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IMDbPro

Fawlty Towers

  • TV Series
  • 1975–19791975–1979
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
95K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,683
48
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.
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
95K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,683
48
  • Stars
    • John Cleese
    • Prunella Scales
    • Andrew Sachs
  • Stars
    • John Cleese
    • Prunella Scales
    • Andrew Sachs
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 194User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated TV #60
    • Won 3 BAFTA Awards

    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

    Photos408

    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
    André Maranne
    André Maranne
    • André
    Michael Gwynn
    Michael Gwynn
    • Lord Melbury
    Geoffrey Palmer
    Geoffrey Palmer
    • Dr. Price
    Nicky Henson
    Nicky Henson
    • Mr. Johnson
    Bruce Boa
    Bruce Boa
    • Mr. Harry Hamilton
    Ken Campbell
    • Roger
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The character Manuel is often criticized as an overtly racist stereotype that would not be allowed in a modern television series. However Andrew Sachs defended the character, saying, "If it's insulting to the Spanish what is Basil to the British?" According to John Cleese, the character of Manuel was not meant to be a joke about stupid foreigners, since Manuel is a very lovely man who really does his best to get everything right. Manuel's problem is his poor English, which is a parody on mingy hotel and restaurant owners, simply hiring cheap people who are desperate for work, without giving them proper training.
    • Goofs
      Many times through every episode, the walls wobble, revealing them as set walls.
    • 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 reviews194

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Escalating Frustration
    This is probably one of the best situational comedies ever made and in my opinion few other television programs compare to it. It is hard to say what is so good about this little show as the main character is a rude prick, the story lines are rather simplistic, and the characters pretty much cardboard cut outs of class stereotypes (this is a British show after all), but each episode is a nearly perfect choreographed dance of escalating frustration with an impeccable touch of absurdity.

    From brick walls appearing in doorways to mishaps during fire drills, from guests dying overnight to getting the right food for a gourmet, from class issues to just plain old mayhem this show has got it all. It is all in a meager 12 episodes, but that is what makes each episode absolutely priceless with hardly a dull moment. A classic in every sense of the word. 10/10

    Not rated, suitable for everyone.
    helpful•109
    6
    • BroadswordCallinDannyBoy
    • Dec 9, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 19, 1975 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Wooburn Grange Country Club, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 30 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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