Monty Python - Mattress Skit

[@HunterZolomon]

Chapman's behaviour just *before* he puts a bag over his head is priceless! The mattress skit was actually a Monty Python experiment where they tested the theory that no matter how insane people behave, it needs consistency.

[@pbrucpaul]

Carol Cleveland is So Cute in this

[@Rubyofthedead]

Well, reality shows that insanity does tend to have some kind of logic to it. There's a weird pattern to it, whether it's excessive impulsivity, repetitive behavior, obsessions, excessive impulsivity, repetitive behavior, obsessions, excessive impulsivity, repetitive behavior, obsessions, excessive impulsivity, repetitive behavior, obsessions, excessive impulsivity, repetitive behavior, obsessions.

[@FitzgeraldStanburyWeissV]

​@@RubyofthedeadI see what you did there 😉

[@martinworld7214]

@@pbrucpaul so what , get over it

[@olleronn616]

I LOVE the ferocious energy that Graham uses when he puts that bag on his head. Makes me laugh everytime.

[@FilmGeek44]

"Now I've got to stand in the tea chest!" There will never be anyone like them again, they are the masters of sketch comedy.

[@elwrongo]

I liked it better when it went and got into the fish tank when anyone said mattress

[@FitzgeraldStanburyWeissV]

It's a shame really, comedy will never be the same again.

[@biffyqueen]

My mom that the great thing about Monty Python is that things start out normal and get sillier and sillier as the sketch progresses, and this is a perfect example.

[@wenqiweiabcd]

+biffyqueen It doesn't exactly start normal either, what with Jones running around holding Cleveland in his arms...

[@samuelholmes3696]

+biffyqueen Yes and if things get too silly Graham Chapman comes on dressed as a British Army officer and stops the sketch for being too silly.

[@lancebaker1374]

Yes, your mom, indeed!!!!

[@DarkRubberDucky]

Get on with it. GET ON WITH IT!!

[@shannonkohl68]

"And now for something completely different" is their modus operandi. They start out acting straight, and then start throwing curve balls at the audience. This sketch, the Architect's Sketch. The Argument Clinic, Dead Parrot, it is an evergreen strategy. Too bad so many comedians these days can't figure that out.

[@OreadNYC]

In my opinion, one of the best Monty Python sketches ever -- it never fails to make me laugh (and it's been far too long since I had a really good laugh).

[@Omnywrench]

I was introduced to Monty Python via a cassette tape my dad owned, and this was one of my favorite bits. Though on the cassette they changed a couple lines to better fit the audio-only format: for one, instead of a bag, Mr. Lambert puts a metal bucket on his head, and instead of a tea chest it's a fish tank, so you hear sloshing water noises before he starts singing.

[@LarryHankJones]

This is the sketch that hooked me. Summer of 1975. One of my older brothers had told me to keep an eye out for Monty Python's Flying Circus. He didn't say anything else. I was expecting airplanes! It wasn't just how hilarious it was, but how unlike anything I'd ever seen before, as well. It changed my life, it really did.

[@cyberspore00]

I became a camel-spotter because of this show.

[@-danR]

*Did someone say "airplanes"!?*

[@LeechHat]

"SOMEBODY SAID MATTRESS TO MR. LAMBERT-- TWICE!" Best line ever.

[@samvolchenboum4637]

Shouldn't it have been 20 times?

[@benw4409]

To this day I cannot take the Jerusalem hymn seriously in any way. Thanks to the genius of the Pythons I now associate that song with Eric Idle and John Cleese singing in a tea chest.

[@Giubarchetta]

I'm from Brazil moving to the UK and I only know the hymn because of Monty Python :P

[@bluebear1985]

They also used it in a sketch when the church police came. They concluded their arrest with a hymn, which happened to be this one.

[@justgonzothegreat]

That's why they have to rule it out as a possible anthem of England

[@stravinsky1300]

To this day, whenever I hear someone talking about buying a bed, I want to start singing "Jerusalem" even though I know they wouldn't understand what I was doing!

[@maximrobi]

Pff, what's the next thing you'll say? That Brian is not the Messiah?! 🙄 Smh..

[@Laurie_Ramone]

Omg I've seen this scene more times than I can count and only just noticed Carol mouthing "dog kennels" along with Terry at 2:19 😂

[@TOCC50]

MGTOW

[@linnycrocus6023]

I wish Graham Chapman was still alive...otherwise he's perfectly alright.

[@ZacharyRodriguezVlogs]

Oh, he's not dead, he's only resting.

[@mahtimonni97]

@@ZacharyRodriguezVlogs Look. I know when I see a dead comedian wehn I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

[@jimjones-d1p]

Change "was" to "were" and this be a funny comment.

[@TheFourStringViking]

Not only can Graham Chapman act his way out of a paper bag, he can act his way back into it (also, he does it really fast).

[@ketmaniac]

I worked on a BBC transmitter in 1969, and I got home after evening shift just in time to see the first ever episode of MPFC, broadcast in some late night slot on BBC2. My mate, who shared a flat with me, was on night shift, and missed it. So I told him all about it next day. The following week he worked evenings and I had nights, so he had to watch and tell me the sketches. And so we went on week after week, taking it in turns to memorise whole chunks of dialogue for each other. Happy days.

[@freddywaller1713]

BUT ITS MY ONLY LINE

[@kathleenbyrnedalton]

WELL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY IT!!

[@jdm1505]

I've always liked the small details. The model name of the bed, for example: "The Comfydown Majorette".

[@connfyoozed]

An appreciation for something I never noticed before in this: at 2:47 Eric tries to step into the tea chest but trips and nearly falls over. He doesn't even flinch or let it throw him off in the least. It looked like it was an accident and not planned, but it was so smoothly done that I'm not even sure about that.

[@Retrochild1979]

I absolutely love this sketch because Eric has such an amazing smile and he just doesn't stop in this! Gorgeous :-D

[@PedroPouchucq2010]

my favourite sketch by them! Simply brilliant!!

[@ScotishChristian]

This one is a good one but I loved their mouse organ sketch.

[@TheRealTricky]

It's stupidity is just plain brilliant, and funny. Only Monty Python could create something as brilliant as this.

[@SerbAtheist]

I love this sketch. More or less, the birth of Carol Cleveland's MP career.

[@themightychickens]

I wan't to file a complaint. This sketch is too silly!

[@DarkenRaul1]

Yes, well the complaints department is over in room 12D. But really, this sketch is in violation of Section 21 of the Strange Sketch Act and has committed an offense against the Getting Out of Sketches Without Using a Proper Punchline Act.

[@BFBCFTW]

She sounds like a boiling kettle at the end.

[@ken131]

I've just realized now how well this sketch flows and how well it was edited.

[@awelcruiz]

This sums of Monty Python perfectly. No matter how ridiculous the premise, it still remains consistent in it's insanity. :D

[@jbjaguar2717]

How did they discover that Jerusalem was the song that would cure him? They must have gone through a lot of patriotic songs before that. I vow to thee my country, land of hope and glory, god save the queen....

[@logancasner8467]

Plus standing in a tea crate... must have been one interesting weekend

[@EXXTSON]

Fucking hell i laughed so hard hahahaha

[@randomname123]

perfect example of monty python silliness. Love it

[@Tmanaz480]

"Did you say mattress?" "A little".

[@williamcrowe2576]

(Cut to the Brigadier) Brigadier: Now, I've noticed a tendency for this show to get rather silly. The last two sketches were very silly indeed, and the one about the bed was even sillier. Now then, nobody likes a good laugh more than I do... Except for my wife and some of her friends... Oh yes, and Captain Johnson. Come to think of it, most everyone likes a good laugh more than I do... But that's beside the point!

[@WowbaggerTheInfinitelyProlonge]

After that speech, I feel the urge to stand in line to join the MARY.

[@cristinabumbac151]

These guys could make amazingly fun any thing! Gosh I miss them...and I shall do it forever because nobody could at least get to a very tiny part of their clever humor!

[@everett3862]

This is my only line

[@Vojife]

I like how it's probably enough to sing the word "pleasant"

[@thevideogamenerd100]

"But it's my only line" wow lol

[@ryanzkizen]

I love watching Monty Python skits specially when I am stressed after work.

[@GoldeneyeMarine]

It's amazing how funny these random skits are lol

[@ReedCBowman]

I had to dig this up to show my wife why "stand in the tea chest" is family shorthand for performing any sort of silly list of operations needed for unclear reasons to get various tech to work.

[@DeadNorwegianBlue]

Eric is cheerful when he says: He puts a bag on his head

[@stonedsheep12321]

oh my god i love this sketch seen it a hundred times and its still hilarious. keep up the good work python!

[@glitch373]

He should have said that the gentleman multiplied everything by 30 not 3.

[@KalebG]

Damn you right!

[@therealwillsmith]

maybe he multiplied everything by 0.3 then?

[@glitch373]

FIlho Da Puta But he didn't

[@mellowsign]

+FIlho Da Puta Are you telling me that the length of the bed is about 8 inches?

[@jennifercramer2156]

+WZFreakOnDrugs Yes. They are tiny.

[@LemonBalmYT]

Okay so barely anything ever makes me laughed this hard I've never laughed this hard I'm definitely going to share this video with everyone I know

[@WillScarlet16]

I literally just saw an ad for Nectar mattresses before this video started!

[@jjnelson222]

This is probably my favorite sketch.

[@Noycey64]

Hey everybody, somebody’s said mattress to Mr Lambert!.... twice!

[@kraken589]

I know this is probably the most random sketch (puts a bag on his head) "now I have to stand in the tea chest"

[@henridelagardere264]

Lesser comedians would have resorted to the bawdy _Carol Cleveland on a mattress_ theme and garnered a few cheap laughs. In the Python universe, however, the viewer is being offered an education: As progressively unpredictable and off-the-rails as this skit may seem, the order behind the chaos will become unmistakeably clear if only you're willing to watch and listen and forget your preconceptions for a while. The rewarding experience might be compared to suddenly discovering the beauty of avantgarde jazz and subsequently becoming a lifelong aficionado, like with these brilliant Brits (plus one Yank).

[@EarlHebert-c8w]

This is still better than Customer Service than we get today.

[@johnkoziol]

Is it odd that every time I hear "Jerusalem" this is the first thing that comes to mind?

[@markh.6687]

Right! Stop that! This sketch is entirely too silly!

[@Decoy_Octorok]

This is the best sketch to come out of Monty Python, in my opinion.

[@JanPBtest]

A lot of their sketches became reality. Like practically _all_ of their parodies of news broadcasts are regular on TV news now.

[@MaryE171]

I love Eric's hair and smile. LOL.

[@sailorv8067]

❤❤❤

[@kevnar]

I spit coffee all over my monitor laughing. Hilarious.

[@toxluo]

when graham says that the dog kannels are on the second floor, does it meanthat in reality they're on the sixth floor?

[@ondrejgalambos4033]

Best. Skit. In. History. Of. Television.

[@MWSin1]

We're gonna need a bigger tea chest.

[@playboymaxim]

LMAO I would have found another store after the guy says "if you say matress he puts a paper bag over his head"

[@kozmamate9d]

XD fantastic sketch. It's so cute when Carol laughs at 2:05

[@atomicagegamer3693]

This skit would be a great way to teach conceptual algebra to kids. 10x = 800, 3x=6, etc.

[@sopralto817]

Oh, that was the best episode! It had the Dead Parrot sketch!

[@randyhorner592]

Ahh, Norwegian Blue, beautiful plumage!

[@zxcvnmtgb]

Veeeeeery underrated sketch. One of their best.

[@VirusMan254]

"I did ask you not say you not to say mattress!" LOL! I love Monty Python!

[@cepson]

^Would happily run across London with Carol Cleveland in my arms.

[@sm21454]

"But it's my only line!" One of the best one-liners ever! Except for her incredibly shrill wailing right afterwards. Although that wouldn't TECHNICALLY be a one-liner, as she didn't say it, she shrieked it. I love Monty Python!

[@peterbrown6224]

She could have been shrieking in her spare time.

[@douglassun8456]

IIRC, "But it's my only line" becomes part of the link to the next sketch. And that's the problem with clipping the sketches from the TV show. You lose that context, and she's just shrieking into nothing.

[@ScotishChristian]

Shouldn't Mr. Lambert have said "Pet's Department 6th floor" ?

[@niklaswintren8985]

Not necessarily, 6th is not an amount- it's an ordinal number

[@willstanwyx1335]

Nope. Turns out the pet department is on a mezzanine.

[@ethanlivemere1162]

ScottishChristian Maybe the pet's department is on the 2/3 floor

[@davidfisher5599]

Well done.

[@barry1369]

ScottishChristian maybe it was actually on the 0.6th floor.

[@drottercat]

This is my favorite sketch.

[@Zaeriuraschi198]

This is my new favorite Monty Python sketch.

[@NewMoonIV]

Thanks for sticking up for me, man. Even though you probably weren't intentionally but still ;)

[@awkwardbarry]

@Jobrosforeverandever WELL SPOTTED! I've been watching this for 20 years and I never noticed that.

[@jesus3373]

@free0fight LOL! Yes, technically that's true. Hey, great to see the full sketch leading up to the Lumberjack Song on your channel. I've not seen that in years :)

[@skraez]

"But its my only line!" "Well You didn't have to say it!" LOL, gotta love 'em

[@RaineyHayes]

One shouldn't need to be a math genius to purchase bed supplies.

[@bastlake]

and if those teeth, in ancient times, gnawed upon england's mountains green...

[@minnesotabuoy]

I would have never learned of the William Black poem and the hymn Jerusalem without this sketch. It never comes up in America.

[@xKissMeImYourLovex]

"BUT IT'S MY ONLY LINE!!!" Oh my tummy hurts from laughing!!

[@BritishComedyUK69]

Never grows old x

[@WAAAAAAAAAAAY]

I've trying to remember this sketch fr ages. Absolute genius

[@KyleRayner12]

I love the matter of fact way he says, "Now I've got to stand in the tea chest."

[@xleper17]

top 10 favorite sketches, definitely

[@kraken589]

This is so random but I love it!

[@JJ62]

@ItSBraining It's called Jerusalem, the classic English hymn, written about 100 years ago by Hugh Parry, from a poem written by William Blake in the early 1800's.

[@asaguda]

Why do people keep stealing my ideas? XD AFAIK, I was the first one to come up with that random train of thought and noone ever credits meh. D:

[@ZeldaQueen64]

@Jobrosforeverandever Probably, but either he only made things 10 times bigger when it's a definite number (he would have done it if he'd have said "two times" instead of "twice") or they just decided to drop that running gag to keep things from getting too confusing by then.

[@x.x.7646]

A brilliant classic. Thanks

[@darkamethystprincess]

You contridicted yourself there... "I love Monty Python" and yet "what movie is this from?" It's from their television show Flying Circus--better than any of the movies they've made!

[@themedia1271]

They helped me pass my math class

[@procrastinator300]

the first time i saw this i didn't realize it. now i get why they want a mattress haha

[@ShadesofScorpius]

Well there you go! I'd never seen that one. Yay for new experiences with Monty Python! :D

[@bigcoolviking]

I HAVE SEEN THIS SKETCH 14000 times but mind you I do happen to be over 600 years old now so I have had the time!!

[@haleyhoudini]

Freaking awesome and slightly odd. Still love it! :D

[@Infinitis]

that was great! xD randomness conquers all!

[@76juno]

@dim432 The song is actually a hymn written by William Blake.

[@MonacoLager1]

My absolute favorite Python sketch!!!

[@nighthawknina86]

monty python never gets old! i loooove graham chapman

[@CountArtha]

BRING ME MY ARROWS OF DESIRE

[@davidrule385]

4:30 "We want a mattress." (Mr. Lambert put the bag over his head once more.) "Oh, why do you say that for?!" "But it's my only line!" "Well, you didn't have to say it!" LOL

[@batmanofni]

I love the way they all bounce off at the end.

[@peterholley5802]

They just start bunny hoping at the end for no reason 😂😂😂 Python is the best

[@VirusMan254]

Thank you, you are the voice of this generation! :)

[@izzygirl867]

I agree with you. Comedy is not to be taken seriously, that's why it's comedy. And the reason I love it. Besides, the sketch was most likely meant to be ironic, that's why it's funny.

[@discospec]

sounded a bit like a tea kettle at the end there. fav skit of mine.

[@lisambofoh]

I'm so bad at math, I'd need a minute or two to think about every number the guy told me.