You Bet Your Life: Ep. 50-06

You Bet Your Life: Ep. 50-06

Originally Broadcast: Thursday, November 9, 1950 at 8 PM ET on NBC

Plot: Two newlyweds, a florist and a housewife and a recent Army draftee and a Spanish-American War vet play for $1,500.

Analysis: Boy, Groucho got some gems from society for this one. The housewife is an absolute ham, almost a Southern caricature. Get the feeling Groucho felt like someone had just dropped a present in his lap for this one. Speaking for myself, I love the vet and the draftee the most. First off, it’s amazing the contrast: a 72-year-old vet from the war with Spain and a newly minted soldier most likely headed for Korea, since war had just broken out five months before. Plus, the draftee is African-American, the first time going over these DVDs we’ve seen ANYONE African-American on television. Keep in mind that the U.S. Army had only officially ended segregation by executive order two years previously, but would refuse to put African-Americans on the front lines until casualties started mounting up in the white units and the Army would officially end the policy of segregation in 1951. Basically, you have in microcosm how much the world is changing right in front of you. To say nothing of the fact that the draftee is a riot, throwing off one of the best one-liners I’ve heard in a while when Groucho asks about his rank.

Bottom Line: The show itself still looks pretty rough with a curtain over the wall, but the contestants bring out Groucho’s A-game. Honestly, well worth checking out both for the history and the laughs. Once again, the DeSoto-Plymouth commercials are included as extras, but not with the episode itself.

You can find the episode on Groucho Marx – You Bet Your Life: The Lost Episodes (http://www.amazon.com/You-Bet-Your-Life-Episodes/dp/B0000ALFZ0/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285464137&sr=1-2), along with 18 other episodes of the show.

More You Bet Your Life next time.