Red Skelton show ultimate collection (1 Viewer)

[Elena S]

I saw on the TVSODVD site that this will be released Nov 25. Anyone know which time period of Red's show are included in this collection? I'd love to have some from the 60s and 70s but it seems that most of the previous releases have been from the 50s, unless there are some I don't know about.

 

[Bob Hug]

Elena, Timeless Media has released a number of different configurations of the show (authorized by the estate) over the last several years and I'd hazard a guess and say that this might be a repackaging of those releases . . . to my knowledge, it would be the largest release of the series in a single collection. If you're looking for later episodes, Timeless does offer the final color season:

Red Skelton IN COLOR

With the Deep Discount and DVD Planet sales underway, you can probably save some cash on this, or try DVD Pacific which has been a consistent price leader for Timeless Media releases.

Update: Checked prices on "Red Skelton in Color" and Deep Discount is the price leader; should be $11.53 after 25% discount code shipped.

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewprod...uctId=31573904

 

[Bob Gu]

The press release of "The Ultimate Collection" mentions, "35 complete episodes". The contents description for the older Timeless releases have what looks like sketch titles in the contents, and the same special features as on "the Ultimate" set.

So what exactly is on the earlier Red Skelton releases. Full episodes or just sketches? Is the"Ultimate" the complete show version they took the sketches from?

My memory of the show's format was that it opened with Red doing a monologue,then there was a musical interlude with a singing guest and or the regular Skelton dancers and then a sketch with Red as one of his characters and then close with "God Bless".

 

[Bob Hug]

Previous and current Red Skelton releases from Timeless are full length shows with some bonus items like Red's "Pledge of Allegiance," a taped standup routine at some nightclub and an appearance at a rodeo, among a few others. The titles that you see are simply the main sketch of each show; sometimes the shows are referred to by the guest star(s) appearing. You can see Timeless' current Skelton releases at their website (scroll down):

Television Category

Then there's this other release from Timeless which, apparently, is only available at this web site:

https://www.theredskeltonshow.com/

I found a couple of two-disc versions from Timeless a few years back in the Walmart "dump bin" and many of the shows on the two disc versions (presumably now out of print) are found on the three disc versions. Also, Timeless did some sort of a sublicense with BCI Eclipse (under their old Brentwood Communications banner) a few years ago. The public domain releases from the likes of Alpha, Platinum Disc Corporation (now Echo Bridge) and the defunct Diamond Entertainment were also complete shows for the most part, though unauthorized by the Skelton estate.

 

[Rob W]

It was only at the end of it's long run that the show was reduced to a half-hour format which might account for the format you remember. The hour-long version would certainly require more material than your memory accounts for. I especially remember a long-running segment called 'The Silent Spot' which was a silent pantomime sketch with Red.

 

[Bob Gu]

Bob, thanks for the detailed Red Skelton release info, I'll have to get some of them at some point. I'd especially like to see the dance routines. I remember them as being sort of classy and high-brow.

And,Rob,I'd completely forgotten about "The Silent Spot", which I thought was also classy. Imagine today's audiences sitting still for something like that!

 

[Elena S]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of this release. It appears that this one is from NBC, too. Are there any from Red's run on CBS in the late 60s, early 70s?

 

[wh5916]

During its final season, when Red jumped from CBS to NBC, the show went to a half hour format.

 

[Bob Hug]

Not that I'm aware and I really have no idea as to how much of the series may have been saved over the years. The other issue may be ownership rights. Timeless Media does have a licensing relationship with the Skelton estate, but I wonder if, perhaps, CBS might have some ownership in the series' later years. It's probably worthwhile to check periodically with TVShowsonDVD.com and/or Timeless Media's web site to see if there are any true "new" releases.

 

[Ockeghem]

I don't really know what is meant by ulitimate, but I've been disappointed over the years with collections that purport to be 'ultimates' or 'completes.'

I watched Red Skelton very, very much when I was a child. He is IMO enormously talented. I loved his Freddie the Freeloader and Clem Kadiddlehopper skits the most.

Now I'm thinking of none other than ... Frankie Fontaine....

 

[Dave_I]

I have the Ultimate Red Skelton Collection. The first seven discs each have 5 shows, which clock in between 24 and 26 minutes. Here is what it contains:

DISC ONE
Clem and the Dalton Girls (with Jayne Meadows)
Humphrey School of Dramatic Arts (with Garry Moore)
Clean Fighter (Cauliflower McPugg)
Deadeye and the Alamo (with Cesar Romero)
One Good Intern Deserves Another (with George Gobel)

DISC TWO
Clem in Dogpatch (with Al Capp)
GI McPugg (Cauliflower McPugg)
Clean Politics (San Fernando Red)
Deadeye and the Gunslinger (with Don Knotts)
The Sultan (Freddie the Freeloader)

DISC THREE
Marooned (Clem Kadiddlehopper)
Fancy Footwork (with Charles "Buchinsky" Bronson)
San Fernando in Alaska (with Edie Adams)
The Stagecoach Robbery (Sheriff Deadeye)
The Hobo's Dilemma (Freddie the Freeloader)

DISC FOUR
Willie and the Burglar (Willie Lump Lump)
Quiz Show Winner (Willie Lump Lump)
Whistle Stop (San Fernando Red)
Lillian Martin (with Jane Russell)
Freddie's Romance (with Rhonda Fleming)

DISC FIVE
Flugelmeyer's Secret Formula (with Ann Sothern)
The Railroad Station (Willie Lump Lump)
Indiana (with Don Knotts & Amanda Blake)
Desert Island (with Buster Crabbe & Jamie Farr)
Freddie and the Baby (with Ed Wynn)

DISC SIX
He Made Good in the City (with Gloria DeHaven)
The Skeltons at Home (Deadeye, McPugg, Clem & Willie)
Many Skeltons (with Marilyn Maxwell)
Greatest Schmo on Earth (with Juliette Prowse & Phil Harris)
The Iceman Goeth (with Vivian Vance)

DISC SEVEN
Let's Talk About Father (Willie Lump Lump)
Live in San Francisco (featuring Guzzler's Tonic Routine)
Appleby and the Neighbors (with Diana Dors)
The Big Trial (with Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage)
Shore Leave (Willie Lump Lump)

The eighth disc has bonus features. These are a performance in Sparks, NV, movie trailers, the Pledge of Allegiance, Red entertaining the troops, and Red at the Reno Rodeo.

I've only watched about eight or nine shows so far. They are taken from black-and-white kinescopes, made in the 50's or early 60's, before the show went to the hour-long format. Some of the kinescopes are not in the best of shape, but that may be all that they could get. I don't like the fact that the closing credits (as well as the openings) are missing from some of the shows. Plus, there is a yellow Red Skelton logo that appears in the bottom right hand corner of the screen for a short time at some point in each show. Despite all this, the shows are quite enjoyable.