I get the feeling that we are at the pinnacle of this show's history. The working of the show is so easeful as well as fully streamlined. The panel....Arlene is at the peak of her game with her wit and glamour, Bennett and Daly have fully evolved that competitive banter of theirs, Dorothy is sharp and honed into the deductive method. The guest panellists are all valuable contributors. Most of all, Dorothy is still alive. I'm really appreciating this period. I only wish Steve Allen was on the show more.
Regarding the comment about pig farms in Secaucus, Secaucus, New Jersey was once mostly pig farms. They served the nearby cities, and many of the pig farmers became quite wealthy. One even ran for president. But two things happened to close the farms. A virus swept through the area, killing a large number of pigs. And the Jersey Turnpike opened, which meant large numbers of people driving through who didn't care for the smell of pig. (This was before car air conditioning was wide-spread, so the majority of people drove with their windows open). These concerns eventually led to pig farms being banned in that area. It sounds as though the last one had just closed.
Took me a few minutes to realise where I knew Ralph Bellamy from - He was one of the Duke brothers in Trading Places! Then I imdb-ed him, and it seems like he was in every classic comedy from the 1930s!
He was one of those actors who was in *everything*, yes. Rarely a leading man, but always an asset to the productions he was in. And continued to act, as you point out, well into the 1980s.
What's My Line? -- Bellamy did a lot of television work, too, a surprising amount of it, in addition to all his movie work and his stage work. An actor's actor, I think. FDR became a signature role -- he played FDR as president in two lengthy TV miniseries based on two related novels by Herman Wouk -- "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance", both of which were novels featuring the same main characters and well worth reading, I think. Of course, his first portrayal of a FDR (considerably before his presidency) was in "Sunrise at Campobello" on the Broadway stage and not long afterward in the film adaptation of the same name, both of which are mentioned in this episode of WML. For me, Ralph Bellamy was , someone who loved his profession because it suited him so well. I think excellence was his real goal rather than stardom. I note that he never received an Oscar for a specific role, but in 1987 he was given an Honorary Academy Award "for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting". (The same situation occurred with Myrna Loy -- no Oscar for a specific role, but in 1991 received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.)
+What's My Line? but quite by chance, I had seen him as a leading man the day before yesterday in "Delightfully Dangerous" with Constance Moore and a very young Jane Powell. He was charming. But this must be one of a very few pictures, where he actually gets the girl in the end. I feel a great bit sorry for him in "Hands across the table" but a good actor he was anyway and a fine man.
My favorites that he was in are, His Girl Friday with Rosalind Russell & Cary Grant and The Awful Truth with Irene Dunne & Cary Grant. His appearance in Pretty Woman was cool.
Bennett's question to Ralph Bellamey, "Are you telling the truth? " was most likely related to Bellamy's being a regular panelist on To Tell The Truth, another popular celebrity panel game show, also produced by Goodson and Toddman.
I love when they have these thematic episodes, like the one featuring twins a few weeks ago and now Miss America to honor Bennett’s judging the pageant.
Dorothy was my favorite panelist. I love her thinking process, and her great smile and giggle. I read the book about the possibility that she was murdered. It seems very plausible.
Bennet Cerf asks if the mystery guest has been making a movie about gladiators. He was thinking of Kirk Douglas and Spartacus - although Douglas's career had not been as long as Bellamy said his had been.
Have I lived a sheltered life? I've seen big silk ribbons tied in a bow over the corner of boxes of chocolates...but not over anyone's ear before. Dorothy is certainly different!
It was rare for her hair to look good.. and the wigs and hairpieces were awful.. questionable hairdresser. ? I understand tho, I have thin, fine, curly hair…. 😢
Ralph Bellamy's nightclub dance scene with Irene Dunne in 'The Awful Truth' 1937 is a classic hoot. Bellamy's total seriousness throughout really sells it.
Was John off a bit during the Mystery Guest segment? He missed turning over $5 for the first no, and Campabello Island is in New Brunswick not Nova Scotia
@LisaDawnn: The introducer says "Line" with a big fat American "L". To me this "L" is very, very clearly heard, maybe because English is not my first language. ;)
Don't even bother, SuperWinterborn. She got teed off at me, stopped commenting, and deleted most of the comments she'd already left on the videos. I guess she missed this one. :)
SuperWinterborn Let's just say she made a lot nuttier comments than that. Most of them, mercifully gone. One delightful one found her wondering whether Martin Gable might have been a wife beater, on the basis of Arlene's occasional eye patches, and the tragic dumbbell incident. I kid you not.
What's My Line? Yes, I've read that one. None of them (Arlene & Martin) were the type anyway, not to beat anyone, or to be beaten. I guess the commentator is very young and impulsive.
Also, Bennett, as an actual previous judge of the Miss America pageant, is a cheater-pants. (I say this fondly.) In addition, RU-vid's recent decision to eradicate paragraphing in comments even on desktop computers annoys me. I suppose I should tell them this in feedback, come to think.
There's something I find creepy about these older men sitting on their laurels oggling women's bodies to judge them on their appearance. I'm glad we're evolving a bit to make this a competition and not some beauty pageant with so much focus and reward on JUST superficial appearances. Something about Bennett doing this just weirds me out.
The perpetually aggrieved - you people never run out of things to complain about. The Miss America pageant was conceived by Atlantic City businessmen to extend the tourist season beyond Labor Day. The first pageant was held on Sept 8, 1921 the following year it was renamed Miss America. In it's 100 yr history I don't think any girl has been forced to compete..