I've been watching at least one a day for the past few months, this show reeks of gracious good humor, intelligence and wit. I love these people and don't care what "party" they belong to because they all understood the strength of unity. We were only eight years past the ending of WW-II. Thanks WML for posting these!
Greer Garson exuded class, style, charm and intellect. A great actress who spoke impeccably well. She always dominated the screen with her wide eyes and delightful facial expressions.
I've always thought Greer Garson was one of the truly classy ones, and from any account I have ever read a very good person. Too bad Bennett picked up on her so quickly! Oh well, she more than made up for it in 1958 when the panelists couldn't decide whether or not she was a woman!
It's cool how a week prior, Eleanor Roosevelt was the mystery guest. Greer Garson would end up playing Mrs. Roosevelt in "Sunrise at Campobello" in 1960 :)
One can't tell in this black-and-white television show: Ms Kilgallen's question about a "characteristic that is particularly glorious in Technicolor" refers to Greer Garson's famously rich red hair.
When Greer Garson was Mystery Guest for the second time she used a very husky, deep voice and if I remember right the panel (among them Orson Welles) failed to recognise her.
@@screenactorsguilable The rules of the game were changed in April 1955, including having the panelists ask the mystery guest one question at a time in rotation. Before that change, questioners could continue until they got a No answer, as in the regular contestant rounds.
Yes it was. And it would have been perfect for a show on April Fool's Day. Unfortunately, no one picked up on Dorothy's lead when she said goodnight to Bennett instead of Steve.
@@juanettebutts9782 I do too. The audience at home and in the theater was able to see the usually glamorous apparel of the ladies. As the show "matured" the apparel, hairdos and makeup usually became more elegant and sophisticated.
Puds Deroiste - My favorites are Goodbye Mr. Chips, Random Harvest, and the 1940 Pride & Prejudice w/Lawrence Olivier. I also hear she was marvelous in Mrs. Miniver but I haven’t seen that one yet.
Mrs. Miniver. The Valley of Decision. Random Harvest. Mrs. Parkington. When Ladies Meet. Desire Me. Blossoms in the Dust. Try and watch every movie she was in. You will be amazed.
I can’t believe they had people exiting behind John Charles Daly. Thank goodness they changed that and also got rid of that walk of shame in front of the panelists.
Greer Garson did "Pride and Prejudice" at MGM in Victorian costumes in black and white. Greer had done the dramatisation before in Regency costume in colour for BBC television in the 1930's. There is a small silent clip of film and Greer looks spectacular in colour.
Imagine the folks seeing Blossoms in the Desert upon its release. It must've been breathtaking to see her beautiful red hair for the first time. I know that I was impressed and delighted when I first saw it on TV in the '70s.
Quite a coincidence! The mystery guest, Greer Garson, was my all-time favourite actress and I note the show was originally broadcast two days after I was born!!
+Johan Bengtsson And you didn't see them in NYC in 1953. There's a reason that challenger's establishment was in New Jersey. In the 1930's and early 1940's, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia drove them across the Hudson River into New Jersey, allegedly as part of his campaign against crime and corruption. Some say it was based on his suspicion or knowledge of who owned these established; others say that it was related to his puritanical views. Although LaGuardia left office at the end of 1945 when he did not run for reelection, it did not return to New York under the next two mayors (one of whom was leaving office at the end of 1953). By the time more risque forms of entertainment by females became legal again in NYC, the higher forms of burlesque that made it more than just striptease was pretty much dead in America.
Today's RU-vid Rerun for 11/17/15: Watch along and join the discussion! ----------------------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: ru-vid.com/show-UChPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w
Hello, I'm immensely grateful to whomever made these videos possible. I'm a retired university RN and was so unhappy due to the virus pandemic. Finding WML has greatly cheered me up and I've spread the word, especially to friends and former colleagues not born here. I don't want them thinking we were always rude, intemperate, unsupportive, and discourteous ect. Thank you again.
Hello friend I have been watching this show for more than five years, and I ave recommended it to all my friends and colleagues as a good example of high-class, humorous English. I am living far from you in Iran but I feel united with you all through this classy show, and I am addicted to it. Even these days that we go to the streets to protest against the Molla's dictatorial regime, coming home, this show is my comfort and rest.
Oh, huh, I didn't notice, the first time I watched this, Bennett's joke about Julius LaRosa around 16:16. He'd just been fired on-air (on October 19th) by Arthur Godfrey for, basically, becoming too popular.
At 2:00 John Daly tugs his earlobe... could this have been one of _those_ earlobe tugs, the ones supposedly meant to quash a topic of conversation, or was that the other ear?
Your correct. A tug on the right earlobe meant a change in conversation was needed. I'm guessing now but I thought this might have been because Hal Block used the double entendre quite often and that was the reason given for his contract not being renewed.
I am surprised that no one laughed when Bennett Cerf guessed gynecologist for Mr Myers given that the audience at that time laughed at nearly anything.
Miss Parker was engaging and, apparently, somewhat locally famous. (It helps that the Belvedere was, too.) I found a 1988 article on her, and her obituary. (Died in 2000.) articles.orlandosentinel.com/1988-07-14/lifestyle/0050300145_1_ronald-reagan-barber-hair articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-12-16/news/0012160143_1_barber-miss-parker-sunee Mr. Myers, meanwhile, shows up in a bunch of Billboard magazines from the 40s, since he was the manager of record at the Empire for awhile. I think Mr. Elsea was on a publicity campaign, since he not only appeared on WML, he got into a newspaper article the same month. news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19531027&id=uN0rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=02UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1366,3845495&hl=en
She looked much younger than 40 years old. She was so personable and one of those people who is aptly named. I would imagine the men enjoyed their conversations with her as much as they did the "tonsorial" experience (to use Bennett's terminology).
Love how Greer Garson preps for her first answer after Bennett’s question: She pretends to chew gum and then channels a stereotypical 1940s blond starlet from Brooklyn.
Interesting that the panelists and the host all attended college, with Bennett, Steve, and John having college degrees (not sure how long Arline attended college) - for the 1950s, those folks had a lot of education. Also interesting that out-of-staters mention being from a city followed by state. A lot of New Yorkers mention they are from a borough or from a city (with or without mentioning the state), but other New Yorkers mention they are from a city followed by Long Island, as if Long Island is a separate political entity.
It's interesting how the panel picked up on the first contestant's physicality and thought she appeared strong (and perhaps muscular?) She's so slender and thin!
They usually read the trade papers to know which celebrities were in town. That's why Greer said she knew the jig was up when she ran into Dorothy in a department store--Dorothy would know she was in New York.
Wow, a burlesque theater contestant. I thought that would be kinda risque for the mores of this show, I thought Mr. Daly said it was a family show. Interesting, yes. It was at 10:30 at night though, so that was probably acceptable. Hmmmm! I watched with my mom sometimes as a kid, but that would go right over my head, Lol!
I saw one episode where John Daly used a little "small conference sign" (which, I think, had been given to him by a viewer) to cover up his face while he whispered to the guests. I don't remember seeing him use it in any other episode -- he just went back to using his hand. I wonder if the producers made him get rid of it.
The Empire Theater was shut down the month and the year I was born in, it was on Washington Street in downtown Newark N. J.. But then there was The Little Theater that lasted from about 1930 to about 2018 I think, pretty long. Interesting and kinda funny the looks on Mr. Daly's face on some of the questions. I was in my mom's belly when this one aired or I would have asked her, mommy what's burlesque, I was a very inquisitive child, Lol!
Wow not a titter from the audience at 'gynaecologist'! A modern studio audience would've fallen about. Here it sounds like they held up the 'don't laugh' card. :)
First time since Jul 5th that a guest was asked to do anything more than shake hands. First time the panel was introduced backwards. Greer was 4th MG to be guessed with $0 (Bennett passed) John said “good night” after the introductions. Bennett’s hair is getting darker; Arlene’s is getting lighter. At 21:24, John warns the panel they only have a little over 3 minutes. Of course, what he meant was, “use up that time!” Bennett was too dense to understand and he almost guessed correctly. Fortunately, Dorothy was next. She was a team player and managed to use up 1 minute. I’d say John owed her a steak dinner. At first I was surprised that Steve wasn’t the first to question Mr. Myers. Then, I realized they wee counting on Dorothy to ask if a product was involved. She didn’t disappoint. With that “no” out of the way, Steve could start his gambit.
There is definitely value in the "formal" way everyone is speaking, but at the same time they often undermine a question with overcomplicated phrasing.
I can't explain what's going wrong for you, but there's audio on this video and it plays perfectly fine. 23,000 people have already watched this video without noting that they hear no audio.
At about 18:53 Dorothy mentions black and white videotape, but I've read that the 1st TV show to be videotaped wasn't until November, 1956. If this show is from 1953 what am I missing?
Greer Garson`s voice is glorious so unique,the way she said"Well thankyou" i could listen to that all day,not to mention her wonderful face those high cheekbones upward sweeping eyebrows and her smile,she was stunning in this show.
I was 2 years old at the time. In an amazing parallel with your life, I too have gotten much older. I comfort myself with the observation that growing older sure beats the alternative. ;-)
Christopher Tate I disagree-- I can't think of any overt instance of obvious camera hogging by anyone but Dorothy. It seriously annoyed the other panelists that Dorothy did this, as Bennett discussed in a long interview he gave about his career.
Weellllll.... I can certainly see that Ms Kilgallen makes a bad habit of it, but it did seem to me that once in a while Bennett in particular would ask a string of two or three additional questions, particularly of celebrity guests, that indicate he obviously knew already who the guest was. It's particularly striking in contrast to Steve Allen, who would typically guess outright as soon as he had some inkling.
Christopher Tate Probably true-- it's just impossible to remember 760 available episodes! But Dorothy was the real screen hog, at least in the 1950s. It seems to me that she "outgrew" this tendency by the 1960s (or possibly was instructed by her castmates or the producers to cut it out already!)
