Rating: 
Summary: Here He Is: The One, The Only - Groucho on DVD!
Review: Attention Marx Brothers Fans! Here he is, the one, the only, Groucho on DVD!I just received the 3 DVD You Bet Your Life Lost Episodes box set. This is a really great set that Marx Brothers fans should have in their collections. It's beautifully packaged with the DVDs set in clear in-set holders, through which are displayed many TV Guide and other magazine covers with Groucho plus other memorabilia. A really nice booklet comes with the set resembling a TV magazine from the 1950's with information on the show plus a break down of all the episodes and special bonus features. Among the bonus materials is included the famous ad-libbed radio appearance Groucho made with Bob Hope that led to the birth of You Bet Your Life. Among the 18 episodes of YBYL which are included is the famous Pedro G. Gonzalez appearance, as well as rare appearances by hipster comic Lord Buckley, Art Linkletter and Ernie Kovacs. Also included is the radio pilot for YBYL and outtakes and stag reels from the TV show as well as a behind the scenes look at the show filmed for the DeSoto Plymouth Dealers and a recording of the Seasons Greetings Groucho Highlights sent to DeSoto-Plymouth employees. When I opened up the set the first thing I said was "cool!" when I saw how nicely packaged it was. This DVD set is definitely worth having in any Marx Brothers collection. And remember, if this set sells well, there will be a volume two set that will include among the bonuses the famous cameo made by Harpo in the early 1960's. So, get this set. And remember to tell your DVD dealer that Frevo sent you!
Rating:
Summary: Great package!
Review: Great transfers, wonderful booklet and packaging, some surprising extras. This is a great set even though it is a bit pricey for some old tv shows. Now all we need is "Life of Riley" to come out in a DVD box collection and I will be in heaven!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, funny stuff--beautifully packaged
Review: Gripes about the packaging are ridiculous--the box is beautifyl. The discs do NOT fall out. There are plenty of CD boxed sets that use similar "book-style" packaging. In any case, a lot of care and attention has gone into the beautiful packaging and book. The contents of the DVD are also remarkable. Tons of rare stuff, lots of great funny moments--hours of viewing pleasure for any Groucho fan!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Groucho gets the treatment he deserves from Sony/Shout. Three discs crammed with vintage episodes of You Bet Your Life, commercials, outtakes, etc. all packaged in one of the nicer gatefold sleeves I've seen in awhile. DVD packaging finally seems to be improving. No they don't "flop around" as one other reviewer wrote here. Plus there's a booklet that is actually a booklet (and not just a piece of useless paper), complete with in-depth text, photos and, and even a staple! Well worth the dough for any Marx Brothers fan and a wonderful introduction to the one-of-a-kind wit of Groucho for you newcomers. I'd love to see a followup volume or two, with three or six more discs of You Bet Your Life. The show was on the air for 13 years, so there is a wealth of material out there that deserves this kind of treatment. Highlights include an interview with a man named "Gonzales Gonzales" and perhaps most notably a segment -- the only filmed footage I have ever seen, the only footage I am even AWARE OF -- of the one and only Lord Buckley, who really steals the show. It's great fun to watch Groucho and Lord Buckley (two men of the same generation, former vaudevillians both) interact, especially as Buckley lets loose with his rappin' hipster schtick, which seems to be a bit of a revelation to Groucho and the studio audience full of DeSoto-driving squares. Wow.
Rating:
Summary: You Bet Your (bleep)!!!
Review: I, too, will vouch for the packaging on this item. The artwork is beautifully retro on high-quality stock. There is absolutely no problem with the folder's structure or sturdiness. I was very pleased with how this set looks, feels, tastes & smells. A joy. I got into Groucho through the Marx Brothers, naturally, and was fortunate enough to grow up with this show in reruns on local television in the late 70s. I'm likely pretty young for an average Groucho fan (it always seems to impress older people when I mention that I'm a Grouchophile anyways). I've only made it through one disk so far, but have not been disappointed. My only complaint is that you can't seem to watch the commercials with the episodes they aired, but it's nice to at least have them here to watch separately. These guys really did a bang up job with nice touches as this; really helps make the timewarp more complete. The outtakes & stag reels, while tame by today's standards, are a blast as well. But one doesn't pick this set up hoping to find "today's standards" in yesteryear's game show. The datedness is exactly what lends to the quiant enjoyment of "You Bet Your Life." Compare this spare-of-sparest sets (Groucho sits on a stool at a draped desk and microphone with, yes, more drapes behind him). Contestants simply stand next to him at microphones. That kind of simplistic approach wouldn't cut high school variety show muster today. No "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" mood music or light show here folks. Nope. Instead, we're lucky if we see a wooden duck on a string. We beg for it, in fact. Just listen to the audience scream when it drops down after (wow!) the utterance of the secret word! After a few episodes, you'll shockingly find yourself doing the same!
Rating:
Summary: The Groucho-DeSoto Connection
Review: Incredible as it may seem, most of the "lost episodes" in this Groucho Marx DVD collection might have been lost forever. In the early 1970s, the geniuses at NBC planned to destroy ALL the "You Bet Your Life" programs for the sole purpose of freeing up some warehouse space. Fortunately, Groucho and producer John Guedel thwarted this cultural crime and reissued the comedy-quiz shows for late-night syndication -- with successful results. However, the "Best of Groucho" package was re-edited to eliminate any trace of the DeSoto-Plymouth references from the original broadcasts. Upon viewing this excellent three-disc set, the viewer is immediately aware of DeSoto's dominant sponsorship of "You Bet Your Life" and the major role Groucho played in the selling of its automobiles -- even lending his trademark image to its used-car dealerships. The "stag reels," promotional films and DeSoto commercials featured in this collection make for fascinating and historic viewing. Of course, there's the long-awaited pleasure of seeing 18 unedited "You Bet Your Life" programs for the first time since the 1950s -- a remarkable find comparable to the "lost" Jackie Gleason kinescopes. The result is a valuable addition to Groucho's comic legacy.
Rating:
Summary: The Groucho-DeSoto Connection
Review: Incredible as it may seem, most of the "lost episodes" in this Groucho Marx DVD collection might have been lost forever. In the early 1970s, the geniuses at NBC planned to destroy ALL the "You Bet Your Life" programs for the sole purpose of freeing up some warehouse space. Fortunately, Groucho and producer John Guedel thwarted this cultural crime and reissued the comedy-quiz shows for late-night syndication -- with successful results. However, the "Best of Groucho" package was re-edited to eliminate any trace of the DeSoto-Plymouth references from the original broadcasts. Upon viewing this excellent three-disc set, the viewer is immediately aware of DeSoto's dominant sponsorship of "You Bet Your Life" and the major role Groucho played in the selling of its automobiles -- even lending his trademark image to its used-car dealerships. The "stag reels," promotional films and DeSoto commercials featured in this collection make for fascinating and historic viewing. Of course, there's the long-awaited pleasure of seeing 18 unedited "You Bet Your Life" programs for the first time since the 1950s -- a remarkable find comparable to the "lost" Jackie Gleason kinescopes. The result is a valuable addition to Groucho's comic legacy.
Rating:
Summary: The Groucho-DeSoto Connection
Review: Incredible as it may seem, most of the "lost episodes" in this Groucho Marx DVD collection might have been lost forever. In the early 1970s, the geniuses at NBC planned to destroy ALL the "You Bet Your Life" programs for the sole purpose of freeing up some warehouse space. Fortunately, Groucho and producer John Guedel thwarted this cultural crime and reissued the comedy-quiz shows for late-night syndication -- with successful results. However, the "Best of Groucho" package was re-edited to eliminate any trace of the DeSoto-Plymouth references from the original broadcasts. Upon viewing this excellent three-disc set, the viewer is immediately aware of DeSoto's dominant sponsorship of "You Bet Your Life" and the major role Groucho played in the selling of its automobiles -- even lending his trademark image to its used-car dealerships. The "stag reels," promotional films and DeSoto commercials featured in this collection make for fascinating and historic viewing. Of course, there's the long-awaited pleasure of seeing 18 unedited "You Bet Your Life" programs for the first time since the 1950s -- a remarkable find comparable to the "lost" Jackie Gleason kinescopes. The result is a valuable addition to Groucho's comic legacy.
Rating: 
Summary: No box with this so-called "box set"
Review: My big gripe with this release is that the disks come in a folding sleeve, but there's NO SLIP CASE for it. It's just left there to flop around or unfold or possibly have DVD's fall out accidently once the shrink wrap comes off. I realize that ShoutFactory! is a fledgling company to the world of DVD's, but come on, if you call something a box set then please include a box. Either release it in a snap case or include a box, please.
Rating:
Summary: Got the Life
Review: The absolute simplicity of concept, economy of verbiage and humanity of the subjects makes You Bet Your Life a TV landmark. Simple, handsome, ugly, funny, wierd people all become fascinating. In the context of a current TV era that has only The Simpsons and Seinfeld to save us, this show puts the trash depicting vulgar, voyeuristic and mechanical people to shame. And yet, YBYL is not essentially different from that which bores me in TV today. Only with a once in a millenium host who circles around the subtleties of sex and voyeurism within strict limits, stages thier weaknesses then gently caresses them back to favour. Brilliant.
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