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The Dick Cavett Show
Comedy Legends
Studio: Shout Factory
Year: 2006
Rated: NR
Film Length: approx. 14 hours
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame (1.33:1)
Subtitles: Closed Captioned
Dick Cavett began his career as a writer for the
likes of Merv Griffin, Jerry Lewis and Jack Paar.
During the years of 1969-1974 he hosted his own
talk show on the ABC network. Growing up during
those years, I never considered myself to be a fan of
the man or his show. In my opinion, Cavett and
the interaction with his guests never seemed as
funny nor energetic as what you would expect
watching Johnny Carson.
Watching these shows now some 30 years later, my
opinion has somewhat changed. I still don't think
Cavett comes off especially humorous, but the man
certainly is intelligent and very quick-witted
which makes him the perfect straight-man for the
guests he interviews. Additionally, what I have
found from watching selected episodes of this new
boxed set, the guests that appear on his show often
come across as being more themselves rather than
forced to be entertaining in the spotlight. The
interviews here are rather warm and often very revealing.
What attracted me to buying this DVD boxed set in
the first place was the fact that there's so much
history packed on these discs. When you really
think about it, what you have here is a collection
of some of the most renowned comic legends of our
time -- most of whom are no longer with us. These
are captured moments in history, and this DVD set
serves well as an archive for future generations
to look back upon.
The Dick Cavett Show Comic Legends spans
across 4 discs and contains 12 episodes featuring
interviews with Woody Allen, Lucille Ball, Jack
Benny, Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, George Burns,
Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Groucho Marx
and The Smothers Brothers.
There are 14 hours worth of interviews and material
on this DVD set. At this point, I only scratched the
surface of what is available to watch. Last evening
I spent several hours watching the interviews I thought
would interest me the most. Allow me to talk briefly
about each...
As a kid, The Marx Brothers were the funniest comics
I ever knew. I adored them and watched their films
on television whenever they aired. It would be a
very special treat to see one of my comic idols,
Groucho Marx, appear in an interview....and
here he was!
There are actually two separate interview episodes
that feature Groucho, but it is the September 5, 1969
appearance that I think his fans will most appreciate.
This episode features Groucho for a full hour as he
recalls his years growing up in NY, playing pranks on
MGM producer Irving Thalberg, and playing it straight
with actress Margaret Dumont. Groucho also treats us
to three songs including his most famous, Hello
I must be going and Lydia the tatooed lady.
If you asked me what my all-time favorite Woody
Allen film would be, I would quickly answer, Take
The Money and Run. Here, in a 1969 interview,
Woody appears hot off his tour promoting that very
film. There's a very funny question and answer
sequence with the studio audience, and Woody even
makes an attempt at doing some push-ups. Watch for
a very special interview with Ruth Gordon who
steals the spotlight away from everyone that evening.
Another childhood comedy icon of mine was Jerry
Lewis. Though I never really knew him from his
Dean Martin days, I certainly followed him through
his solo career. Here, Mr. Lewis appears during his
"greasy hair" era in an interview where we see the
comic in top form. There's a very funny sequence
that involves questions from the studio audience,
as well as a rather revealing moment where the comic
briefly discusses his feelings about the breakup
with Dean Martin. There are two great clips from
The Errand Boy shown that remind you what
a great job Paramount did in restoring that film.
Also very interesting here is Jerry talking about
the release of The Day The Clown Cried, which
has been greatly talked about over the past few years
as it was a controversial film that never saw the
light of day.
Finally, I ended my evening watching a female
who deserves to be listed under the moniker of
"legend." I am sure she is a comic idol of just
about everyone reading this review. Her name, of
course, is Lucille Ball. In this interview,
Lucille is promoting her recently released film,
Mame. She is also coming off of a long-standing
television career. I always knew that Lucille Ball
was a very tough individual, as through her
determination, she moved through the ranks from
a mere chorus girl to the Queen of Comedy. From
watching this interview, I couldn't help but see how
hardened this lady has become. Still, she's very
sweet to Dick Cavett and openly talks about her
feelings of motherhood, love, and finding the perfect
husband.
The overall video presentation looks a little rough
around the edges. The screen captures I took looked
somewhat blurry until I sized them down. You'll see
the same results on a large-screen TV. One must
consider the video quality of the time and the fact
that nobody ever expected these shows to be released
on a higher resolution format. With that in mind, the
shows are quite viewable and any imperfections will
not detract from your enjoyment of them.
The audio sounds fine as if it had been cleaned up
for this set. In fact, the only audio imperfections
I found happen within the interviews themselves. A
rather badly soundproofed studio reveals fire engine
sirens during the Jerry Lewis episode. While
interviewing Lucille Ball, we hear the pop of
an overhead light bulb exploding.
Final Thoughts
I should mention here that each episode has a newly
filmed introduction by Dick Cavett, who often provides
some very candid behind-the-scenes stories of the
guests appearing. There are also a few extras here
that include alternate openings, outtakes and other
assorted interviews that I haven't even gotten to
look through as of yet.
The Dick Cavett Show Comic Legends is a purchase
I recommend for anyone interested in having a piece of
archived history in their homes that ought to be in a
museum. A rare glimpse at true comic "legends" whose
talent may never again be matched.
Available: NOW
