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Fawlty Towers

  • TV Series
  • 1975–1979
  • TV-PG
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
96K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,302
241
Fawlty Towers (1975)
Fawlty Towers
Play trailer1:45
5 Videos
99+ Photos
Comedy

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.

  • Stars
    • John Cleese
    • Prunella Scales
    • Andrew Sachs
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.8/10
    96K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,302
    241
    • Stars
      • John Cleese
      • Prunella Scales
      • Andrew Sachs
    • 197User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated TV #62
    • Won 3 BAFTA Awards
      • 6 wins & 2 nominations total

    Episodes12

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated

    Videos5

    John C. Reilly and Steven Coogan Show Us the Real 'Stan & Ollie'
    Clip 2:04
    Watch John C. Reilly and Steven Coogan Show Us the Real 'Stan & Ollie'
    Fawlty Towers
    Trailer 1:45
    Watch Fawlty Towers
    Don't Mention the War!
    Video 1:50
    Watch Don't Mention the War!
    I Know Nothing!
    Video 1:45
    Watch I Know Nothing!
    The Making of Fawlty Towers
    Video 7:19
    Watch The Making of Fawlty Towers

    Photos449

    John Cleese, Trevor Adams, Prunella Scales, and April Walker in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    Steve Plytas and Andrew Sachs in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Joan Sanderson in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Andrew Sachs in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Connie Booth in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Bernard Cribbins in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Andrew Sachs in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese and Luan Peters in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    Brian Hall and Prunella Scales in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, and Prunella Scales in Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, and Prunella Scales at an event for Fawlty Towers (1975)
    John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, and Prunella Scales at an event for Fawlty Towers (1975)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Cleese
    John Cleese
    • Basil Fawlty
    Prunella Scales
    Prunella Scales
    • Sybil Fawlty
    Andrew Sachs
    Andrew Sachs
    • Manuel
    Connie Booth
    Connie Booth
    • Polly Sherman
    Ballard Berkeley
    Ballard Berkeley
    • Major Gowen
    Gilly Flower
    • Miss Agatha Tibbs
    Renee Roberts
    • Miss Ursula Gatsby
    Brian Hall
    Brian Hall
    • Terry
    Terence Conoley
    • Mr. Johnston…
    Elizabeth Benson
    • Mrs. Heath…
    George Lee
    • Delivery Man…
    Bernard Cribbins
    Bernard Cribbins
    • Mr. Hutchinson
    Michael Gwynn
    Michael Gwynn
    • Lord Melbury
    André Maranne
    André Maranne
    • André
    Geoffrey Palmer
    Geoffrey Palmer
    • Dr. Price
    Nicky Henson
    Nicky Henson
    • Mr. Johnson
    Bruce Boa
    Bruce Boa
    • Mr. Harry Hamilton
    Joan Sanderson
    Joan Sanderson
    • Mrs. Alice Richards
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Basil 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).
    • Goofs
      When 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 credits
      The 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 versions
      For German TV-runs the main-theme was changed to "funnier" music.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Pythons (1979)
    • Soundtracks
      Fawlty Towers
      Written by Dennis Wilson

      Performed by Dennis Wilson Quartet

      [series theme tune]

    User reviews197

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    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.
    helpful•74
    4
    • jdmu7
    • Jul 7, 2006

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 19, 1975 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Das verrückte Hotel - Fawlty Towers
    • Filming locations
      • Wooburn Grange Country Club, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(Fawlty Towers exterior)
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 4:3

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