Jack Benny Program (B&W)

Rating:
Summary: Has A CLASSIC EPISODE....BUT....
Review: Jack Benny actually was a little before my time, in the sense that I best remember him on the TV in the late 50s and early 60s, when he was (as we all do) getting older. As someone interested and involved in comedy I later learned that to really appreciate him you have to go back and listen to his old radio shows (he is credited with having invented situation comedy on the radio) and watch his EARLY TV shows.

This DVD is worth the (highly reasonable) price for the first episode -- the classic Jack Benny Christmas episode where he keeps changing his mind and drives a clerk played by voice master (Bugs Bunny, Barney Rubble, Tweety, Sylvester, Daffey Duck, Porky Pig) Mel Blanc absolutely crazy. 99.99 percent of it (the Dennis Day song is OK but dated) could appear on a show today. The second episode on New Year's Eve is passeable, almost padding. The third, again about New Year's Eve is better than the second episode but nowhere as SUPERB (YOU MUST OWN IT) as the first.

I would have given this four stars for that alone but I've been generous in rating it for one point: the original theme music has been wiped clean from these episodes with some generic music. This leads me to believe either they didn't get clearance for the music or perhaps the entire there were other problems with it. No matter what the reason, you are missing a bit of the feeling with the way these episodes begin...with some generic music (one theme is meant to approximate but not actually BE the Benny theme Love In Bloom). Also, you miss a few seconds of the dialogue at the beginning. This was a FIRST for me on a DVD.

BUT: a)you do get that CLASSSIC episode that anyone who loves, appreciates or wants to perform comedy MUST OWN and b)you get to see Benny perform along with his brilliant cast. Modern audiences will also get a kick how in many instances Lucky Strike cigarette commercials were worked INTO the show. And duplication quality is excellent (it looks like two of the episodes were made from kinescopes -- filmed live tv shows; the first one from 1957 was shot on film to air that way).