Simply A Masterpiece

From my favorite movies..

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This comedy duo were the perfect example of 1950s pop culture comedy and showed the importance of connecting with an audience. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were and are still regarded as the greatest comedy team in the history of show business. From 1945-1955, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis transformed and reinforced a lively form of comedy and created a unique chemistry that people were completely devoured by. They created this electrifying mix of two opposites and worked off each other brilliantly, it was new and fresh and it worked. They took the world by storm and entertained anyone who watched. Jerry's outlandish and eccentric slapstick style coupled with Dean's slick, suave and smooth charisma and charm made for one of the most prolific and enchanting duos in comedy history. They were brought into the public mainly by their own rotating series "The Colgate Comedy Hour" which showcased their individual talents and made them even more known to the wider public. Their relationship sparked a partnership that would last a decade to the day and in that decade, they created innovative and entertaining comedy that people then were very surprised by, pushing the limits of what people expected on live television. Their routine focused on Jerry being a dumb-witted imbecile and Dean being the cool-headed and sensible adult which made for a funny yet balanced humour and selflessness of the comedians that would go on to be the centre of the majority of their sketches on "The Colgate Comedy Hour". They made television history as they were the first comedy team to really make such a financial impact and gather such popularity on television. Their form of comedy was very physical and 'in your face', making for funny and bizarre moments of unprofessionalism making the audience more comfortable and relaxed in their presence, showing a sense of rough and uncultivated humour especially with their constant breaking of character adding a sense of realism and heart beneath it all. No one could really fully explain why Marin and Lewis worked so well but they did a tremendous job of creating humour. You could not even call it fourth wall breaking because really there was no wall to break, it was all very transparent and real, dynamic and had elements childish maturity and mature childishness. Not only did their comedy warm the hearts of millions but it made a lot of money for studios as they made a total of 16 films as a duo and they all made a lot of money showing how much profit this sort of pairing could make. Profit became such a large part of film production and it became a leading decision making factor, if the film was unlikely to make money then it would most likely be scrapped rather than considering the creative integrity of it, the indie film movement is later introduced in new Hollywood a lot more. The lovable and honest ideas of their sketches made it easier to laugh at them especially with how funny it was, filled with perfect timing and fresh jokes and recurring ones alike made their work one of a kind and it wasn't only till later that people appreciated their comedy and were now seen as kings of comedy. They transformed comedy on the big screen and created a sense of partnership and connection with the viewer, people that others could laugh at, a very important part of modern comedy today but not as witty or physical. They were important figureheads for comedic duos to come after them, they were very influential and their work is still relevant and funny today showing how ahead of their time and in tune with the world they were to be able to keep their comedy fresh 75 years later. Duos like Martin and Lewis were very important as they showed relevance and light heartedness in a period of political unrest and not to mention WW2 which had just ended. They were a place of relief and happiness and made a lot of people appreciate laughter on television in the 1950s. Jerry Lewis sums up their partnership very well in their interview on Person to Person with Edward R. Murrow in 1954 as quote: 'We knew that Dean was the good looking guy and I was the goof and it would make for a good combination, but at the same time I think that the affection that Dean and I show in our work and the potentness involved in our performance that so many older people feel that Dean is more or less a boss or the authority and I am the underdog and so many people in life go through this everyday that they can laugh and chuckle at reality'

I own a DVD that is entitled "The Abbott & Costello Show". But it's actually two episodes of "The Colgate Comedy Hour". From what I have seen it looked like a good show. But again I have only seen two shows. Both shows were hosted by Abbott & Costello and they were hilarious. It featured many different skits and bits including the "Two Tens For a Five". And of course it had everyone's favorite "Who's on First?". I really enjoyed the quick banter between the two. I heard the best Abbott & Costello routines are the ones preformed in front of a live audience. Costello was great at ad-libbing and it shows here. I have only seen a couple of the Martin & Lewis movies and they were good. So I'm guessing the ones hosted by them were good too. I really recommend this to anyone who likes comedy and especially anyone who hasn't seen the "Who's on First?" bit. It's classic stuff.

Not all Colgate Comedy Hour episodes originated from New York. In fact, when it began, production originated from New York and was kine-scoped for West Coast broadcast. Beginning with the second season, production was divided between Hollywood and New York, with the majority of episodes originating from Southern California. The show started in New York and ended in L.A. The first Los Angeles-based episode of the show aired late in September 1951. All of the Los Angeles-based Colgate Comedy Hour episodes seem to have been filmed instead of aired live, as I have seen with a December 1952 Abbott and Costello-hosted episode. Fred Waring was the final host of the series, and on Christmas Day 1955. The first Colgate Comedy Hour to originate from outside New York or Los Angeles was from Philadelphia in 1951 not Las Vegas or Miami in 1954. No sooner did the show end did Los Angeles overtake Chicago as an important center for TV production, as it remains 50 years later.

An earlier comment claims that an episode in November 1953 was the first color television broadcast ever. That is not so. The Federal Communications Commission, on Oct. 10, 1950, approved a color television system developed by CBS that was not compatible with existing black and white television sets. However, a court challenge by RCA, which was developing its own color system that was compatible with black and white sets, tied up the inauguration of the CBS color system until a decision for CBS by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 1951.Finally, on June 25, 1951, CBS broadcast a one-hour program in color, called "Premiere", featuring Ed Sullivan and other CBS stars, and carried it on a five-station East Coast CBS-TV hookup.The episode of "The Colgate Comedy Hour" broadcast in color in November 1953 was actually the network debut of the rival RCA color television system. In December 1953, the FCC formally reversed its earlier decision and approved the RCA system as the color standard for American television.