Product Details

• Actors: Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Mary Livingston
• Format: Box set, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007
• Run Time: 1260 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000UVV260
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,318 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

About the Actor

Star of Vaudeville, Radio and the Big Screen, Jack Benny brought his highly-successful radio program to the small screen in 1950 and the show ran until 1965. Along for the ride were his famous cast of co-stars including Eddie Rochester Anderson, Don Wilson, Dennis Day and Mary Livingstone, who all shared in the fun and misadventures of their famous boss. Whether dealing with his love of money, his perpetual age of 39 or his beloved Maxwell automobile, Jack Benny and his gang entertained one and all!

Episode List:

Disc 1

Guest Stars: Fred Allen & Eddie Cantor

Honolulu Trip - Guest Star: Marilyn Monroe (First Television Appearance)

Guest Star: Humphrey Bogart

Guest Star: Johnnie Ray & Danny Thomas

Guest Stars: Irene Dunne & Vincent Price

Guest Star: Liberace

Jack Dreams He's Married to Mary

Goldie, Fields and Glide - Guest Stars: Bing Crosby, George Burns & Bob Hope

George Burns and Gracie Allen Show - Guest Star: Jack Benny

Road to Nairobi - Guest Stars: Bob Hope, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis

Jam Session - Guest Stars: Kirk Douglas, Fred MacMurray & Dick Powell

Disc 2

How Jack Found Mary - Guest Stars: Sheldon Leonard, Joyce Randolph & Bea Benaderet

Jack Does Christmas Shopping - Guest Stars: Mel Blanc & Frank Nelson

Four O'Clock in the Morning

Talent Show - Guest Stars: Jayne Mansfield & Mel Blanc

Honeymooners Show - Guest Stars: Audrey Meadows & Dennis Day

Guest Star: Ernie Kovacs

Jack's Hong Kong Suit - Guest Star: Gisele MacKenzie

The Lunch Counter Murders - Guest Star: Dan Duryea

Jack Casting for a Television Special - Guest Star: Mel Blanc

Don Wilson's 27th Anniversary - Guest Star: John Daly

Jack Rents His House

Disc 3

$64,000 Question Spoof - Guest Star: Hal March

Jack Benny Hour - Guest Stars: Bob Hope, The Beach Boys, Elke Sommer & Walt Disney

Ghost Town Western - Guest Star: Gisele MacKenzie

Christmas Show - Guest Stars: Edgar & Frances Bergen

New Year's Day Show 1956 - Guest Stars: UCLA and Michigan State Football Coaches

Easter Seal Teleparade of Stars

New Year's Eve

Jack's Maxwell is Stolen

Jack Goes to a Concert - Guest Star: Jimmy Stewart

Disc 4

March of Time: Show Business at War - Guest Stars: Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Edgar Bergen

Reminiscing about New Year's Eve

Guest Stars: Peggy King & Art Linkletter

Jack Gets Robbed - Guest Star: Bob Crosby

Guest Stars: Dorothy Shay & Bob Crosby

General Electric Theatre: The Honest Man - Guest Stars: Jack Benny, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Charles Bronson & Roanld Reagan

You Can Change the World - Guest Stars: Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby & Irene Dunne

The Bing Crosby G.E. Show - Guest Stars: Jack Benny & Sheree North

Product Description

America's Funniest Miser" encapsulated TV comedy's golden age with his classic small screen venture from 1950 through 1965. After great success in vaudeville, radio and films, Jack's weekly TV show delivered laughs for all ages. Loaded with guest stars like Humphrey Bogart, Danny Thomas, Liberace, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Vincent Price, Ernie Kovacs and so many more, this best-of" collection is a hilarious trip down TV memory lane with 40 classic episodes on 4 DVDs. 1950-65/color/21 hrs/NR/fullscreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

100 of 104 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Well!..." November 21, 2007

By Annie Van Auken TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

MILL CREEK box sets offer good-to-average-quality audio and video transfers of public domain material at a most reasonable price.

The Jack Benny Program aired on radio from 1932 to '55. Many of that show's scripts were recycled for television, beginning in 1950. Benny's CBS-TV series ran until 1965. The core cast (on radio and TV) changed little over the decades: Dennis Day replaced tenor Kenny Baker early on; Bob Crosby (Bing's younger brother) took over for bandleader Phil Harris in 1952.

At one time or another, almost every Hollywood, radio and TV star guested on Jack's show. This four DVD set offers only a fraction of Benny's 258 television episodes, yet the viewer is provided an excellent illustration of his popularity within the "Showbiz" community.

An unrelated highlight of this collection is a 1943 documentary about Hollywood's war efforts. Among the 58 cameo appearances here are: Benny, W.C. Fields, Louis Armstrong, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Bob Hope, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles, Irving Berlin, James Cagney, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, Marlene Dietrich and Walt Disney.

The Martin & Lewis Collection - COLGATE COMEDY HOUR (17 episodes) is highly recommended for fans of early TV comedy/variety programming.

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Program list includes episode numbers, airdates and guests (where available):

DISC ONE--
(#17) Fred Allen Show (4/19/53) - Fred Allen/Eddie Cantor
(#19) Honolulu Trip (9/13/53) - Marilyn Monroe
(#21) Humphrey Bogart Show (10/25/53) (Bogie as "Babyface")
(#22) Johnnie Ray Show (11/15/53) - Johnnie Ray/Danny Thomas
(#23) Irene Dunne Show (12/6/53) - Irene Dunne/Vincent Price
(#25) The Liberace Show (1/17/54) - (Jack visits Lee's house)
(#26) Jack Dream's He's Married to Mary (2/7/54)
(#28) Goldie, Fields and Glide (3/21/54) - Bing Crosby/George Burns/Bob Hope
George Burns and Gracie Allen Show - Guest Star: Jack Benny
(#31) The Road to Nairobi (5/23/54) - Bob Hope/Martin & Lewis (spoof of Hope's "Road" movies)
(#33) Jam Session At Jack's (10/17/54) - Dan Dailey/Kirk Douglas/Fred MacMurray/Tony Martin/Dick Powell

DISC TWO--
(#34) How Jack Met Mary (10/31/54) - Joyce Randolph/Frank Wilcox/Sheldon Leonard
(#84) Christmas Shopping Show (12/15/57) - Mel Blanc/Frank Nelson
(#41) Four O'Clock in the Morning Show (2/6/55) (Jack has insomnia)
(#69) Talent Show (12/30/56) - Jayne Mansfield (cameo)
(#87) Honeymooners Show (1/26/58) - Audrey Meadows
(#103) Ernie Kovacs Show (1/25/59) - Ernie Kovacs/Ray Kellogg
(#127) Hong Kong Suit (11/6/60) - Gisele MacKenzie
(#130) Lunch Counter Murder (12/4/60) - Dan Duryea
(#134) Jack Casting for Television Special (1/1/61) - (Jack reminisces on "The Life Of Jack Benny")
(#136) Don's 27th Anniversary with Jack (1/15/61) - John Daly/Nancy Kulp/Howard McNear
(#193) Jack Rents His House (2/5/63)

DISC THREE--
(#80) The Hal March Show (10/20/57) - Frances Bavier (host of "The $64,000 Question" gets to experience Jack's version of the game show)
(???) THE JACK BENNY HOUR (11/3/65) - Beach Boys, Bob Hope, Walt Disney, Elke Sommer/John Ireland (various skits)
(???) Christmas Show (?) - Edgar & Frances Bergen
(#53) New Year's Day Show (1/1/56) - Coaches of UCLA and Michigan State
EASTER SEALS TELEPARADE OF STARS
(#160) New Year's Eve (12/31/61)
(#165) Police Station Show (2/4/62) - Hayden Rorke/Joan Benny
(#131) Jack Goes to a Concert (12/11/60) - James & Gloria Stewart

DISC FOUR--
MARCH OF TIME: Show Business at War (5/23/43) - (An astounding assemblage of nearly 60 top-rank celebrities, from Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson to Daryl Zanuch)
(#24) Reminiscing About Last New Year's Eve (12/27/53)
The Art Linkletter Show (10/23/55) - Peggy King (vocalist)
(#13) Jack Gets Robbed (11/13/52) - Beverly Washburn
(#5) Dorothy Shay (11/4/51) - Dorothy Shay
GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER ("The Face Is Familiar") (11/21/54) - Ronald Reagan (host)/Jack Benny
GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER ("The Honest Man") (2/19/56) - Jack Benny/Zsa Zsa Gabor/Charles Bronson
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD (doc.-1951) - Jack Benny/Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Irene Dunne/William Holden/Loretta Young
THE BING CROSBY SHOW (1/3/54) - Jack Benny/Sheree North

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Jack Benny November 24, 2007

By Mr. K. Campbell

Format:DVD

An excellent collection. Although some of the episodes are available elsewhere, about half aren't, including some real rarities. I hadn't seen the HONEYMOONERS sketch before, with both Jack and Dennis Day doing credible impressions of Ralph and Ed. Besides Jack's own shows, there are other appearances like 2 TV plays he starred in, an TV special TELEPARADE OF STARS and a BING CROSBY SHOW he guested on. At it's very reasonable price, it is worth getting for the more unusual items, even if you have the more common ones. For the newcomer, this is the perfect introduction to Jack, with classics like HOW JACK MET MARY and the CHRISTMAS SHOPPING show, which has a wonderful performance from Mel Blanc.
Having said this of course, what we really need for all 50's U.S. comedy classics like Jack, BURNS AND ALLEN, BOB CUMMINGS and BILKO are complete season by season sets like has been done so well with I LOVE LUCY...and how about a complete collection of Jack's later hour specials, like the George Burns one brought out recently? In the meantime, this is probably the best collection to be going on with.

73 of 78 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely delightful November 11, 2007

By Roger Long

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I ordered this, I was expecting excerpts from Jack Benny programs. Instead, to my surprised delight, there are entire programs, most complete with Lucky Strike cigarette commercials. LSMFT. Young people don't know what those letters stand for (thank goodness), but if you are old enough to be a Benny fan, the letters are indelible in your brain.

There are some very funny bits and the great characters associated with Benny: Rochester, Mary Livingston, Don Wilson, Mr. Kietzel, Mel Blanc, the race track tout, etc. etc. And then there are the guests, Fred Allen, Eddie Cantor, Johnny Ray singing "Cry," Marilyn Monroe, Vincent Price, Liberace, Humphrey Bogart--a veritable who's who of show business stars in the 1950s.

The programs hold up very well. They are still funny. They are still warm and wonderful.