"'Allo 'Allo!" (1982)TV series 1982-1992

Creators:

David Croft
Jeremy Lloyd

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

30 December 1982 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Plot:

René Artois runs a small café in France during World War II. He always seems to have his hands full: He's having affairs with most of his waitresses...

Plot Keywords:

Italian Army | Colonel | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Captain | Execution

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Gorden Kaye	...	René Artois (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Carmen Silvera	...	Edith Artois (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Vicki Michelle	...	Yvette Carte-Blanche (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Richard Marner	...	Colonel Kurt von Strohm (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Kim Hartman	...	Private Helga Geerhart / ... (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Guy Siner	...	Lieutenant Hubert Gruber (85 episodes, 1982-1992)
Kirsten Cooke	...	Michelle Dubois (82 episodes, 1982-1992)
Richard Gibson	...	Herr Otto Flick (79 episodes, 1982-1992)
Rose Hill	...	Madame Fanny (78 episodes, 1982-1992)
Arthur Bostrom	...	Officer Crabtree (74 episodes, 1985-1992)
John D. Collins	...	Flying Officer Fairfax (64 episodes, 1982-1992)
Nicholas Frankau	...	Flying Officer Carstairs (64 episodes, 1982-1992)
Louis Mansi	...	Herr Engelbert von Smallhausen (63 episodes, 1985-1992)
Sue Hodge	...	Mimi Labonq (62 episodes, 1987-1992)
Kenneth Connor	...	Monsieur Alfonse (62 episodes, 1984-1992)
Hilary Minster	...	General Erich von Klinkerhoffen (59 episodes, 1984-1992)
Jack Haig	...	Roger Leclerc (51 episodes, 1982-1989)

Runtime:

UK:30 min (85 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:S | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The original painting of The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies, which features in many episodes, was given to production designer Shaun Moore after the series ended in 1992. In April 2007, he auctioned it for £4000 to raise money for the charity the Ace Centre, which helps children with communication problems in Oxford.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The sub-machine guns used by Michelle and the Resistance girls in various episodes are Stirlings, which were not produced until 1953.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Michelle Dubois: Listen very carefully; I shall say this only once.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Funny Blokes of British Comedy (2005) (TV)

Childhood AND adult memories...

This show was a staple in Saturday night entertainment here in Norway from the mid 1980's and up into the late 1990's, and considering most of them were re-runs, I in the end felt almost persecuted by this show (would they EVER stop sending that show on Saturday??). It was funny but never THAT funny, or at least so I thought, because when I got into my twenties and the show vanished from Norwegian television - low and behold - I went and ordered the 3 first seasons of the internet! So I guess I was more addicted to it than I cared to admit at first :)

The basic idea of making fun of Nazis never seem to grow old, or in the case of this show: making fun of the Gestapo. The rest of the Germans come off as almost sympathetic and lovable at times, but I mean: how can anyone hate the closet-gay officer Lt. Gruber and his "little tank"? The show is really classic comedy, especially in the way that much of the laughs rely heavily on the fun of repeated catchphrases ("It is I, Leclerc!" - "Good moaning!" "Listen carefully, I shall say this only once" etc) and some truly crazy antics. It IS at times *very* funny and some of the goings-on in this German occupied French village really has to be seen to be believed!

One of my favorite characters is Officer Crabtree, a British undercover-agent posing as a French police-officer, which is quite impressive considering his French makes Inspector Closeau sound like a professor in linguistics. One of his lines that has followed me since I was about 14 was "The French pissants are hiding in the German shiteu" (you figure it out).

So there you have it, if you like the subject of WWII and British comedy "Allo Allo" should be your 'cap of toe' (as Officer Crabtree probably would call it).