Dick Van Dyke In Rare Form + Groucho Marx &
Redd Foxx Comic Legends (MPI)
Picture: C/C+ Sound: C Extras: C+ Main Programs: C+ each
MPI has
an interesting series in Comic Legends,
which takes often obscure footage of great comic talents and collects them on
DVD. The two volumes here are Dick Van Dyke In Rare Form and Groucho Marx & Redd Foxx. The Van Dyke set is appropriately named
because it is the most compilative in nature.
The main program comprises of clips from Pat Boones old TV show, hosted
by Boone. He talks more than one would
like, but you can forward through him and see how great Dyke was early on. With Dyke still hot thanks to his fuddy duddy
detective show and key appearance in the huge hit Night At The Museum, the timing for this volume could not be
better. He is without a doubt one of the
most underrated comic talents of the last half-century.
The same
cannot be said about the legendary Groucho Marx, whose feature films are almost
constantly in print and You Bet Your
Life game show a favorite on radio and DVD compilations as the show was a
huge hit in both mediums and for good reason.
This DVD has a late appearance on the forgotten comedy series One Man Show, which is the same source
for the Redd Foxx installment. Both are
funny, run a half-hour and are very amusing.
Groucho is still on the money and though he cleaned up his act for the
taping, Foxx is as funny and cutting edge as ever with a great touch of
political incorrectness that made him a groundbreaking legend. Fans of Sanford
& Son will enjoy the change too.
Both are DVDs that could not go on long enough, with each One Man Show installment running less
than a half-hour.
The 1.33
X 1 image varies and gets better along the lines of age. The Dyke footage is all kinescope, which is
an old video tube being filmed at the same frame rate, resulting in muddy
definition. The One Man Show installments with Foxx & Marx were taped in
professional analog NTSC color video, while the older bonus Marx standup piece
was taped in professional analog NTSC black & white video. All look about as good as can be expected,
though some minor upgrades would be a good idea down the line. All are also Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono,
including the new Boone interview footage.
Extras on
the Dyke DVD include two skits and a great episode of the 1959 NBC game show Laugh Line that is so good, someone
ought to track down all the shows and put out a DVD box set. The show involves stock actors assuming
different live action scenes, then the four panelists coming up with caption
ideas that are supposed to match in the funniest ways. Mike Nichols & Elaine May happen to be
two of the panelists in this case. The
only bonus on the Foxx/Marx disc is the black & white video of Marx doing
10 minutes of stand up, but it is very amusing, as expected.
- Nicholas Sheffo
