I've only seen about a dozen episodes from the earliest years now available on CD. Still, the magic is there thanks to Gracie's verbal nonsense and George's bemused straight-man. Tellingly, he shares the audience delight with Gracie's fractured reasoning. It's like he's a medium between her world and ours. Too bad Burns is often the underrated half of the couple's extraordinary success. Note, for example, how casually he breaks the fourth wall with bemused look and cigar in hand-- it's like we're sharing a Gracie joke together. As a team, their blend is effortless, as shown first in vaudeville, then on radio, and lastly TV.
Notable in these early entries is the miscasting of Hal March as Harry Morton. He's both too handsome and too youthful to fit Blanche's middle-age husband. Visually, he's a distraction from the otherwise ordinary looking cast. So, it's not surprising, I think, that both later versions of Harry (Keating & Clark) would be bald and unexceptional looking. Anyway, it's a classic series that deserves a full revival should the remaining episodes enter the public domain. Meanwhile I'll look forward to that day.
Notable in these early entries is the miscasting of Hal March as Harry Morton. He's both too handsome and too youthful to fit Blanche's middle-age husband. Visually, he's a distraction from the otherwise ordinary looking cast. So, it's not surprising, I think, that both later versions of Harry (Keating & Clark) would be bald and unexceptional looking. Anyway, it's a classic series that deserves a full revival should the remaining episodes enter the public domain. Meanwhile I'll look forward to that day.