Best of Jack BennyStudio: Digital1stop Release Date: 09/25/2007 Rating: Nr
Rating:  List Price: $ 9.98 Price: $ 3.96 Related Dvd Products[/random] |
Best of Jack BennyStudio: Digital1stop Release Date: 09/25/2007 Rating: Nr
Rating: List Price: $ 9.98 Price: $ 3.96 Related Dvd Products[/random] |
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(out of 31 reviews)
Review by Annie Van Auken for Best of Jack Benny
Rating:
MILL CREEK box sets offer good-to-average-quality audio and video transfers of public domain material at a most reasonable price.
The Jack Benny Program aired on radio from 1932 to ’55. Many of that show’s scripts were recycled for television, beginning in 1950. Benny’s CBS-TV series ran until 1965. The core cast (on radio and TV) changed little over the decades: Dennis Day replaced tenor Kenny Baker early on; Bob Crosby (Bing’s younger brother) took over for bandleader Phil Harris in 1952.
At one time or another, almost every Hollywood, radio and TV star guested on Jack’s show. This four DVD set offers only a fraction of Benny’s 258 television episodes, yet the viewer is provided an excellent illustration of his popularity within the “Showbiz” community.
An unrelated highlight of this collection is a 1943 documentary about Hollywood’s war efforts. Among the 58 cameo appearances here are: Benny, W.C. Fields, Louis Armstrong, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Bob Hope, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles, Irving Berlin, James Cagney, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich and Walt Disney.
The Martin & Lewis Collection – COLGATE COMEDY HOUR (17 episodes) is highly recommended for fans of early TV comedy/variety programming.
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Program list includes episode numbers, airdates and guests (where available):
DISC ONE–
(#17) Fred Allen Show (4/19/53) – Fred Allen/Eddie Cantor
(#19) Honolulu Trip (9/13/53) – Marilyn Monroe
(#21) Humphrey Bogart Show (10/25/53) (Bogie as “Babyface”)
(#22) Johnnie Ray Show (11/15/53) – Johnnie Ray/Danny Thomas
(#23) Irene Dunne Show (12/6/53) – Irene Dunne/Vincent Price
(#25) The Liberace Show (1/17/54) – (Jack visits Lee’s house)
(#26) Jack Dream’s He’s Married to Mary (2/7/54)
(#28) Goldie, Fields and Glide (3/21/54) – Bing Crosby/George Burns/Bob Hope
George Burns and Gracie Allen Show – Guest Star: Jack Benny
(#31) The Road to Nairobi (5/23/54) – Bob Hope/Martin & Lewis (spoof of Hope’s “Road” movies)
(#33) Jam Session At Jack’s (10/17/54) – Dan Dailey/Kirk Douglas/Fred MacMurray/Tony Martin/Dick Powell
DISC TWO–
(#34) How Jack Met Mary (10/31/54) – Joyce Randolph/Frank Wilcox/Sheldon Leonard
(#84) Christmas Shopping Show (12/15/57) – Mel Blanc/Frank Nelson
(#41) Four O’Clock in the Morning Show (2/6/55) (Jack has insomnia)
(#69) Talent Show (12/30/56) – Jayne Mansfield (cameo)
(#87) Honeymooners Show (1/26/58) – Audrey Meadows
(#103) Ernie Kovacs Show (1/25/59) – Ernie Kovacs/Ray Kellogg
(#127) Hong Kong Suit (11/6/60) – Gisele MacKenzie
(#130) Lunch Counter Murder (12/4/60) – Dan Duryea
(#134) Jack Casting for Television Special (1/1/61) – (Jack reminisces on “The Life Of Jack Benny”)
(#136) Don’s 27th Anniversary with Jack (1/15/61) – John Daly/Nancy Kulp/Howard McNear
(#193) Jack Rents His House (2/5/63)
DISC THREE–
(#80) The Hal March Show (10/20/57) – Frances Bavier (host of “The $64,000 Question” gets to experience Jack’s version of the game show)
(???) THE JACK BENNY HOUR (11/3/65) – Beach Boys, Bob Hope, Walt Disney, Elke Sommer/John Ireland (various skits)
(???) Christmas Show (?) – Edgar & Frances Bergen
(#53) New Year’s Day Show (1/1/56) – Coaches of UCLA and Michigan State
EASTER SEALS TELEPARADE OF STARS
(#160) New Year’s Eve (12/31/61)
(#165) Police Station Show (2/4/62) – Hayden Rorke/Joan Benny
(#131) Jack Goes to a Concert (12/11/60) – James & Gloria Stewart
DISC FOUR–
MARCH OF TIME: Show Business at War (5/23/43) – (An astounding assemblage of nearly 60 top-rank celebrities, from Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson to Daryl Zanuch)
(#24) Reminiscing About Last New Year’s Eve (12/27/53)
The Art Linkletter Show (10/23/55) – Peggy King (vocalist)
(#13) Jack Gets Robbed (11/13/52) – Beverly Washburn
(#5) Dorothy Shay (11/4/51) – Dorothy Shay
GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER (“The Face Is Familiar”) (11/21/54) – Ronald Reagan (host)/Jack Benny
GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER (“The Honest Man”) (2/19/56) – Jack Benny/Zsa Zsa Gabor/Charles Bronson
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD (doc.-1951) – Jack Benny/Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Irene Dunne/William Holden/Loretta Young
THE BING CROSBY SHOW (1/3/54) – Jack Benny/Sheree North
Review by Roger Long for Best of Jack Benny
Rating:
When I ordered this, I was expecting excerpts from Jack Benny programs. Instead, to my surprised delight, there are entire programs, most complete with Lucky Strike cigarette commercials. LSMFT. Young people don’t know what those letters stand for (thank goodness), but if you are old enough to be a Benny fan, the letters are indelible in your brain.
There are some very funny bits and the great characters associated with Benny: Rochester, Mary Livingston, Don Wilson, Mr. Kietzel, Mel Blanc, the race track tout, etc. etc. And then there are the guests, Fred Allen, Eddie Cantor, Johnny Ray singing “Cry,” Marilyn Monroe, Vincent Price, Liberace, Humphrey Bogart–a veritable who’s who of show business stars in the 1950s.
The programs hold up very well. They are still funny. They are still warm and wonderful.
Review by Mr. K. Campbell for Best of Jack Benny
Rating:
An excellent collection. Although some of the episodes are available elsewhere, about half aren’t, including some real rarities. I hadn’t seen the HONEYMOONERS sketch before, with both Jack and Dennis Day doing credible impressions of Ralph and Ed. Besides Jack’s own shows, there are other appearances like 2 TV plays he starred in, an TV special TELEPARADE OF STARS and a BING CROSBY SHOW he guested on. At it’s very reasonable price, it is worth getting for the more unusual items, even if you have the more common ones. For the newcomer, this is the perfect introduction to Jack, with classics like HOW JACK MET MARY and the CHRISTMAS SHOPPING show, which has a wonderful performance from Mel Blanc.
Having said this of course, what we really need for all 50′s U.S. comedy classics like Jack, BURNS AND ALLEN, BOB CUMMINGS and BILKO are complete season by season sets like has been done so well with I LOVE LUCY…and how about a complete collection of Jack’s later hour specials, like the George Burns one brought out recently? In the meantime, this is probably the best collection to be going on with.
Review by J. Stickney for Best of Jack Benny
Rating:
Jack Benny, America’s greatest radio comedian, dipped his toes into the television waters in 1949 for his new bosses at CBS. He must have liked the medium because he stayed until 1965. While never the top television comic, his legendary status as both a performer and a human being helped CBS to gain stature as the top network in TV’s early days.
Unlike his friend Lucille Ball, his television shows were only sporadically recorded and not always in the best quality. They tend to be similar to the “Honeymooners’ Lost Episodes” kinoscope recordings in video quality. The shows that did have a better look remain under copy write to NBC by way of MCA, ironic for a CBS show, eh? So what we are left with in this collection are unrestored kinoscope to vhs quality recordings whose rights were allowed to lapse because the rights holders figured they were unsaleable. If you get the idea they don’t look like a lovingly retouched HD-DVD set of “Heroes”, then you are on the right track.
The set has two major redeeming qualities. The first is value. At 5 to 8 bucks depending on where you shop its hard to argue the price on a 4 DVD box set. The second is the show. Jack Benny was a master of comic timing whose much ballyhooed cheapness and vanity were a wink wink, nudge nudge disguise for one of the best loved men in the country. Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, while playing the somewhat demeaning role of valet, was a virtual costar for much of the shows run. His amazing voice, at once gravelly and expressive, and tremendous chemistry with Benny made him the best second banana in early television. Rotund announcer Don Wilson appeared in most every show, while other Benny radio vets like Mary Livingstone, Dennis Day and Mel Blanc made sporadic visits to the show. With a stripped down cast that no longer included Phil Harris and only occasionally Mary and Dennis, Jack began to feature a plethora of guest stars. Because of his friendship with many Hollywood stars, big names from Bob Hope to Jimmy Stewart to Humphrey Bogart were seen on the Jack Benny shows across the years.
While not as strong as his radio shows and despite the video quality, getting sixteen plus hours of Jack Benny is definitely a bargain at this price. See the inspiration for all the great comedians from Cosby to Seinfeld in quite often watchable grainy black and white, its the most fun you will ever have courting eye strain.
Review by j. for Best of Jack Benny
Rating:
This collection of episodes is fantastic. All the great stars of the day appear as guests in skits, routines and song and dance sketches. The full length episodes include the Lucky Strike commercials that are entertaining as well. The comedy writers today could take a lesson from the quality of the past material.
This collection is more than a scratchy violin rendition or Jack Benny calling “Oh Rochester”. It is quality comedic entertainment that I can only compare to the Tonight Show (Johnny Carson) and Saturday Night Live (Early Years) in a Time Capsule.
The transfer to DVD is good, with some occasional blips from the day, but is not bothersome.
While the pricing is very good, I picked this up on a discount site for one third of the price, with a discount during a semi annual promotion.
Update: 4/5/08 – This is at Walmart in the bin for five bucks. This is a great price for the value and fantastic content.
Enjoy, j.