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For a generation too young to know that George Burns had a career long before Oh, God!, this Burns and Allen collection will be a wonderful discovery. This boxed set contains six episodes of the show that ran from 1950 to 1958, featuring George Burns as the straight man (believe it or not) and his scatterbrained (to put it nicely) wife, whose constant flubs and misunderstandings create laugh-out-loud scenarios. You would think her shtick would get old, but the more episodes you watch, the more you realize just how smart Gracie is, and in all her confusing ways, she gets exactly what she wants; she only gets funnier along the way. The first tape includes "Columbia Doing Burns and Allen Story," in which Columbia Pictures decides to make a movie on the life story of the couple (a tremendous disappoint to Gracie; she prefers Paramount because they put more butter in their popcorn). Things go awry when Gracie thinks that George has a wife and four sons living in San Diego. "Gracie Doing a Picture Without George" continues the performance theme when Gracie finds on old telegram asking George to do a Broadway show without his partner. Not realizing it's 30 years old, Gracie tries to force George to leave in one of the most ridiculously funny scenes ever presented on television. The second video contains "George and Gracie Hear a Burglar," in which Gracie is convinced that a robber is roaming around outside. Detective Sawyer despairs at another phone call from the Burns household, but comes over to investigate. "Gracie Sees a Holdup--Johnny Velvet" has Gracie as a witness to a bank stickup headed by a Mob boss. When they kidnap her to keep her from testifying, they can't seem to get rid of her fast enough. Instead they decide to steal George away, but plenty of mistaken identities ensue. Gracie as the fumbling kidnapee is absolutely hysterical, and you can't miss the cameo appearance by the man who at the time was known only as an actor, Ronald Reagan as himself.
The final video contains "Gracie Buying a Ranch for George." After a weekend on Fred Astaire's ranch, Gracie is determined to buy George a ranch, despite his having no desire to live on one. The second episode, "Von Zell's Girlfriend Between Trains," has Gracie posing as Harry Von Zell's wife, after he tells an old sweetheart that he's married. Gracie is at her finest as she tries to remember her name is Mabel Von Zell. As an interesting bonus, the original show sponsorships are left on the video, giving us a glimpse of the advertising world of the 1950s. --Jenny Brown
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