"One Foot in the Grave" One Foot in the Algarve (1993)

Director:

Susan Belbin

Writer:

David Renwick (written by)

TV Series:

"One Foot in the Grave" (1990)

Original Air Date:

26 December 1993 (Season 4, Episode 7)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Severed Foot | Villa | Holiday | Dilapidated House | Victor Meldrew

Cast

Richard Wilson	...	Victor Meldrew
Annette Crosbie	...	Margaret Meldrew
Doreen Mantle	...	Mrs Warboys
Peter Cook	...	Martin Trout
Joan Sims	...	Lady on Plane
Edward de Souza	...	Afonso
Louis Mahoney	...	Humphrey
Eamonn Walker	...	Hugo
Louise Duprey	...	Shirley
Craig Ferguson	...	Glaswegian
Anna Nicholas	...	Isabella
Benjamim Falcão	...	Old Man
Margarida Rodrigues	...	Waitress
Augusto Portela	...	Policeman
Eduardo Viana	...	Policeman
José Gomes	...	Farm Worker
José Gomes	...	Farmworker
Jorge Parente	...	Farmworker
André Maia	...	Fisherman
Jorge Sequerra	...	Coastguard
João D'Ávila	...	Mortuary Attendant (as João D'Avila)
Maria d'Aires	...	Mortuary Assistant (as Maria D'Aires)
Luís Zagalo	...	Photo Shop Owner (as Luis Zagalo)
Lídia Franco	...	Maria (as Lidia Franco)
João Lagarto	...	Cabbie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marina Albuquerque	...	(uncredited)
Paulo Filipe	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Susan Belbin

Writing credits
David Renwick		(written by)

Produced by
Susan Belbin	....	producer

Original Music by
Ed Welch

Cinematography by
John Rhodes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jeff Gay

Production Design by
Nick Somerville		(designer)

Costume Design by
Richard Winter

Makeup Department
Vivien Riley	....	makeup designer (as Viv Riley)
Vanessa White	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Gerardo Fernandes	....	unit manager: Portugal
Nick Page	....	production manager: Portugal

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Angela De Chastelai Smith	....	first assistant director
Mark Mylod	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Nick Barnett	....	properties buyer
Dave Channon	....	construction manager (as David Channon)
Adrian Uwalaka	....	design assistant

Sound Department
John A. Parry	....	sound recordist
Nick Roast	....	dubbing editor
Chris Round	....	boom operator
Laurie Taylor	....	dubbing mixer

Visual Effects by
Chris Lawson	....	visual effects designer

Stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunt arranger
Mark Anthony Newman	....	stunt arranger
Bill Weston	....	stunt arranger

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Brock	....	electrician (as Rob Brock)
James Grimes	....	grip
John Hembrough	....	focus puller
Paul Lang	....	best boy
Peter Robinson	....	lighting gaffer
Brian Sullivan	....	electrician

Casting Department
Kika Felix Da Costa	....	casting: Portugal

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karen Beale	....	costume design assistant
Michael Griffey	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Chris Wadsworth	....	vt editor
Jonathan Wood	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
John Du Prez	....	music arranger: closing title music
John Du Prez	....	music producer: closing title music
Eric Idle	....	composer: closing title music

Other crew
Marta Azevedo	....	production secretary: Portugal
Judith Bantock	....	finance assistant (as Judith Bantok)
Max De Nett	....	design operative
Samantha Frith	....	production secretary
Christine Gernon	....	continuity
Brian Green	....	design operative
Gabriel Moniz	....	production assistant: Portugal
Teresa Ramos	....	production assistant: Portugal
Pedro Sá Santos	....	production assistant: Portugal
Nick Wood	....	location manager

Cinematography by
John Record

Art Department
Madeleine Turnbull	....	art department assistant

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

One Hour and a Half of Victor Meldrew, I Don't Believe it

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This feature length episode of One Foot in the Grave (3 times the normal episode) was quite excellent.

The episode starts in the life of Martin Trout. He is a strange middle aged man who has a film of pornography where he plans to make thousand of pounds. He is on a phone at an airport. Victor, Margaret and Mrs Warboys are at the airport, they are going to the Algarve where they are meeting Alfonso, Mrs Warboy's Portugeese pen-pal who's wife Marie tragically fell off a cliff and died. Martin Trout's film of pornography accidentally falls into Margaret's handbag. Martin notices this but it is too late, he will make his way to the Algarve later on in the week. Victor, Margaret and Mrs Warboys arrive in the Algarve. It is late at night and Victor is too tired to drive to the villa so they go in this strange building believing it to be some sort of hotel. Mrs Warboys is so tired he asks a Portugeese man if she can sleep in a room upstairs (he has a Portugeese phrase book), but it turns out to mean something sexually related and the man walks Mrs Warboys upstairs, then we hear Mrs Warboys scream so they run out of the place and speed off in the car, only to be stopped for speeding. They are taken to there villa, but Victor, Margaret and Jean think they have been thrown in prison. They only realise after two days it is there villa and have been sat in the one room. In the villa opposite them is a young black man called Hugo. He is staying with his father and his wife Shirley. Hugo is a professional boxer, but his Father is angry because he isn't aggressive, he doesn't let people upset him (cue Victor) and as a whole is very caring. Finally Jean meets Alfonso and get on very well and marriage looks very likely. Martin Trout makes it to the Algarve and gets into the villa to find the film, he doesn't succeed and breaks his legs doing so. At night, Victor goes and picks Mrs Warboys up from Alfonso's. He has to get out of the car and Mrs Warboys is asleep. Some passers by think she has had a heart attack and take her to the near by hospital, but her shoes fall off at the edge of the cliff. Victor comes back, thinks of Alfonso's wife Marie and panics, thinking she has fell in. Hugo is in the area and he jumps off the cliff to find her, only to accidentally find himself locked in a fishing boat. Victor and Margaret are called to the Mortery and are not given a full body, just a foot. Victor and Margaret then find Jean and Hugo returns home, a little more angry now. Victor goes round to Hugo to apologise. Hugo is in the bath and Victor's aftershave makes a donkey follow him and the donkey attacks Hugo in the bath. Hugo gets very angry now and punches Victor. Victor has made a very calm man hit him. At Alfonso's Jean works out the clues from Marie's death and she works out that Marie faked her own death to leave Alfonso (simular to Reginald Perrin). It turns out she is right and it leaves Alfonso very upset. They finally leave the Algarve and Martin Trout realises that Margaret never did have the film, it was in a jacket he threw away.

There was some fabulous casting in this episode. Martin Trout was played by the great Peter Cook. Eamonn Walker played Hugo, he played Winstone in the classic Johnny Speight series In Sickness and in Health. Joan Sims was also on the aeroplane. This episode showed no matter how silly Mrs Warboys was made to look in the series, she was actually quite intelligent. The whole of this episode is available on video and DVD, but also free to watch on Youtube (the whole episode). Make sure you type in One Foot in the Algrave, not One Foot in the Algarve. Though I strongly recommend you buy the DVD with it on, it is on the series 4 DVD, a great series. This was a fantastic special.

Best Bit: Victor's face when in the mortuary he is presented with the foot Second Best Bit: HUGO'S FATHER: You're not aggressive enough. You are in the ring and you stop in the fifth round to inquire about your opponents Mother's Authritus.