You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
TV-G | 05 October 1950 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    Grimerlana

    Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

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    Chirphymium

    It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

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    StyleSk8r

    At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

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    Dana

    An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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    kattikissa

    I want to locate copies of the three consecutive shows that my mother, Tuulikki Woods, was on. Groucho found her when she was modeling appliances on the Queen for a Day Show and invited her to be on You Bet Your Life. She was fresh from Finland and he loved her! On the last week, my father joined her and they won over $1000 dollars, a real fortune to them at the time. I have only seen the show where both my parents are and she displays her ignorance of western geography by answering a question about Mexico with "New Mexico". My dad jokes that the suit is paid for when they win $200, but the truth was that he rented it. My mother told me that Groucho was rather lecherous and she had to slap his hand numerous times. She liked George much better. Does anyone know how I can get copies of these shows? I believe they were made in 1960...

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    davebeedon

    Groucho sat behind a high desk or lectern, talking to his announcer, the contestants, and the audience, raising his eyebrows or grinning slyly to make or emphasize a joke. He often fiddled with his ever-present cigar. I can't remember if he actually smoked the cigar on the show, but it would not surprise me if he did, as smoking was pervasive in those days."You Bet Your Life" was probably shot on a theater stage, as I remember curtains behind the performers. The announcer/straight man George Fenneman, stood nearby (left side of TV screen), his dark hair lying tight against his scalp, perhaps slicked down with Brylcreem or something similar. (To see Fenneman in a dramatic role, watch the original version of the movie "The Thing.") When this show aired on TV in the 1950s, I was in grade school so the verbal humor, aimed at adults, usually went over my head. From a kid's perspective the best part of the show was the institution of the "secret word," announced to the audience (but not the contestants) before contestants appeared on the stage. If a contestant uttered the secret word during the show, he or she would win extra money. Groucho mentioned this concept when introducing the guests at the start of their appearance ("Say the secret word and win $100.") If a contestant said the secret word, it was acknowledged with the appearance of a puppet-type duck that was lowered from above on a string or wire. The duck's mouth held an envelope containing the money and its face was modeled after Groucho's: mustache, thick eyebrows, and (I think) a cigar in its mouth. Great fun!

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    jacksonc

    I watched this when I was a teenager in the 50s. I caught a few episodes on cable around ten years ago. It wears well. Groucho was a master at the double entendre. Mae West had nothing on him. One example: there was a married couple who had 19 children. Groucho asked the man why they had so many kids. The man said it was because he liked his wife. Groucho replied, "I like my cigar too, but I take it out once in a while." This was more than 40 years ago, it is still timely. Watch it, if you can. You won't regret it.

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    ivan-22

    I've seen only the first episode, but it's clear that every single show is priceless. Groucho is absolutely brilliant, self-confident, mischievous and avuncular. There is no one like him. The contestants are also fascinating. This show is fresh, spontaneous, relaxed. It's a shame that it isn't being rerun. It has both entertainment and documentary value.

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