Sid Caesar and Howie Morris perform Double-talk (the lost comedic art of foreign language imitation) in this parody of a German WWII general and his valet. From 'Caesar's Hour', NBC-TV Sept. 26, 1954
IIGlockedII.....this skit is pure fucking genius. My jaw drops to the floor every time I watch it. I just watched an interview hosted by Charlie Rose with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as the guests. Reiner said that Sid Caesar was the indisputable master of “fake-language-double-speak” and this clip verifies it without a doubt. The trick is that all the punchlines have to be either in clear English, or in a pidgeon English sufficiently discernible enough to carry the joke. To me, Sid Caesar usually came off as a “too over the top” throwback to the vaudevillian tradition, but this sketch blows my biases out of the water. And the ULTIMATE punchline... that the “general” is little more than a hotel concierge has a particularly “Jewish Schadenfreude” sting to it. What a joy to behold!
Love the Yiddish spin on that punchline. And “epaulet tickelin” is pure comedy gold. It’s SO obvious that Mel Brooks wrote that sketch. I think he was 20 when he joined the writing staff of The Show Of Shows. His style is ALL over this segment.
I think i’ve seen this interview, and it’s true, without a doubt. It’s convincing enough to think it’s a real language until he speaks a little english, which makes it even funnier
By today's standards, Sid was definitely of the Vaudeville tradition. But, back in the day,, he was an avante garde force moving entertainment forward. He reminds me of the Jews in my own family-- trying to do our best by everybody and not catering to certain groups. I've read several interviews with Sid, and that seemed to be his modus operandi. He was proud of being Jewish, but wanted to entertain everyone without making anyone feel like they weren't privy to the joke. He was a true mensch that way.
Rest In Peace Sid Caesar. A true comedy genius. A television pioneer. I met him in 1982 when he signed his book "Where Have I Been?" for me. He was such a gentleman to me. Such a priceless memory for me.
I have been looking for this sketch most of my life. I'm 32 and I remember watching it when I was about 4 years old. I had no idea what they were saying, but I remember enjoying it because of the acting. I didn't know how to even begin searching for this sketch, even as of today. I happened to have my tv on Conan O'Brien on TBS just now, but I had it on mute. Mel Brooks was a guest. I looked at the tv by chance and I saw that this skit was on. I fuckin' jumped up from my chair and recorded some of it with my phone. Thankfully, Mel Brooks said the name of the skit. I'm so glad that I have found this. This truly brings back the memory I had of it. And it is still funny. I'm still in total shock right now. YEAH!
I remember the "Show of Shows" TV show with Cid Caeser and Imogene Coca back in the 1950's.It was without a doubt the absoute best ever Comedy show then and now. Timeless comedy genius
They actually expected the TV audience to have some passing familiarity with high culture, historical references, and the art of elegant schtick. You actually had to pay attention to every line. Even then, we all knew we were witnessing a genius. And the rest of the cast was right there with him. Thank God and Edison that we were able to record this for posterity.
Really makes you wonder how many brilliant performers there were in vaudeville and the early 1900s we will never get to see though. We are indeed lucky for the ones that DID get recorded.
Genius. Today is nothing but garbage by comparison. I'm 58 but I really should have been born in the late 40s. It would have better matched my personality. I grew up in the 70s though so iť was àn incredible time to grow up in. It was the last of the good times when the world felt ĺike it still had meaning. Kids still played in the neighborhood streets, every channel on tv had amazing shows and movies to watch, people still cared more about each other, kids still respected their parent's, elders and teachers, families ate together, our environment was much healthier, and people still felt hope about the future. Their were problems, sure, but it felt like tomorrow would be a better day. Today everything has gone to shit! Technology has complicated everything. It will be the downfall of humanity despite some of its positives.
What these guys did week after week for years, LIVE in front of millions of people is astounding ... there has never been anything like it before or since. The era of live television was special and its performers unique ... and Sid and his team were among the best.
@@Kinja98 Yes,The Colgate Comedy Hour ... another great live show. In my opinion it was among A&C's best work because they were working with a live audience.
I saw this on TV when I was a little girl My mother never watched. This was my dad's and my favorite show back then. He was so funny my dad, I mean he would laugh so hard it made me laugh. I loved Ceasar, Howie Morris Carl Reiner and Imogen Coca
RIP Mr Sid Cesaer ... you made me laugh SO much, and your skits with Imogene Coco were also fabulous. You were an amazing talent, that today's generation has never seen. Love RU-vid so we can share and enjoy for years to come! I haven't been listening to the news today whilst at work and didn't know.
Proud to have beaten the germans and able to make fun of them. Thif was probably.5 years after wwll. This beats even springtime for germany (1968) for impersonating der furious führer.
I've seen this sketch so many times that I can see both Howie and Sid crack smiles when one of them out-gibberishes the other one. There were a couple of times when Howie almost started laughing but caught himself and kept going without skipping a beat. I do know (due to his appearance on Conan's show) that Mel Brooks actually wrote this sketch. The dialogue is obviously improvised since it is 100% gibberish, but they definitely had a roadmap of what to do, and when. Conan picked this specific sketch to show a clip of because he thinks it is perfect and has the best ending of all time for any sketch.
Oh there definitely was a script, but I'm also sure there was plenty of ad libbing going on. Mel Brooks has a section of his biography dedicated to his time learning and writing for "your show of shows" (with two other writers). There is a lot of interesting insight in his book that actually brought me to this sketch.
Wonderful... they probably rehearsed this only a few times and it was a little different every time- but the "general" idea. pun intended was the same...then did it live in one take. Gifted comic geniuses.
Timo Mlr FW Murnau’s The Last Laugh starring Emil Jannings, to be more exact. But it’s not as though this sketch is anything like that film, except for it’s inspiration of the ending joke.
@@JZ-mn8wv The Last Laugh was a serious film, this was a comic gem. The ending is the only similarity between the film and the skit. The film was the inspiration for this skit.
The reference to the 50yd dash medal, just the kind of business ceasar and his writers loved to stick in. And the referance to Emil Jannings great tragedy lifts this beyond merely sketch comedy.
Liberal yet expert interlineation of Yiddish. I am assuming this dates from the early 50s. Ten years earlier, the Germans were terrifying the world: parading under the Arc de Triomphe; driving toward Stalingrad; and liquidating the Warsaw Ghetto. Here, two immensely talented American Jews (yes, I am fond of Ernest T, he made my mother laugh bless both their souls) were burlesquing but not dehumanizing or degrading these bogeyman - the mensch victorious over the ubermensch. A glimmer of Springtime for Hitler? Wonderful to see, thx for posting.
A terrific sketch! I knew Sid Caesar so far only from the film "Vegas Vacation" (1997). Then I met a brilliant comedian know. (Thanks to youtube.) Too bad, he died a few months ago. In many videos I am now learning to know him. I'm sure now have up there to laugh a lot! (I hope you understand my lousy english.)
I hadn't heard of this until I saw Mel Brooks on Conan last night as he wrote this skit. Mel Brooks told a story about Howard Morris where his dad died and they wanted to charge $70 dollars for an alabaster urn with his father's ashes, refused to pay it, bought a can of coffee, had his father's ashes, threw them on the Hudson river and a gust of wind blew it back on him just like the scene in "The Big Lebowski" with John Goodman and Jeff Bridges. Search Conan and Mel Brooks
I just seen a partial clip of this scene on JLTV's Jewish Broadway called "The American Melting Pot" The entire program was great featuring some of the greatest entertainers in shows I've never seen because of my age. It came from The Show of Shows and was called "Brushin' the Prussian".
Wahrhaftig, aber Morris scheint Deutsch wirklich sprechen zu konnten. Und Ceasar wurde in einer yiddish sprechende Familie aufgewachsen, und deswegen konnte deutsche Worte manchmal richtig treffen.
