The film ends with Gilbert's knighthood ceremony, but very carefully does not show which British monarch knighted him, although in an earlier scene, it was made clear that Queen Victoria had knighted Sullivan. Gilbert was knighted by Victoria's son, King Edward VII, almost 25 years after Sullivan received the honor. The delay may have been due to Victoria's famous lack of a sense of humor, she was known to admire Sullivan most for his more serious musical compositions, rather than the G&S light operas, which she considered rather frivolous, while everything Gilbert wrote was humorous. The concealment of King Edward's presence at Gilbert's knighthood ceremony may have been done to avoid confusing the audience over Victoria's apparent withholding of the honor from Gilbert.
This film contains excerpts from the following Gilbert and Sullivan classics: "Trial by Jury" (1875), "The Sorcerer" (1877), "H.M.S. Pinafore" (1878), "The Pirates of Penzance" (1879), "Iolanthe" (1882), "The Mikado" (1885), "Ruddigore" (1887), "The Yeomen of the Guard" (1888) and "The Gondoliers" (1889).
Coincidentally, a poster outside D'Oyle Carte's office shows a caricature of Oscar Wilde; an actor plays Oscar Wilde briefly in another scene, and two of the male leads, Robert Morley and Peter Finch, would go on to play Oscar Wilde themselves in later movies.
Final film of actress Muriel Aked.
Final film of Muir Mathieson.