Fawlty Towers (1975)
Actors:
Basil Fawlty
Sybil Fawlty
Manuel
Polly Sherman
Major Gowen
Miss Agatha Tibbs
Miss Ursula Gatsby
Terry
Mr. Johnston
Delivery Man
Genre:Comedy
Production company:
Writers:
by (12 episodes from 1975 to 1979)
by (12 episodes from 1975 to 1979)
Trailer:
Fawlty Towers
Keywords:class prejudice, snob, slapstick comedy, britcom, written by star, mustached man, spanish, cockney, 1970s, maid
Trivias:
uncategorized: The character Manuel is often criticized as an overtly xenophobic stereotype that would not be allowed in a modern television series. Andrew Sachs denied allegations that the character of Manuel was based on stereotypes of the Spanish, arguing that he could have been any "foreign" worker at that time in the UK. Sachs added that if Manuel was insulting to the Spanish, Basil was at least as insulting to the British. According to John Cleese, the character of Manuel was not meant to be a joke about stupid foreigners, since Manuel is a very lovely man who really does his best to get everything right. Manuel's problem is his poor English, which is a parody on mingy hotel and restaurant owners, simply hiring cheap people who are desperate for work, without giving them proper training.
uncategorized: During the original run of the series, Richard Ingrams - then editor of "Private Eye" - wrote a scathing review of it. John Cleese had known Ingrams for many years and was also a friend of the magazine's proprietor, Peter Cook, and so took great exception to the review. Cleese's revenge was to write a character called Mr Ingrams into The Kipper and the Corpse (1979) from the second season, a guest whom Basil discovers in his hotel room in his pyjamas and blowing up an inflatable sex doll.
uncategorized: Andrew Sachs (Manuel) was paid damages for his injuries by the BBC after a jacket was treated with acid by the special effects department to look as if it was on fire. It really did burn through to his skin and he bore the scars for a long time until they peeled off.
uncategorized: The character Manuel is often criticized as an overtly xenophobic stereotype that would not be allowed in a modern television series. Andrew Sachs denied allegations that the character of Manuel was based on stereotypes of the Spanish, arguing that he could have been any "foreign" worker at that time in the UK. Sachs added that if Manuel was insulting to the Spanish, Basil was at least as insulting to the British. According to John Cleese, the character of Manuel was not meant to be a joke about stupid foreigners, since Manuel is a very lovely man who really does his best to get everything right. Manuel's problem is his poor English, which is a parody on mingy hotel and restaurant owners, simply hiring cheap people who are desperate for work, without giving them proper training.
uncategorized: During the original run of the series, Richard Ingrams - then editor of "Private Eye" - wrote a scathing review of it. John Cleese had known Ingrams for many years and was also a friend of the magazine's proprietor, Peter Cook, and so took great exception to the review. Cleese's revenge was to write a character called Mr Ingrams into The Kipper and the Corpse (1979) from the second season, a guest whom Basil discovers in his hotel room in his pyjamas and blowing up an inflatable sex doll.
uncategorized: Andrew Sachs (Manuel) was paid damages for his injuries by the BBC after a jacket was treated with acid by the special effects department to look as if it was on fire. It really did burn through to his skin and he bore the scars for a long time until they peeled off.
Goofs:
continuity: The floor plan on the second level changes from episode to episode.
continuity: The room numbers in the hotel frequently changed from episode to episode.
continuity: When seen from the inside, the pathway leading from the front door veers to the right. However, outside shots reveal the pathway continues straight on after the door.
revealing mistake: The layout of the hotel from interior shots would place the windowless kitchen hard against the front left of the building, as seem from the outside (if there were space for it at all). In exterior shots there is a large bow window here.
revealing mistake: Many times through every episode, the walls wobble, revealing them as set walls.
revealing mistake: The layout of the hotel does not match the exterior of the building in several spots: there should be bay windows on the kitchen and over the staircase, the bay window closest to the door in the dining room should be flat, and the entire part of the building where the bar is located doesn't exist.
continuity: The floor plan on the second level changes from episode to episode.
continuity: The room numbers in the hotel frequently changed from episode to episode.
continuity: When seen from the inside, the pathway leading from the front door veers to the right. However, outside shots reveal the pathway continues straight on after the door.
revealing mistake: The layout of the hotel from interior shots would place the windowless kitchen hard against the front left of the building, as seem from the outside (if there were space for it at all). In exterior shots there is a large bow window here.
revealing mistake: Many times through every episode, the walls wobble, revealing them as set walls.
revealing mistake: The layout of the hotel does not match the exterior of the building in several spots: there should be bay windows on the kitchen and over the staircase, the bay window closest to the door in the dining room should be flat, and the entire part of the building where the bar is located doesn't exist.
Plots:
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Inept and manic English hotel owner and manager, Basil Fawlty, isn't cut out for his job. He's intolerant, rude and paranoid. All hell frequently breaks loose as Basil tries to run the hotel, constantly under verbal attack (and sometime physical) from his unhelpful wife Sybil, and hindered by the incompetent, but easy target, Manuel, their Spanish waiter.
An elderly male, his wife, and their friends do their best to maintain and work at a hotel. Along the way, as all types of guests stay at the hotel, something always goes wrong in some way. They all do their best to make that the hotel is fine for everyone and not a disaster.
Inept and manic English hotel owner and manager, Basil Fawlty, isn't cut out for his job. He's intolerant, rude and paranoid. All hell frequently breaks loose as Basil tries to run the hotel, constantly under verbal attack (and sometime physical) from his unhelpful wife Sybil, and hindered by the incompetent, but easy target, Manuel, their Spanish waiter.
An elderly male, his wife, and their friends do their best to maintain and work at a hotel. Along the way, as all types of guests stay at the hotel, something always goes wrong in some way. They all do their best to make that the hotel is fine for everyone and not a disaster.
Related movies:
Featured in: The Pythons , Comedy (A clip is shown.) , Episode #3.2 (A fragment of this series is shown in this episode)
Featured in: The Pythons , Comedy (A clip is shown.) , Episode #3.2 (A fragment of this series is shown in this episode)
Official website:
YouTube - Video
Fawlty Towers: Trying to catch the girl
Fawlty Towers: An interesting view
Fawlty Towers: Communication Problems
Fawlty Towers, Bad customer service (ESL annotations)