Customer Reviews

The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show

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

 

 

Episodes:

(NOTE in #9 there is a fun musical interlude with a young Bob Fosse!)

1) Bank Account - The banker has a talk with the Burns about Gracie's odd check writing system
2) Income Tax Man - The income tax man gets frustrated trying to understand Gracie's tax deductions
3) House Guest - Gracie's friend Mamie Kelly comes to visit, and stays and stays
4) Teenage Girl Spends the Weekend - Emily Vanderlip stays with the Burns while her parents are out of town
5) Marriage Bureau - Gracie's wardrobe assistant Jane wins a trip for two to Hawaii
6) Kleebob Card Game - George and Harry try to get out of going to the movies by teaching their wives a confusing card game
7) Property Tax Assessor - The county tax assessor pays a visit to the Burns', and Gracie puts a dent in the fender of the car
8) Space Patrol Girls - Trouble starts when Mamie Kelly and her three children park their trailer in the Burns back yard
9) Harry Morton's Male Secretary - When Harry Morton hires a new secretary, Blanche and Gracie suspect that he has hired a beautiful girl
10) Beverly Hills Uplift Society - Grace and her Uplifters Society are locked out of their clubhouse because Gracie forgot to pay the rent

Lured by the color photo of Gracie & George on the cover, versus all the other DVDs of Gracie & George I perused on Amazon.com, I decided the information about this set, plus the total viewing time offered (over 4 hours) might be worth $10. Well...the cover art is definitely the best "video" about the set, but that's not to say the video is bad. Of the two enclosed discs, the first has some of the best video, the second has most of the best audio, given that Timeless Media Group apparently did NO restoration (audio or video) of the source material. However, the last episode on the second disc not only is the best episode of the two discs, it also has the best video and audio quality of the two discs! The episode must have been from one of their later (and better) shows, with a new set design, which was a little more modern, with better lighting...better everything!! It was a nice way to conclude the two-disc set.

There are no captions or subtitles on either disc, so with the first disc especially, one must listen attentively, or use the slow speed on your DVD player (if you're lucky enough to have that feature) to capture all the wonderful one-liners that Gracie throws out at lightning speed.

The shows are much like todays sit-coms, only from the '50s, and much, much more tame. The humor is family-oriented and fun to watch. Gracie is the life of ALL the skits!

Gracie seems much like an early version of Goldie Hawn, but without tatoos, blonde hair, or a mini-skirt. Gracie was a wonderful comedian who acted completely oblivious to the lunacy she delivered, and was utterly charming at it!! Goldi Hawn, who really became famous with her role on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the '60s, may have fashioned herself somewhat after Gracie! After all, the "George Burns & Gracie Allen Show" would not have been the hit that it was without Gracie!

The shows (there are ten episodes on the two DVDs) have fillers in between episodes that are mostly of the variety-hour type...tap dancers & singers, so when they appeared, I just fast-forwarded through them. There are also commercials for Carnation Evaporated Milk, and they are integrated directly into the skits, which is not something you see these days! Between skits, George rambles on with a few stories, trying to be funny with his classic facial expressions/contortions, until you get to the scenes with Gracie, and then the fun begins, and FUN it IS!!!

This really is an enjoyable, old-fashioned show, and if you remember this wonderful couple as do I, you can re-live their show in your living room once more with this enjoyable two-disc set! I do recommend it. The only reason for not giving it more than 3 stars is the overall poor quality of the audio and video on the discs. The programming, however, is quite fun!

The Burns and Allen show should be viewed by all. It's a great family show to watch...no embarrassing moments -- no censoring whatsoever. Gracie and George were true comics, who delivered a wonderful show, week after week. I highly recommend this vido to be viewed by all.

Loved it all. Even enjoyed that the commercials were included. What unique and sophisticated humor. Gracie was brilliant. Her use of language for humor provokes thought about literal and culturally taken for granted meanings.

Burns and Allen has such a great schtick. Great to see again. Even the commericals for Carnation Evaporated Milk were somehow charming, and woven into the story line rather than blasted at you. "From contented cows." Unfortunately the first DVD would freeze at some points and have to be restarted. The overall video and audio was primitive, but I wasn't expecting much.