"The Honeymooners" Classic 39 One at a Time (Episode-by-Episode Thread)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by RayS, Mar 7, 2017.

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  1. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT
    I think that has been remedied on the new Blu-Rays
     
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  2. EddieMann

    EddieMann I used to be a king...

    Location:
    Geneva, IL. USA.
    I know just about everyone smoked back then, but OMG, the guy NEVER stopped!
     
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  3. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    What in particular about his appearance gives it away?
     
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  4. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Yeah, not too many Buford T. Justice scenes without a cigarette either, that's for sure.

    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Benno123

    Benno123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    My favorite episode (besides the Christmas show) and the only time the "One of these days, Alice. One of these days ... Pow! Right in the kisser!" line is used in the Classic 39.
     
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  6. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    His hairstyle . . . Alice's dress . . . by this yardstick it looks like "A Dog's Life" and "Mama Loves Mambo" were filmed in the same week . . .
     
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  7. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Gleason's weight is all over the place from '51 to '57, but even during the relatively short time frame of the Classic 39 (when one would never mistake him for skinny), he has a few episodes where he looks even larger than usual. Or have I imagined that? :)
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2017
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  8. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    In his appearance on Johnny, it didn't take long for him to walk out and light one up. I bet he was like my godfather, God bless him, who was known to have a lit cig in his ashtray and a lit one in his mouth.
     
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  9. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    He seemed especially heavier at the time "The $99,000 Answer" was made. (But then, he was in a poor man's suit the whole episode - as he would also be in "Trapped" and "On Stage.") He seemed, at the time of the Classic 39, to veer between 260 and 320 lbs. (His heaviest weight, if William Henry III's bio is of any indication, was pegged at 335.) He was relatively more "sylph-y" in the first [DuMont] season of "Honeymooners" sketches being produced, and up to his first CBS season.
     
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  10. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    Re: Mind Your Own Business:
    Of course I added "I-run" to my vocabulary.
    $40 is $360.35 today adjusted for inflation.
    I knew the "when you win" line was wrong! That baffled me for years.
     
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  11. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Bugs Bunny is another character who said "I-run." So Norton was not unique in that sense . . .
     
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  12. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Episode #36 - "Alice and The Blonde"

    Aired: 6-2-56



    This was the last new episode aired before the show gave way to summer reruns. There were three more shows in the can but they were saved for broadcast in September.

    This is one of my favorite episodes - chuck full of comedy. In contains a silent version of the "pain bit" and the most discrete "Bang-Zoom" we'd ever get. For many years WPIX chopped off the first two and half minutes of this episode - maybe that's the reason that the silent pain bit seems fresher to me and never fails to make me laugh.

    Apart from some iconic lines ("I'm calling Bellevue 'cause you're nuts!", "And who sits in those two seats? - Ralph", "Don't you have names you like to call your husband?") there are lots of funny little moments. We get another Nortonism - "fire exscape", and we get Gleason nearly doing his Oliver Hardy impression when he tells Norton that HE will take care of opening the window. I like how Ralph refers to Alice and Trixie as "the whole crowd of you girls". And there are the string of ad libs that come after Burt bumps into the coffee table (To this day, we say "Leave it there, the cat'll get it" in my family when food is dropped on the floor.)

    Gleason botches Burt Wedemeyer's last name when he first tells Alice about him, but using the ESP skills she displayed in "Mind Your Own Business" she gets it right anyway when she repeats it back.

    Freda Rosen (who just passed away last September) played Rita and this is the only screen credit of her career. She was terrific (IMO)! She mentioned that her dress was so tight that she couldn't sit down properly, and that when Gleason gave her a playful nudge when they went to get the cookies she almost fell over.

    Frank Behrens, who played Burt, reappears many years later in the (IMO) worst "Twilight Zone" episode of them all - "Cavender is Coming" (the one with Carol Burnett).

    A regular Madame Guillotine:

    [​IMG]

    Admiral Dewey in his sport jacket:

    [​IMG]

    Dewey had been dead nearly 40 years when this episode aired. Apparently his fame was long-lasting.

    In the "lack of story continuity" category, the Raccoon Lodge is in great financial trouble shortly after the sold-out play in "On Stage" had it "in the black" for the first time in years, and Alice is back to badmouthing the lodge (despite leading the women's auxiliary).
     
  13. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    In the first RALPH convention I attended in 1984, they played "Alice and the Blonde," and the minute Ralph bellowed, "And I'm calling Bellevue 'cause you're nuts!," the audience joined him in unison. I've seen similar situations in other contexts - i.e. a revival theatre showing old Warner Bros. cartoons where the audience joins in as Daffy utters "Pronoun trouble" in Rabbit Seasoning (1952).

    Reportedly, this was Audrey Meadows' favorite episode. ("A Matter of Life and Death" was Gleason's; "Better Living Through TV" was Carney's; and "The Sleepwalker" was Joyce Randolph's.)

    As for the "Admiral Dewey sportjacket" reference: By the time of the Color Honeymooners of the 1960's, the Raccoons would have gone on to Sgt. Pepper jackets, as the way they looked resembled what John, Paul, George and Ringo wore on that iconic LP (only the color of the Raccoons' jackets themselves were all red). This would have been one of the last made with the old dark Raccoon jackets; apparently its make preceded those of "The Loudspeaker" and "Unconventional Behavior" where the Raccoon jackets Ralph and Norton wore were considerably lighter in color.
     
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  14. ROFLnaked

    ROFLnaked Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    W.B. a connoisseur of 'mooners...? I might have known!
     
  15. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    Also, this episode was not the first time Norton used the "fire ex-cape" pronunciation. He had previously done so in "Funny Money" and "The Sleepwalker."
     
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  16. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    Re: Alice And The Blonde:
    So much goodness in this episode.
    All of the times that window has been opened, and now it squeaks? Of course the second time it opens-no squeaking.
    And what the heck is Norton saying to Trixie-"Fins fins fins"?
    We get a rare hatless Norton.
    Ralph and Norton are so easily impressed ("They had me fooled-they're real!" for some pretty sad flowers).
    Love Ralph's clueless reaction to Alice's "gift".
    Added to the lexicon-"Treasuure", "Suave!"
    Love Ralph's bro slap to Rita.
     
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  17. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Norton uses "fins" in one of the lost episodes as well. Based strictly on context, it seems to be the Brooklyn equivalent to "saying uncle".
     
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  18. W.B.

    W.B. The Collector's Collector

    Location:
    New York, NY, USA
    It was also within the period of the original airing of "Alice and the Blonde" and the commencement of repeats, that New York City Omnibus Corporation - which had acquired the Fifth Avenue Coach Company in 1954, and having only recently added Surface Transportation Systems to its portfolio (renaming the latter as a separate subsidiary, Surface Transit, Inc.) - would change its name to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines, Inc. All buses including 2969 would have the bus company name changed accordingly on their sides. What once said:
    NEW YORK CITY OMNIBUS CORPORATION OPERATOR
    would now read:
    FIFTH AVENUE COACH LINES INC. OPERATOR
    That would be the last major change in that realm (save for the add-on of placeholders for ads on the front, sides and back of buses c.1960) until 1962, when the TWU went on strike against the said entity, leading to a series of events that led to all bus routes operated by FACL and ST placed under city ownership and operating aegis of a new transit agency, the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA). 2969 would remain in service until about 1966 when it and its brethren were retired and placed for scrap upon arrival of newer "Fishbowls" with 'batwings' advertising atop the passenger windows (parts of which, both the 1965-66 order and the 1966-67 order which was the first to have a fleet all air-conditioned, were assigned to the 100th Street depot where 2969 had been for most if not all its service life). By that time Gleason was already in Florida, and with his show going color in 1966-67, the first of the Color Honeymooners episodes would be made as part of his long-running variety show . . .
     
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  19. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Episode #37 - "The Bensonhurst Bomber"

    Aired: 9-8-56



    "The Honeymooners", as a half-hour sitcom, was a dead man walking when the last 3 of the Classic 39 first aired. "The Jackie Gleason Show" was already set to return. Rather than go out with a whimper, though, 2 of the last 3 episodes, IMO, are absolute classics, and this is one of them.

    George Mathews (Harvey) and Leslie Barrett (George) both had long acting careers. As a young man Barrett was a Dead End kid on Broadway. Mike O'Dowd ("Hey, get a load of fatso there") later shows up in Woody Allen's "Take the Money and Run"!

    A plus and a couple of minuses regarding the "live on film" aspect of this episode.

    A plus: George Mathews points the wrong way when he says "me and him" (pointing to his friend, and then himself). The minor gaffe just serves to reinforce the idea that Harvey is not the smartest guy in the pool hall.

    A couple of minuses:
    Carney calling the pretzels donuts just sticks out as a mistake. Did they use donuts in rehearsal and switch to pretzels?

    Gleason jumps ahead in the script when he and Carney are making plans, and after Carney jumps in for the save, Gleason rights the ship (somewhat) by explaining how he knew Norton's plan before Norton ever hatched it!

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Alice and the Blonde

    I love the discreet "Bang, zoom", and the silent pain bit. I know Rita is supposed to be a doll, but I found Alice far prettier than her.

    I am guessing that Audrey forgot her line, when she is about to explain what she is doing, and Gleason ad libs to cover. They get it back on track quickly enough. Or was it the other way around, and Ralph was supposed to say that line, but forgot, and she was waiting for it, and then started but he put it in?

    Meadow's acting is fantastic at the end, but I did find the forgiveness a little too quick in this one.

    I don't rate this episode as highly as Ray, but still great stuff.
     
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  21. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    What lines are you speaking of regarding the mistake and/or ad lib?
     
  22. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    Re: Bensonhurst Bomber: (you are so right about this episode-too many great lines to list)
    Added to the lexicon: "kern" and "erster"
    It seems like there is a lot of improvising around the pool game, and yet it seems so natural. Carney almost does a split!
    Leslie Barrett is quite reminiscent of actor Michael Jeter (Green Mile, amongst many other films).
    Ralph has spunk.

    Alice's first question is "What's all this about a secret?"-and not "Why do you have a suitcase?"
    Art Carney has great footwork.
    Have we ever heard Gleason's epic moans up to this point in the series?
     
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  23. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    We definitely get some epic Gleason moans when his back goes out bowling, and Uncle Leo drops by for a few friendly back slaps. ("Like feeding time at the zoo" says Alice.)

    Norton doing the flicking off the imaginary cuffs, the removal of a trace of lint, etc. ... and Ralph losing his patience with that routine is surefire and timeless, IMO. They milked it for more than 25 years, and with good reason!
     
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  24. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Episode #38 - "Dial J for Janitor"

    Aired: 9/15/56



    Not my favorite episode, but there are still laughs to be had (when aren't there?) This episode stretches plausibility in a number of different directions, and the "whacky" conclusion of the scene in the basement leaves me flat. The landlord's overreaction to Ralph and Ed also doesn't ring true, IMO. And considering his feelings towards Ralph (and their history with the rent strike and all), it seems highly unlikely that he would hire him to be janitor in two minutes flat.

    We get another Nortonism - "asperine". I like how Norton "works" on the pipes by insistently banging on them (how would that produce water?)

    We get not one but two moments where Gleason is channeling Oliver Hardy ("It certainly is").

    Norton's attempt to "push" Ralph out from between the pipes by smacking his face gets me every time. :)

    The Norton-becomes-the-new-janitor ending seems to be a retread of the end of "A Woman's Work is Never Done", when Thelma is now working for Norton (but is gone for the start of the next episode, of course).

    This episode's title is a takeoff on "Dial M For Murder", which came out in 1954.

    The premise for this episode (including a prehistoric version of the "house phone") was recycled for a "Flintstones" episode ("Moonlight and Maintenance").
     
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  25. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower Thread Starter

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I was curious about the etymology of "a mere bag of shells". Since shells are easily collected for free along the seashore, would a bag full of them be no big deal?

    In turns out that the phrase is a corruption (or "misconstruction") of the word bagatelle, which is "a trifle" or "an unsubstantial thing". Difficult to say if we have Jackie Gleason to thank for this grammatical innovation. :)

    I can't picture Ralph Kramden saying "It's a mere bagatelle". Reggie Van Gleason maybe.
     
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