'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
In France during World War II, René Artois runs a small café where Resistance fighters, Gestapo men, German Army officers and escaped Allied POWs interact daily, ignorant of one another's true identity or presence, exasperating René.
匚卂尺ㄥ reviewedJanuary 24, 2025
'Allo 'Allo (1982 - 1992) is amongst my Top-10, all-time favourite TV comedy series and is, in my opinion, a step above Dad's Army which is another of my Top-10 favourites. However, each series is quite different in character. 'Allo 'Allo is probably best described as farce with strong adult themes whereas Dad's Army is more akin to family entertainment in the traditional style.
'Allo 'Allo is set in Nazi-occupied France and centres upon the wartime activities of French, cafe-owning, Rene Artois; his tone deaf wife, Edith, sings in the cafe; female staff Marie, Yvette and diminutive Mimi operate a sideline business 'upstairs' for clients involving wet celery and flying helmets; Edith's feisty mother, Madame Fanny, is unable to walk and hates onion soup because it gives her severe flatulence; and 'pot boy' and pianist, Roger Leclerc, who believes he is a master of disguise and the foremost safe cracker in France. Wealthy funeral director, Monsieur Alfonse, makes frequent appearances throughout the series by trying to win the affection of Edith who he plans to marry once Rene is 'out of the way'.
The occupying Nazi army is represented by French-speaking: Colonel Kurt von Strohm; Captain Hans Geering who is famous for saying 'klopp' - it means 'ditto'; gay Lieutenant Hubert Gruber who fancies Rene; General Erich von Klinkerhoffen who mistrusts all his staff; Private Helga Geerhart who is coerced by the local Gestapo leader, Herr Flick, into helping him keep tabs on her Nazi officers and their moneymaking schemes. Helga is constantly under pressure from her superiors and the Gestapo and she switches her allegiance frequently. I have lost count how many times Helga and Yvette have stripped to their underwear in the series in order to please their masters.
The Gestapo is represented by French-speaking: Herr Otto Flick and Herr Engelbert von Smallhausen. It seems that in order to qualify as a Gestapo officer you need a pronounced limp, a walking stick and a fascination for women's underwear. Herr Flick's godfather is Himmler which gives Flick great power and influence. Everyone hates the Gestapo. Herr Flick suspects Rene of being a member of the Resistance who was once executed by firing squad using wax bullets but returned as his own twin brother, also called Rene.
The French-speaking Italian army is represented by Captain Alberto Bertorelli and his band of unruly brigands. Bertorelli's catchphrase is, 'Whata mistakeh to makeh!'
The British contingent is represented by escaping POWs: Flying Officers Carstairs and Fairfax who only speak 'cultured' English, and British Secret Agent Crabtree who is disguised as a French Police Officer. Crabtree has a particularly poor grasp of the French language and he has great trouble making himself understood to everyone he meets. He is best known for his greeting, 'Good moaning!'
The French Resistance is represented principally by Michelle Dubois who can speak both French and English and uses the latter skill to interpret for the escaping airmen. Her famous catchphrase is, 'Listen very carefully, I will say this only once!'.
The Communist Resistance is represented by French speaking, husky-voiced Louise and Henriette who only make occasional appearances in the series and appear to dislike the French Resistance as much as the Nazis. Louise and Henriette also fancy Rene.
Despite the mix of nationalities within the series the principle writers, David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, employ a particularly effective trick whereby the actors speak their lines in English but pronounce their words with the accent representative of their character they play. Only Police Officer Crabtree is allowed to take liberties by mispronouncing his French words with hilarious results. Officer Crabtree describes his nationality as 'Itoolian' (Italian) which contrives to conceal his true identity.
The theme of 'Allo 'Allo is very simple but the resulting storyline is highly complex and the focus of the plot shifts as the series develops.
Rene Artois is a mild-mannered cafe owner who is recruited by the French Resistance to be their leader, a role to which he is clearly unfit and very reluctant to accept. However hard Renee tries to resign as leader he is cajoled by Michelle and the corrupt Nazi officers into helping them with their schemes. He is often under threat of being shot. Michelle once said she fancied Rene when the threat of shooting failed. How could Rene possibly resist! But was Michelle lying? Rene's involvement with the Resistance, which he always denies, soon brings him, his family and his staff into conflict with the leaders of the occupying forces and with the Gestapo.
Each protagonist has a hidden agenda to profit in some way from the war and to retire extremely wealthy after it ends. However, none of the protagonists appear destined to achieve their aim as the storyline unfolds. The plots and subplots intertwine in a manner that is destined never to unravel but in a way that keeps the viewer entertained.
Rene would like to leave ageing Edith and run off with beautiful Yvette who frequently makes advances to him, anytime and anywhere. Edith often catches them in a loving embrace but quick-thinking Rene always has an answer, no matter how implausible, that Edith naively accepts as the truth. Marie and Mimi also have a crush on Rene as does Lieutenant Gruber which leads to some interesting encounters. This is not so much a love triangle as a love decahedron with Rene in the middle.
Fallen Madonas with big boobies, stolen gold bars, exploding Christmas Puddings, long distance ducks, flying nuns and various wild schemes to repatriate the POWs make 'Allo 'Allo one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences I've ever seen on TV. I never tire watching it again and again. It is a true comedy classic.