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Playing Ed Norton, a sewer worker in Brooklyn and the upstairs neighbor of bus driver Ralph Kramden in
The Honeymooners, Art Carney created one of the most enduring comic characters in television history. Carney, who would later win an Academy Award for his dramatic role in
Harry and Tonto, was the perfect comic sidekick to the great Jackie Gleason. In this collection showcasing some of Norton's funniest moments, Carney's considerable acting ability and the character's inherent eccentricities are displayed to great effect. Norton was amazingly obtuse most of the time, but his unexpected flashes of quirky brilliance would often rescue him and Ralph from one of their typically doomed schemes. Dispensing his oddball philosophy, Norton generally brought Ralph's temper to the boiling point with his skewed perspective, but they always ended up as the best of friends. In typical scenes in this collection, Ralph and Ed exchange wisecracks at the Raccoon Lodge, the boys try to concoct a cure for baldness, and their constant domestic squabbles with their wives Alice and Trixie lead to endless complications. And of course Carney's trademark physical shtick, especially in a solo bit in which Norton sneaks into the Kramden apartment and raids the icebox, is simply brilliant.
--Robert J. McNamara
