Charles Hawtrey (actor, born 1914) the British regional tour of the stage musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", which also included his "Carry On" co-star Kenneth Connor. Despite making a handsome return for its producer, Peter Rogers, the "Carry On" cast were not well remunerated, commonly a standard fee of £5,000 per film. Hawtrey used public transport to get to and from work - although he was once given a lift to Pinewood Studios by Laurence Olivier. Requested to embrace Barbara Windsor at a meeting with the press, Hawtrey hurriedly left the room requesting a man in her place. Hawtrey
Carry On Sergeant who went on to be part of the regular team in the series, were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott. This successful first film was screened to the trade and cinema-bookers on 1 August 1958 after which some regional screenings were held from 31 August including Aberdeen & Birmingham. It wasn’t until 19 September 1958 that it received its London cinema release at the Plaza, and then the film rolled out nationwide on general release from 20 September onwards. The soundtrack music was played by the Band of the Coldstream Guards, conducted by the composer.