SID CAESAR: U Bet U (CAESAR'S HOUR, Feb 6, 1956)

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[@epsteinisms1483]

I watched this brilliant sketch many times....until I spotted a bit of trickery: after Sid stabs the tree trunk with his sword there's a close-up of Carl. During that shot a prop man substitutes another tree trunk, with a sword embedded in it so Sid can pick up the whole thing and conk Carl with it. Some wonderful "in" jokes in this...."shtarka" is a Yiddish words meaning "big shot" (think The Godfather). Nanette's solo on her banjo is Gershwin's "The Man I Love". And when the trio finishes their song with "over you" that was thrown in from another sketch: The Haircuts sang a song which ended with those words, and I suspect it became sort of a running gag. There's even a 45 vinyl record of them performing as The Haircuts which likewise contains those same words.

[@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250]

Great observations-- thanks for adding this comment!

[@epsteinisms1483]

Thank YOU for posting these magnificent sketches. I've been in love with Sid and his gang all my life, it seems. This sketch is amazing. Lavish sets, costumes, orchestration, not to mention the most hilarious sword fight since "The Court Jester"!

[@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250]

EPSTEINISMS # There's a lot more new material to come-- I resumed posted after about a year of neglecting this channel, a new sketch every day!

[@epsteinisms1483]

Sincerely looking forward to them. What gets me about "Your Show Of Shows" was not merely the achievement of producing such hilarity and brilliance but what the show led to afterwards..... how the writers fanned out and took over the world of comedy in every way: theater, film, TV. I was once told the following story: on a cross-country flight in 1973 a gentleman sitting in an aisle seat suddenly fell out of his seat and was rolling around the floor of the plane. Some thought he was having a seizure. A flight attendant got him back in his seat, only to find him on the floor once again s few moments later. Turned out that he was watching the in-flight movie which was "Ten From Your Show Of Shows"! I can only guess that he was reacting to the last sketch of the film which happened to be "This Is Your Story".......

[@sidcaesaryourshowofshowsca2250]

EPSTEINISMS # They should put a health warning on that film. :) "Ten from YSOS" was my first exposure to Sid, really my only exposure for many years. I think that film did more than anything to keep the memory of these shows alive to the extent that it has been, since YSOS and Caesar's Hour have otherwise been seen on TV so infrequently!

[@gardeniasandfalcons3945]

HaHA! Howie!

[@lindawatkin4411]

Very,very funny!

[@johnestupido1418]

John Belushi thanks you.