Recurring Theme
'Allo 'Allo! was set in the 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 Kurt 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.
An incredible number of forgeries of the Fallen Madonna were made, mostly by Lieutenant Gruber and Monsieur LeClerc, which were naturally hidden in knackwurst sausages in René's kitchen. The forgeries were subsequently destroyed in various ways (burned, blown up, minced, eaten by a dog, etc.).
Read more about this topic: The Fallen Madonna
Famous quotes related to recurring theme:
“America is the world’s living myth. There’s no sense of wrong when you kill an American or blame America for some local disaster. This is our function, to be character types, to embody recurring themes that people can use to comfort themselves, justify themselves and so on. We’re here to accommodate. Whatever people need, we provide. A myth is a useful thing.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)