"The Honeymooners" Lost Episodes: Episode-by-Episode Thread

We had a very successful and enjoyable "Classic 39" episode-by-episode thread a while back, so here is the long-awaited sequel.

A few requests:
Please limit the conversation to the episode currently bring discussed, or previously discussed episodes.
Please avoid general conversations about "The Honeymooners" or the lost episodes.
Please save your comments about your favorite episode/sketch until we get to it.

Previous experience tells me that by staying on topic we wind up with a deeper and ultimately more rewarding conversation. Thanks for your cooperation!

While the "Classic 39" are fully represented on YouTube, the Lost Episodes are not. I'll link to a YouTube video whenever possible. The Lost Episodes are included with Amazon Prime, and there's also the 2011 boxed set for those who prefer physical media.

And away we go!

 

October 5, 1951: "Bread"

 

"Bread" opens with Alice singing the most popular song of 1951 - "Too Young", recorded by Nat King Cole.

 

Of all the famous catch phrases that "The Honeymooners" would give birth to, it's interesting that the first one would largely come and go before the "Classic 39" came along - "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction!"

 

I have the DVD Lost Episodes Complete box! It is fabulous...pride in ownership and highly recommended.

 

totally different vibe with this Alice! I'm glad we got Audrey!

 

I'm glad we got Audrey, too, but Pert Kelton was great. Still, would have been a very different show (with a lot less heart) had Audrey not come along, at least judging by the early Kelton episodes.

 

It took me a while to warm up to the Dumont episodes, but they grew on me. They are so rough and outrageous at times, and “Bread” is downright surreal. It’s like a cross between a Laurel & Hardy tit for tat 2 reeler and a “Young Ones” episode.

 

Pert Kelton singing a couple of songs in 1933. That "melodious" voice (which was a stage affectation) was already in place.

 

October 12, 1951 - "Razor Blades" (@27:27)



The first "Honeymooners" skit clearly went over well (listen to the audience reaction during "Bread"), so they were back the next week ... if for only a tad more than 5 minutes.

The Ralph and Alice characters here are exceptionally loud and crass compared to what the characters would evolve to by the move to CBS. Ralph is especially belligerent, ripping Alice's clothes, something that likely would not have flown a couple of years later.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction" makes its second appearance (as does Alice's empty threat to jump out of the window). Three other long-standing catch phrases make their nascent appearances - "Don't steam me ... because I'm steamed", "One of these days" (lacking the "Pow, right in the kisser" payoff) and "You're the greatest" (missing the "Baby").

This one isn't as funny as "Bread", IMO, and even the inevitable makeup at the end can't quite wipe away the memory of Ralph tearing up Alice's limited wardrobe. It would take quite a while to get the right tone when it came to funny bickering vs. genuine concern for each other.

 

Alice opens this episode singing "The Man I Love". Here's a version from 1948.



She also references the long-running radio show, "Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons".

 

October 19, 1951 - "Supermarket Shopping" (Alice's Anniversary)

The first of the "Lost Episodes" to be truly lost.

We have a description: "Alice is determined to get a gift from Ralph for her birthday, even if she has to buy it herself."

Some of the episodes that are lost were clearly remade later, and some have titles or plot descriptions that sound similar to something done later. Neither is the case here.

There is no verified "Honeymooners" episode from October 26th, but it's possible that one of the lost episodes with no date attributed to it was performed.

Next up: The first appearance of the Nortons.

 

November 2, 1951 - "The New Television Set"

@9:20



Four whole years before "TV or Not TV", the Kramdens (temporarily) get a TV.

Art Carney's first appearance as Ed Norton, and Elaine Stritch's one and only appearance as Trixie. They are even louder and coarser than their neighbors. Thankfully Art Carney eventually went with a different voice for Norton, and stopped wearing long-sleeved shirts. This episode is long on history but definitely short on laughs, and Gleason losing the thread of the script doesn't help.

 

Alice opens this episode with a 1930s hit recently covered in 1951.

 

Carney had already been a regular on the Dumont Network, appearing on "The Morey Amsterdam Show". Here's a clip from the 1949-1950 season after the show had moved to CBS. Carney plays Newton the waiter, and it seems unlikely that the similarity in name to Norton was coincidental. This is really corny stuff (the "golden age of television" indeed) but one of Norton's future catch phrases is already in place ("VaVaVaVoom").

 

And a little Arthur Godfrey with his ukelele on TV.



And gossip columnist Elsa Maxwell

 

November 16, 1951 - "Ralph Threatens to Leave"

@33:07



This one is more awkward than funny. There's a truly lost sketch titled "Meat Substitute" that might be a remake of this one - maybe it was better the second time around.