He was very lucky to have been able to work with Orson Welles, David Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock. Yes he should’ve been nominated several times for an Oscar.
Whoever put these up here thanks a million. They take me back to my youth and thoughts of my family gathering around the TV to watch this wonderful show. Joseph Cotton was a blast.
I also would like to express my enthusiastic appreciation to the individual who took the time and effort to make these gems available. This has become a favorite refuge on nights when there are only vapid comedies, repetitive crime dramas, and formulaic action movies on TV. Watching this program is like relaxing and enjoying a parlor game with witty guests. I constantly find myself choosing to enjoy a batch of these programs over lame DISH and Netflix programming. Dorothy Kilgallen and Arlene Francis especially are delightful with their amazing perspicacity and wit. The panelists, both regulars and guests, bring great fun to the guessing of even the most unremarkable occupations. The banter is the treat.
Amapola Franco I agree! Well stated! I loved this show as a child and it is a pleasure to watch as an adult! Thanks for the hard work done to post these whoever did it! I m curious know who you are, and I’m concerned that the postings I see from you are 4 years old. Are you all right?
@@wildflowerred6323 You mentioned a lot of negative programming on current TV. And you are so right. But you did (now could you?) forget the horrible news on TV on a daily basis. My consolation is this program as well as otter and kitty cat videos as well as opera and classical symphonies all on You Tube.
@tinwoods Ideas and modes of conduct are in one sense, relative. They had quite a few black musicians, actors personalities on... this was in NYC not bumfu-k Alabama...so yes in places of urban sophistication there was civility... in other places, not so much.
I know! Back then there was a social register, and all sorts of exclusive circles in "high society", and certain celebrities were part of it, and I'm sure she and Martin Gable were there. But, all of that aside, she was just plain cool! Always quick-witted, and cleverly irreverent and entertaining, on top of being a great player on this show. Just a great mind!
@@Jolar70 I love your profile of Arlene! You did a wonderful--and exacting--job of truly understanding the depth and beauty of her sense of humor. I have watched a number of these "What's My Line?" videos recently (including some that I had probably watched with my mother in front of our RCA b&w television set, but of course not remembering their specific content). I am absolutely convinced that she was a "natural," a truly "skilled" humorist whose qualities you so aptly defined. She could have matched any of the famous comedians of her day, comedians who were known only in that genre. Arlene was certainly a versatile and very talented individual in her era. ~drs (07/14/24)
The play "Once More, with Feeling!", starring Joseph Cotten, Arlene Francis and Walter Matthau, opened on Broadway on 21 October 1958 at the National Theatre. It ran for 263 performances.
+Steve Burrus It closed on June 6, 1959. The original cast also included Dan Frazer (later Capt. McNeil in Kojak) as the sixth lead and understudy to Joseph Cotten, and Bill Macy (who would go on to play Bea Arthur's husband in Maude) as the understudy to Matthau. Matthau was nominated for a Tony but did not win.
+Anahi V. F. Thanks. I was going to go look that up and you provided the info right here in the comments. Very helpful. 263 performances means "a hit", no? or does it mean "did reasonably well"?
Arlene's asides produce a lovely wit with such ease. I love the way she uses innuendo at a time when innuendo could or should only go so far. I really do feel, seeing as her contributions were so immediate and unprepared, that the Arlene we see on camera would've been the ond we would've had off camera too.
Dick Powell is one of my favorites. I love something about the timbre of his voice. Always thought somebody could've made a ton by releasing albums of the songs he sang at the end of his classic "Richard Diamond" radio show. Mr. Powell left us too soon.
A major reason why I love watching all of these episodes of "What's My Line," aside from being able to recreate in my mind the experience of watching this program with my mom back in the 1950s, is to "experience" the grand display of love and respect that all persons--those who come before the camera over the course of this half hour program, show for each other. It's wonderfully refreshing; and it proves that such caring and respectful attitudes, such meaningful displays of cordiality, never go out of date. (As an aside, and bringing it forward now to September of 2024, I absolutely love it when somebody puts my emotional concerns at rest by simply saying to me, "No worries." For me, this is a powerful statement; and as brief as it may be, it holds within its deeper meaning a beautifully subtle expression of love and respect, both of which I cherish.) ~drs
thevbm thelord - I love Joseph Cotten too and try to watch any movies of him on TV whenever they are on. There are a few WW II movies I love to watch over again. And The Third Man was another gem. I just didn't know he was so much fun. I just love WML.
an almost impossible civilized TV show..can you imagine an entertainment "vehicle" of this sophistication being a commercial success on prime time Network television today?!
eoselan7 in general I agree, however the wolf whistles from the audience are not appropriate, especially when young ladies as guests are concerned. There’s so much politeness and manners in this show, the whistles are surprising.
Joe Debono I wonder if there were women on the show, on the receiving end of whistles from men, who actually experienced them as a compliment? It is considered now to be a demeaning and aggressive act in a post-feminism world, but do most women agree?
Before Joseph Cotton sat down for questions, I was wondering how he could possibly conceal his distinctive voice. He came up with a great solution. The panel figured out who he was only by their close connection to him and the knowledge that he was currently performing on Broadway.
I'm watching these in chronological order and I wondered years ago why somebody hadn't yet used the 'bubbles' voice. In the show's tenth season, Joe Cotten finally did.
Just got back from watching Arlene and Joseph in "too much johnson". So fun to see that they got to work with each other on another stage production after their time with the Mercury Theatre.
I've just 'cottoned on' (sorry!) to the bassline of the signature tune. What a great bassline! Swing tunes with clever arrangements were everywhere of course by then but hey...still a nifty thing! What's more they make you feel safe and comforted. The world's an ok place after all with such happy tunes like that.
Mr. Rhay got into the prison business via his wife, whose father was also prison superintendent. Mr. Rhay eventually took over, and served for 20 years as superintendent. (Then he tried to start an experimental program, whose funding was denied, and afterwards became Commissioner of Corrections in Montana. Died in 2012. Also, had 7 kids.) unusualpunishmentbook.com/b-j-rhay/
I recall seeing Joseph Cotten in the movie, "I'll be Seeing You," in 1944. It was wartime, and I was 10 years old. I can still picture one scene, in the rain, I believe, between Ginger Rogers and himself, and the theme song, "I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places...." Different times, different war. The whole Nation ached, and sacrificed, and was involved every minute in the news and the friends and relatives who had joined the day after Pearl Harbor.
For those who have been remarking on all the wolf-whistling or other kinds of whistling WML audiences would engage in for nice-looking women as contestants or mystery guests, I note there was a ton of whistling when Joseph Cotten entered and signed in. A lot of the time, it was just a matter of making the ovation more enthusiastic when someone was either very popular and well known, or who had done such a good job of entertaining the audience so as excite them. Not necessarily sexist, at least not all the time.
ToddSF 94109 It's my understanding that the show had someone from the staff that could and would "wolf-whistle" for guests lest there not be enough of it from the audience. Wouldn't want anyone to feel that they'd received an inadequate reception.
Getting the audience to provide lots of applause and cheering, including whistling, was definitely something they wanted to do. If nothing else, it helped excite the people at home and make them pay closer attention, and perhaps give them more of a feeling of "being there" when they weren't actually there. Most TV shows with live audiences would have someone come out before the broadcast began to "warm up" the audience -- usually a comedian hired for the purpose. Then, too, all TV shows with live audiences had a lighted "applause" sign someone would turn on momentarily when they wanted the audience to applaud -- the warm up person would get the audience to take note of the applaud sign and practice applause on demand when the sign would light up. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the whistling wasn't recorded and broadcast over special loudspeakers in the studio -- someone in the booth would press a "whistle button" and the recoded whistling on a tape loop would start and get visiting audience members to join in with the whistling. Pretty young women and major celebrities of either sex seemed to be the main recipients of whistling on WML.
Jim Stark it wasn’t about perfection. If you are qualifying “Politically Correct “ which even today is a biased political ploy used to take offense at any and all things then I’m doubting you are older or yourself don’t understand the signs of the times not meant as demeaning. Today, of course it is probably more extinct. I watch this show not to draw distinctions that don’t go with today’s political agenda or norm, but just to enjoy the much older days when people spoke better English, weren’t fat, had better manners and dressed better. Also, to see wonderful celebrities of the past.
Any time there was a good looking lady as a guest, Bennet always asked the question "do your good looks have anything to do with your job"? And he got a no 99% of the time. What a wasted question.
Also the questions are always super suggestI’ve. Like if it’s an attractive woman they always say “do you touch the people you come in contact with.” or “ are they in other than a standing position when you touch them?” It’s like they are suggesting that the guest is a hooker.
some women get a job only because of their looks. when a company wants a woman to advertise their clothes, they are not going to hire a Sumo wrestler or a woman who has a face like the wicked witch of the west. a yes answer narrows it down.
@@MrYfrank14 I agree with you 100% on what you say. My point is that it is such a low percentage question that I would not ask it. I don't think I have ever heard Bennet get a "yes" response on it though.
I always assumed it was because this was the early days of TV and they hadn't yet figured out how to get three chairs (Daly and two contestants)into the shot. you see the problem they had in one episode where they used three chairs for a, if I recall correctly, male Italian police chief and a female interpreter from the UN. I assumed they used three chairs in this episode because it would not have been proper for a woman to share a chair with a man she did not know. in this episode, you see the camera bouncing around trying to settle on a shot wthout cutting someone in half. those days all they had were cameras the size of a person on wheels that had to be pushed and pulled into position. these days they could mount small cameras on the desk or on an overhead remote-controlled crane.
*_Warden of Washington State Penitentiary_* *_Masseuse_* *_Lifeguards_* 20:00 A rhyme from my childhood: "Fat and skinny went to bed. Fat rolled over, and skinny was dead."
I keep chuckling that the men could wear the same suits every time and we wouldn't know, but the ladies have on a different gown for every show. Hope some are rentals or that could be very expensive for the show or ladies. Still remember the impact of seeing Joseph Cotten in 'Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte'. Wow.
23:35 Dorothy give us a preview of how WML double entendre dialogue might sound today if the show was on the air, when she days, "Good night Dick, come again."
I have enjoyed these programs since childhood in the 50s, but it is rather sad that none of Dorothy's friends ever questioned her death or the bogus coroner's report, which was controlled at the time by the mafia.
While Jc Ripp's observation of 3 years ago might not have been elegantly phrased it certainly did not deserve the sarcastic and derisive comments that it received. And for those self-congratulatory critics. I might point out that even though you don't like HIS perceived motives, you appear to have your own , and he is legally correct and even moreso today than then.
Growing up in that time where sophistication, glamour and wit was the norm not only on t.v. shows but in life in general, makes me sad to have to watch the utter sub human junk passing for entertainment today. Don't ever doubt it was a fantastically great time, when the chrome (on the cars) was thick and the women were straight.
Come on Beth, life is better now if for no other reason than the technological advances. Aren’t you happier watching WML and everything on your schedule, not one of the three networks? That thick chrome was wasting fuel and killing people, and while I appreciate cis women, some proportion aren’t straight and are no longer subject to derision. Agree totally that much of today’s entertainment is junk, but some - insert your favorite contemporary shows - are the best ever.
@@igkoigko9950 We have more gadgets now but lack the spirituality, the cohesiveness and comfort of the nuclear family, the safety so prevalent that we never locked our doors. We don't have respect for human life and God has been shown the door. Euthanasia, abortion and the warp speed toward the "great reset"..a totalitarian government looms very near. We run around with masks, afraid to be close to people, to hug them. We are plagued with more division between sexes, races and economic classes than every before. Our cities are burning with the plague of black lives matter and people don't know their history, and only taught to hate America. We have bad water, chemtrails, GMO's and not many hopes and dreams. Individuality is a sin and group think is encouraged. Yep, these are swell times. Take me back to 1965 and I'll be very, very happy.
Waving a white flag…IMO only… Why bring up what topics to muddy what generally is a great program… It was a different time when this show was filmed & I don’t think this is the platform to discuss what is already a very highly controversial subject.
I love Arlene, but she "pulled another Arlene" in this episode, guessing Alcatraz when the state of Washington was involved. Her geography skills are horrible. She previously thought Dublin was in England, and so forth.
Dorothy K.: "Well, are you a masseur?" No, Miss Kilgallen, a man is a masseur and a woman is a masseuse. Similar in concept to the difference between actor and actress or comedian and comedienne. I don't know why that's true for some professions and not others. I think nowadays, people who give massages of the sort given in health clubs or chiropractic offices prefer the term "massage therapist", but back then it was definitely masseur/masseuse depending on gender.
To my ear, Dorothy pronounces the "eu" sound in something very close to the proper French fashion, similar to the German ö or œ mixed vowel. English speakers don't use that sound much, and language coaches sometimes suggest approaching it as if an "r" followed, but instead prolonging and rounding the vowel instead of going to the "r". So to say Goethe, start with Gerta and remove the "r" that way. I don't hear Dorothy putting the "r" in masseuse, but it sounds as if the vowel was heading in that direction: roughly phonetically mass-se(r)z. Anything along these lines will get closer to French than the usual anglicized mass-sooss or -sooz.
He may not have been as jovial as he was trying to act like he was. His wife was in the last year of leukemia and passed away the next year. Suspect he was tired and sad on the inside and perhaps in the "put on a happy face" stage. Arlene likely knew his struggle.
Dod rhe network who re-ran these EVER manage to run their ad WITHOUT cutting off Daly's "we meet our first challenger after this short..." ??? SO SLOPPY every time. They couldn't have possibly been trying to get it right.
![What's My Line? - Joseph Cotten; Dick Powell [panel] (Jan 11, 1959)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
