Monty Python - Agatha Christie Sketch

from Monty Python's Flying Circus
Season 1 - Episode 11
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes To The Bathroom
Recorded 14-12-69, Aired 28-12-69
I'm slowly uploading the entire Flying Circus series... Got any requests?

[@SebastianMeusel]

Oh my god. How do you learn such a text and not fumble it up completely? Deepest respect to Mr. Cleese.

[@philswaim392]

How do ya know he didnt just bumble through it after the first two lines?

[@anomalyp8584]

There is no way to know!

[@ivanmeetsgijoe1073]

@@anomalyp8584 He did bumble it. He started uttering the correct sentence, but stopped himself on time. 0:26

[@richardkelso9478]

Smells like the genesis of the “vast tracts of land” sketch in the Holy Grail😮

[@colinrunciman5166]

I know,!

[@luisreyes1963]

Only on Monty Python can they turn a predictable murder mystery scene into utter chaos. 🤣

[@phlaminngoo]

I like how Eric Idle starts laughing almost maniacally, like he has some diabolical plot....and then just says "Lookout of the yard....very good..."

[@richardheman971]

Are you nervy? Irritable? Depressed? Tired of life? Keep it up. HAHAHA

[@Nazbaque]

It's "give it up". You know since he is an undertaker.

[@GlitchedAI]

Nazbaque No it's keep it up.

[@stickfigureproductions2299]

+Richard Heman Dr. Kevorkian's motto.

[@Dowlphin]

_I am sure there will be good noose soon! Hang in there!_

[@Badgerthegreat]

Shouldn't be hard for me.

[@MowgliX]

"The same drawing room, one lobotomy later." I LOVE this sketch!

[@topleybird2443]

Ask not what the room can do to leave you, bur rather the room should ask us as to whether or not you can and or will leave the room, for that I instruct you should not.

[@isaackim7675]

Pedro Bello Allow me to introduce myself, I am Inspector Tiger.

[@isaackim7675]

#83279 random guy What?? Where?

[@kiriazos97]

+Isaac Kim man you waited 5 months for that!

[@isaackim7675]

***** Well look out of the yard.

[@kenbulut]

YOU BASTARD!

[@Vashtanerada477]

AMAZING performance by Cleese here, genuinely impressive work

[@whalekit6570]

when bugged script keeps generating NPCs,

[@mgadapatpigilan620]

Lmfao

[@gudlisner501]

Inspector Clouseau invades an Agatha Christie plot.

[@bezzaderbane9890]

This was one of those Cleese written sketches where the character can't speak simple English anymore for some reason. I think it was his way of deconstructing the standard sketches he knew before Python where the same words would always be said in the lead up to punchlines, and he probably got so sick of saying the same phrases this was his breakout from it.

[@samkass9039]

Or it was as he was learning German. The first two minutes of this sketch are like me trying to construct a properly grammatical German sentence of any significant length.

[@____Ai____]

I always had the suspicion that when Eric laughs at the 'look out of the yard joke' he only says that to conceal the fact that he actually started laughing at the sheer silliness of the 'man with very long arms'...but maybe it's jus my wishful thinking....I so want them to crack up, it's just not human to keep a straight face during that

[@thanx4life]

The only sketches I've found where they corpse in a scene is the "Burma (Penguin on the Tele)" sketch, the "No Time To Lose" sketch and, on the "Secret Policeman's Ball", the "Parrot Sketch" performed live by Cleese and Palin.

[@____Ai____]

Pedro Ruivo Yes I know, the Parrot Sketch one is fairly obvious :D... also during their performance of the 'dead bishop' sketch at the hollywood bowl (though I think that was slightly intended)....I just can't believe they cracked up so rarely. There are a few outtakes on youtube, but even then they don't really corpse

[@kittiesgomow33]

And a little bit in the gumby brain specialist sketch :P

[@kittiesgomow33]

Ahah yes, that bit is absolutely hilarious :P

[@trevorlambert4226]

Sounds like an incredibly fake laugh to me, so I'm going to disagree with that suspicion.

[@reemyfairy09]

Big fan of Agatha christie I've read many of her books but I never come across this sketch it is absolutely hilarious I can't stop laughing 😂😂

[@Klaaism]

When Agatha Christie's word processor goes on the fritz...

[@ThatIrishLass]

What? Where!?

[@benschneider4617]

That is some dedicated detective work at Scotland Yard, even before the murder occurs they are on the case.....even if the murderer is planning to kill them all.

[@Dowlphin]

The USA should learn from this. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Prepare very well for war and crime and you'll get lots of it.

[@olleronn616]

We'll interrupt this comment section, but will bring you back, the moment anything interesting happens....

[@MowgliX]

Mark Taylor Thank you so much. I think you explained the problem quite succinctly. Ruddy Awfulracket Bustard of India is my uncle by the way. He is married to Growlhurt Twigg-Thrasherbanger Gormanstrop Goebbles-Smith-Smythe-Schmidt von Twaddle Bunker William Shatner Lobster Thermidor Gworking-Thatcher. Or was, until he strangled her in 1952 and had to go away for quite a few years. He now lives quietly in a padded cell in Vladivostok.

[@ZacHawkins42]

Olle Rönn It's been three years, no dice?

[@katietwotone]

"shall i leave the room?" HAhahaahaha! this is hands down my favorite sketch! its pure, unabashed brilliance!!

[@alucardhellsing1037]

How the hell did Cleese remember his lines.

[@comanchio1976]

Alucard Hellsing I suspect that it's because he wrote them

[@bezzaderbane9890]

A little thing called rehearsal?

[@beatsbyelvis6890]

Trent N if it’s a strain then I’m afraid it is

[@DanceySteveYNWA]

Writing it helps

[@beorlingo]

He most likely improvised that. In the way a musician could improvise on a theme.

[@JCDavis314]

Shoot, they discovered me. I knew having very long arms, ones about twenty to thirty feet would give me away.

[@juliawhitmore3991]

1:31 "My name's Michael with a 'B,' and I'm afraid of insects." "Stop stop stop. Where's the 'B?'" "ThEre'S A beE???"

[@outerspaceoutpost]

I Adore Agatha Christie's storys & plays & I LOVE mysteries, but this sketch was absolutley HYSTERICAL! thanks so very much. Peace be with you.

[@tommykl]

Are you nervous? Irritable? Depressed? Tired of life? Keep it up!

[@HrothgarXII]

Who can do better then combining Agatha Christie with Monty Python Humor? Thank you! This is a great sketch! :)

[@calif1mc]

The English Inspector Clouseau :D LOL

[@u.v.s.5583]

Until the cass is solv-ed.

[@Autopsy6]

Five cheers for Carol Cleveland!

[@futuristica1710]

Oh yes! ❤

[@professornuke7562]

Such a great beauty. Such a great sense of humour. Such brilliant timing. Such a fullsome set of funbags.

[@markschildberg1667]

At first she didn’t know what they were doing. (She’s not the only one.) But she caught on fast and became indispensable.

[@HummelJaeger]

I cracked up with the sneaky coffin-emptying sketch. So silly but satisfyingly funny.

[@TheBlueDahlia]

I love this sketch!..."Lookout of the Yard."...VERY GOOD!!!

[@u.v.s.5583]

LOOK OUT!!!

[@BaronPraxis8492]

Alduce me to introlau myself.

[@cloud_and_proud]

+BaronPraxis8492 *Mybody

[@haijyvelho]

+_ VernerL _ Cleese actually does say "alduce me to introlow myself" in this sketch.

[@cloud_and_proud]

***** Oh... Then he must've said both.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

This is not funny at all. Absolute crap.

[@BaronPraxis8492]

+heelfan1234 no u

[@jameswoodend6029]

Cleese in Faulty towers would read his script one time and NEVER miss a line

[@daviddredge1178]

Well he did write it!

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

He wrote the scripts!

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

This may just be the best sketch ever written.

[@CotopaxiAH1968]

I believe it is competing strongly with the cheese shop sketch.

[@fonziebulldog5786]

If your house was surrounded by Monty Python you wouldnt want to leave the house. 😄

[@peterfireflylund]

I thought they were surrounded by film?

[@pressureworks]

Bring them into the room in which no one should leave especially the body

[@thewomble1509]

@@pressureworks Whose body?

[@cristinabumbac151]

Awesome! I love Agatha Christie and I really enjoyed this sketch. I wish we had Monty Pithon again: these times could give them so much to make us laugh.

[@IamSpacedad]

Probably one of my personal alltime favorite Python sketches.

[@kratal122]

Even for Monty Python, that was quite silly.

[@meddle98]

This is in direct violation of the strange sketch act

[@GtownCaniac]

Ah, this was one of the first Python sketches I ever saw, and I immediately fell in love with it :) !! ***One lobotomy later***

[@UtopianMatt]

I'll myself introduce , nobody room is leave this to !

[@Dowlphin]

"Not understand a word of this, I do." - Yoda

[@mattisan007]

haha, "shall i leave the room?","me tiger, you jane" john cleese is so hilarious xD

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Carole Cleveland is great in this sketch.

[@littlegelland]

After trying to describe this sketch to someone who hadn't seen it, and the compact silence that followed it, my vow for New Year's Eve is to never - under any circumstances whatsoever - attempt the same thing again. Probably. I think.

[@Dowlphin]

Try to get your New Year's resolutions to full HD.

[@user-cf1zy2hh2w]

I once tried to explain "The Battly Townswomen's Guild re-enact the Battle of Pearl Harbour." You can imagine how that went.

[@MaskedMan66]

Dang, Carol Cleveland is gorgeous!

[@jamespb1]

"I am Inspector Tiger." "Tiger?!" "WHERE??!!"

[@YourXavier]

Never noticed the boom mic before. Clearly visible at the top right at 0:18, right above Chapman's head, being pulled up.

[@damotoneko1500]

*+YourXavier* So the boom mic was the murderer this whole time! It was so obvious but we never suspected it. Clever.

[@Dowlphin]

I'm wondering whether these things are actual mistakes or due to modern video formats not cutting away the screen border like analog CRT TVs did. Even digital TV broadcast, last time I checked years ago, would have a lot more image contents on my capture card than what you saw on TV. You could see that by checking how far away from the screen edge the network logo was. There was a hospital TV show that had a mic in the picture so often that it became almost comedic.

[@mikdavies5027]

Dowlphwin. Totally wrong! It was a deliberate mistake! (By the way, what's an analogue TV?)

[@Heligoland360]

It's like watching someone have a stroke

[@Dowlphin]

Not a severe one though. Just some gentle stroking.

[@elizabethsohler6516]

A stroke isn't nearly this much fun.

[@freebezz1]

I grew up on this stuff, I spent my teenage years in 3 different asylums but I'm Okay now, on license.

[@goPistons06]

a fish license?

[@mikdavies5027]

Norm Berry. Lucky you! I'm still trying hard to recover! (I just can't find the right material)

[@videosrus8631]

​@@goPistons06It's "licence" not "license". English sketch, old boy, so English spellings. OK?

[@thewheatness]

@@goPistons06 a license? for a fish? you are a loony!

[@Nevarent]

This is fucking hilarious. Particularly "Lookout of the Yard" and then the ending with Terry Jones' undertaker saying "they will return when something interesting happens" XD

[@RichieRouge206]

Haha the guards in the castle not leaving the room in The Holy Grail. Hilarious

[@jasobres]

How they filmed this sketch without cracking up I'll never know.

[@Dowlphin]

When you love your genius silliness enough, humor becomes serious business. This is why I love the portrayal of the king in Holy Grail. Played so well, not silly in demeanor. Pure finesse.

[@gerhardcronje9678]

John Cleese is a genius, long live my python called Monty......😂😂😂😂

[@darkprose]

"No, too simple. Too clear cut." LOL.

[@radiohead322]

Good god..this is the best sketch! I'm still in awe how cleese managed to spit out all that gibberish ;) NOW...introduce me to allow myself!

[@phemyda94]

"UNLESS.... he had very long arms!"

[@tmrezzek5728]

5:28--"Meanwhile, here are some friends of mine..." Bless you, Terry Jones.

[@brynjarhoff-lr6hw]

It must be very difficult to live with so many great comedys in box. I think he want to do more,but is that possible?? But thank you for all your great work Artist Cleese!!!

[@gingerbleug3831]

These kinds of sketches are their best!

[@judythompson5253]

I didn't like Monty python then but now I can appreciate the madness, and the skill...

[@joshuaharper372]

Certainly can appreciate the skill in delivering the lines without losing it, but... this one doesn't do much for me. Humor is funny that way, isn't it? Some people just adore this sketch, while to me it just comes across as too silly--but Monty Python is always right on that edge.

[@tapeduk]

" Ah Ahh Haa Haa Haw Ha Ha .....Look out of the yard...very good!!"

[@jpheitman]

I still think it shouldn't be called the Agatha Christie sketch, and instead just the Detective Sketch. I mean, the undertaker (Terry Jones) even says, "Now, let's take a look at the state of play in the detective sketch."

[@thanx4life]

David M I would call it "Semprini".

[@jpheitman]

OUT! But not because you said "Semprini;" instead, because you are *quoting* a group known for its *spontaneous* humour. BAD, BAD, BAD!

[@TuyuqVampram]

jpheitman If you've ever watched any of their interviews, they do make the point several times that very little of their work was ever ad-libbed.

[@jpheitman]

TuyuqVampram That's as may be; they still relied on unpredictability, and Pedro was being entirely predictable.

[@thanx4life]

jpheitman I am sorry for my predictability. It is true, I come from a family with a long lineage of people who are predictable. So much, even, that they knew the day I was to be born on 3 years before I was actually born. It is a sad life I live. I will see myself out, thank you.

[@radiohead322]

I wonder how long it took Cleese to spit all those words out like that. Lol. Amazing.

[@topgazza]

Beyond genius “Tiger ?” “Tiger ? Where, where ?”

[@u.v.s.5583]

Look out of the yard! What would I see if I looked out in the yard? There is a man behind you. What man? Tiger. Tiger!?

[@isaackim7675]

Did anybody notice the bottle labeled "poison" in Inspector Tiger's hand?

[@the-chillian]

Isaac Kim No, no one did. Not even you.

[@isaackim7675]

Lytrigian Well there's a man behind you.

[@the-chillian]

Isaac Kim WHAT! WHERE?

[@justforever96]

Isaac Kim Only the people who were actually looking at the screen instead of listening to it like a radio....

[@isaackim7675]

justforever96 You're no fun anymore.

[@realGeorgelucas18563]

i love how its a gunshot, yet there's an arrow in his neck... just to make sure he's dead!

[@Zenju__]

Genious concept! It's like if a glitch occurred in Agatha Christie's stories!

[@Chadner]

- WHAT BODY!? - Somebody! In this room, must the murderer be. Always cracks me up uhauhauahuahua

[@vincentc3475]

Cleese in the role of Clouzeau.

[@user-et6pj4db9s]

The genesis for most of python's sketches was the fact that at this time and before, sketch shows would often have very staid lines and styles just repeated over and over for main stream audiences of the day, cleese himself had participated in many of these such sketches during his time on the frost report and so having characters unable to even execute their lines properly was their way of escaping the comedy tedium of having stock standard set ups to everything hence why many cleese sketches have characters getting bogged down in being unable to even start a sketch or wrapped up in syntax.

[@william59glersh]

This must be when John realised a moustache suited him - he is a completely different person and a completely different look with it!

[@AlexanderJWei]

Don't forget about the time he played Mr. Hitler, I mean Hilter! ;-)

[@synthonaplinth5980]

"Take the tablets, Tiger buddy!" hahaha

[@reichan8363]

Call me someone with no sense of humor, but the part with where Inspector Lookout introduced himself and said, "Lookout of the yard" and the lady replied with, "Why, what will we see?" made me laugh out loud.

[@marcosdheleno]

i laughed even harder at a later part when he started top laugh because he finally understood the joke...

[@connfyoozed]

I am someone with a sense of humor, or so I've been told, and I also laughed out loud at those lines, so I think you're safe. FWIW I also laughed out loud at "There's a man behind you?" and Terry J.'s response "Ah, you're not going to catch me with an old one like that". So, either I have twice the sense of humor as you, or half as much.

[@Psychicqueen]

This was the first sketch I ever saw. It was on at 5 am on a Saturday, and I laughed hard til Dad told me to shut up.

[@OokamiKageGinGetsu]

The first 2.5 minutes (including the intro): This is what 5 years of being an English major feels like.

[@Dowlphin]

Are English squadron leaders looking down on you a lot?

[@Perebynis]

"What body!?" - "...somebody!" 😂

[@blueflame7000]

best sketch ive seen so far ( ive been watching since about '00 when my uncle showed me his collection)

[@davidrule385]

"Now, alduce me to introlow myself. I'm sorry. Alself me to myduce intro-- Intro me to luce mylow-- Al me to you introself my-- Excuse me a moment." LOL

[@Greebstreebling]

All my adult life has been predicated upon the fact that I have seen every Monty Pyton sketch and film. Now, through the devilish youtube, I find there was a sketch I have never seen. What am I to do? Are there any more unseen sketches?????

[@premanadi]

If you have seen every episode of the show, you've seen them all. If you only watch individual sketches, you will have missed some. Just get yourself the DVD of all four series!

[@Isthetaxionitsway]

This is probably my most favorite sketch they have done... though I prob say that about every one. they are all so funny!!

[@pressureworks]

For a bonus point, name the football ground.

[@Dowlphin]

I so see my own thought process in their humor. And I rarely watched any Monty Python. I'm just a big fan of perfectly executed and timed nonsense. The intro is actually very deep.

[@christopherkempf1507]

Ahh, here it is! Agatha Christie's final unfinished project. Those bath salts sure did a number on her, eh?

[@robynnnthegreat2185]

Absolutely brilliant

[@yahanwiwi]

One of my most favorite sketches.

[@vdantev]

Graham Chapman being British and irritated is LIFE.

[@MilliBearson]

I'd even dare to say this is the best sketch ever - please DO NOT delete it from your account @Chadner !!

[@mguerra79]

So good...

[@OeditpusRex]

At Oxford, Palin and Jones were part of the Experimental Theatre Company and performed in the Oxford Revue. Before MPFC, They wrote for and/or appeared in "Do Not Adjust Your Set," "The Complete and Utter History of Britain" and "The Frost Report," among other BBC comedy shows. Idle was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, with Chapman and Cleese. He also wrote for and appeared in "Do Not Adjust Your Set." Cleese had extensive comedy experience before MPFC, including (more...)

[@u.kw1461]

I like how everything is reconstructed and we see just a pile of dead police on top of the couch

[@catyear75]

" now for Sir Gerald ...."

[@Arvezen]

THIS is funny! Love those guys. Impressive perfomance!

[@Lotmeister]

"No murder?! No, I don't like it! It's too simple."

[@JohnChandlerEdmonton]

foreshadowing of Fawlty after he knocked his head and needed a doctor etc.

[@damianshalks2589]

Exactly my thoughts - The famous 'Germans' episode.

[@scottmclennan6114]

“take your tablets Tiger” ha ha.

[@u.v.s.5583]

A TIGER???? IN AFRICA?????

[@susanbowering4356]

Oh Yes!! Haha!To those above. I asked myself the same thing. His remembering the words! Hilarious 😂

[@AgentSmithClan]

Ahh, Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors. I especially love Poirot. This is hilarious though.

[@Forcystus85]

I don't know why we even bothered to do comedy after Monthy Python, lol

[@Spiny-Norman]

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Assistant Chief Constable Theresamanbehindyer. -Theresamanbehindyer?? -Ah, you're not going to catch me with an old one like that. XD I LOVE MONTY PYTHON :)

[@xXbloodberryXx]

awesom!! today nobody can do such funny/crazy sketches

[@Fredrockroll]

Looks great

[@barryallenflash1]

To hear Mr. Cleese tell the story of how they got their start and then to watch the show, you'd think they had written and rehearsed these for weeks or months even.

[@antiHUMANDesigns]

I absolutely love this one. :D

[@Gos1234567]

Carol clevelands legs!!!

[@janeappleseed2154]

Carol Cleveland's tits. Carol Cleveland's butt. God, what elegance.

[@mattwardpictures]

Oh, _bad_ Zoot! Bad, wicked, naughty, _evil_ Zoot!

[@gillestremblay3465]

Me Tiger. You Jane. Grrrr...

[@toycollector10]

Twin-set and bouffant hairdo gets me every time.

[@pressureworks]

Shall I leave the room ???