[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B00HRUQ992″]Funny, nostalgic, and occasionally odd, Shout! Factory’s three-DVD set The Marx Brothers TV Collection gathers the decades of television appearances by Groucho, Chico and Harpo—including complete episodes, clips, guest spots, excerpted skits, commercials home movies and blooper reels—that came after the brothers’ final film, 1949’s Love Happy.
Spanning over ten hours of material, the earliest piece on the set was broadcast live on March 26, 1951. The last surviving episode of The College Bowl (a.k.a. Ravelli’s Sugar Bowl), a half-hour sitcom starring Chico as Chico Ravelli, looking and acting like he did in the movies it was broadcast live and lasted just 26 episodes. A young Andy Williams was part of the large cast of young New York entertainers, singers and dancers. The most recent item is a March 20, 1970 segment of The Dick Cavett Show, featuring Groucho with the cast of the Broadway musical Minnie’s Boys. The show, co-written by Groucho’s son Arthur, flopped, despite Groucho’s relentless promotion.
While some of the material here has been circulated before, there are a few new and interesting surprises. Presented on General Electric Theater in March of 1959, The Incredible Jewel Robbery is finally presented in its entirety. The episode marked the last appearance of all three brothers together. Because of his contract terms, Groucho’s name couldn’t be mentioned, but he’s there, with mustache and leer. As Groucho fans undoubtedly know, he launched a second career with his insult-the-contestant quiz show, You Bet Your Life, which began on radio in 1947, transitioned to TV three years later and ran through the spring of 1961, and enjoyed a long afterlife in syndication. Having previously released sets dedicated to the show, Shout! hasn’t included anything from You Bet Your Life here. However, there is a kinescoped episode of The Jack Benny Program in which Benny comes up with a doubtful get-rich-quick scheme that involves competing on You Bet Your Life in disguise.
Like nearly any compilation box set, The Marx Brothers TV Collection isn’t complete Harpo’s quest spot on I love Lucy in 1955 isn’t included. Although since the producer’s of the DVD set have included a still photo of the appearance in the accompanying booklet, it’s lack of inclusion is likely a rights issue and clearly not one of ignorance. Whether it’s Harpo joking around with Sam Snead in Celebrity Golf, Chico looking unhappily stymied in Championship Bridge With Charles Goren, or Groucho going one on one with Jackie Gleason, this set does a good job of showing how the Marx brothers made the transition from vaudeville, to films, and finally to television. A treasure trove of memories and laughs, this set is a must have for any Marx Brothers fan.
Below is a full list of the 3-DVD sets contents:
DISC 1:
1. The General Electric Theater: The Incredible Jewel Robbery (March 8, 1959)
2. The Jack Benny Program (April 3, 1955)
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (October 20, 1962)
4. The College Bowl (March 26, 1951)
Bonus TV Clips:
1. Labatt’s Beer commercial # 1 (1960)
2. I’ve Got a Secret (April 21, 1954)
3. All-Pure Evaporated Milk commercial # 1 (Fall, 1951)
4. The Colgate Comedy Hour (March 30, 1952)
5. All-Star Revue (October 4, 1952)
6. All-Pure Evaporated Milk commercial # 2 (Fall, 1951)
7. All Star Revue (October 4, 1952)
8. Showtime (October 4, 1959)
9. Foster’s Freeze commercial # 1 (Fall, 1951)
10. U.S. Royal Showcase (January 20, 1952)
11. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (October 4, 1959)
12. Labatt’s Beer commercial # 2 (1960)
13. Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle (January 14, 1959)
Bonus Short Films:
1. You Bet Your Life Stag Reel # 7 (1960 – 1961)
2. Showdown at Ulcer Gulch (1958)
3. The Marx Brothers Home Movie Collection, with music and narration by Harpo’s son Bill Marx
DISC 2:
1. The Red Skelton Hour (September 25, 1962)
2. The General Electric Theater: The Hold Out (January 14, 1962)
3. Celebrity Golf (April 23, 1961)
4. Championship Bridge with Charles Goren (October 16, 1960)
5. Groucho (July 1, 1965)
Bonus TV Clips:
1. The Colgate Comedy Hour (March 30, 1952)
2. All-Pure Evaporated Milk commercial # 3 (Fall, 1951)
3. The RCA Victor Show (February 1, 1952)
4. The Swift Show Wagon (May 21, 1955)
5. All-Pure Evaporated Milk commercial # 4 (Fall, 1951)
6. U.S. Royal Showcase (January 20, 1952)
7. McCall’s Magazine commercial (May 1961)
8. The Colgate Comedy Hour (March 30, 1952)
9. Labatt’s Beer commercial # 3 (1960)
10. The Perry Como Show (December 15, 1956)
11. I’ve Got a Secret (May 3, 1961)
12. Pepsi-Cola Refreshment Musicale (November 27, 1957)
13. The Sunday Spectacular: Inside Beverly Hills (January 29, 1956)
DISC 3:
1. The DuPont Show with June Allyson: A Silent Panic (December 22, 1960)
2. The Arthur Murray Party (November 16, 1953)
3. The DuPont Show of the Week: The Wonderful World of Toys (November 12,
1961)
4. Who Said That? (May 10, 1955)
Bonus TV Clips:
1. Labatt’s Beer commercial # 4 (1960)
2. The Colgate Comedy Hour (March 30, 1952)
3. Foster’s Freeze commercial # 2 (Fall, 1951)
4. The Sunday Spectacular: Inside Beverly Hills (January 29, 1956)
5. I’ve Got a Secret (August 17, 1955)
6. All-Pure Evaporated Milk commercial # 5 (Fall, 1951)
7. The Jackie Gleason Show (October 14, 1967)
8. Celebrity Billiards (July 19, 1968)
9. Candid Camera (May 14, 1961)
10. The Martha Raye Show (April 17, 1956)
11. The Dick Cavett Show (March 20, 1970)
12. Right Guard Commercial (May 1972)
Bonus Short Films:
1. Skidoo trailer (1968)
2. Beds (1976)
In terms of video quality, don’t expect anything special here, as there doesn’t appear to have been anything in the way of remastering done. Scratches, dirt and fading are all in evidence throughout. Image issues or not, the DVDs are perfectly watchable, and I’m just glad to have this material available.
The Mono soundtrack does elicit some amount of hiss, but it depends on each individual piece of content. None of it is inaudible.
