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Revision as of 20:34, 24 December 2011 by 2.49.88.214 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Fallen Madonna, usually referred to as The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies by the fictional painter Van Klomp ("Klomp" is Dutch for clogs) was a portrait of a bare breasted woman which provided a running gag in the long-running BBC One television comedy series 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–92), written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The first episode of the first series of 'Allo 'Allo! (1984) was entitled The Fallen Madonna. In an earlier pilot the painting was referred to as the "reclining" Madonna.
Recurring theme in 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! was set in the fictional French town of Nouvion during the German occupation of the Second World War. Its focus was a café in the town square run by René Artois (played by Gorden Kaye). There were sustained attempts by the occupiers to appropriate the Fallen Madonna, a local treasure, to provide a "nest egg" after the war. Among those who coveted it were the local German commandant Colonel Kurt Von Strohm (Richard Marner) and the Führer Adolf Hitler himself on whose behalf Herr Otto Flick (Richard Gibson) of the Gestapo was instructed to secure it (but, of course, also wanted it for himself).
The painting was seen and hidden in various guises; it was often secreted, with suggestive possibilities, in a long knackwurst sausage. Forgeries were also in evidence.
Forgeries and destructions
An incredible number of forgeries of the Fallen Madonna were made, mostly by Lieutenant Gruber and Monsieur LeClerc, which were naturally hidden in knockwurst sausages in René's kitchen. The forgeries were subsequently destroyed in various ways (burned, blown up, minced, eaten by a dog, etc.).
Lord Bath
Following his assistance with an event connected with the programme, the BBC presented the 6th Marquess of Bath with a specially commissioned copy of the Fallen Madonna which was hung alongside Old Masters in Bath's ancestral home, Longleat.
See also
Notes
- ^ Wiltshire Times, December 16 2005, Say ‘Allo’ to new Longleat feature. Retrieved April 7 2008.
- "BBC NEWS". news.bbc.co.uk. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
{{cite news}}: Text "England" ignored (help); Text "Fallen Madonna to go to new buyer" ignored (help); Text "Oxfordshire" ignored (help) - ^ Coles, John (24 May 2007). "TV Fallen Madonna found". London: www.thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
{{cite news}}: Text "News" ignored (help); Text "The Sun" ignored (help) - Broadcast 14 September 1984
- ^ The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! (BBC), 28 April 2007