Friday, October 09, 2009

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod - You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Clock" (10-27-60)


Secret Word Clock (Aired October 27, 1960)


Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan. It was one of many non-rigged quiz shows of the 1950's which suffered in the ratings due to the scandals surrounding "Twenty One", "The $64,000 Question" and "Dotto".


THIS EPISODE:

October 27, 1960. Syndicated, WNEW-TV, New York audio aircheck. Clock. Participating sponsors. The first contestant is Sheila Flynn. The thirteenth anniversary broadcast of the program. Syndicated rebroadcast date: June 4, 1975. Shelia Flynn, Groucho Marx, George Fenneman (announcer), Jack Meakin (music). 1/2 hour.

FOR THIS EPISODE AND HUNDREDS MORE, FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BOXCARS711

Tell a Friend

No comments: