The Captain's Car is the fifth episode of the seventh series of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 comedy series Dad's Army

Dad's Army

Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...

that was originally transmitted on Friday 13 December 1974.

Synopsis

The platoon inherit a Rolls Royce Staff car

Staff car

A staff car is a vehicle used by a senior military officer, and is part of their country's white fleet. The term is most often used in relation to the United Kingdom where they were first used in quantity during World War I, examples being the Vauxhall D-type and Crossley 20/25.Staff cars are...

, and have to prepare for a visiting French General.

Plot

Lady Maltby arrives to see Captain Mainwaring

Captain George Mainwaring

Captain George Mainwaring is the bank manager and Home Guard platoon commander portrayed by Arthur Lowe on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army, set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea during the Second World War...

 in his office, as she can't get the petrol for her Rolls Royce so is keen to see it used for the war effort. She is carefully maintaining her class distinction, being very superior to Mainwaring, then catches sight of Wilson

Sergeant Arthur Wilson

Sergeant The Honourable Arthur Wilson is a fictional Home Guard platoon sergeant and bank clerk portrayed by John Le Mesurier on the BBC television situation comedy Dad's Army....

, and greets him warmly as 'Dear Arthur'. They talk for a few minutes, obviously well acquainted, leaving Mainwaring fuming.

Mainwaring is very keen to use the car, so Frazer

Private James Frazer

Private James Frazer is a fictional Home Guard platoon member and undertaker portrayed by John Laurie on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. He is noted for the phrase "we're doomed!" and "Rubbish!"- Personality :...

 offers to do respray it cheaply. Unfortunately there is a misunderstanding when Frazer collects the car, and he takes the Mayor's Rolls Royce instead. A great flap ensues, which is calmed down by the accusation that the Mayor's chauffeur

Chauffeur

A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...

 obviously hadn't disabled the car when he left it, which takes the wind out of the angry Mayor's sails. Of course the Mayor's car is now not black but camouflaged, so Frazer has to spray it again.

In the background the town is preparing for the visit of a Free French General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

. Mainwaring is not impressed, and tells Wilson that "the French don't make very good soldiers you know, especially after lunch". There is a lot of argument between the Wardens and the Home Guard about who should have the most important spot in the Guard of Honour. Frazer just manages to deliver the (now black) Mayor's car in time, but the paint is still tacky.

At the Guard of Honour, The Vicar's choir sings half the French National Anthem ("they didn't have time to learn it all"), Wilson gives a welcoming speech in French, and the French General is so overcome he kisses Wilson, then Mainwaring, on both cheeks. Then the flash of Private Cheeseman's camera startles him, and he steadies himself with his hands against the Rolls Royce, so that when he kisses the outraged Warden, the Warden ends up with black paint all over his face.

Cast

Cast	Characters
Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe was a BAFTA Award winning English actor. He was best known for playing Captain George Mainwaring in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 until 1977.-Early life:...	Captain Mainwaring
John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...	Sergeant Wilson
Clive Dunn Clive Dunn Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn OBE is a retired English actor, comedian and author, best known for his role as Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad's Army.-Early life:...	Lance Corporal Jones
John Laurie John Laurie John Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...	Private Frazer
Arnold Ridley Arnold Ridley Major William Arnold Ridley, OBE was an English playwright and actor, first notable as the author of the play The Ghost Train and later in life for portraying the elderly Private Charles Godfrey in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army .-Early life:Ridley was born in Walcot, Bath, England where...	Private Godfrey
Ian Lavender Ian Lavender Arthur Ian Lavender , better known as Ian Lavender, is an English stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Private Frank Pike in the BBC comedy series Dad's Army.-Early life and career:...	Private Pike
Janet Davies Janet Davies Janet Kathleen Davies was an English actress.Davies's father, a solicitor, died in his early thirties, and as a result she was sent to boarding school. She started training as a solicitor but left and qualified as a shorthand typist instead...	Mrs Pike
Bill Pertwee Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee MBE is a British comedy actor. He is best known for playing the part of antagonist ARP Warden Hodges in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.-Early and personal life:...	ARP Warden Hodges
Talfryn Thomas Talfryn Thomas Talfryn Thomas was a British character actor, best known for supporting roles on British television in the 1970s.-Biography:Talfryn Thomas was born in Swansea on 31 October 1922....	Private Cheeseman
Frank Williams Frank Williams (actor) Frank Williams is an English actor.Williams was educated at Ardingly College. He starred in The Army Game and as the Vicar in Dad's Army. In 1970, he starred in the short-lived sitcom As Good Cooks Go...	The Vicar
Edward Sinclair Edward Sinclair Edward "Teddy" Sinclair was a British actor most famous for his role as the verger Maurice Yeatman in Dad's Army. He also made appearances in Z Cars and Danger Man.Edward's father was the son of a stage actor who died when he was 14...	The Verger
Colin Bean Colin Bean Colin Bean was a British actor best known for his role as Private Sponge in the Second World War sitcom Dad's Army from 1968 to 1977, appearing in76 of Dad’s Army’s 80 episodes....	Private Sponge
John Hart Dyke	The French General
Eric Longworth Eric Longworth Eric Longworth was a British actor, best known for his semi-regular part in Dad's Army as Mr. Gordon, the town clerk of Walmington-on-Sea....	Town Clerk
Fred McNaughton	The Mayor
Mavis Pugh Mavis Pugh Mavis Gladys Fox Pugh was an English actress who made many appearances as mainly upper-class ladies in several British sitcoms including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and Fawlty Towers, as well as having a regular role in You Rang, M'Lord?...	Lady Maltby
Robert Raglan Robert Raglan Robert Raglan was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in Dad's Army, as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as Fabian of the Yard and The Haunted House of Horror...	Colonel
Donald Morley	Glossip