Customer Reviews

The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, Vol. 1

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very happy with this DVD. It is very much worth buying if your a new or old fan or the worlds funniest husband and wife team. I recommend this DVD to any others being offered on Amazon. You get the value of what you spent buying it. Although the menu options are quite poor it doesnt matter b/c the shows themselves are so good. They just don't make shows like these anymore. Many of the other DVD's being offered on the Burns and Allen show on this site are NOT worth purchasing. GET THIS ONE!!!

Seeing Burns and Allen comically collaborate with each other is obviously an enjoyable experience. What is also interesting for those not that familiar with early 1950s TV advertising was the way in which "Carnation Milk" (the show's sponser) was worked into many of the episodes. The show's "announcer", (often it was Harry von Zell) would drop by the house and engage in a 2-minute discussion with the other characters about the benefits of Carnation milk. To modern sensibilities it can often seem jarring, but in some instances the writers manage to work in this commercial plug in an entertaining enough fashion. The DVD features a variety of shows taken from different seasons, so you also get a sense of how the character of Harry Morton (Burns and Allen's next door neighbor) was played by different actors.

If you are to young to have ever seen Burns & Allen
you can catch up with this zany review of their TV
shows. Gracie was a comic genius and plays her
straightman George like a fiddle.
For the old fans this best of disc will bring back
a lot of happy memories.

I'm too young to have heard them on radio or seen them on TV when their shows originally aired, but I fell in love with this team the moment I first saw the reruns. Gracie is simply marvelous and George is sheer perfection as her straight man. How they didn't crack up during their performances is beyond me. Since Amazon's site lacks an episode list for this DVD, here you go:

1. Dance Lessons
2. Harry Morton's Secretary
3. Gracie's Car Accident
4. Free Trip To Hawaii
5. Beverly Hills Uplift Society
6. Home Wedding
7. Teen Age Space Girls
8. Gracie's Bank Account

In conclusion, if there's an afterlife, I want to meet Gracie Allen!

Amazon states this DVD is 90 minutes. There are 8 episodes and the length is 226 minutes. Great value for the price.

If you enjoyed Burns & Allen, from their radio days thru their TV Years, you should enjoy these shows.
Shipment received very promptly & in excellent condition as usual.

The entertainment value is great, but be aware that several episodes appear to have been recorded from CBN or some other network, then transferred to DVD.

I was surprised that several episodes were really old!! I had no idea that there were several actors that played Blanche's husband, Harry. The older episodes weren't as entertaining: First episode is obviously set up like a play on stage. The constant Carnation Milk promotions throughout several episodes got on my nerves. However it was interesting to see the transition from very old to newer episodes. A bit of "Burns and Allen" history so I'm glad to have it.

The Burns and Allen act is still funny!

I was extremely pleased with the seller. The DVD arrived at my house much sooner than expected!

If you're a real George and Gracie fan, then this is not the video for you. I was really disappointed. There are far better Burns and Allen shows that could have easily been reproduced. There were some skits that used to bowl me over and all the sigments in this video do not even come close.

For nearly 40 years, Burns & Allen were stars of vaudeville, radio, TV, and film. Even after Gracie passed away in 1964, George still seemed to keep the spirit of her character alongside as a silent partner to his solo/straight-man routine. Here is one of the few wife-husband partnerships that worked well in public and private. Few comedy shows since have equalled George and Gracie - none have surpassed them. I would have given this dvd set a higher rating but; 1)only 8 of over 200 episodes are here and 2)these shows can actually get old should you watch them every day for a month. But who had time to do that?