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FILM SCRIPT

of

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 

 The Cast: (in order of appearance)

 

KING ARTHUR   Graham Chapman
PATSY   Terry Gilliam
SOLDIER #1   Michael Palin
SOLDIER #2   John Cleese
CART MASTER   Eric Idle
CUSTOMER   John Cleese
DEAD PERSON   John Young
DENNIS   Michael Palin
WOMAN   Terry Jones
BLACK KNIGHT   John Cleese
GREEN KNIGHT   Terry Gilliam
LEAD MONK   Neil Innes
VILLAGER #1   Eric Idle
VILLAGER #2   Michael Palin
SIR BEDEVERE   Terry Jones
WITCH   Connie Booth
VILLAGER #3   John Cleese
VILLAGER #4   Neil Innes
NARRATOR   Michael Palin
PAGE TURNER   Maggie Gilliam
SIR LAUNCELOT   John Cleese
SIR GALAHAD   Michael Palin
SIR ROBIN   Eric Idle
SIR NOT-APPEARING..   Tom Palin
PRISONER   Mark Zycon
MAN   Neil Innes
GOD   Graham Chapman
FRENCH GUARD   John Cleese
HISTORIAN   John Young
KNIGHT   John Cleese
HISTORIAN'S WIFE   Rita Davies
MINSTREL   Neil Innes
LEFT HEAD   Terry Jones
MIDDLE HEAD   Graham Chapman
RIGHT HEAD   Michael Palin
ZOOT   Carol Cleveland
PIGLET   Avril Stewart
WINSTON   Sally Kinghorn
DINGO   Carol Cleveland
OLD MAN/BRIDGEKEEPER   Terry Gilliam
TIM THE ENCHANTER   John Cleese
HEAD KNIGHT OF NI   Michael Palin
CARTOON CHARACTER   Terry Jones
FATHER   Michael Palin
PRINCE HERBERT   Terry Jones
GUARD #1   Eric Idle
GUARD #2   Graham Chapman
CONCORDE   Eric Idle
GUEST #1   Michael Palin
GUEST #2   Michael Palin
OLD CRONE   Bee Duffell
ROGER THE SHRUBBER   Eric Idle
OFFICER #1   Julian Doyle
INSPECTOR   Roy Smith
RABBIT OF CAERBANNOG   himself
BROTHER MAYNARD   Eric Idle
SECOND BROTHER   Michael Palin
ANIMATOR   Terry Gilliam

      

top

top

Scene 1

 

    [opening music]

    [wind]

    [clop clop clop]

KING ARTHUR:  Whoa there!

    [clop clop clop]

SOLDIER #1:  Halt!  Who goes there?

ARTHUR:  It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot.  King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!

SOLDIER #1:  Pull the other one!

ARTHUR:  I am,... and this is my trusty servant Patsy.  We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot.  I must speak with your lord and master.

SOLDIER #1:  What?  Ridden on a horse?

ARTHUR:  Yes!

SOLDIER #1:  You're using coconuts!

ARTHUR:  What?

SOLDIER #1:  You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.

ARTHUR:  So?  We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through--

SOLDIER #1:  Where'd you get the coconuts?

ARTHUR:  We found them.

SOLDIER #1:  Found them?  In Mercia?  The coconut's tropical!

ARTHUR:  What do you mean?

SOLDIER #1:  Well, this is a temperate zone.

ARTHUR:  The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?

SOLDIER #1:  Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

ARTHUR:  Not at all.  They could be carried.

SOLDIER #1:  What?  A swallow carrying a coconut?

ARTHUR:  It could grip it by the husk!

SOLDIER #1:  It's not a question of where he grips it!  It's a simple question of weight ratios!  A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.

ARTHUR:  Well, it doesn't matter.  Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?

SOLDIER #1:  Listen.  In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?

ARTHUR:  Please!

SOLDIER #1:  Am I right?

ARTHUR:  I'm not interested!

SOLDIER #2:  It could be carried by an African swallow!

SOLDIER #1:  Oh, yeah, an African swallow maybe, but not a European swallow.  That's my point.

SOLDIER #2:  Oh, yeah, I agree with that.

ARTHUR:  Will you ask your master if he wants to join my court at Camelot?!

SOLDIER #1:  But then of course African swallows are non-migratory.

SOLDIER #2:  Oh, yeah.

SOLDIER #1:  So, they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway.

    [clop clop clop]

SOLDIER #2:  Wait a minute!  Supposing two swallows carried it together?

SOLDIER #1:  No, they'd have to have it on a line.

SOLDIER #2:  Well, simple!  They'd just use a strand of creeper!

SOLDIER #1:  What, held under the dorsal guiding feathers?

SOLDIER #2:  Well, why not?

 top

Scene 2

 

    [thud]

    [clang]

CART MASTER:  Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [cough cough...]

    [clang]

    [...cough cough]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!  Ninepence.

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

    [clang]

Bring out...

    [rewr!]

    ...your dead!

    [rewr!]

    [clang]

    Bring out your dead!

CUSTOMER:  Here's one.

CART MASTER:  Ninepence.

DEAD PERSON:  I'm not dead!

CART MASTER:  What?

CUSTOMER:  Nothing.  Here's your ninepence.

DEAD PERSON:  I'm not dead!

CART MASTER:  'Ere.  He says he's not dead!

CUSTOMER:  Yes, he is.

DEAD PERSON:  I'm not!

CART MASTER:  He isn't?

CUSTOMER:  Well, he will be soon.  He's very ill.

DEAD PERSON:  I'm getting better!

CUSTOMER:  No, you're not.  You'll be stone dead in a moment.

CART MASTER:  Oh, I can't take him like that.  It's against regulations.

DEAD PERSON:  I don't want to go on the cart!

CUSTOMER:  Oh, don't be such a baby.

CART MASTER:  I can't take him.

DEAD PERSON:  I feel fine!

CUSTOMER:  Well, do us a favour.

CART MASTER:  I can't.

CUSTOMER:  Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes?  He won't be long.

CART MASTER:  No, I've got to go to the Robinsons'.  They've lost nine today.

CUSTOMER:  Well, when's your next round?

CART MASTER:  Thursday.

DEAD PERSON:  I think I'll go for a walk.

CUSTOMER:  You're not fooling anyone, you know.  Look.  Isn't there something you can do?

DEAD PERSON:  [singing]  I feel happy.  I feel happy.

    [whop]

CUSTOMER:  Ah, thanks very much.

CART MASTER:  Not at all.  See you on Thursday.

CUSTOMER:  Right.  All right.

    [howl]

    [clop clop clop]

    Who's that, then?

CART MASTER:  I dunno.  Must be a king.

CUSTOMER:  Why?

CART MASTER:  He hasn't got shit all over him.

 top

Scene 3

 

    [thud]

    [King Arthur music]

    [thud thud thud]

    [King Arthur music stops]

ARTHUR:  Old woman!

DENNIS:  Man!

ARTHUR:  Man.  Sorry.  What knight lives in that castle over there?

DENNIS:  I'm thirty-seven.

ARTHUR:  I-- what?

DENNIS:  I'm thirty-seven.  I'm not old.

ARTHUR:  Well, I can't just call you 'Man'.

DENNIS:  Well, you could say 'Dennis'.

ARTHUR:  Well, I didn't know you were called 'Dennis'.

DENNIS:  Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?

ARTHUR:  I did say 'sorry' about the 'old woman', but from the behind you looked--

DENNIS:  What I object to is that you automatically treat me like an inferior!

ARTHUR:  Well, I am King!

DENNIS:  Oh, King, eh, very nice.  And how d'you get that, eh?  By exploiting the workers!  By 'anging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.  If there's ever going to be any progress with the--

WOMAN:  Dennis, there's some lovely filth down here.  Oh!  How d'you do?

ARTHUR:  How do you do, good lady?  I am Arthur, King of the Britons.  Whose castle is that?

WOMAN:  King of the who?

ARTHUR:  The Britons.

WOMAN:  Who are the Britons?

ARTHUR:  Well, we all are.  We are all Britons, and I am your king.

WOMAN:  I didn't know we had a king.  I thought we were an autonomous collective.

DENNIS:  You're fooling yourself.  We're living in a dictatorship: a self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--

WOMAN:  Oh, there you go bringing class into it again.

DENNIS:  That's what it's all about.  If only people would hear of--

ARTHUR:  Please!  Please, good people.  I am in haste.  Who lives in that castle?

WOMAN:  No one lives there.

ARTHUR:  Then who is your lord?

WOMAN:  We don't have a lord.

ARTHUR:  What?

DENNIS:  I told you.  We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune.  We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week,...

ARTHUR:  Yes.

DENNIS:  ...but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting...

ARTHUR:  Yes, I see.

DENNIS:  ...by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,...

ARTHUR:  Be quiet!

DENNIS:  ...but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major--

ARTHUR:  Be quiet!  I order you to be quiet!

WOMAN:  Order, eh?  Who does he think he is?  Heh.

ARTHUR:  I am your king!

WOMAN:  Well, I didn't vote for you.

ARTHUR:  You don't vote for kings.

WOMAN:  Well, how did you become King, then?

ARTHUR:  The Lady of the Lake,...

    [angels sing]

    ...her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.

    [singing stops]

    That is why I am your king!

DENNIS:  Listen.  Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.  Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

ARTHUR:  Be quiet!

DENNIS:  Well, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

ARTHUR:  Shut up!

DENNIS:  I mean, if I went 'round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!

ARTHUR:  Shut up, will you?  Shut up!

DENNIS:  Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

ARTHUR:  Shut up!

DENNIS:  Oh!  Come and see the violence inherent in the system!  Help!  Help!  I'm being repressed!

ARTHUR:  Bloody peasant!

DENNIS:  Oh, what a give-away.  Did you hear that?  Did you hear that, eh?  That's what I'm on about.  Did you see him repressing me?  You saw it, didn't you?

 top

Scene 4

 

    [King Arthur music]

    [music stops]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Aaaagh!

    [King Arthur music]

    [music stops]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Aaagh!

GREEN KNIGHT:  Ooh!

    [King Arthur music]

    [music stops]

    [stab]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Aagh!

GREEN KNIGHT:  Oh!

    [King Arthur music]

    Ooh!  Uuh.

    [music stops]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Aaaagh!

    [clang]

BLACK KNIGHT and GREEN KNIGHT:  Agh!, oh!, etc.

GREEN KNIGHT:  Aaaaaah!  Aaaaaaaaah!

    [woosh]

    [BLACK KNIGHT kills GREEN KNIGHT]

    [thud]

    [scrape]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Umm!

    [clop clop clop]

ARTHUR:  You fight with the strength of many men, Sir Knight.

    [pause]

    I am Arthur, King of the Britons.

    [pause]

    I seek the finest and the bravest knights in the land to join me in my court at Camelot.

    [pause]

    You have proved yourself worthy.  Will you join me?

    [pause]

    You make me sad.  So be it.  Come, Patsy.

BLACK KNIGHT:  None shall pass.

ARTHUR:  What?

BLACK KNIGHT:  None shall pass.

ARTHUR:  I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight, but I must cross this bridge.

BLACK KNIGHT:  Then you shall die.

ARTHUR:  I command you, as King of the Britons, to stand aside!

BLACK KNIGHT:  I move for no man.

ARTHUR:  So be it!

ARTHUR and BLACK KNIGHT:  Aaah!, hiyaah!, etc.

    [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's left arm off]

ARTHUR:  Now stand aside, worthy adversary.

BLACK KNIGHT:  'Tis but a scratch.

ARTHUR:  A scratch?  Your arm's off!

BLACK KNIGHT:  No, it isn't.

ARTHUR:  Well, what's that, then?

BLACK KNIGHT:  I've had worse.

ARTHUR:  You liar!

BLACK KNIGHT:  Come on, you pansy!

    [clang]

    Huyah!

    [clang]

    Hiyaah!

    [clang]

    Aaaaaaaah!

    [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's right arm off]

ARTHUR:  Victory is mine!

    [kneeling]

    We thank Thee Lord, that in Thy mer--

BLACK KNIGHT:  Hah!

    [kick]

    Come on, then.

ARTHUR:  What?

BLACK KNIGHT:  Have at you!

    [kick]

ARTHUR:  Eh.  You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.

BLACK KNIGHT:  Oh, had enough, eh?

ARTHUR:  Look, you stupid bastard.  You've got no arms left.

BLACK KNIGHT:  Yes, I have.

ARTHUR:  Look!

BLACK KNIGHT:  Just a flesh wound.

    [kick]

ARTHUR:  Look, stop that.

BLACK KNIGHT:  Chicken!

    [kick]

    Chickennn!

ARTHUR:  Look, I'll have your leg.

    [kick]

    Right!

    [whop]

    [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's right leg off]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Right.  I'll do you for that!

ARTHUR:  You'll what?

BLACK KNIGHT:  Come here!

ARTHUR:  What are you going to do, bleed on me?

BLACK KNIGHT:  I'm invincible!

ARTHUR:  You're a looney.

BLACK KNIGHT:  The Black Knight always triumphs!  Have at you!  Come on, then.

    [whop]

    [ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's last leg off]

BLACK KNIGHT:  Oh?  All right, we'll call it a draw.

ARTHUR:  Come, Patsy.

BLACK KNIGHT:  Oh.  Oh, I see.  Running away, eh?  You yellow bastards!  Come back here and take what's coming to you.  I'll bite your legs off!

 top

Scene 5

 

MONKS:  [chanting]  Pie Jesu domine, dona eis requiem.

    [bonk]

    Pie Jesu domine,...

    [bonk]

    ...dona eis requiem.

    [bonk]

    Pie Jesu domine,...

    [bonk]

    ...dona eis requiem.

CROWD:  A witch!  A witch!

    [bonk]

    A witch!  A witch!

MONKS:  [chanting]  Pie Jesu domine...

CROWD:  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!  We've found a witch!  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!  We've got a witch!  A witch!  A witch! Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  We've found a witch!  We've found a witch!  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!

VILLAGER #1:  We have found a witch.  May we burn her?

CROWD:  Burn her!  Burn!  Burn her!  Burn her!

BEDEVERE:  How do you know she is a witch?

VILLAGER #2:  She looks like one.

CROWD:  Right!  Yeah!  Yeah!

BEDEVERE:  Bring her forward.

WITCH:  I'm not a witch.  I'm not a witch.

BEDEVERE:  Uh, but you are dressed as one.

WITCH:  They dressed me up like this.

CROWD:  Augh, we didn't!  We didn't...

WITCH:  And this isn't my nose.  It's a false one.

BEDEVERE:  Well?

VILLAGER #1:  Well, we did do the nose.

BEDEVERE:  The nose?

VILLAGER #1:  And the hat, but she is a witch!

VILLAGER #2:  Yeah!

CROWD:  We burn her!  Right!  Yeaaah!  Yeaah!

BEDEVERE:  Did you dress her up like this?

VILLAGER #1:  No!

VILLAGER #2 and 3:  No.  No.

VILLAGER #2:  No.

VILLAGER #1:  No.

VILLAGERS #2 and #3:  No.

VILLAGER #1:  Yes.

VILLAGER #2:  Yes.

VILLAGER #1:  Yes.  Yeah, a bit.

VILLAGER #3:  A bit.

VILLAGERS #1 and #2:  A bit.

VILLAGER #3:  A bit.

VILLAGER #1:  She has got a wart.

RANDOM:  [cough]

BEDEVERE:  What makes you think she is a witch?

VILLAGER #3:  Well, she turned me into a newt.

BEDEVERE:  A newt?

VILLAGER #3:  I got better.

VILLAGER #2:  Burn her anyway!

VILLAGER #1:  Burn!

CROWD:  Burn her!  Burn!  Burn her!...

BEDEVERE:  Quiet!  Quiet!  Quiet!  Quiet!  There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.

VILLAGER #1:  Are there?

VILLAGER #2:  Ah?

VILLAGER #1:  What are they?

CROWD:  Tell us!  Tell us!...

BEDEVERE:  Tell me.  What do you do with witches?

VILLAGER #2:  Burn!

VILLAGER #1:  Burn!

CROWD:  Burn!  Burn them up!  Burn!...

BEDEVERE:  And what do you burn apart from witches?

VILLAGER #1:  More witches!

VILLAGER #3:  Shh!

VILLAGER #2:  Wood!

BEDEVERE:  So, why do witches burn?

    [pause]

VILLAGER #3:  B--... 'cause they're made of... wood?

BEDEVERE:  Good!  Heh heh.

CROWD:  Oh, yeah.  Oh.

BEDEVERE:  So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?

VILLAGER #1:  Build a bridge out of her.

BEDEVERE:  Ah, but can you not also make bridges out of stone?

VILLAGER #1:  Oh, yeah.

RANDOM:  Oh, yeah.  True.  Uhh...

BEDEVERE:  Does wood sink in water?

VILLAGER #1:  No.  No.

VILLAGER #2:  No, it floats!  It floats!

VILLAGER #1:  Throw her into the pond!

CROWD:  The pond!  Throw her into the pond!

BEDEVERE:  What also floats in water?

VILLAGER #1:  Bread!

VILLAGER #2:  Apples!

VILLAGER #3:  Uh, very small rocks!

VILLAGER #1:  Cider!

VILLAGER #2:  Uh, gra-- gravy!

VILLAGER #1:  Cherries!

VILLAGER #2:  Mud!

VILLAGER #3:  Uh, churches!  Churches!

VILLAGER #2:  Lead!  Lead!

ARTHUR:  A duck!

CROWD:  Oooh.

BEDEVERE:  Exactly.  So, logically...

VILLAGER #1:  If... she... weighs... the same as a duck,... she's made of wood.

BEDEVERE:  And therefore?

VILLAGER #2:  A witch!

VILLAGER #1:  A witch!

CROWD:  A witch!  A witch!...

VILLAGER #4:  Here is a duck.  Use this duck.

    [quack quack quack]

BEDEVERE:  Very good.  We shall use my largest scales.

CROWD:  Ohh!  Ohh!  Burn the witch!  Burn the witch!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Ahh!  Ahh...

BEDEVERE:  Right.  Remove the supports!

    [whop]

    [clunk]

    [creak]

CROWD:  A witch!  A witch!  A witch!

WITCH:  It's a fair cop.

VILLAGER #3:  Burn her!

CROWD:  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn her!  Burn!  Burn!...

BEDEVERE:  Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?

ARTHUR:  I am Arthur, King of the Britons.

BEDEVERE:  My liege!

ARTHUR:  Good Sir Knight, will you come with me to Camelot and join us at the Round Table?

BEDEVERE:  My liege!  I would be honored.

ARTHUR:  What is your name?

BEDEVERE:  'Bedevere', my liege.

ARTHUR:  Then I dub you 'Sir Bedevere, Knight of the Round Table'.

 top

Narrative Interlude

 

NARRATOR:  The wise Sir Bedevere was the first to join King Arthur's knights, but other illustrious names were soon to follow: Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Gallahad the Pure, and Sir Robin the-not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor, who had nearly stood up to the vicious Chicken of Bristol, and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill, and the aptly named Sir Not-appearing-in-this-film. Together they formed a band whose names and deeds were to be retold throughout the centuries: the Knights of the Round Table.

 top

Scene 6

 

    [clop clop clop]

SIR BEDEVERE:  And that, my liege, is how we know the earth to be banana-shaped.

ARTHUR:  This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere.  Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.

BEDEVERE:  Oh, certainly, sir.

SIR LAUNCELOT:  Look, my liege!

    [trumpets]

ARTHUR:  Camelot!

SIR GALAHAD:  Camelot!

LAUNCELOT:  Camelot!

PATSY:  It's only a model.

ARTHUR:  Shh!  Knights, I bid you welcome to your new home.  Let us ride... to... Camelot!

    [in medieval hall]

KNIGHTS:  [singing]

    We're Knights of the Round Table.

    We dance whene'er we're able.

    We do routines and chorus scenes

    With footwork impeccable.

    We dine well here in Camelot.

    We eat ham and jam and spam a lot.

 [dancing]

    We're Knights of the Round Table.

    Our shows are formidable,

    But many times we're given rhymes

    That are quite unsingable.

    We're opera mad in Camelot.

    We sing from the diaphragm a lot.

 [in dungeon]

PRISONER:  [clap clap clap clap]

    [in medieval hall]

KNIGHTS:  [tap-dancing]

    In war we're tough and able,

    Quite indefatigable.

    Between our quests we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable.

    It's a busy life in Camelot.

MAN:  I have to push the pram a lot.

[outdoors]

ARTHUR:  Well, on second thought, let's not go to Camelot.  It is a silly place.

KNIGHTS:  Right.  Right.

 top

 Scene 7

 

    [clop clop clop]

    [boom boom]

    [angels sing]

GOD:  Arthur!  Arthur, King of the Britons!  Oh, don't grovel!

    [singing stops]

    One thing I can't stand, it's people groveling.

ARTHUR:  Sorry.

    [boom]

GOD:  And don't apologize.  Every time I try to talk to someone it's 'sorry this' and 'forgive me that' and 'I'm not worthy'.

    [boom]

    What are you doing now?!

ARTHUR:  I'm averting my eyes, O Lord.

GOD:  Well, don't.  It's like those miserable Psalms-- they're so depressing.  Now, knock it off!

ARTHUR:  Yes, Lord.

GOD:  Right!  Arthur, King of the Britons, your Knights of the Round Table shall have a task to make them an example in these dark times.

ARTHUR:  Good idea, O Lord!

GOD:  'Course it's a good idea!  Behold!

    [angels sing]

    Arthur, this is the Holy Grail.  Look well, Arthur, for it is your sacred task to seek this grail.  That is your purpose, Arthur: the quest for the Holy Grail.

    [boom]

    [singing stops]

LAUNCELOT:  A blessing!  A blessing from the Lord!

GALAHAD:  God be praised!

 top

Scene 8

 

    [King Arthur music]

    [clop clop clop]

ARTHUR:  Halt!

    [horn]

    Hallo!

    [pause]

    Hallo!

FRENCH GUARD:  Allo!  Who is eet?

ARTHUR:  It is King Arthur, and these are my Knights of the Round Table.  Who's castle is this?

FRENCH GUARD:  This is the castle of my master, Guy de Loimbard.

ARTHUR:  Go and tell your master that we have been charged by God with a sacred quest.  If he will give us food and shelter for the night, he can join us in our quest for the Holy Grail.

FRENCH GUARD:  Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen.  Uh, he's already got one, you see.

ARTHUR:  What?

GALAHAD:  He says they've already got one!

ARTHUR:  Are you sure he's got one?

FRENCH GUARD:  Oh, yes.  It's very nice-a.  (I told him we already got one.)

FRENCH GUARDS:  [chuckling]

ARTHUR:  Well, u-- um, can we come up and have a look?

FRENCH GUARD:  Of course not!  You are English types-a!

ARTHUR:  Well, what are you, then?

FRENCH GUARD:  I'm French!  Why do think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king-a?!

GALAHAD:  What are you doing in England?

FRENCH GUARD:  Mind your own business!

ARTHUR:  If you will not show us the Grail, we shall take your castle by force!

FRENCH GUARD:  You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs!  Go and boil your bottom, sons of a silly person.  I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly English k-nnnnniggets.  Thpppppt!  Thppt!  Thppt!

GALAHAD:  What a strange person.

ARTHUR:  Now look here, my good man--

FRENCH GUARD:  I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper!  I fart in your general direction!  Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

GALAHAD:  Is there someone else up there we could talk to?

FRENCH GUARD:  No.  Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a second time-a!

    [sniff]

ARTHUR:  Now, this is your last chance.  I've been more than reasonable.

FRENCH GUARD:  (Fetchez la vache.)

OTHER FRENCH GUARD:  Quoi?

FRENCH GUARD:  (Fetchez la vache!)

    [mooo]

ARTHUR:  If you do not agree to my commands, then I shall--

    [twong]

    [mooooooo]

    Jesus Christ!

KNIGHTS:  Christ!

    [thud]

    Ah!  Ohh!...

ARTHUR:  Right!  Charge!

KNIGHTS:  Charge!

    [mayhem]

FRENCH GUARD:  Hey, this one is for your mother!  There you go.

    [mayhem]

FRENCH GUARD:  And this one's for your dad!

ARTHUR:  Run away!

KNIGHTS:  Run away!

FRENCH GUARD:  Thppppt!

FRENCH GUARDS:  [taunting]

LAUNCELOT:  Fiends!  I'll tear them apart!

ARTHUR:  No, no.  No, no.

BEDEVERE:  Sir!  I have a plan, sir.

 

    [later]

 

    [wind]

    [saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw saw]

    [clunk]

    [bang]

    [rewr!]

    [squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak]

    [rrrr rrrr rrrr]

    [drilllll]

    [sawwwww]

    [clunk]

    [crash]

    [clang]

    [squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak...]

    [creak]

FRENCH GUARDS:  [whispering]  C'est un lapin, lapin de bois.  Quoi?  Un cadeau.  What?  A present.  Oh, un cadeau.  Oui, oui.  Hurry.  What?  Let's go.  Oh.  On y va.  Bon magne.  Over here...

    [squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak...]

    [clllank]

ARTHUR:  What happens now?

BEDEVERE:  Well, now, uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rabbit, taking the French, uh, by surprise.  Not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!

ARTHUR:  Who leaps out?

BEDEVERE:  U-- u-- uh, Launcelot, Galahad, and I, uh, leap out of the rabbit, uh, and uh...

ARTHUR:  Ohh.

BEDEVERE:  Oh.  Um, l-- look, i-- i-- if we built this large wooden badger--

    [clank]

    [twong]

ARTHUR:  Run away!

KNIGHTS:  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!  Run away!

    [CRASH]

FRENCH GUARDS:  Oh, haw haw haw haw!  Haw!  Haw haw heh...

 top

Scene 9

 

    [clack]

VOICE:  Picture for Schools, take eight.

DIRECTOR:  Action!

HISTORIAN:  Defeat at the castle seems to have utterly disheartened King Arthur.  The ferocity of the French taunting took him completely by surprise,  and Arthur became convinced that a new strategy was required if the quest for the Holy Grail were to be brought to a successful conclusion.  Arthur, having consulted his closest knights, decided that they should separate and search for the Grail individually.

    [clop clop clop]

    Now, this is what they did:  Launcelot--

KNIGHT:  Aaaah!

    [slash]

    [KNIGHT kills HISTORIAN]

HISTORIAN'S WIFE:  Frank!

 top

Scene 10

 

    [trumpets]

NARRATOR:  The Tale of Sir Robin.  So, each of the knights went their separate ways.  Sir Robin rode north, through the dark forest of Ewing, accompanied by his favourite minstrels.

MINSTREL:  [singing]  Bravely bold Sir Robin rode forth from Camelot.

    He was not afraid to die, O brave Sir Robin.

    He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways,

    Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin!

 

    He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp,

    Or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken,

    To have his kneecaps split and his body burned away

    And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin!

    His head smashed in and his heart cut out

    And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged

    And his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off

    And his pen--

SIR ROBIN:  That's-- that's, uh-- that's enough music for now, lads.  Heh.  Looks like there's dirty work afoot.

DENNIS:  Anarcho-syndicalism is a way of preserving freedom.

WOMAN:  Oh, Dennis, forget about freedom.  We haven't got enough mud.

ALL HEADS:  Halt!  Who art thou?

MINSTREL:  [singing]  He is brave Sir Robin, brave Sir Robin, who--

ROBIN:  Shut up!  Um, n-- n-- n-- nobody, really.  I'm j-- j-- j-- ju-- just, um-- just passing through.

ALL HEADS:  What do you want?

MINSTREL:  [singing]  To fight and--

ROBIN:  Shut up!  Um, oo, a-- nothing.  Nothing, really.  I, uh-- j-- j-- just-- just to, um-- just to p-- pass through, good Sir Knight.

ALL HEADS:  I'm afraid not!

ROBIN:  Ah.  W-- well, actually I-- I am a Knight of the Round Table.

ALL HEADS:  You're a Knight of the Round Table?

ROBIN:  I am.

LEFT HEAD:  In that case, I shall have to kill you.

MIDDLE HEAD:  Shall I?

RIGHT HEAD:  Oh, I don't think so.

MIDDLE HEAD:  Well, what do I think?

LEFT HEAD:  I think kill him.

RIGHT HEAD:  Oh, let's be nice to him.

LEFT HEAD:  Oh, shut up.

ROBIN:  Perhaps I could--

LEFT HEAD:  And you.  Oh, quick!  Get the sword out.  I want to cut his head off!

RIGHT HEAD:  Oh, cut your own head off!

MIDDLE HEAD:  Yes, do us all a favour!

LEFT HEAD:  What?

RIGHT HEAD:  Yapping on all the time.

MIDDLE HEAD:  You're lucky.  You're not next to him.

LEFT HEAD:  What do you mean?

MIDDLE HEAD:  You snore!

LEFT HEAD:  Oh, I don't.  Anyway, you've got bad breath.

MIDDLE HEAD:  Well, it's only because you don't brush my teeth.

RIGHT HEAD:  Oh, stop bitching and let's go have tea.

LEFT HEAD:  Oh, all right.  All right.  All right.  We'll kill him first and then have tea and biscuits.

MIDDLE HEAD:  Yes.

RIGHT HEAD:  Oh, not biscuits.

LEFT HEAD:  All right.  All right, not biscuits, but let's kill him anyway.

ALL HEADS:  Right!

MIDDLE HEAD:  He buggered off.

RIGHT HEAD:  So he has.  He's scarpered.

 

MINSTREL:  [singing]  Brave Sir Robin ran away,

ROBIN:  No!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  Bravely ran away, away.

ROBIN:  I didn't!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.

ROBIN:  No!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about

ROBIN:  I didn't!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  And gallantly, he chickened out.  Bravely taking to his feet,

ROBIN:  I never did!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  He beat a very brave retreat,

ROBIN:  All lies!

MINSTREL:  [singing]  Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin.

ROBIN:  I never!

 top

Cartoon

 

CARTOON MONKS:  [chanting]  Pie Jesu domine, dona eis requiem.

CARTOON CHARACTER:  Heh heh heeh ooh...

    [twang]

CARTOON MONKS:  [chanting]  Pie Jesu domine,...

CARTOON CHARACTERS:  Wayy!

    [splash]

    Ho ho.  Woa, wayy!

    [twang]

    [splash]

    Heh heh heh heh ho!  Heh heh heh!

CARTOON MONKS:  [chanting]  ...dona eis requiem.

CARTOON CHARACTER:  Wayy!

    [twang]

    Wayy!

    [twang]

VOICE:  [whispering]  Forgive me, for I have sinned.

CARTOON CHARACTER:  Oh!  Oooo.

 top

Scene 11

 

    [trumpets]

NARRATOR:  The Tale of Sir Galahad.

    [boom]

    [wind]

    [howl]

    [howl]

    [boom]

    [angels singing]

    [howl]

    [boom]

    [howl]

    [boom]

    [pound pound pound]

GALAHAD:  Open the door!  Open the door!

    [pound pound pound]

    In the name of King Arthur, open the door!

    [creak]

    [thump]

    [creak]

    [boom]

GIRLS:  Hello!

ZOOT:  Welcome, gentle Sir Knight.  Welcome to the Castle Anthrax.

GALAHAD:  The Castle Anthrax?

ZOOT:  Yes.  Oh, it's not a very good name, is it?  Oh, but we are nice and we will attend to your every, every need!

GALAHAD:  You are the keepers of the Holy Grail?

ZOOT:  The what?

GALAHAD:  The Grail.  It is here.

ZOOT:  Oh, but you are tired and you must rest awhile.  Midget!  Crapper!

MIDGET and CRAPPER:  Yes, O Zoot?

ZOOT:  Prepare a bed for our guest.

MIDGET and CRAPPER:  Oh, thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!...

ZOOT:  Away!  Away, varletesses.  The beds here are warm and soft and very, very big.

GALAHAD:  Well, look, I-- I, uh--

ZOOT:  What is your name, handsome knight?

GALAHAD:  'Sir Galahad... the Chaste'.

ZOOT:  Mine is 'Zoot'.  Just 'Zoot'.  Oh, but come.

GALAHAD:  Look, please!  In God's name, show me the Grail!

ZOOT:  Oh, you have suffered much.  You are delirious.

GALAHAD:  No, look.  I have seen it!  It is here in this--

ZOOT:  Sir Galahad!  You would not be so ungallant as to refuse our hospitality.

GALAHAD:  Well, I-- I, uh--

ZOOT:  Oh, I am afraid our life must seem very dull and quiet compared to yours.  We are but eight score young blondes and brunettes, all between sixteen and nineteen-and-a-half, cut off in this castle with no one to protect us.  Oooh.  It is a lonely life: bathing, dressing, undressing, making exciting underwear.  We are just not used to handsome knights.  Nay.  Nay.  Come.  Come.  You may lie here.  Oh, but you are wounded!

GALAHAD:  No, no.  It's-- it's nothing.

ZOOT:  Oh, you must see the doctors immediately!  No, no, please!  Lie down.

    [clap clap]

PIGLET:  Well, what seems to be the trouble?

GALAHAD:  They're doctors?!

ZOOT:  Uh, they... have a basic medical training, yes.

GALAHAD:  B-- but--

ZOOT:  Oh, come.  Come.  You must try to rest.  Doctor Piglet!  Doctor Winston!  Practise your art.

WINSTON:  Try to relax.

GALAHAD:  Are you sure that's absolutely necessary?

PIGLET:  We must examine you.

GALAHAD:  There's nothing wrong with that!

PIGLET:  Please.  We are doctors.

GALAHAD:  Look!  This cannot be.  I am sworn to chastity.

PIGLET:  Back to your bed!  At once!

GALAHAD:  Torment me no longer.  I have seen the Grail!

PIGLET:  There's no grail here.

GALAHAD:  I have seen it!  I have seen it!

    [clank]

    I have seen--

GIRLS:  Hello.

GALAHAD:  Oh.

GIRLS:  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.  Hello.

GALAHAD:  Zoot!

DINGO:  No, I am Zoot's identical twin sister, Dingo.

GALAHAD:  Oh, well, excuse me, I--

DINGO:  Where are you going?

GALAHAD:  I seek the Grail!  I have seen it, here in this castle!

DINGO:  Oh, no.  Oh, no!  Bad, bad Zoot!

GALAHAD:  Well, what is it?

DINGO:  Oh, wicked, bad, naughty Zoot!  She has been setting alight to our beacon, which, I have just remembered, is grail-shaped.  It's not the first time we've had this problem.

GALAHAD:  It's not the real Grail?

DINGO:  Oh, wicked, bad, naughty, evil Zoot!  She is a bad person and must pay the penalty!  Do you think this scene should have been cut?  We were so worried when the boys were writing it, but now, we're glad.  It's better than some of the previous scenes, I think.

LEFT HEAD:  At least ours was better visually.

DENNIS:  Well, at least ours was committed.  It wasn't just a string of pussy jokes.

OLD MAN:  Get on with it.

TIM THE ENCHANTER:  Yes, get on with it!

ARMY OF KNIGHTS:  Yes, get on with it!

DINGO:  Oh, I am enjoying this scene.

GOD:  Get on with it!

DINGO:  [sigh]

    [clunk]

    Oh, wicked, wicked Zoot.&n