Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
- Won 3 BAFTA Awards
- 6 wins & 2 nominations total
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Did you know
- TriviaBasil and Sybil Fawlty were based on Donald and Beatrice Sinclair, genuine hoteliers who ran the 41-bed Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay where John Cleese stayed whilst filming on location in early May 1970 with the Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) team. Mr Sinclair's irascible antics included: berating Terry Gilliam for eating his meals in "too American" a way (ie. with knife and fork in the 'wrong' hands); throwing Eric Idle's briefcase over a wall because of a "bomb scare" (the scare was that Idle left the briefcase in the reception area); disbelief at Michael Palin asking to pre-book the Gleneagles TV to catch a show; after Graham Chapman requested an omelette made with three eggs, Sinclair brought him an omelet with three fried eggs perched on top (and refused to serve him a brandy); when asked by Cleese to call for a taxi, he argued with Cleese and took his time calling for the cab. Mrs Sinclair later complained that the sit-com had been unfair to her husband, and she described John Cleese as an "utter fool" who had "made millions out of our unhappiness". The Gleneagles Hotel, under new ownership, ran Fawlty Towers weekends once a month where guests were looked after by actors who play the part of Basil, Sybil and Manuel. Opened in 1963, it closed permanently in February 2015, and is to be demolished with retirement apartments built on the site. Cleese later used the name "Donald P. Sinclair" for his eccentric billionaire character in the movie Rat Race (2001).
- GoofsWhen seen from the inside, the pathway leading from the front door veers to the right. However, outside shots reveal the pathway continues straight on after the door.
- Quotes
Basil Fawlty: Where's Sybil?
Manuel: ¿Que?
Basil Fawlty: Where's Sybil?
Manuel: Where's... the bill?
Basil Fawlty: No, not a bill! I own the place!
- Crazy creditsThe Fawlty Towers hotel sign has its letters missing, or scrambled up to make new words. The sign presents a different error with each episode.
- Alternate versionsFor German TV-runs the main-theme was changed to "funnier" music.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Pythons (1979)
Featured review
This is what comedy is all about!
This is pure comedy. It is genius. It is hilarity that transcends the boundary of comedy. Fawlty Towers is the kind of comedy that has you on the floor gasping for air in a puddle of your own tears. John Cleese has created one of the defining characters of comedy in Basil Fawlty. Manuel Sachs is superb as Manuel, the confused waiter from Barcelona. Prunella Scales is brilliant as the tyrannical wife. Connie Booth is very good as Polly, the hassled waitress. Put it all together inside a small hotel in Torquay and you get one of the greatest, most alluring comedies ever to grace the screen. The only bad thing about Fawlty Towers is that they didn't make more.
Fawlty Towers will always be tearfully, heart stoppingly, deadly, and disasterously funny.
Fawlty Towers will always be tearfully, heart stoppingly, deadly, and disasterously funny.
helpful•744
- jdmu7
- Jul 7, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Das verrückte Hotel - Fawlty Towers
- Filming locations
- Wooburn Grange Country Club, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Fawlty Towers exterior)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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