Plot[]
René is about to lower a tray with food for the airmen down the grating in his own garden, so it will float away to them. As he is interrupted by his waitresses, one after the other, who are off to go sunbathing behind the hen house, he has a quick cuddle with them. Edith, having baked some rock cakes for the airmen, walks in on him and Yvette. After she, as usual, has fallen for his explanation, she puts the cakes on the tray, after which Michelle turns up. She explains her new plan to get the airmen out, namely, that since 1534, the gypsies have been allowed to have a fair in the town square on the summer solstice. Therefore, René and Edith must go to them and ask them to hold a fair on the solstice this year. By putting one of the gypsy tents over a grating that is possible to open, they will get the airmen out of the sewers that way and dress them up like gypsies. After she has forced René to agree to do it, she joins Mimi and Yvette behind the hen house.
As the airmen are waiting for something to eat, they see the tray floating towards them. However, everything on it has been eaten by rats, except the rock cakes, which, as they discover, are impossible to chew.
Elsa Bigstern comes to Herr Flick's headquarters and he gives her a little task. He orders her to invite colonel Von Strohm, lieutenant Gruber and captain Bertorelli out, so he can get access to the colonel's office. There, he will plant the forged painting and then make sure that general Von Klinkerhoffen discovers it. As the three officers will then be accused of stealing it, they will be sent to the Russian front. As Elsa becomes rather excited by this plan, she gives Herr Flick a long kiss (lasting several minutes). Meanwhile the telephone rings and Von Smallhausen takes the receiver, without saying anything. It is Helga who is ringing and, thinking it is Herr Flick who is answering, she cries out her longing for him. When the call is over (because Helga runs out of coins), Von Smallhausen claims it was the wrong number, but also says he will go to have a cold shower.
At the gypsy camp outside town, René and Edith are allowed to talk to the chief. They ask him to bring the gypsy fair to town on the summer solstice, but first, he checks if they can be trusted by reading their palms. As he reads Edith's, he becomes convinced that she is the lost gypsy princess Romana, who was taken from them 47 years ago. For her sake, he agrees to bring the fair to town. However, when the chief asks her to sing for them, he is convinced she is not Romana, since her mother had a magnificent singing voice and Edith does not. However, they will still bring the fair to town.
In the evening, the German officers are enjoying themselves at the café and Elsa even sings a song, when general Von Klinkerhoffen walks in, silences the singing and arrests Von Strohm, Gruber, Bertorelli and Bigstern for stealing the painting, which he has found in the colonel's desk drawer. As there are no doors in the chateau dungeons (they were attacked by woodworm and were sent to be replaced), the four of them are locked up in the local jail.
When they have been taken away and all the Germans have left, LeClerc comes into the café, disguised as a gypsy clothes pins seller. He tells René and Edith, that the gypsies have had a bad omen and will not bring the fair to the village. The next moment, Yvette calls upon them to talk to Michelle, who is in the backroom. As they tell her the bad news, she decides they must organise the fair themselves. They have a look at one of the gypsies' posters and Michelle decides they must proved all the attractions mentioned on them. René will be the chief who tells fortunes, Mimi, Yvette, Crabtree and Michelle's girls will run the stalls and Edith will be the bearded lady.
The next morning, the Germans in jail are discussing how to get out, when officer Crabtree brings them some tea. However, the next moment, the general joins them and apologises to them - he has examined the painting he found and discovered that it is a forgery. Thus, they are released and the general even offers them a big breakfast at the chateau to make up for the mistake. As they leave, Elsa slams the cell door shut behind her, which makes it lock automatically - with Crabtree still in the cell.
When the café gang and the resistance organise the fair the square, the Germans notice that René is dressed as a gypsy. He therefore explains that the real ones cancelled the event and they has organised it themselves, not to disappoint the villagers and the German soldiers. While the German officers go around trying the different competitions at the different stalls (except kissing the bearded lady), Michelle tells René that the airmen have already been handed two gypsy costumes to dress up in and Michelle hands them a gemmy to bang open the bolts of the grating under the shooting gallery. When she has left René in his tent, Gruber comes into it and wants his fortune told. While René tells it, the airmen try to bang on the other grating, but to no use. Thus, they crawl back to the one under René's tent. René, trying to keep Gruber away from the shooting gallery for as long as possible, asks if the lieutenant wants to communicate with the dead. Gruber mentions that he would like to talk to René's dead twin brother and ask his forgiveness for shooting him. As René "contacts" his brother's spirit, the grating in the tent (underneath the carpet) starts rising (the airmen pushing it up). Gruber, thinking it is René's brother's spirit, runs away screaming. This catches Michelle's attention and she bursts in, finding out what is happening and helping the airmen up. Madame Edith also joins them.
The airmen come out of the sewers, followed by three other British airmen (Blenkinsopp, Ginger and Sparks), shot down three weeks ago, who have been trying to find a way out of the sewers ever since. Michelle explains who they all are and that they can stay in René's café and that he will help them. When they spot Edith in her big beard, Blenkinsopp says "On second thoughts, I think we'll take our chances down the drain". The three "new" airmen go down the drain and disappear again, while Michelle takes the "old" ones away to get them out of their gypsy clothes.
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the last appearance of Roger Kitter as captain Bertorelli.
- This episode marks the last regular appearance of John D. Collins and Nicholas Frankau as the British airmen Fairfax and Carstairs. They would however make a one-off appearance in the very last episode (A Winkle in Time).
Allo Allo Series 7 |
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A Quiet Honeymoon | An Almighty Bang | Fleeing Monks | Up The Crick Without A Piddle | The Gestapo Ruins A Picnic | The Spirit Of Nouvion | Leg It To Spain! | Prior Engagements | Soup And Sausage | René Of The Gypsies |
Allo Allo |
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