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Revision as of 18:38, 8 May 2007 by 80.57.41.233 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Fallen Madonna by the fictional painter Van Klomp was a portrait of a bare breasted woman which provided a recurring theme of the long-running BBC television comedy series ‘Allo ‘Allo! (1984-92), written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The painting was always referred to as "the Fallen Madonna with the big boobies" . The first episode of the first series of Allo 'Allo! (1984) was entitled The Fallen 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 Gordon 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 Erich 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.
The painting was seen and hidden in various guises; it was often secreted, with suggestive possibilities, in a long knockwurst (sausage). Forgeries were also in evidence. On one occasion Herr Flick drew attention to “three Fallen Madonnas with six big boobies” .
Forgeries and Destructions
The Fallen Madona made into an incredible number of forgeries, mostly by Luietenant Gruber, which were naturally hid in knockwurst sausages in Rene's Kitchen. The Forgeries were subsequetly destroyed in various ways. (Burned, blown up, minced, etc.) At one point, Madame Fanny accidently takes a bite off one of the corners, and in season 8 Helga Geerhart removes a breast in order to safeguard her rights to the painting.
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 .
External link
Notes
- "Boob" is slang for "breast": see Oxford Pocket Dictionary (8th ed, 1992).
- Broadcast on 14 September 1984
- See The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! (BBC), 28 April 2007
- The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! (BBC), 28 April 2007