Frank Gannucci
09-01-2011, 09:47 PM
I thought I would share this with everyone. I found a review from Hal Erickson from All Movie Guide. He gave a review of each of the five episodes from Best of Lost Episodes collection. While at least three of the reviews have accurate information regarding the episodes on this disc, there are two that are not 100% accurate (they have a couple of mistakes. One is understandable and one is minor.)
Here's the one for "Stand-In For Murder":
"Jackie Gleason plays a dual role, as bus driver Ralph Kramden and Ralphs look-alike, a notorious gangster boss. The gangsters henchmen hire the unwitting Ralph as an insurance executive, as part of a scheme to allow their boss to flee the country with his moll -- and to avoid assassination at the hands of his rivals. Only after Ralph has been ensconced in the boss lavish hotel room does he realize that hes been set up to be bumped off. When originally broadcast live on the April 17, 1954, edition of The Jackie Gleason Show, Stand-In for Murder rolled merrily along for 40 minutes and 37 seconds -- then abruptly ended without wrapping up the plot line. It seems that the audience laughed so hard at the sketch that it ran overtime, forcing CBS to cut away to its local affiliates before the story had been resolved. The following week, a nervous-looking Gleason tried to explain the storys outcome to his audience, but succeeded only in making things even more confused. The full version of the sketch, which has been released to home video, ends in mid-scene with a quickie cut-in of the Jackie Gleason Show logo, followed by the CBS eye trademark. The 25-minute abbreviated version, prepared for the syndicated Honeymooners package, fades out just as Ralph Kramden realizes that hes been duped. The complete sketch remained unshown until it was restaged on November 18, 1967, in color and with songs added, as an episode of Gleasons Miami-based variety series."
Only problem: The version of this episode on the disc is from 1955. I can see why he he may have thought it was from 1954 since the airdates on not on the disc.
Here's one for "A Weighty Problem":
"Ordered to go on a strict diet by a bus company supervisor, Ralph struggles to lose ten pounds in less than a week. His ordeal is made even more grueling when next-door neighbor Mrs. Manciotti hides all the food for her husbands birthday party in the Kramdens icebox. Assuming that Ralph will not be home until the food is removed, Alice agrees to help her neighbor out -- but Ralph comes home early, setting the stage for a brilliant spoof of The Lost Weekend, with food substituting for booze. An expanded version of the 1953 Honeymooners sketch Ralphs Diet, A Weighty Problem clocked in at 48 minutes, nine seconds -- the longest Honeymooners effort to date. It was originally telecast April 16, 1955, on The Jackie Gleason Show."
Only problem: While this may have been the longest Honeymooners episode to date, we all know that this episode was nowhere near 48 minutes long.
Here's the one for "Stand-In For Murder":
"Jackie Gleason plays a dual role, as bus driver Ralph Kramden and Ralphs look-alike, a notorious gangster boss. The gangsters henchmen hire the unwitting Ralph as an insurance executive, as part of a scheme to allow their boss to flee the country with his moll -- and to avoid assassination at the hands of his rivals. Only after Ralph has been ensconced in the boss lavish hotel room does he realize that hes been set up to be bumped off. When originally broadcast live on the April 17, 1954, edition of The Jackie Gleason Show, Stand-In for Murder rolled merrily along for 40 minutes and 37 seconds -- then abruptly ended without wrapping up the plot line. It seems that the audience laughed so hard at the sketch that it ran overtime, forcing CBS to cut away to its local affiliates before the story had been resolved. The following week, a nervous-looking Gleason tried to explain the storys outcome to his audience, but succeeded only in making things even more confused. The full version of the sketch, which has been released to home video, ends in mid-scene with a quickie cut-in of the Jackie Gleason Show logo, followed by the CBS eye trademark. The 25-minute abbreviated version, prepared for the syndicated Honeymooners package, fades out just as Ralph Kramden realizes that hes been duped. The complete sketch remained unshown until it was restaged on November 18, 1967, in color and with songs added, as an episode of Gleasons Miami-based variety series."
Only problem: The version of this episode on the disc is from 1955. I can see why he he may have thought it was from 1954 since the airdates on not on the disc.
Here's one for "A Weighty Problem":
"Ordered to go on a strict diet by a bus company supervisor, Ralph struggles to lose ten pounds in less than a week. His ordeal is made even more grueling when next-door neighbor Mrs. Manciotti hides all the food for her husbands birthday party in the Kramdens icebox. Assuming that Ralph will not be home until the food is removed, Alice agrees to help her neighbor out -- but Ralph comes home early, setting the stage for a brilliant spoof of The Lost Weekend, with food substituting for booze. An expanded version of the 1953 Honeymooners sketch Ralphs Diet, A Weighty Problem clocked in at 48 minutes, nine seconds -- the longest Honeymooners effort to date. It was originally telecast April 16, 1955, on The Jackie Gleason Show."
Only problem: While this may have been the longest Honeymooners episode to date, we all know that this episode was nowhere near 48 minutes long.