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The Honeymooner Lost Episodes 60th Anniversary Edition

post #1 of 59
7/28/11 at 10:41am
Thread Starter 

Just a note to all Honeymooners fans out there. It looks like MPI is releasing a new boxset on October 4th containing the lost episodes restored (1951-1957).  It will be interesting to see how these episodes look compared to the ones MPI released on dvd years ago. Some of those looked pretty grainy.  UCLA Film and Television archives have been working on restoring the lost episodes for the last 2 years.

 

Personally, I can't wait to get this.  What a great show this was.

 

MPI home video has the description and box cover art on their website - click on coming soon.


Edited by tvgreats - 7/28/11 at 7:22pm
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post #2 of 59
7/28/11 at 2:02pm
Hope we can finally get to see the 1957 Trip to Europe series as well as a number of episode remakes that have never been released.
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post #3 of 59
7/28/11 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 

Just an update; I see that TVshowsondvd.com   now also has a writeup on this upcoming boxset. 

 

I really hope MPI did a great job on this.  This show definitely deserves it.

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post #4 of 59
7/28/11 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 

Just a note to all Honeymooners fans out there. It looks like MPI is releasing a new boxset on October 4th containing the lost episodes restored (1951-1957).  It will be interesting to see how these episodes look compared to the ones MPI released on dvd years ago. Some of those looked pretty grainy.  UCLA Film and Television archives have been working on restoring the lost episodes for the last 2 years.

 

Personally, I can't wait to get this.  What a great show this was.

 

MPI home video has the description and box cover art on their website - click on coming soon.

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post #5 of 59
7/28/11 at 7:40pm
Thread Starter 

Sorry everyone for the duplicate post above. 

 

John,  its possible you might get your wish.  The info says that there are some episodes in this set that have never been on dvd before.

 

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post #6 of 59
7/28/11 at 9:05pm
Anyone dig up a list of episodes/original dates in the set?
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post #7 of 59
7/29/11 at 7:28am
I wonder if the last B&W episode, which was the last show Audrey Meadows appeared in, before the reunion shows, " The Adaption" will ever be released? This was in the early 60's I believe ,so seems unlikely to be included in this set. A clip of the show was shown during one of the Honeymooners or Jackie Gleason retrospectives. I also think it was remade it color. I would like to see the original.
Anyone have info about this episode?
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post #8 of 59
7/30/11 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garysb View Post

I wonder if the last B&W episode, which was the last show Audrey Meadows appeared in, before the reunion shows, " The Adaption" will ever be released? This was in the early 60's I believe ,so seems unlikely to be included in this set. A clip of the show was shown during one of the Honeymooners or Jackie Gleason retrospectives. I also think it was remade it color. I would like to see the original.
Anyone have info about this episode?

I seem to recall that sketch being repeated on a TV retrospective in the early 1990s -- I want to say it may have been the one hosted by Audrey Meadows in the Kramdens' apartment -- that special is on the "Classic 39" set as an extra but all the "Lost Episodes" clips are removed (I am guessing for licensing reasons). But I'm not certain. Though I believe it did show up somewhere.
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post #9 of 59
7/31/11 at 3:01am
TV LAND aired "The Adoption" around 2000,
It was in B&W.
The Show didn't Switch to color until the following season.
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post #10 of 59
7/31/11 at 12:41pm
Actually, there are two versions of "The Adoption", roughly a decade apart. The first, which aired live on March 26, 1955 has been released on video before and will most likely be on the new DVD set. The second version, which was Audrey Meadows' final CBS appearance as Alice, aired on January 8, 1966 and I believe there were musical numbers included. I have never seen the '66 version, and that's one episode I'd love to see. That, and the original "Trip to Europe" shows from the 1950s have yet to be put out on home video.
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post #11 of 59
7/31/11 at 12:51pm
Does anyone know if this will include surviving Dumont footage of Pert Kelton as Alice?
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post #12 of 59
7/31/11 at 8:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent S View Post

Does anyone know if this will include surviving Dumont footage of Pert Kelton as Alice?

I hope so -- it would appear that way since it says "1951-1957" and it was Pert Kelton from 1951-52. At least I believe this is correct.

EDIT: Here's a list from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Honeymooners_episodes
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post #13 of 59
8/2/11 at 4:54pm
Good news- not only will the new set include the surviving Pert Kelton footage, but for the first time anywhere, all eight of the B/W "Trip to Europe" shows!


http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Jackie-Gleason-The-Honeymooners-Lost-Episodes-The-Complete-Restored-Series/15757
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post #14 of 59
8/2/11 at 6:29pm
That is good news! However, the price is bad news for me.
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post #15 of 59
8/3/11 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Y View Post


I hope so -- it would appear that way since it says "1951-1957" and it was Pert Kelton from 1951-52. At least I believe this is correct.

EDIT: Here's a list from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Honeymooners_episodes

I wonder if any of the Sullivan appearances will be in the box?
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post #16 of 59
8/3/11 at 12:16pm
Its too bad they couldn't include the few early 1960's sketches with Sue Ane Langdon as Alice and the previously mentioned "The Adaption" from 1966. That would truly be as complete a set of unreleased Honeymooners as possible. I will be getting this set in any case. I also wish that MPI, the Gleason estate, and CBS would get together and release a super set of everything that still exists including the classic 39 in one set. This new release is so close to that.
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post #17 of 59
8/3/11 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeWilson View Post


I wonder if any of the Sullivan appearances will be in the box?

They would have to lease that material from the company that controls of the Sullivan show, SOFA Entertainment. If SOFA hasn't released this material yet and if it presumably has value, I would think SOFA would release it themselves rather than lease it. Of course there could be problems with the rights to the characters if the Gleason estate owns those rights.
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post #18 of 59
8/3/11 at 12:56pm
I only have one set of the last episodes so I'm glad I can buy a complete set of Lost episodes.
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post #19 of 59
8/3/11 at 4:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Ellis View Post

Good news- not only will the new set include the surviving Pert Kelton footage, but for the first time anywhere, all eight of the B/W "Trip to Europe" shows!


http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Jackie-Gleason-The-Honeymooners-Lost-Episodes-The-Complete-Restored-Series/15757

Great news! Next question: Is there any documentation of how many Honeymooners skits they actually did on the DuMont network? The Wikipedia references to all "known" sketches and calling the Christmas one the "last surviving" sketch suggests/implies that they did more -- I should check the couple of Honeymooners books I have, I wonder if it would say in there.
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post #20 of 59
8/3/11 at 8:19pm
The set sounds great! A must buy for me; hopefully it'll live up to its description smile.gif

Beyond episode inclusion, what would make this set truly out of this world would be to include, as an extra, the wrap-around footage of the Jackie Gleason Show that each Honeymooners skit was apart of. But I won't hold my breath on that one; maybe for the 75th Anniversary edition, if we're all around then smile.gif
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post #21 of 59
8/3/11 at 8:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Y View Post


Great news! Next question: Is there any documentation of how many Honeymooners skits they actually did on the DuMont network? The Wikipedia references to all "known" sketches and calling the Christmas one the "last surviving" sketch suggests/implies that they did more -- I should check the couple of Honeymooners books I have, I wonder if it would say in there.

I wonder where the data might be found. TV GUIDE was only regional then, so there's at least a NYC edition - but would it mention the skits on the show that week?
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post #22 of 59
8/3/11 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garysb View Post


They would have to lease that material from the company that controls of the Sullivan show, SOFA Entertainment. If SOFA hasn't released this material yet and if it presumably has value, I would think SOFA would release it themselves rather than lease it. Of course there could be problems with the rights to the characters if the Gleason estate owns those rights.

Not necessarily - there's something like 400+ hours of existing ED SULLIVAN shows that have not seen the light of day in TV packages or on DVD. - Other "key" non-music/non-musical material in the Sullivan collection are 6 TV appearances by THE THREE STOOGES - Moe,Larry, and Curry Joe.
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post #23 of 59
8/4/11 at 4:08am
EXCELLENT NEWS - I can't believe it! - I've always wanted something like this! I have been re-watching the old 23 MPI DVD's many times, and always wished they'd do a better release. The Lost Episodes are very underrated, and at this point in my fandom I actually prefer watching them instead of the very tired "Classic 39" shows.

Anyone know if these will be in chronlogical order? That would really be an added benefit.
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post #24 of 59
8/4/11 at 8:51am
That's what I wondered, too. The only logical thing would be for them to be in chronological order, but in the looney world of DVDs, who knows what they'll do?

In the I'm Never Happy Dept., I don't quite understand why other parts of "The Jackie Gleason Show" are never included. He played many other characters besides Ralph Kramden.

While I'm rambling on, here's a blast from the dear old days that no longer exist. For two weeks in November of 1954, the four stars of "The Honeymooners" sketches and other members of the Gleason entourage (like the beloved June Taylor dancers) did a live stage show along with the movie "Drum Beat" at the Paramount Theater in Times Square in NYC. They did six shows a day, the first at 10 A.M. and the last at midnight. It's hard to imagine The Great One, who even hated to rehearse, doing that, but he did.
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post #25 of 59
8/4/11 at 11:36am
I would also love to see the other Gleason characters, especially Reggie Van Gleason III and Joe the Bartender! MPI should release complete shows or a compilation of both The American Scene Magazine, the 1966-70 color shows (the non-Honeymooners stuff), and the vintage 1950s material. Back in the 80s, compilations from The American Scene Magazine were syndicated a la Benny Hill's TV work- all from the original B/W videotapes- no kinescopes! So the videotapes from circa 1961-70 have been archived (Jackie was always interested in technology and wisely archived his work- I only wish Ernie Kovacs had done that during his lifeftime, Edie Adams had to move heaven and earth to rescue whatever kinies and videos were left after his death).

Some years back I was lucky to see some of the DuMont Honeymooners (featuring Elaine Strich as the first Trixie Norton!), and the tone was different: Ralph and Alice seemed to be at each other's throats all the time, and you truly felt that Ralph was really going to send Alice "to the moon'! I wonder if Edward Albee saw the DuMont shows........
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post #26 of 59
8/4/11 at 11:48am
Frankly, as much as I like Jackie Gleason, he's always "just Jackie Gleason" to me in every character he plays. I don't see why, in a HONEYMOONERS set, we'd need the other characters too (it's a set of the Honeymooners skits, not the entire JACKIE GLEASON SHOW).
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post #27 of 59
8/4/11 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi View Post

Frankly, as much as I like Jackie Gleason, he's always "just Jackie Gleason" to me in every character he plays. I don't see why, in a HONEYMOONERS set, we'd need the other characters too (it's a set of the Honeymooners skits, not the entire JACKIE GLEASON SHOW).

Yes, this is a Honeymooners set, and that's what will be in there. But I think what some people seem to forget sometimes is that these aren't really lost "episodes" of The Honeymooners, but instead sketches which originally played as part of a one-hour comedy-variety show alongside other elements, now presented out of that original context. It's sort of like if Mama's Family had been repeated over and over and over and over for 30 years, and then someone dug out The Carol Burnett Show, but only released "The Family" sketches. It's too bad that there doesn't seem to be enough interest to get the complete Jackie Gleason shows released.
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post #28 of 59
8/5/11 at 4:00am
I understand, and in fact I often use the "Mama's Family" Carol Burnett Show analogy myself when trying to explain to people what these "Lost Episodes" are. For me personally, I don't think much of Joe the Bartender, The Poor Soul, Reginald Van Gleason, etc.. and I don't really miss them. In fact, there's the Christmas Episode of the Lost Honeymooners where Gleason does The Poor Soul and Reginald, and when they appear, they just seem like Ralph Kramden in disguise to me. As Great as Jackie was, I just feel he was very limited in his range and is always just Jackie being Jackie.

Also, bear in mind that those Honeymooners sketches are what clearly stood out and gradually got larger and larger until they took up the entire Gleason Show! In the case of Carol Burnett, that whole show was pretty much consistently humorous and you couldn't really take just ONE SKIT from it.
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post #29 of 59
8/5/11 at 6:44am
It's up for pre-order on Amazon now.
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post #30 of 59
8/9/11 at 6:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Karlosi View Post

I understand, and in fact I often use the "Mama's Family" Carol Burnett Show analogy myself when trying to explain to people what these "Lost Episodes" are. For me personally, I don't think much of Joe the Bartender, The Poor Soul, Reginald Van Gleason, etc.. and I don't really miss them. In fact, there's the Christmas Episode of the Lost Honeymooners where Gleason does The Poor Soul and Reginald, and when they appear, they just seem like Ralph Kramden in disguise to me. As Great as Jackie was, I just feel he was very limited in his range and is always just Jackie being Jackie.

Also, bear in mind that those Honeymooners sketches are what clearly stood out and gradually got larger and larger until they took up the entire Gleason Show! In the case of Carol Burnett, that whole show was pretty much consistently humorous and you couldn't really take just ONE SKIT from it.

I agree, but I'd still like to see them and have them be available.

(I remember a skit where Ralph meets Art Carney and he gets starstruck. "You're Art Carney! Art Carney!")

Question: I remember seeing a recurring skit where Gleason played a burglar. But the character's name is escaping me, if he even had one. Can anyone help me out here? They would start with him entering someone's house through a bedroom window or something like that.
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