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Revision as of 21:20, 17 April 2010 by Rodhullandemu (talk | contribs) (→External links: no external links)(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 One television comedy series 'Allo 'Allo! (1984–92), 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, but the painting is usually referred to as "The Fallen Madonna With the Big Boobies".
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 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 (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. The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! (BBC), 28 April 2007
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, 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.
Notes
- Broadcast on 14 September 1984
- "Say 'Allo' to new Longleat feature (From Wiltshire Times)". www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
- "BBC NEWS". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
{{cite web}}: Text "England" ignored (help); Text "Fallen Madonna to go to new buyer" ignored (help); Text "Oxfordshire" ignored (help) - ^ "TV Fallen Madonna found". www.thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
{{cite web}}: Text "News" ignored (help); Text "The Sun" ignored (help) - Wiltshire Times, Dec 16, 2005, Say ‘Allo’ to new Longleat feature. Retrieved from online edition on April 7, 2008.
- The Return of 'Allo 'Allo! (BBC), 28 April 2007