Cheap Honeymooners Vol. 25:Stand-In for Mur (Video) (Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows) (Frank Satenstein) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Honeymooners Vol. 25:Stand-In for Mur

The infamous Honeymooner episode with no ending
This videotape has the infamous Honeymooners story without an ending, "Stand In For Murder" (Length: 40:37; April 17, 1954). The problem was that the studio office got so hysterical the show ended before the skit. It seems Ralph is a dead ringer for a mob boss who is currently lying low to avoid being bumped off by a rival gang leader, Barney Hackett. When Nick, one of his henchmen, sees Ralph on his bus, he gets the bright idea of setting up Ralph to be bumped off instead of his boss by offering him a job as an executive in an insurance company. When Ralph goes to "work," the first hit fails, so Nick sends Ralph to Hackett's headquarters. Ralph thinks he is there to sell insurance, Hackett thinks it is a showdown. There is also a fun scene involving Alice finding Ralph with the mobster's girlfriend. Unfortunately, only the studio audience saw the ending of this one. I have also read how Gleason tried to explain the ending the following week, but I have never heard exactly what that ending happened to be! Apparently, it caused a media frenzy at the time. Also included on this tape is a first season sketch, "Lunchbox" (Length: 9:08; March 28, 1953), finds Ralph complaining about what Alice has been packing him for lunch. Then another bus driver shows up and informs Ralph their lunchboxes got switched that day. I love watching Ralph squirm and Alice glare while the other guy raves about the lunch. This is a short skit, but very, very funny.

---

Stand-In For An Ending???
This is less of a review and more of a "warning" of sorts to people who consider and buy this tape. In the episode "Stand-In For Murder" Gleason plays dual roles - that of a gangster and of Ralph Kramden. Because this was performed live, the show ran over due to long laughter and so many costume changes by the star. When you watch this, you will see that the show ends in mid-sentence. The viewer is never made aware of the ending. The following week Gleason gave one of his most famous monologues, describing to the audience how the show ended. He talked for so long that the show ran over again that week! But anyway, this tape is nice, and the show is a good source for a few hearty laughs! The only major mistake MPI made was not including a summary of why there is no ending, and including Gleason's monologue on the ending of the show would have been a very welcomed addition.