter.Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot....
, the writer of the most successful of the Carry On movies from the 1960s, who also wrote the scripts for the TV series. Howerd played dual roles as King Richard the Lionheart and cowardly peasant Lurkalot (his character in Up Pompeii was the slave Lurcio). The plot served as an excuse to serve up the usual collection of puns and double entendres that characterized most British film comedy in the 1970s, but did feature Eartha Kitt singing "Oh for a Knight for My Nights" and Hugh Paddick (of Julian and Sandy fame in the Round the Horne BBC radio series) as a notable Robin Hood, leader of a band of men who were gay rather than merry. Reviewed in Keeping the British End Up, the history of British Sex Comedies.
Cast members
- Frankie HowerdFrankie HowerdFrancis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
as Lurkalot / Richard the Lionheart - Graham CrowdenGraham CrowdenClement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
as Sir Coward de Custard - Bill FraserBill Fraser-External links:* *...
as Sir Braggart de Bombast - Roy HuddRoy HuddRoy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
as Nick the Pick - Hugh PaddickHugh PaddickHugh William Paddick was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne in sketches such as Charles and Fiona and Julian and Sandy...
as Robin Hood - Anna QuayleAnna QuayleAnna Quayle is an English actress. Her father was the stage actor Douglas Quayle.She has appeared on film, on stage, and on television...
as Lady Ashfodel - Eartha KittEartha KittEartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
as Scheherazade - Royce MillsRoyce MillsRoyce Mills is an English television, stage and film actor.He attended Eastbourne College, then studied fine art for 5 years and qualified as a theatre designer before attending the Guildhall School where he was a prize winning student.He then joined in Bristol Old Vic and appeared in many theatres...
as Knotweed - Anne AstonAnne AstonAnne Aston is an actress and television presenter best known as the hostess of the The Golden Shot in the late 1960s and early 1970s....
as Lobelia - Lance PercivalLance PercivalLance Percival is an English actor, comedian and after-dinner speaker.-Biography:Educated at Sherborne School, Percival first became well known for performing topical calypsos on television satire shows such as That Was The Week That Was. He appeared in the Carry On film, Carry On Cruising...
as Reporter - Godfrey WinnGodfrey WinnGodfrey Herbert Winn was a British journalist known as a columnist, and also a writer and actor.Born in Birmingham, England, he went to King Edward's School, Birmingham. His career as a theatre actor began as a boy actor at the Haymarket Theatre and appeared in many plays and films...
as Archbishop of all England - Nora SwinburneNora SwinburneNora Swinburne was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife Leonora Tamar ....
as The Mistress of the Bed Chamber - David KernanDavid KernanDavid Kernan is an English actor and singer, best known as an interpreter of the songs of Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in stage musicals and was a soloist in British TV variety shows of the 1960s and 1970s including That Was the Week That Was 1962-63.Kernan was born in London...
as Troubador - Lally Bowers as The Voice (voice)
- David Battley as Yokel
- Veronica Clifford as Winnie the Pooh
- Derek GriffithsDerek GriffithsDerek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
as Saladin - Judy HuxtableJudy Huxtable-Early life and career:Being born to wealthy parents, Huxtable was initially a society débutante then became a fashionable figure in 1960s "swinging" London, and as a model was represented by the William Morris Agency...
as Gretel - Iain CuthbertsonIain CuthbertsonIain Cuthbertson was a Scottish character actor. At 6' 4", he was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive "gravelly" heavily accented voice.-Early life:...
as Teutonic Knight - Frank ThorntonFrank ThorntonFrank Thornton is an English actor who is best known for playing Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served? and its sequel Grace & Favour and as Truly in Last of the Summer Wine.-Early life:...
as Master of Ceremonies - Billy WalkerBilly Walker (boxer)Billy Walker is a retired English Heavyweight boxer and actor. He was born in London in 1939 and turned professional in 1961 after 39 amateur bouts. His nickname was “Golden Boy”. His professional record was 21 wins , 8 losses and 2 draws...
as Chopper - Rita WebbRita WebbRita Webb was an English character actress, mainly in comedy roles.Born Olive Webb in Willesden, Middlesex, England, she is best known for her appearances as a stooge for Benny Hill in his long-running Thames Television series...
as Maid Marian - Aubrey WoodsAubrey WoodsAubrey Woods is an English actor. He was born in London.His television credits include: Z-Cars, Up Pompeii!, Doctor Who , Blake's 7, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles...
as Vegetable Stall Owner - Long John BaldryLong John BaldryJohn William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
as Little John - Sam KyddSam KyddSam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
as Locksmith - David ProwseDavid ProwseDavid Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
as Sir Grumbell de Grunt - Alan Rebbeck as Friar Tuck
- Ian Trigger as Lucky Charms Seller
- Fred EmneyFred EmneyFrederick Arthur Round "Fred" Emney was an English character actor and comedian.Emney was born in Lancashire, the son of Blanche and Fred Emney , a music hall entertainer. His uncle was the actor Arthur Williams. Emney junior grew up in London.He made his film debut in 1935, having previously...
as Mortimer - Dave King as Landlord of the Blue Boar
Plot
Eleanor of AquitaineEleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
gave birth to twin sons - Lurkalot first and then Richard. But the nobles of the country - led by Sir Braggart de Bombast (Bill Fraser) intercepted Lurkalot, stole him away and abandoned him in a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
to die
Infanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
. He was raised by a family of pigs who belonged to Sir Coward de Custard (Graham Crowden) who realised he wasn't a pig and took him in as a serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
. By way of remittance, Lurkalot aids his master by selling love potions and chastity belts as well as some unusual inventions in the local village as Sir Coward isn't particularly successful a noble. Lurkalot is also visited by strange "voices" in the middle of the night who speak to him and try to tell him who he really is but get drowned out by events like lightning.
All grown up, Richard is bored by ruling England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and decides to go on a crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
. Meanwhile, Sir Braggart de Bombast wants to acquire Sir Coward's lands and daughter for himself and makes him an offer. Sir Coward refuses but invites Sir Braggart and his followers to a banquet so as not to offend where a scene is made and Sir Coward refuses to toast Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. Offended, Sir Braggart challenges Sir Coward to a duel with Lady Lobelia (Anne Aston) as the prize. Lurkalot, although not a Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
, takes up the challenge as the "Man with no name" and defeats Sir Braggart's champion, Sir Grumbell de Grunt (David Prowse
David Prowse
David Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
) with the aid of a giant magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
. Realising that the rules of chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
have not been met, Sir Braggart declares the duel void and declares war. Lurkalot and Lady Lobelia flee the scene to his workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
where to protect his master's daughter, he locks her up with a chastity belt.
Sir Coward responds to the challenge by running away to join the crusades whilst Lurkalot, encouraged by his voices, goes to find both him and Richard the Lionheart. Once in the Holy Land, he discovers that the "crusades" are actually a Bacchanalia
Bacchanalia
The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
n orgy
Orgy
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party where guests engage in promiscuous or multifarious sexual activity or group sex. An orgy is similar to debauchery, which refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures....
, an excuse to leave the wives and families for a few years. Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
(Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths
Derek Griffiths is a British actor who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to 1980s and more recently has played parts in TV drama.- Career :...
) is actually a friend of a crusader and started everything. Richard won't leave the Holy Land as he's in his tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
with Scheherazade
Scheherazade
Scheherazade , sometimes Scheherazadea, Persian transliteration Shahrazad or Shahrzād is a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.-Narration :...
(Eartha Kitt) and insists on trying every position in the Kama Sutra
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
. Lurkalot's voices provide inspiration and he takes all the unused weaponry and fashions them into chastity belts. He then brings feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
to Saladin's women, who go on strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, and Richard is forced to return home, albeit very unwillingly.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Richard meets a local woman and decides to stay with her. He casually tosses Lurkalot the crown and says that if he looks like him, he can be him. Lurkalot returns to his home and attempts to rally the people but he is recognised as Lurkalot and is accused of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
following his earlier escape from the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
where he used his flying machine. After being ducked
Cucking stool
Ducking-stools and cucking-stools are chairs formerly used for punishment of women in England and Scotland . The term cucking-stool derives from wyuen pine as referred in Langland's Piers Plowman.They were both instruments of social humiliation and censure, primarily for the offense of scolding...
, he is sentenced to death via burning, but is rescued by Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
(Hugh Paddick). They plan an attack on Sir Braggart and are joined by Sir Coward, who is fed up with being bullied and fortified by smoking from a hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...
pipe. Meanwhile Richard has had to flee to England following an ignoble episode with his German woman and returns to Lurkalot's village, where he is captured by people thinking he's Lurkalot.
Sir Coward feigns severe illness to get him and Lurkalot into the castle, where they are incarcerated. He suffers withdrawal symptoms from the loss of his hookah and Lurkalot offers to make him a remedy based on sulphur and charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
but spills in saltpeter
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
by accident. He mixes it together, but Sir Coward, who hates taking medicine, throws it in the direction of a fire, where it ignites and blows open the door. Lurkalot calls his new invention "gone powder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
" and they use it to open the castle gate, where Robin Hood can attack. Meanwhile Sir Braggart duels Lurkalot and reveals that he must be Richard's twin brother. The two battle all over the castle and he is eventually forced to flee in disgrace. Richard then resumes his rule and everything is right in the land. He agrees to marry Lady Lobelia and makes Lurkalot a Knight but in the final scene, Lurkalot gets Lady Lobelia whilst Richard returns to Scheherazade.