Customer Reviews

1950s TV's Greatest Shows Featuring: The Jack Benny Program / Dragnet / The Burns and Allen Show / The Lone Ranger / The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet / Sea Hunt / The Red Skelton Show / Suspense / Our Miss Brooks / Mr. & Mrs. North / The Life of Riley / Racket Squad

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are plenty of DVDs out on the market today with episodes of television shows from the 1950s and 1960s that have fallen into the "public domain." Many of them are cheaply put together and, visually, look it. Not so with releases from the Falcon Picture Group. By and large, their releases look better than the vast majority of DVDs with older television shows. The reason for this is that they have done digital restoration of the prints included on this set.

What I like about this DVD is the great variety of shows included. Yes, some of the shows, like Dragnet, the Lone Ranger, Red Skelton, etc., are available on other DVDs, but they have also included some shows like Racket Squad, Mr. & Mrs. North, and Sea Hunt that are either rarely or never seen on video/DVD. I hadn't seen Sea Hunt since its syndication run in the 1960s. What a great show and, to the best of my knowledge, this is the only episode available anywhere on DVD (wish there were more episodes of Sea Hunt on DVD).

While this disk is more of a "potpourri" of different types of television shows from the 1950s, Falcon also offers three other DVDs, including ones with television Detectives, Westerns, and Comedies. If you are nostalgic for this great era in television, these DVDs are the way to go. Highly recommended!

If you're a fan of early television, then this nostalgic trip down TV lane will give you much pleasure. This is black and white TV at its best: Joe Friday's great staccato style reminding interviewees of the importance of "just the facts, ma'am". And Lloyd Bridges in a wet suit is a long career away from Mandlebaum on Seinfeld! So, if you're a war baby wishing to reminisce or you just want to see what television was like in its infancy, this is a good primer.

This DVD set is just plain awful.

Obscure, bottom-of-the-sewer episodes replete with authentic 1950s television broadcast quality.

Avoid this purchase like the plague.

Bought new/used from Digitaleyes.net. Needed to return as it was a duplicated Christmas gift. VERY POOR response from Digitaleyes!