Introduction
‘Allo ‘Allo! is a British sitcom television series created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, and originally broadcast on BBC One.
Outline
René is discovered by the Resistance while hiding from Monsieur Alfonse, and they disguise him as a Resistance girl. They also explain to Alfonse how brave René is and how important he and the cafe are to their cause, leading Alfonse to see René as a hero of France. Gruber sees through René’s disguise in the cafe but vows not to give him away, but does so unintentionally and he is arrested by Von Smallhousen and held prisoner in the dungeon alongside the Colonel and the Captain. Gruber decides to go over Herr Flick’s head and calls in General Von Klinkerhoffen to extricate the three prisoners. Once René is back home, the wind is favourable, so the cafe staff and the Resistance can venture outside the town to launch the balloon with the British Airmen inside, disguising themselves as a funeral party to get through the curfew.
- When general Von Klinkerhoffen arrives in the dungeon, Hans gives the full “Heil Hitler” salute (the first of only four times in the entire TV series).
- In this episode, Von Smallhausen gives his first name as “Englebert”, although in the episode “Dinner With The General” (S05E03), (while being hypnotised) he gives his full name as “Bobby Cedric Von Smallhausen”.
- At the time of the episode’s production, it was thought unlikely that the show would be renewed for a third season, so the main cast’s goodbye waves to the airmen also served as their goodbye to the audience. But a third season was commissioned, and the show ran for nine seasons in all.
‘Allo ‘Allo! Series
You can find a full index and overview of ‘Allo ‘Allo! here.
You can find a full index of ‘Allo ‘Allo! Series 02 here.
Production & Filming Details
- Director(s): David Croft.
- Writer(s): David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd.
- Release Date: 25 November 1985.
- Running time: 25 to 45 minutes.
- Rating: PG.
- Country: UK.
- Language: English.
Video Link