Biggles Dictates a Letter

Biggles Dictates a Letter ( English : Biggles dictates a letter ) is a sketch by the British comedian group Monty Python . The sketch is part of the 33rd episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus , which first aired on November 30, 1972.

The sketch parodies the fictional pilot James "Biggles" Bigglesworth of the author William Earl Johns , who has been the title hero of numerous aviation adventure stories since 1932 . The title is a parody of the stereotypical titles of the individual stories, which in most cases begin with Biggles ...

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Archive films showing aerial battles from World War I will be given the title “The Adventures of Biggles. Part one - Biggles dictates a letter ”announced.

Biggles (played by Graham Chapman ) is in the office with a secretary ( Nicki Howorth ) and tells her to dictate a letter. Since the secretary addresses him as "Señor Biggles", Biggles is initially angry about the fact that there is no reason to be addressed in Spanish. Then the dictation begins with an address to King Håkon . Since the secretary would like to add the addition "of Norway" on her own initiative and asks whether she should also type in Biggles' objections to this option, the pilot decides to put antlers on her aviator's hat to indicate when and when to take notes when not.

But since the secretary twists this instruction and only takes it down as soon as Biggles removes the antlers, the sentence “Dear King Håkon, I am not dictating what?” Emerges when Biggles insults her as “an inmate of a brothel” (“You loopy brothel inmate! "), A dispute arises over glossing over expressions for prostitution such as" courtesan "or" concubine ". The secretary then alludes to Biggles' comrade and cousin Algernon “Algy” Lacey being homosexual, so that an analogous conversation about the term “ Tunte ” (English poof or fairy ) develops. Biggles then calls Algy ( Michael Palin ) into the office and bluntly asks him the question “Are you gay?”, To which Algy happily affirms (whereby gay also means happy in English ). Biggles then shoots Algy and continues dictating. In the letter he thanks King Håkon and then mentions that Algy was homosexual.

When the name of Ginger Hebblethwaite is mentioned at the end, Biggles also suspects him of homosexuality and calls him into the office as well. Ginger ( Terry Gilliam ) reports on the radio with "Hello, sweetie" and appears as a stereotypically drawn gay man in hot pants , a pink pilot's cap and fur jacket, but denies the question of whether he is a queen and is praised by Biggles for this.

Then Biggles dictates a second letter to Princess Margaret , who just comes out of a closet with the salutation (played by a mime). A quick cut follows to a scene in which the character Loony (Graham Chapman) asks the question “Lemon curry?”. Then Biggles dictates the letter to the end, which the secretary acknowledges with "Si, Señor Biggles!"

With additional archive material from aerial battles and a cartoon animation, during which the sequel “Biggles flies undone” is announced, the next sketch ( Climbing the North Face of the Uxbridge Road ) takes place.

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The mentioned supporting characters Algy and Ginger are also taken from the Biggles stories. Likewise, the name of the author is ironically woven into the letter to Hakon by commenting on the question "What would Captain WE Johns have said?" After the finding that Algy was a fagot. One inaccuracy, however, is the fact that Biggles mentions his wife Mary several times. In fact, WE Johns never portrayed his character as married, which ironically earned the author himself the charge of portraying a possibly homosexual character.

The sketch also makes multiple metafictional references to itself. For example, the secretary calls Biggles a “demented fictional character” and Biggles speaks of his “fictional comrade-in-arms” Algy and ends his letters with “Yours fictionally, Biggles” instead of common greetings like "Yours truly".

Biggles Dictates a Letter was the third parody of Biggles by Monty Python. The character was previously parodied in the sketches Strangers in the Night (episode 10) and The Spanish Inquisition (episode 15). The Spanish address to Biggles in this sketch may be an allusion to Biggles' appearance as Cardinal of the Inquisition in the latter sketch.

Is "Lemon curry?" A running joke of the episode and is four times mentioned by different characters, including the BBC -Nachrichtensprecher Richard Baker after a fictional news story about an explosion in the kitchen of the House of Lords .

Web links

• Sketches of the transcript (Engl.)