The Kipper and the Corpse
Encyclopedia
"The Kipper and the Corpse" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British
sitcom
Fawlty Towers
. It first aired on BBC2
on 12 March 1979. Distinguishing it from other episodes is its heavy use of Black comedy
.
with their girlfriends between the first and second series of Fawlty Towers, a time when Cleese was looking for ideas for plots. During the holiday, Leeman told him how when he was working at The Savoy
he found a guest dead in his room, and was told to discreetly dispose of the body. Cleese turned this into "The Kipper and the Corpse" and the character who died was named Mr. Leeman in his honour.
With:
and Dr. Price wants some sausage
s, but all they can offer him are sandwich
es. During the evening, a guest, Mr. Leeman, returns to Fawlty Towers feeling unwell in the stomach; we (but not the Fawltys) are introduced at this point to his business colleagues who, after sympathising and making arrangements for a meeting the next morning, leave. As Leeman picks up his key he asks for breakfast in bed, much to Basil's disdain. Not particularly interested in discussing food the way he is feeling, he opts for the Continental breakfast; Sybil offers kipper
s and he agrees.
The following morning, Dr. Price still yearns for some sausages, while Mrs. Chase makes a fuss of her dog, which bites Manuel and Polly for no reason. They exact revenge by putting liberal lashings of pepper and tabasco sauce on its food, causing it a severe stomach ache. In the kitchen Basil spots that the kippers Terry is cooking for Leeman are out of date. Despite his protestations, he is semi-reassured by Terry and outrightly overruled by Sybil, who orders him to take the breakfast upstairs. So distracted by outrage at industrial action reported in that morning's papers, he fails to notice that Leeman has died (possibly of stomach hemorrhage), assuming that his silence is due simply to rudeness, and instead rants about the strike
while tidying the room and opening the curtains. Moments later Polly takes up the milk
which had been mistakenly omitted from Leeman's breakfast tray, realises immediately that Leeman has died and hurries downstairs - visibly shaken - to tell everyone. Recalling the "Sell-By" date he spotted earlier, Basil immediately panics that the kippers killed him, but Dr. Price examines Leeman's body and concludes that he actually died at least ten hours ago. Basil is then burdened with the task of trying to move the body from the room without the guests seeing. However, while moving him across the upstairs hall, Miss Tibbs sees the body and gets hysterical
, so on Basil's advice Polly slaps her, but rather too hard and in fact knocks her out. The unconscious Miss Tibbs and the deceased are hidden in a bedroom cupboard. Of course, the room's occupants Mr. and Mrs. White want to enter their room there and then, so Basil, Polly and Manuel have to create a distraction, but Mr. and Mrs. White still hear Miss Tibbs moaning in the cupboard and force Basil to let her out. Whilst Basil tells them that she is a madwoman who likes to hide in people's wardrobes, Polly notices that Leeman's arm is sticking out of the cupboard and desperately tries to signal this to Basil, creating confusion.
The body is finally moved to the office, where Major Gowen stumbles across it and assumes that Leeman was shot dead in his sleep. Meanwhile, Dr. Price is still waiting for his sausages, and gets into a brief quarrel with Manuel about breakfast time until Basil clears the misunderstanding up, notably by poking Manuel in the eye. Miss Tibbs, now recovered, goes to the office to confront Basil but, of course, sees the dead body once more and faint
s. Mr. Leeman is then moved to the kitchen in the linen basket, until Dr. Price insists he be moved, and ends up in reception. When some people (whom were shown earlier to be business associates) arrive at reception asking about Mr. Leeman, Basil thinks they are the undertakers. While he is talking to them, the linen basket with Leeman inside is taken away by the laundry men. Acting fast, the staff get him back and again try to hide him in several places, but Manuel loses his strength and gives up, instead hiding himself in the basket until Polly gets him out. Leeman's colleagues are informed of his death by Sybil and prepare to leave, while Basil hides the body behind the hat rack. A commotion occurs, and all the guests who were neglected, including Miss Tibbs (still in shock), Dr. Price (who had to cook his own sausages before realising that they were off), Mr. and Mrs. White (whose room was once again intruded upon) and Mrs. Chase (whose dog is ill from the tabasco sauce and the vet she requested hasn't been called), begin complaining. In a delicious bit of revenge, Basil discreetly calls the laundry men and tells the guests that Sybil (who, apart from some minor assistance, has done nothing but laze about while Basil, Manuel and Polly have caught the hell) will explain all the cock-ups that have occurred. As the guests round on Sybil, Basil hides in the basket and is taken away by the laundry men. Leeman is subsequently seen by all the guests, including a horrified Miss Tibbs, as Sybil desperately calls out Basil's name.
. The other was "Basil the Rat
".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
. It first aired on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 12 March 1979. Distinguishing it from other episodes is its heavy use of Black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
Background
During the early 1970s, John Cleese met a young hotelier called Andrew Leeman. They went on holiday together to the AegeanAegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
with their girlfriends between the first and second series of Fawlty Towers, a time when Cleese was looking for ideas for plots. During the holiday, Leeman told him how when he was working at The Savoy
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by...
he found a guest dead in his room, and was told to discreetly dispose of the body. Cleese turned this into "The Kipper and the Corpse" and the character who died was named Mr. Leeman in his honour.
Cast
- John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
- Basil FawltyBasil FawltyBasil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made.... - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
- Sybil FawltySybil FawltySybil Fawlty is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. She is played by Prunella Scales. Her age is listed as 34 years old as seen on her medical chart in the 1975 episode "The Germans", thus presumably indicating that she was born in 1941... - Andrew SachsAndrew SachsAndrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
- ManuelManuel (Fawlty Towers)Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Played by Andrew Sachs, he is an iconic character in British comedy history... - Connie BoothConnie BoothConstance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
- Polly Sherman - Ballard Berkeley - Major GowenMajor GowenMajor Gowen is a fictional character played by Ballard Berkeley in the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Major Gowen is an old, befuddled, somewhat senile ex-soldier permanently residing in the hotel. He enjoys talking about the world and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. He has trouble forgiving...
- Brian HallBrian Hall (actor)Brian Charles Hall was an English actor perhaps best known for his role in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers where he played the hotel chef Terry.-Career:...
- Terry the Chef - Gilly FlowerGilly FlowerGilly Flower was an English actress, best remembered as the elderly Miss Abitha Tibbs in the cult BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers.Gilly Flower played Miss Tibbs in all twelve episodes of the show, which was produced in two six-episode series separated by a three-and-a-half-year interval Gilly Flower...
- Miss Abitha TibbsMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers.... - Renee Roberts - Miss Ursula GatsbyMiss Tibbs & Miss GatsbyMiss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby are fictional characters, played by Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts respectively, in the BBC television sitcom Fawlty Towers....
With:
- Derek RoyleDerek RoyleDerek Royle was a British actor born in London, United Kingdom. His face was probably better known than his name to British viewers, but he acted in films and TV from the mid-sixties until his death...
- Mr. Leeman - Elizabeth Benson - Mrs. White
- Pamela Buchner - Miss Young
- Richard DaviesRichard Davies (actor)Richard Davies is a Welsh actor, from Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales whose film and TV work covers many years but is probably best known for his performance as the exasperated schoolmaster Mr Price in the LWT popular situation comedy Please Sir!.Davies uses a broad Welsh accent for much of his...
- Mr. White - Len Marten - Guest
- Raymond Mason - Mr. Zebedee
- Robert McBainRobert McBainRobert McBain was an English actor, photographer and artist.He was born Robert Digby Bosher, in Wembley, Middlesex...
- Mr. Xerxes - Charles McKeownCharles McKeownCharles McKeown is a British actor and writer, perhaps best known for his collaborations with Terry Gilliam. The two met while shooting Monty Python's Life of Brian, while McKeown was doing bit parts in the film.-Screenwriting career:...
- Mr. Ingrams - Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
- Dr. Price - Mavis PughMavis PughMavis Gladys Fox Pugh was an English actress who made many appearances as mainly upper-class ladies in several British sitcoms including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? and Fawlty Towers, as well as having a regular role in You Rang, M'Lord?...
- Mrs. Chase - Harry FielderHarry FielderHarry Fielder is an English actor and supporting artist who has worked extensively in British films and television since the 1960s.Fielder was born in Islington, London...
- 1st Laundry Man (uncredited) - Joe Santos - 2nd Laundry Man (uncredited)
Plot
Basil and Sybil are working the bar where Mrs. Chase is fussing over her shih-tzu dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
and Dr. Price wants some sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s, but all they can offer him are sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
es. During the evening, a guest, Mr. Leeman, returns to Fawlty Towers feeling unwell in the stomach; we (but not the Fawltys) are introduced at this point to his business colleagues who, after sympathising and making arrangements for a meeting the next morning, leave. As Leeman picks up his key he asks for breakfast in bed, much to Basil's disdain. Not particularly interested in discussing food the way he is feeling, he opts for the Continental breakfast; Sybil offers kipper
Kipper
A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split from tail to head, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked.In the United Kingdom, in Japan, and in some North American regions they are often eaten for breakfast...
s and he agrees.
The following morning, Dr. Price still yearns for some sausages, while Mrs. Chase makes a fuss of her dog, which bites Manuel and Polly for no reason. They exact revenge by putting liberal lashings of pepper and tabasco sauce on its food, causing it a severe stomach ache. In the kitchen Basil spots that the kippers Terry is cooking for Leeman are out of date. Despite his protestations, he is semi-reassured by Terry and outrightly overruled by Sybil, who orders him to take the breakfast upstairs. So distracted by outrage at industrial action reported in that morning's papers, he fails to notice that Leeman has died (possibly of stomach hemorrhage), assuming that his silence is due simply to rudeness, and instead rants about the strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
while tidying the room and opening the curtains. Moments later Polly takes up the milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
which had been mistakenly omitted from Leeman's breakfast tray, realises immediately that Leeman has died and hurries downstairs - visibly shaken - to tell everyone. Recalling the "Sell-By" date he spotted earlier, Basil immediately panics that the kippers killed him, but Dr. Price examines Leeman's body and concludes that he actually died at least ten hours ago. Basil is then burdened with the task of trying to move the body from the room without the guests seeing. However, while moving him across the upstairs hall, Miss Tibbs sees the body and gets hysterical
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
, so on Basil's advice Polly slaps her, but rather too hard and in fact knocks her out. The unconscious Miss Tibbs and the deceased are hidden in a bedroom cupboard. Of course, the room's occupants Mr. and Mrs. White want to enter their room there and then, so Basil, Polly and Manuel have to create a distraction, but Mr. and Mrs. White still hear Miss Tibbs moaning in the cupboard and force Basil to let her out. Whilst Basil tells them that she is a madwoman who likes to hide in people's wardrobes, Polly notices that Leeman's arm is sticking out of the cupboard and desperately tries to signal this to Basil, creating confusion.
The body is finally moved to the office, where Major Gowen stumbles across it and assumes that Leeman was shot dead in his sleep. Meanwhile, Dr. Price is still waiting for his sausages, and gets into a brief quarrel with Manuel about breakfast time until Basil clears the misunderstanding up, notably by poking Manuel in the eye. Miss Tibbs, now recovered, goes to the office to confront Basil but, of course, sees the dead body once more and faint
Faint
Faint may refer to:* Syncope , a medical term for fainting* Faint , a song by Linkin Park* Feint, a maneuver designed to distract or mislead* Feint , a song by Epica* The Faint, a dance-punk/rock band....
s. Mr. Leeman is then moved to the kitchen in the linen basket, until Dr. Price insists he be moved, and ends up in reception. When some people (whom were shown earlier to be business associates) arrive at reception asking about Mr. Leeman, Basil thinks they are the undertakers. While he is talking to them, the linen basket with Leeman inside is taken away by the laundry men. Acting fast, the staff get him back and again try to hide him in several places, but Manuel loses his strength and gives up, instead hiding himself in the basket until Polly gets him out. Leeman's colleagues are informed of his death by Sybil and prepare to leave, while Basil hides the body behind the hat rack. A commotion occurs, and all the guests who were neglected, including Miss Tibbs (still in shock), Dr. Price (who had to cook his own sausages before realising that they were off), Mr. and Mrs. White (whose room was once again intruded upon) and Mrs. Chase (whose dog is ill from the tabasco sauce and the vet she requested hasn't been called), begin complaining. In a delicious bit of revenge, Basil discreetly calls the laundry men and tells the guests that Sybil (who, apart from some minor assistance, has done nothing but laze about while Basil, Manuel and Polly have caught the hell) will explain all the cock-ups that have occurred. As the guests round on Sybil, Basil hides in the basket and is taken away by the laundry men. Leeman is subsequently seen by all the guests, including a horrified Miss Tibbs, as Sybil desperately calls out Basil's name.
Stage adaptation
In 1994, "The Kipper and the Corpse" was one of two Fawlty Towers episodes that were adapted for the stage and performed at the Theatre Geo in HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
. The other was "Basil the Rat
Basil the Rat
"Basil the Rat" is the sixth and final episode of the second season of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers and the final episode of the programme as a whole.-Synopsis:Fawlty Towers is in threat of closure by a Health and Safety inspector...
".