TV Tie-ins: 'Allo 'Allo

As we began the week with Secret Army it seems only fitting to end the week with a show that spoofed the series.

One of the longest-running British comedy shows which continued to be successful on the stage (with many of the original cast appearing) after it had finished a 10-year television run. Also popular abroad, it broke away from the usual short series format with the 26 episodes of series 5 which was hoped to break the show into the US market (it failed). The show was a typically British innuendo-filled farce with a large interwoven cast of stereotyped characters set against the backdrop of the German occupation of Nouvion, France. Café owner Rene becomes involved unwittingly in the Resistance when he is persuaded to hide two British airmen until they can be safely returned to England. Married to the demanding Edith and involved in affairs with both his young waitresses, Yvette and Maria, René's life is complicated enough; the patronage of various Germans to his café only makes matters worse, whether it be the smitten (with René) effete Lieutenant Gruber, Gestapo officer Herr Flick forever searching for a rare painting—The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies by Van Clomp—or the often ludicrous plans dreamed up by Resistance leader Michelle. Despite its tortuous accents and a habit of repeating various plots, the show succeeded; after a while the silly trappings fell away and the audience hoped that poor, put-upon René would be able to snatch more than a few moments with his darling Yvette.

Following on from a pilot broadcast on 30 December 1982, the regular series of 'Allo 'Allo! ran for nine seasons—Series 1: 7 Sep-26 Oct 1984, 7 eps; Series 2: 21 Oct-25 Nov 1985, 6 eps; Series 3: 5-Dec 1986-9 Jan 1987, 6 eps; Series 4: 7 Nov-12 Dec 1987, 6 eps; Series 5: 3 Sep 1988-25 Feb 1989, 26 eps; Series 6: 2 Sep-21 Oct 1989, 8 eps; Series 7: 5 Jan-16 Mar 1991, 10 eps; Series 8: 12 Jan-1 Mar 1992, 7 eps; Series 9: 9 Nov-13 Dec 1992, 6 eps; 81 x 30m eps + 1 x 35m + 3 x 45m Specials—but not without its problems, not the least of which was the shifting cast: Francesca Gonshaw left after three series, Sam Kelly after four; Jack Haig died in 1989, his character (LeClerk) replaced by his brother, played by Derek Royle, who died in 1990, to be replaced by Robin Parkinson; Gavin Richards was replaced by Roger Kitter and Richard Gibson by David Janson, the latter explained away by the character Herr Flick having plastic surgery.

The series became a little too repetitive for me but I still find the first three seasons funny. Stars of the show included Gorden Kaye (René Artois), Carmen Silvera (Edith Artois), Vicki Michelle (Yvette), Kirsten Cooke (Michelle), John D. Collins (Fairfax), Nicholas Frankau (Adamson), Richard Marner (Col. Von Strohm), Sam Kelly (Capt. Hans Geering, to series 4), Guy Siner (Lieut. Gruber), Kim Hartman (Helga), Rose Hill (Mother), Richard Gibson (later David Janson, series 9) (Herr Flick), Franchesca Gonshaw (Maria, to series 3), Kenneth Connor (M. Alfonse, from series 2), Hilary Minster (Gen. Von Klinkerhoffen, from series 3) and John Louis Mansi (Von Smallhousen, from series 3). See IMDB for the full cast and here for the complete DVD collection.

The show was produced by David Croft, John B. Hobbs and Mike Stephens, directed by David Croft, Mike Stephens, Susan Belbin, Martin Dennis, Richard Boden, Sue Longstaff and John B. Hobbs from scripts by Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft, Jeremy Lloyd & Paul Adam, John Chapman & Ian Davidson and Ronald Wolfe & Ronald Chesney.

I wasn't so enamoured of the 2007 special The Return of 'Allo 'Allo!, which was neither episode nor documentary but an uncomfortable mixture of both; I would have been happier with one or the other. In contrast, I thoroughly enjoyed the stage version with Vicki Michelle and Jeffrey Holland when I saw it a couple of years ago.

'Allo 'Allo! The War Diaries of René Artois, translated by John Haselden.
BBC 0563-20688-8, (Oct) 1988, 164pp, £5.95. H/C. Cover designed by Grub Street Design
A romp through the popular BBC series touching on many of the most memorable moments, including René's death by firing squad on 26 March. We also discover what happened to Yvette, Fairfax (one of the escaping British airmen) and the Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies by Van Clomp.

'Allo, 'Allo! The War Diaries of Rene Artois Volume 2, translated by John Haselden.
BBC 0563-20842-2, 1989. H/C.

'Allo 'Allo! The complete war diaries of Rene Artois, edited and with an introduction by Rene Fairfax, translated by John Haselden.
BBC 0563-36327-4, (Nov) 1991. H/C.

TV Tie-ins: Secret Army

Secret Army was based on true stories of Allied airmen downed over Europe who were aided by local resistance operatives to make their way through France, Holland and Belgium and to escape back to England. John Brason, in his introduction to the first Secret Army novelisation, says, "It is a matter of record that the evasion lines returned over three thousand Allied Air Forces personnel to the UK, there to continue the fight against Nazi Germany."

Although the stories themselves were fictionalised and often combined the stories of two, three or more escapees into one narrative, Brason noted some of the real-life incidents that stories were based on in the third book, which included one story ("Just Light the Blue Touchpaper") in which attacks on a secret V2 site, led by the fictitious Major Bradley, were based on events masterminded by Airey Neave, M.P. and his colleagues. Helping keep the series accurate was technical adviser Group Captain William S. O. Randall, chairman of the RAF Escaping Society.

The BBC1 series was devised by Gerard Glaister and Wilfred Greatorex with John Brason as script editor. The main stars were Ron Pember (Alain), Bernard Hepton (Albert), Michael Culver (Brandt), Christopher Neame (Curtis), Valentine Dyall (Dr Keldermans), Clifford Rose (Kessler), Stephen Yardley (Max), Angela Richards (Monique), Juliet Hammond-Hills (Natalie), Jan Francis (Yvette). IMDB.

In a sense it was a follow-up to Colditz, sharing the same crew and cast, including producer Gerald Glaister, script writers, directors and even cast.

The show ran for three seasons between September 1977 and December 1979 and was followed in November and December 1981 by a spin-off which followed the hunt for Gestapo officer Ludwig Kessler who, as the war ends, escapes to South America. As Brason says, "Kessler is in effect the fourth part of the BBC television series Secret Army. It was not originally part of the concept of the series which properly terminated at the end of the Second World War. However, the character of SS Standartenführer Ludwig Kessler became so popular with viewers and, indeed, entered the mythology of Word War II in such a way as to be possibly more real and memorable than the persons upon which he was based."

The 6-part series once again starred Clifford Rose and was devised by Brason and Gerard Glaister. It was directed by Michael Briant and Tristan de Vere-Cole and introduced a number of new characters, including Alan Dobie as Richard Bauer and Nitza Shaul as Mical Rak. IMDB.

Secret Army by John Brason
BBC 0563-17400-5, 1977, 256pp, 80p. Cover design by Sue Casebourne

Between 1941 and 1945 thousands of Allied aircrew were shot down over Europe. Most were captured: but 3500 got back to their home base.
__They were given refuge and help by ordinary people of occupied Europe who performed acts of spontaneous heroism in order that highly-trained airmen could be smuggled home to continued the fight.
__At first disorganised, those evasion workers cool or lucky enough to survive became a Secret Army. Under the leadership of brave and dedicated men and women, they set up escape lines through Holland, Belgium and France.
__One such organisation was Lifeline, one such leader the pretty young woman whose code name was Yvette.
__This book, based on the BBC1 series, tells of the events leading up to the opening episode.

Secret Army Dossier by John Brason
BBC 0563-17629-6, 1978, 224pp, 90p.

Easter 1943. The Belgian Lifeline team continues its work of returning to Britain as many downed fliers as can be snatched from the Germans. But in this tense war of nerves the Secret Army has setbacks as well as successes, and the German authorities' vigilance can only be frustrated by greater and greater daring. This second book based on the BBC1 series Secret Army brings together two episodes from the first series, three from the second, and a specially-written story to cover the events in between.
__Changing times bring new circumstances: Yvette's death by bombing makes Albert the new leader of the line, and on the death of his invalid wife British money provides a new, grander 'Candide' from which to continue the game of cat and mouse. Sturmbannführer Kessler fights back with new weapons, but the game is taken out of his hands for—unknown to him—D-Day is approaching.

Secret Army: The End of the Line by John Brason
Star 0352-30535-5, 1979, 142pp, 75p. Cover photo by Crispian Woodgate

Although the war in Europe is drawing to a close, the work of Lifeline is as vital and as hazardous as ever.
__The German forces in Belgium are on the brink of uncovering the clandestine escape route that has saved so many Allied troops from capture. Albert Foiret, the lynchpin of the organisation, is in jail on a charge of murder. Both Natalie and Monique are being followed by German spies.
__With each day that passes, the reality of liberation by the Allies seems nearer—but so does the inevitability of discovery by the Nazis.

Kessler by John Brason
BBC 0563-17969-4, 1981,205pp, £1.50. Cover photo by James Elliott

25 years after the war the hunt is on for the Nazi Ludwig Kessler.
__In the post-war years a German industrialist called Manfred Dorf prospered...
__But, in common with other prominent Germans, his name was an alias, changed to hide his wartime role as one of the Nazis' most-feared members of the SS: Standartenführer Ludwig Kessler, scourge of the Low Countries and the Secret Army's escape route in the war.
__His comfortable life is shattered when a journalist unmasks him. A beautiful Israeli girl begins her private vendetta against him, aided by a German official who knows that Kessler holds the key to the vast and powerful web of neo-Nazi organisations.

About the author [1977]
John Brason was born on Tyneside in 1924. After training as a painter at the Royal College of Art, he worked for 27 years in the film industry. In 1962 he began writing for the screen, entering television in 1971. He was principal writer for the BBC television series Colditz (for which he scripted an award-winning episode) and is script editor of Secret Army.