Arousing Suspicions

Arousing Suspicions
Production Details
Written by	Jeremy Lloyd & Paul Adam
Director	John B. Hobbs
Transmission Details
Airdate	12 January 1992
Continuity
Previous	Christmas Special: A Bun In The Oven
Next	A Woman Never Lies

Plot

The episode begins with Edith finding Yvette in René's arms. After he, as usual, has fooled her as to the reason for this and sent Yvette to the kitchen, Edith once more asks him to marry her, but he still does not want to. He is saved by officer Crabtree, who enters the café and tells them both that Michelle has got a new, powerful battery for the radio in Fanny's bedroom. He also informs them, that it comes from lieutenant Gruber's little tank. After this, he leaves, since he has to solve "the cream of who stole the bottery from lieutenant Greber's little tonk".

Gruber bursts into colonel Von Strohm's office, informing him that the battery from his little tank has been stolen. The colonel is just about to talk to his wife Rosa on the phone. After he has had a somewhat suspicious talk with her (wondering what she is doing) and has hung up the phone, Helga enters his office, announcing general Von Klinkerhoffen. He informs them, that neutral Spain is sending a troupe of flamenco dancers on a goodwill tour and they will arrive in Nouvion on that same day. He asks them to find somewhere for them to stay and then join him at the chateau that same evening, to be entertained by the troupe. When he has left, Helga hands Gruber a postcard. It turns out to be from his friend in Madrid, who was supposed to find an art expert to valuate the painting for them. The text on the postcard is just plain holiday phrases, but the real message appears in invisible ink, when Gruber flashes his lighter underneath the card. It reveals, that the art expert is one of the flamenco dancers and his name is Juan Garcia. As Gruber accidentally sets fire to the card, he manages at the last moment to read the further instructions before the card is disintegrated. They tell them to give Juan a photograph of the painting and a piece of canvas for testing. They therefore call Helga in and ask her to "produce her booby", but as she will not hear of it, the colonel photographs the painting with Gruber covering to hole with his hand.

When Michelle has removed the flat battery from the bedroom, she brings it down into the café. She tells René and Edith, that monsieur Alfonse will deliver the new battery, disguised in a manner that will not arouse suspicion. She then reveals a new plan, devised by general de Gaulle himself. To boost the French morale, they will being resistance radio broadcasts, which will first be recorded on wax cylinders, that will be played from different locations around the country side. Should the Germans find the cylinders, nobody will be there to arrest - only the cylinders playing on the phonographs. The recording machine and the cylinders will be dropped by parachute from a British plane.

Herr Flick is pondering on how to get the painting back from Helga. As he suspects she keeps it in her quarters, he decides he and Von Smallhausen are to go there and search for it. When Von Smallhausen points out, that she lives in a female only hostel, the two of them disguise themselves as women, putting melons underneath their clothes to look like breasts.

Monsieur Alfonse and officer Crabtree bring a small coffin into the café, containing a dead parrot, which supposedly is René's favourite one, called Roger. In the false bottom of the coffin is the new battery, looking exactly like the old one. As they have removed the battery from the coffin and it is standing clearly visible on a table in the café, colonel Von Strohm and lieutenant Gruber approach the café. While Michelle escapes down the back passage, the others try to hide the battery, by putting it on a chair beneath the table. When the Germans find the battery, monsieur Alfonse explains its presence by telling them that they are about to try to jump start Roger one last time. After this, Gruber realises that it is his tank battery and demands an explanation. Edith says it was sold to them by an oddly dressed stranger. As Crabtree goes off to catch him, the Germans decide to let René off and just take the battery with them, if he agrees to accommodate the flamenco troupe. As they are about to leave, Edith orders Mimi and Yvette not to adjust their suspenders in front of the officers. As their attention is then drawn to the girls for a few seconds, René and monsieur Alfonse moves the coffin, which has been hiding the flat battery, on top of the new one instead. Thus, the Germans take the flat battery with them, thinking it is the new one.

As the two Gestapo officers are searching Helga's room for the painting, she walks in on them. Herr Flick explains what they are doing and tells her that he will reward her generously, if she tells them where the painting is. She is tempted by the officer and agrees to kiss him. However, as she is doing this, her gym teacher walks in on them and demands that she come out to her class. She also demands herrs Flick and Von Smallhausen to join the gym class. As they have no proper clothes, they are forced to do the gymnastics in their underwear - with the melons still inside.

When René and Michelle are about to contact London on the radio, Mimi informs René that the flamenco dancers have arrived. He then asks her to give them something to drink and keep them downstairs. On the radio, London informs them that the equipment will be dropped that same evening at the usual place at the usual time.

In the evening, René is standing behind the bar, when Edith tells him, that she has found the flamenco dancers in the cellar - all of them far too drunk to perform. As René is about to go and tell the colonel this, Michelle bursts into the café and informs the two of them, that they have received the phonograph, but the parachute with the cylinders has floated off course and is stuck down the chimney of the general's quarters in the chateau. When she learns of the flamenco dancers' predicament, she quickly decides that the three of them, the waitresses, officer Crabtree and monsieur Alfonse will take their place, go to the chateau and get the cylinders by letting Mimi climb the chimney.

At the chateau, the troupe find the right fire place and let Mimi climb up the chimney. As the Germans are waiting for the entertainment, the general asks Gruber to go and find the troupe. As he does so, he does not realise who they really are and thinks that monsieur Alfonse, who is the only one dressed as a man, is Juan Garcia. Thus, he gives him the photograph and the canvas. As the others follow Gruber to the room where the Germans are waiting, René stays behind to help Mimi. While the others are performing, Mimi comes down the chimney with the cylinders, which she and René hide in their clothes. They are just about to leave through the fire escape, when a German private discovers them and they are forced to join the others in the performance - Mimi all covered in soot. When the performance is over, the troupe withdraws from the room and flee the chateau.

Trivia

• In this episode, colonel Von Strohm erroneously refers to himself as "Erich" (when speaking on the telephone), even though it has been established earlier in the series, that his first name is "Kurt".