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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Say Goodnight, Gracie, December 28, 2005
This review is from: The Best of the Burns and Allen Show, Vol. 1 and 2 (DVD)
After some of the other comments, I feel I must begin with a word about picture quality. As another reviewer pointed out, many of these episodes were broadcast live and preserved only on kinescope, a device that filmed the live image directly off a television screen. In the very early days of Burns & Allen, TV screens were still round, which is why it often appears the camera-man is chopping off the tops of people's heads, as much of the image is lost in converting a round picture into a square one. Given this crude manner of preserving the show, the picture quality on this set is probably as well as can be achieved given the source material, and certainly it is at least as clear as the image television audiences saw back in 1950. Having addressed that issue, the show itself is nearly flawless. If you are a fan of quirky, screwball comedy, this is it at its zenith. The earlier episodes of this series in particular are some of the best written television comedy ever to be aired, coming to you courtesy of writer Paul Henning, who would later bring us The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres (all three of which, ironically, also featured George and Gracie's next door neighbor Blanche, Bea Benadarette, who would later play Aunt Pearl, Kate Bradley, and the voice of Betty Rubble in The Flintstones). The incorporation of the Carnation Milk commercials into the story is in keeping the George's constant violation of the fourth wall, aside from his running monologue he often breaks character to address the audience directly. While the episodes on this set are out of order (why??) it will be evident to the novice viewer that the show was of higher quality in the earlier seasons. After a couple of years, it was filmed instead of performed live before an audience, and there is a distinct element of the formula missing in these episodes. Nonetheless, Burns and Allen remains one of my favorite TV shows of all time from ANY era; for the reasonable price and given the scarcity of TV shows of this time period that are even available on DVD, this one is worth a watch.
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic TV Comedy, May 4, 2005
This review is from: The Best of the Burns and Allen Show, Vol. 1 and 2 (DVD)
I just wanted to respond to those reviewers that are complaining about the quality of the films used in this set. The episodes of "The Burns & Allen Show" included in this set are, to my opinion, culled from the best quality material currently available. These early episodes were originally broadcast live, before the days of videotape. The shows originated on the east coast, were filmed off a television screen as they were aired, and the films (kinescopes) of the live show were then sent to the west coast for broadcast, being they didn't have coast to coast direct broadcasting back in those days. Most of those kinescope copies were probably recycled after use to retrieve the silver to re-use in new film. Whichever remaining kinescopes are still in existance were probably not stored under ideal conditions, thus the existing current condition of these 54 year old films. Fans of George and Gracie, like me, should be glad some video companies are re-issuing these rare films, it will help to preserve the content in the long run. Whenever CBS releases DVD's of the "shot directly on film" episodes(which they still own and have copyright to), I'm sure those will probably look pristine.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Say Good-night, Gracie.", June 12, 2007
This review is from: The Best of the Burns and Allen Show, Vol. 1 and 2 (DVD)
I remember the first time I was introduced to Burns & Allen (the brilliant married duo of George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen), Between George's dry wit and Gracie's brilliantly orchestrated ditziness they were quite the pair. Plus, the early episodes feature incidental visits from the Carnation Milk spokesman, who shows up while Gracie is serving coffee to guests, or any time, really. This is the spokesperson's opportunity to sell the condensed milk from the contented Carnation cows, magically produces a pineapple upside down cake out of his briefcase, or adds the perfect touch of milk to Gracie's tea. Plus, there are the great co-stars. Their neighbors, Harry (John Brown, and then Fred Clark) and Blanche (Bea Benaderet) Morton are constantly bickering and rolling their eyes at Gracie's antics. Believe me, there are many antics, too. I don't even know where to begin! The quality of these episodes is not "high" in comparison to the technology of today, but is quite standard for the television shows of the 1950s. They were preserved on kinescope. This meant that a recording was made directly off of a television screen, hence, there is an ovular look to the scope of the picture, and some of the scenery appears quite cut off. Nevertheless, these shows are wonderful. I encourage you to watch these, to see how George Burns got his start on television, before he went solo with his wisecracking shenanigans. Yes, he smoked a cigar back then, too.
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