Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1970s 6 Mins Read

    Fawlty Towers

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 7 5Β (UK)
    1 9 7 9Β (UK)
    12 x 30 minute episodes

    America may lay claim to inventing the sitcom, but it was the British who elevated it to a perfected art form.Β Look no further for evidence of this than the 12 near faultless episodes ofΒ Fawlty Towers.

    The first episode of Fawlty Towers aired on 19 September 1975, introducing the world to misconstrued conversations, befuddled guests and an eternally hostile Basil Fawlty, played by the magnificently manic John Cleese, bitterly bad-mouthing his guests when they were not around and cheerily serving them when they were.

    fawltytowers2A Spanish speaking waiter (“I ham from Barthelona”) and a bit of slapstick were thrown in for good measure. It was an absolute winner.

    Created by Cleese and his then-wife, Connie Booth, the idea occurred to him while on location in Torquay in 1971 forΒ Monty Python’s Flying Circus, when an overzealous hotel owner threw Eric Idle’s briefcase into the street because he believed it contained a bombΒ and complained that American Terry Gilliam’s table manners were “too American”.

    The establishment was the Gleneagles Hotel in Asheldon Road, Torquay. The owner was one Donald Sinclair. In 2002 Sinclair’s widow complained that Cleese had held her family up to ridicule, adding that her husband was “a gentleman and a very brave man”.

    A documentary on theΒ Fawlty TowersΒ DVD found plenty of witnesses who gave evidence to the contrary, with tales including Sinclair locking customers out at night if they came home too late for his liking.

    There is actually a reference to the real Gleneagles in theΒ Fawlty TowersΒ episode ‘Gourmet Night’Β when Basil tells Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs to “go to Gleneagles for your din-dins”.

    fawltytowers_3Β With riotous interplay between Cleese and a cast headed by Basil’s wife Sybil (with a laugh like “someone machine-gunning a seal”), sensible but exasperated chambermaid Polly, inept stereotypical Spanish waiter Manuel, and a number of resident guests, the series was a huge success.

    A keen worker, Manuel is eager to please but possesses a very poor command of the English language.

    In the position of the dog to be kicked following run-ins with his wife, Basil vents most of his frustrations on Manuel, screaming at the hapless soul, browbeating him and often physically assaulting him – “That Sybil, me Basil, this a slap round the ear!”.

    fawlty_manuel

    Andrew Sachs (pictured at right) portrayed Manuel as a frightened rabbit, often flinching in Basil’s presence, expecting and usually receiving punishment for errors he was usually unaware he had committed.

    Manuel wasn’t quite as stupid as Basil thought him, but the character was thought likely to offend Spaniards, so when the series aired in Spain he was made out to be Italian.

    Manic-depressive Basil Fawlty was a near psychopathically hyper-active, middle-aged, stick insect caricature of a human being with pretensions beyond both his social and moral status.

    He was also breathtakingly funny, whether fawning insincerely over his upper-class guests or heaping abuse on the “riff-raff we get around here”.

    Basil’s snobbishness was frequently undermined by his ignorance, a facet of his character which emerged in a conversation with guest Mr Walt (James Cossins):

    Basil: It’s always a pleasure to meet someone who appreciates the boudoir of the grape. I’m afraid most people we get in here don’t know a Bordeaux from a claret.

    Mr Walt: A Bordeaux isΒ a Claret.

    Basil: Oh,Β BordeauxΒ is a claret, yes, yes, but they wouldn’t know that.

    Whether attempting to have building alterations done on the cheap, getting rid of a rat Manuel is keeping in the mistaken belief that it is a hamster, trying to hide the body of a guest who has had the temerity to die in his hotel, or concealing from his friends the fact that Sybil has left him, Basil commits every social blunder under Torquay’s pale sun.

    Almost every episode of Fawlty TowersΒ was a classic. Carrying out a fire drill is, for Basil, a boring duty to be quickly completed, and with which he will allow nothing to interfere – nor even the fact that Manuel has managed to set fire to both the kitchen and himself.

    fawltytowers_5Basil’s attempt to improve the status of the hotel by holding a gourmet’s evening is ruined when the chef drinks himself into a stupor.

    Basil has to drive to a friend’s restaurant for the meal – in a car which breaks down and has to be beaten with a branch ripped from a tree.

    In ‘The Germans’, try as he might to ‘not mention the war’, Basil (who has received a crack on the head) confirms with his German guests that their meal order is “two eggs mayonnaise, a prawn Goebbels, a Hermann Goering and four Colditz salads” before launching into a hysterical parody of Hitler, goose-stepping around the dining room.

    A US adaptation ofΒ Fawlty Towers, titledΒ SnavelyΒ (akaΒ Chateau Snavely), transferred the Torquay hotel setting to an off-highway hotel in middle America.

    Otherwise, the characters and situation mirrored the UK originalΒ with Harvey Korman as the Basil-like Henry Snavely, Betty White as his domineering wife Gladys, Frank LaLoggia as the bellhop Petro who barely speaks English, and Deborah Zon as a college student Connie, working as a waitress.

    ABC screened the pilot episode on 24 June 1978 but it failed to be picked up for a series. In 1983, ABC reworked the concept asΒ Amanda’sΒ which aired from 10 February to 26 May 1983.

    Inexplicably Basil was now a woman called Amanda, played by Bea Arthur (Maude) – the formidable owner of Amanda’s By The Sea, a hotel overlooking the Pacific.Β She had some of Basil’s anger and frustration but the series had none ofΒ Fawlty Towers‘ class.

    They tried adapting the series again in 1999 with a show called PayneΒ (surely a spelling mistake) starring John Larroquette.

    In 2000, Fawlty Towers was voted the best British television programme of all time in a poll by the British Film Institute, above Cathy Come Home and Doctor Who.

    “May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? . . . Sydney Opera House perhaps? . . . The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? . . . Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plains?”
    Basil Fawlty

    TRIVIA
    Fawlty TowersΒ was not warmly received by all at the BBC when the script first appeared in 1974, as evidenced in the memo below which comedy script editor Ian Main sent to the BBC’s Head of Comedy and Light Entertainment.

    fawlty_022

    External scenes were filmed at the Wooburn Grange Country Club in Bourne’s End, Buckinghamshire. Sadly it burnt down in 1991 and eight residential houses were built in its place.

    Basil FawltyΒ 
    John Cleese
    Sybil FawltyΒ 

    Prunella Scales
    Polly ShermanΒ 

    Connie Booth
    ManuelΒ 

    Andrew Sachs
    Major GowenΒ 

    Ballard Berkeley
    Miss TibbsΒ 

    Gilly Flower
    Miss GatsbyΒ 

    Renee Roberts
    Lord MelburyΒ 

    Michael Gwynn
    O’ReillyΒ 

    David Kelly
    MurphyΒ 

    Michael Cronin
    TerryΒ 

    Brian Hall

    Episodes

    A Touch of Class |Β The Builders |Β The Wedding Party |Β The Hotel Inspectors |Β Gourmet Night |Β The Germans Communication Problems |Β The Psychiatrist |Β Waldorf Salad |Β  The Kipper and the Corpse |Β The Anniversary |Β Basil the Rat

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Jim'll Fix It
      Jim'll Fix It
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 9 4Β (UK) Ex-radio DJ and Top Of The PopsΒ host, Sir Jimmy Savile OBE,…
    • Actor's Hotel
      Actor's Hotel
      1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 2Β (USA) 30 minute episodes This 30-minute sitcom from ABC starred William Edmunds…
    • Colonel Trumper's Private War
      Colonel Trumper's Private War
      1 9 6 1Β (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes Colonel Trumper's Private War first screened on Friday 15 September 1961.…
    • Dick and the Duchess
      Dick and the Duchess
      1 9 5 7 - 1 9 5 8Β (USA/UK) 25 x 30 minute episodes American Dick Starrett (Patrick O’Neal) isΒ an…
    • Adventures of Lano & Woodley, The
      Adventures of Lano & Woodley, The
      1 9 9 7 6 x 30 minute episodes 1 9 9 9 (Australia) 7 x 30 minute episodes This…
    • Doctor Dolittle
      Doctor Dolittle
      1 9 7 0 - 1 9 7 2Β (USA) 17 x 30 minute episodes Veterinarian Dr John Dolittle (voiced by…
    • Frankie Howerd
      Frankie Howerd
      1 9 6 4 - 1 9 6 6 (UK) 6 x 25 minute episodes 6 x 30 minute episodes…
    • Tarbuck's Luck
      Tarbuck's Luck
      1 9 7 0Β (UK) 1 x 50 minute episode 1 9 7 2 (UK) 6 x 45 minute episodes The…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleDear John
    Next Article City

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • That’s Incredible!
      1 9 8 0 – 1 9 8 4Β (USA) Derided by critics as a […]
    • School Daze (1988)
      Spike Lee followed his successful debutΒ She’s Gotta Have […]
    • Odetta
      Odetta Holmes was born in Birmingham, Alabama (USA) in 1930 and […]
    • Pink Floyd
      Pink Floyd (named after two obscure American bluesmen, Pink […]
    • Sex And The Single Girl (1964)
      Romantic comedy about ruthless newspaper editor Bob Weston (Tony […]
    • Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies (1969)
      Set in the 1920s, this British/French/Italian co-production was […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-64558222 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    David Bowie's handwritten Jean Genie lyrics sold for £57,000

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The handwritten sheet was given to the founder of the inaugural David Bowie fan club by the star.
    13 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    edition.cnn.com/2023/01/30/entertainment/cindy-williams-dead/index.html

    More sad news 😒
    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    'Laverne & Shirley' star Cindy Williams dead at 75 | CNN

    edition.cnn.com

    Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a...
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news πŸ˜ͺ

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid πŸ˜‚

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😒

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😒

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear πŸ˜₯ rest in peace πŸ™ πŸ•Š xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😒

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    4 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright Β© 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.