Streaming, rent, or buy Jack Benny Show – Season 1955:
We try to add new providers constantly but we couldn't find an offer for "The Jack Benny Program - Season 1955" online. Please come back again soon to check if there's something new.
39 Episodes
S1955 E1 - Tv Or Not Tv
S1955 E2 - Funny Money
S1955 E3 - The Golfer
S1955 E4 - A Woman's Work Is Never Done
S1955 E5 - A Matter Of Life And Death
S1955 E6 - The Sleepwalker
S1955 E7 - Better Living Through TV
S1955 E8 - Pal O' Mine
S1955 E9 - Brother Ralph
S1955 E10 - Hello, Mom
S1955 E11 - The Deciding Vote
S1955 E12 - Something Fishy
S1955 E13 - Twas The Night Before Christmas
S1955 E14 - The Man From Space
S1955 E15 - A Matter Of Record
S1955 E16 - Oh, My Aching Back
S1955 E17 - The Baby Sitter
S1955 E18 - The $99,000 Answer
S1955 E19 - Ralph Kramden, Inc.
S1955 E20 - Young At Heart
Watch Now
The Honeymooners: 1955–1956 "Classic 39" is not available for streaming.
Let us notify you when you can watch it.
Something wrong? Let us know!
Synopsis
The "Classic 39" episodes of The Honeymooners are the ones that originally aired as a weekly half-hour sitcom on CBS from October 1955 to September 1956. Before Gleason's initial three-year contract with CBS expired, he was offered a much larger one by CBS and General Motors' Buick division (the carmaker having dropped their sponsorship of Milton Berle's Buick-Berle Show after two seasons on NBC). The three-year contract, reportedly valued at $11 million, was at the time one of the largest in show business history. It called for Gleason to produce 78 filmed episodes of The Honeymooners over two seasons, with an option for a third season of 39 more. He was scheduled to receive $65,000 for each episode ($70,000 per episode in the second season), but had to pay all production costs out of that amount. Art Carney received $3,500 per week, Audrey Meadows $2,000, and Joyce Randolph (who did not appear in every episode) $500 per week. Production for The Honeymooners was handled by Jackie Gleason Enterprises Inc., which also produced the show's lead-in, Stage Show, which starred The Dorsey Brothers.[14][21] Reportedly, only Audrey Meadows, who later became a banker, received residuals when the "Classic 39" episodes were rebroadcast in syndicated reruns. Her brother Edward, a lawyer, had inserted language to that effect into her contract.[23] However, Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton, did receive royalty payments when the "lost" Honeymooners episodes from the variety shows were released.[24] The first episode of the new half-hour series aired on Saturday, October 1, 1955, at 8.30 pm Eastern Time (during prime time), opposite Ozark Jubilee on ABC and The Perry Como Show on NBC. Because it was sponsored by Buick, the opening credits originally ended with a sponsor identification by announcer Jack Lescoulie ("Brought to you by ... your Buick dealer. And, away we go!"), and the show concluded with a brief Gleason sales pitch for the company, all common practices at the time. However, all references to the carmaker were removed when the show entered syndication in 1957,[22] although "And, away we go!" was a phrase Gleason frequently used in various shows and is inscribed at his gravesite as his memorial catchphrase. The initial critical reaction to the half-hour sitcom Honeymooners was mixed. The New York Times and Broadcasting & Telecasting Magazine wrote that it was "labored" and lacked the spontaneity of the live sketches. But TV Guide praised it as "rollicking," "slapsticky" and "fast-paced."[14] In February 1956, the show was moved to the 8 p.m. (EST) timeslot, but already had begun losing viewers to the hugely popular Perry Como Show.[2][3] Gleason's writers also had begun to feel confined by the restrictive half-hour format—in previous seasons, Honeymooners sketches typically ran 35 minutes or more—and Gleason felt they were beginning to run out of original ideas. So, after just one season, Gleason and CBS agreed to cancel The Honeymooners, which aired its 39th and last original episode on September 22, 1956. In explaining his decision to end the show with $7 million remaining on his contract Gleason said, "The excellence of the material could not be maintained, and I had too much fondness for the show to cheapen it.”[14] Gleason subsequently sold the films of the "Classic 39" episodes of the show to CBS for $1.5 million.[21]
Cast
Contribute to this page
Do you have a release year suggestion for The Jack Benny Program - The Honeymooners: 1955–1956 "Classic 39" in the United States?
Top gap
