"I'm often asked who is the world's funniest woman, and I guess I have to say it's a tossup between two ladies: Lucille Ball and Milton Berle." - Bob Hope
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
On November 28, 1976, CBS broadcast CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years to commemorate the anniversary of Lucille Ball's first appearance on the network. It was an important milestone - Ball was one of the biggest stars in the television network's history. The classic series I Love Lucy had been a ratings powerhouse, never ranking less than third during its initial run. Ball's subsequent shows from the network, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, were not as creatively exciting as her first hit, but the combined runs of all three series meant that Ball had been on CBS' airwaves for 20 out of the previous 25 years.
After an introduction by CBS chief William Paley, a cavalcade of Ball's costars and friends (including Desi Arnaz, Dick Van Dyke, John Wayne, Vivian Vance, Carol Burnett, Danny Kaye, Gale Gordon, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Dean Martin, Richard Burton, and Danny Thomas) wax about Ball's great talent and introduce clips from her shows. The clips are generous - the Vitameatavegamin scene is presented in its entirety, for example.
There are also clips from other sources. Carol Burnett introduces a fun musical comedy sketch that she performed with Ball on one of her television specials. Danny Kaye presents a nifty physical comedy routine that he and Ball performed on an unidentified show. These scenes probably cannot be seen anywhere else, and fans will definitely be interested in them. Everyone has seen Ball stomping grapes, but when is the last time you've seen Danny Kaye fling her under a table in a Japanese restaurant?
Another fun feature is a sequence illustrating how Ball is funny in just about any language. Dubbed clips are presented from her shows, and even without knowing what is being said, the clips still provoke laughter.
As fun as much of this show is, it also has flaws. The biggest is that it is entirely too reverential. The guests practically deify Ball, and the entire show leads up to Jimmy Stewart presenting the actress with an honorary Emmy Award in an obviously staged "ceremony." That Ball herself produced this special makes its tone even more grating.
The lavish praise heaped on Ball is especially ludicrous in light of the fact that most of the clips from The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy are nowhere near as funny as those from I Love Lucy. With the exception of a classic sequence featuring Ball, Vivian Vance, and an out of control shower stall and a few moments out of a lengthy sequence featuring John Wayne, the clips from her later shows are pretty grim.
The opening credits also suggest that there will be many, many more guest stars. It turns out that artists appearing only in old clips, like George Burns, are listed as guests even though they are not in any of the new footage. Attentive viewers will notice that some of the special's "guest stars" were actually dead when this program was produced.
This disc's simple menu design allows the viewer to play the special in its entirety or to jump directly to specific scenes. The navigation is a little tricky - accidentally highlighting the "Main Menu" option on the scene selection menus automatically brings up the main menu.
