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ARTICLE
DVD Review: The Color Honeymooners - Collection 1 (1966)
by R.J. Carter Published: June 17, 2006
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: June 27, 2006 Distributor: MPI Home Video Cast: · Jackie Gleason · Art Carney · Sheila MacRae · Jane Kean Related Sites: ·IMDb: The Jackie Gleason Show
Grade: B
From the fun and sun capital of the world, Miami Beach, comes this set of color episodes of The Honeymooners. Starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, these skits vary widely (but not too widely) from the black and white comedy sketches. Gone are Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph as Alice Kramden and Trixie Norton, replaced with Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean. The episodes on this set are all from "The Jackie Gleason Show", which was filmed in front of a live audience (whom you sometimes see in camera cutaways), and opened with a song and dance number. Episodes would also have two other musical numbers with the cast.
This collection of episodes features a running continuity, which begins in the opening episode. When Ralph's brother-in-law wins a cruise from a slogan contest, Ralph's jealousy gets the better of him, and he breaks the budget buying products that are all running similar box-top promotions. In an unusual turn of events for the Kramdens, Ralph actually wins one of the competitions, and the Flakey Wakey cereal company awards him an "around the world" trip for four. From there, the Kramdens and the Nortons are off to Paris, Italy, and the rest of Europe, where trouble awaits them at every stop.
In Ireland, the Kramdens are welcomed as royalty -- because of the curse placed on the village when Ralph's ancestor eloped with a lord's daughter. The town hopes that Ralph's arrival will break the curse on their hops that makes their beer taste awful -- if they can get him to spend a night in a castle and confront a ghost! But the castle isn't haunted by ghosts, but by countefeiters. Later, in England, the Flakey Wakey company wants Ralph to go on television for a promotional appearance. They only want a smile-and-wave, but Ralph decides to make it into a full production, and he produces it right into disaster on a show that lampoons "The Jackie Gleason Show". The episodes end with a planned trip to the French Riviera being rerouted to Africa for a safari adventure.
Alice and Trixie shop for bathing suits for the Riviera,
but Ralph and Ed have already made up their minds to go
on an African safari.
L-R: Gleason, McRae, Kean, Carney.
The politics of the times take center stage in another episode when the crew makes their way to Germany -- a Germany that's still divided. On a hike in the German Forest, Ralph and Ed hike their way right across the border into East Germany, where they get in Dutch with the Russians!
The bonus featurette focuses on Gleason's decision to move "The Jackie Gleason Show" from New York to Miami Beach -- a move that involved more than just him. He relocated the entire crew: actors, dancers, musicians and more. And it was done by way of "The Great Gleason Express", a train that Gleason hired that made multiple whistle stops along the way. There's an interview with Gleason's widow, Marilyn Gleason, and a lot of archival television footage of the event.
There is no audio option other than English subtitles, and the video quality is disappointing, being a direct transfer without digital cleanup. The cost of the DVD must be driven by fan demand for these episodes alone, rather than the work that went into production.
The Color Honeymooners Starring Jackie Gleason Collection 1 Disc Guide
Disc 1
Disc 2
In 25 Words or Less
Ship of Fools
Poor People of Paris
Confusion, Italian Style
Curse of the Kramdens
The Mod Couple
Disc 3
You're in the Picture
We Spy
Petticoat Jungle
Bonus Feature: "The Great Gleason Express" (9:22)
