Jackie Gleason on "Cavalcade of Stars" (1951)

★★★★★ · I'm surprised by Art Carney · Archive fan · 2008-08-09

I've read of the pre-Audrey Meadows Honeymooners but have never seen one. I enjoyed Pert Kelton, especially at the end of the piece. She was quite a good actor and would have moved the series into a whole different direction than her successor. The big surprise to me was Art Carney. Jackie Gleason's Ralph is the same, Joyce Randolph's Trixie is the same, and I expected Norton to match his later persona, too. That particular characterization is very close to what Art Carney used as "Newton the Waiter," a part he played in the Morey Amsterdam show (also in the Internet Archive). But Art Carney…

★★★★★ · Gleason Cinescope · jackpoint188 · 2012-07-23

I was just thinking of Pert Kelton's characterization of Alice and a thought just struck me. In order for two people to live together in marriage she may have been directed to act like a female version of Ralph and get as angry in order to cope with such a hot head.

★★★ · Seeds of greatness · Tenor madman · 2008-03-22

Most of the ingredients that made the Honeymooners a huge hit are here already. The big difference here is Alice. She's not played by Audrey Meadows like we're used to seeing later. She's played by Pert Kelton, the original Alice. The reason given at the time for her replacement was that she had health problems that kept her from continuing on. But the truth was that she was kept out because of the blacklist of actors and actresses thought to be communist at the time. Notwithstanding, I think the chemistry between Gleason and Meadows was more balanced than what you'll see here. Still, the…