Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Burns and Allen Show

"If I say the right thing, please excuse me." Gracie Allen
Being a fan of old things I love classic television, and one of my favorites is The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show starring the greatest husband and wife comedy team. Burns played straight man to Allen’s dizzy dame. They started in vaudeville, became hits; moved to radio, became hits there; and then moved to television to become hits all over again.

George playing straight to Grace's "illogical logic."

The Burns and Allen Show has lots of appeal for modern television audiences. It was quite advanced for its day and it remains freshly unique from modern television trends. George’s character had the power to walk through the fourth wall to directly converse with and comment to the “live” audience. For fans of The Office this will feel similar to Jim Halpert’s sly smirks and stares, but it works out very differently.

In the Burns and Allen Show it allows George to step out of scene to monologue (with impeccable timing famously punctuated by his cigar) and occasionally manipulate plot towards a more entertaining ends.

The show’s unique stage set aids George’s comical flaunting of the fourth wall. It consists of two homes with partially-built walls (including front doors) facing the audience—unlike other shows which have no fourth wall and the ends of the joining walls are hidden to disguise the wall’s absence. George could walk through the walls to eavesdrop on Gracie’s scheming, keeping him ahead of his co-characters’ actions (although not always).

Gracie brings home a trimmed Christmas tree

But the most drawing feature of the Burns and Allen Show is Gracie’s lovably confused character with her loopy conversations and silly schemes. George Burns once described her character as “the American poster child of confusion and misunderstanding.” The real genius of the character is that, for Gracie, it is never really Gracie who is confused but those around her, and it is up to her to patiently set them straight. To do that she uses her unique brand of “illogical logic”--the things she says always have the strictest appearance of being logical.
"I was so surprised at being born that I didn't speak for a year and a half." Gracie Allen
Gracie’s character is very charming, loving and sweet. Her mix-ups frequently involve her earnest attempts to help her friends, and nearly everyone is a friend. Unlike Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy, Gracie is rarely driven by selfish and self-serving motives.

Those closest to her learn to wade through the misunderstandings and George encourages it (after all, this is how he makes his living as a comedian). Strangers become confused beyond natural sense often leaving their hats while fleeing Gracie’s presence. She then thoughtfully stores the forgotten hats after labeling them with names and personal descriptions (one of my favorite running gags of the show). George keeps a bottle of aspirin on the coffee table, for guests. When someone attempts to ask George why he stays with such a … he cuts them short, answering: “I happen to love her, that’s why.”

The show’s a blast of old-time charm, spiraling dialogue, innovative formatting, clever narration, and ambiguous boundaries that could only be made in the earliest days of television. In those early days television was new and the rules were not yet made.

Much like in early film and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, when rules and trends are unmade or unknown it allows creative talent to use fresh ideas and styles that are independent from the influence of previous trends and practices.  The result is an exciting and lasting originality.

A few samples:

Gracie's Checking Account- This is a very funny episode early in the series. It runs 30 minutes.
Lamb Chops- This is an eight minute film of one of their vaudeville routines. 


*Orson Welles had complete creative control and a very limited understanding of film-making when he made Citizen Kane, his first film. He had a strong theater and radio background.

1 comment:

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