What's My Line? - Bennett Cerf's first show! - Gloria Swanson (Oct 15, 1950)

[@cynthialyman2636]

What strikes me too is how there were no effects (decades before CGI) on this show, and the set was the essence of simplicity: chalk board, drapes, a desk and chairs, and flip cards to keep score. Yet it was highly entertaining and as I can attest to now, extremely habit forming.

[@TheKazadoodle]

I wasn't aware that there were any game shows even nowadays with CGI, but I could be wrong.

[@oswaldomilano3848]

totallyagreed

[@RobJazzful]

Cynthia Lyman ...ABSOLUTELY habit forming, he said at 4:00AM!

[@elliottschertzer876]

The set cost 12 bucks lol

[@catteadams]

I love that part! Nostalgia. Ha ha.

[@erenunal]

it's incredible to witness the improvements in broadcasting within the lifespan of this show alone.

[@kennixox262]

I would imagine that you are seeing kinescopes that were created for delayed broadcast to the west coast. Videotape became available around 1957 and beyond.

[@wschmrdr]

@@kennixox262 All of what remains of the show is kinescope that was later converted. Videotape may have been available, but was incredibly expensive, so networks would commonly wipe and re-use it. Mark Goodson purchased kinescopes of every episode when he found out this was even happening with them, and it's for that reason we are able to enjoy the shows today.

[@jw77019]

Even the NBC nightly news in the early 1970s often is shown on the Rachel Maddow show in black and white because they recorded over the color videotape. It was broadcast live since the mid 1960s.

[@jtal3292]

Having just watched the very early episodes, I think what changed here is the audience. The audience reaction is a part of the show, and it lets the panel play to them, and show their personality more. Daly plays to them as well in his reactions. Having the audience this involved really is an important part of the show.

[@catteadams]

Agreed. Audience was part of the show.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Thank god later on they got rid of that stupid parading in front of the panel and guessing what their occupation is.

[@Kitskacat]

Agreed! It is so strange to watch the earlier episodes and get the SILENCE. No excitement about the occupations or even clapping when they say where they are from.

[@photo161]

What a monumental movie star was the glorious Gloria Swanson!

[@neilphelan145]

She is the essence of class!

[@timprescott4634]

And to think she never won an Oscar. A travesty.

[@waynej2608]

@@timprescott4634 She had a good shot, with Sunset Blvd, in a fiercely competitive year.

[@gabbyg7315]

I was asked to escort Gloria Swanson around a health show where her younger husband, the author of "Sugar Blues" was speaking. She was known for her dedication to a healthy diet and even used to take her own food to the Academy Awards dinners. I wasn't a particular fan of hers but was a fan of her very fine movie, Sunset Boulevard, and of her healthy lifestyle. Sadly, I was greatly disappointed to discover that her manners, privately, didn't correspond with those displayed on this program.

[@olenfersoi8887]

@@gabbyg7315 Are you implying that she was an uncouth slob in person???

[@58christiansful]

Utterly charming. A different world!

[@nunosoares2329]

RIP Gloria Swanson. Long long overdue condolences to the family for your loss 😔💐

[@rr7firefly]

Gloria Swanson did not attempt to disguise her voice and she spoke at length. It's amazing she was not found out much earlier.

[@michellelekas211]

She was best known for her silents

[@lottaandgus]

@@michellelekas211 But she had just done Sunset Boulevard!

[@michellelekas211]

@@lottaandgus Yes.

[@buffbill-t2i]

people in those early days didn't have the benefit of hearing voices of stars like we would today, no vcrs and only saw them in a movie and you might see them again for years, barely any TV if they were even ever on TV at all.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Maybe if Joe Kennedy was on the panel? 😆😅🤣😂

[@justinmay3451]

Happy Birthday Bennett Cerf! Thanks for all of the great WML memories and the laughs.

[@robinblankenship117]

Decent tv is a welcomed thing! That's why it hooks you! Enjoyably show! ❤

[@Shizalumni]

It's surprising it took so long for them to guess Gloria Swanson, her voice is unmistakable.

[@davidfelperin2367]

I agree. Why did she have to answer in complete sentences? Gave herself away.

[@brkitdwn]

@@davidfelperin2367 That's her nature.

[@withonelook1985]

She was a silent film star. Before Sunset Blvd. she had almost no known spoken roles. Her radio show happened after the movie. Her voice in Sunset was nothing like her actual speaking voice.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

The audience reaction when she appeared was very subdued considering what a big star she was.

[@ajplays7241]

I think Dorothy Knew and said she knew but the hard part is placing the name.

[@call2872]

I adore her performance in Sunset Boulevard. Never seen a stellar acting like that, and who could forget the ending with those intense eyes looking at the camera? And yes, she should have won for Best Actress.

[@laurahoward5426]

Nominated

[@davidcouch6514]

I’m surprised they didn’t recognize Norma Desmond’s voice right away.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

A legend who made an easy transition from silents to talkies.

[@hcombs0104]

As much as I love Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday, I think Gloria Swanson should have won that year.

[@lindaadams3622]

Did Arlene ever win an award for any of her work? Never heard that she had.

[@bluesborn]

I love how mannered witty and urbane everyone was back then.

[@darienwellness2866]

Agreed. A very New York program at that time.

[@mountrobson1]

@SavageArfad I am sure you are correct to an extent, but bluesborn's observation is valid. I've watched a few random episodes plus the first six episodes listed here and have seen, among other occupations, a butcher, lady wrestler, mosquito inspector, bartender, skirt-blowing machine operator, circus chimpanzee trainer, and chimney sweep...humble professions populated here by piquant, affable, and courteous contestants. Perhaps not the typical occupant in these trades today -- and certainly not examples of current game show contenders!

[@christopherthorkon3997]

Yes. Also remember that, back in those days, good manners and a great education were the cultural norm. Not now.

[@gabbyg7315]

And no matter the age, occupation or gender, they dressed so well, which is also a sign of respect to others, a concept lost on younger generations nowadays. No ripped jeans, low-cut tops displaying preposterous surgical enhancements, etc.

[@rasberryfields2132]

@@gabbyg7315 so true!

[@justsotired4022]

These shows are way before my time as an adult and they are extremely entertaining. It's easy to see why people looked forward to seeing them every week. There was great chemistry across the board with most of the panelists and John Daly. It is so relaxing to binge watch them.

[@downbntout]

Happy to see that any footage of Gloria Swanson survived other than in her performances. I've always admired her stance against refined sugar. Refined people, good, not refined foods.

[@laurahoward5426]

No sugar, but sex with every man in America

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Wonder if Joe Kennedy took any bedroom footage?

[@HenryFrederick]

This is like a time machine...

[@astudent8475]

Damn... It is....

[@donnacook8994]

To a time when people were more respectful and mannerly, better dressed, and well spoken. Nothing like 2023, sad to say. 😩

[@ruthkidney3582]

I wasn't born until 1956: so I didn't watch this show until it showed up on YT. Love binge watching it 😁

[@melianna999]

Same here.

[@davidrbecken]

The way they inspect the people is creepy. I am glad that stopped somewhere along the way.

[@sophiemorrison9820]

agree completely.

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

vestiphobe Both of the ladies mentioned wanting to feel biceps early on!

[@catteadams]

Absolutely. The very first shows were super creepy. The things the male panelists asked of the women contestants were embarrassing and gross. They gave me the creeps, and further having lived in that era, I remember this attitude from men towards women, and it was very creepy and difficult to navigate. THANK God we are evolving!!!

[@jimboy819]

Agreed. Bend over on one knee while she looks at his back side. Creepy.

[@mjames4709]

@@catteadams sounds like someone never got a wolf whistle?

[@jetblack.7186]

I watched one last night and can’t stop watching them.

[@watchful38]

Louis Untermeyer is my hero! He was the best poetry anthologist of the 20th Century IMO. The 1942 edition of the "Combined Modern American & British Poetry" is outstanding in the choice of poems and the commentaries. It is available second hand at Alibris Books. Only the 1942 edition is worthwhile. Other editions are abbreviated.

[@evans54]

Fired from show because of the blacklist

[@oughtssought1198]

it's a pleasure watching how this show evolves over the years

[@1jamyc]

Agreed! It took me many months, but I basically just finished watching the entire run of the show (thru 1967). These early ones really had a different feel, the low tech all around, no blackboard, mentioning RADIO shows a few times, the walk past the panelists, the prominence of the sponsor placement, and of course the regulars being 17 years younger...

[@oughtssought1198]

@@1jamyc seeing commercials from that far back interests me too

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Class. Glamour. Talent. The great Gloria Swanson.

[@TheVaughan5]

Certainly an icon of the golden age of Hollywood. There’s a very sad photo of Gloria standing amid the ruins of the then being demolished New York Roxy (The Cathedral of the Motion Picture). 1961 the beginning of the end not only for the movie palaces but also the Hollywood Studio System. Downtown America has never been the same since.

[@ifbpeanut]

Bennett Cerf was a great panelist!

[@VahanNisanian]

Somewhere between this episode, and 12/31/50 episode, the white easel and felt marker were replaced with the familiar blackboard and chalk.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Some scattered thoughts of my own on this one. . . All I ever have are scattered thoughts. ;) Wow, it sure took them forever in the first round to (a) figure out there was an animal involved, and then (b) narrow it down from there to seal. Good for you, Arlene! Not only did she get to the answer, but she even made sure first to clarify that the animal was a mammal. Later tradition on WML was for John to interpret the word animal as synonymous with mammal, which has always-- ahem-- bugged me. And I love her seal clap after she gets it. She's on fire in the second segment. If look closely, you can see John smoking on camera again in this one **very** briefly at 11:58. Note that the Gloria Swanson segment has some noticeable film splices in it due to its inclusion as a clip in the "WML at 25" special. Even by this point in the show's run, 8 months in, the mystery guest does not appear to be trying to disguise her voice at all. And it still takes them forever to identify her, despite her starring in the very recent "Sunset Boulevard". Dorothy even *passes*! Gasp! The gift of the Schiaperelli gown to Gloria Swanson baffles me. I did find an article recently describing a contest being conducted by Stopette where part of the top prize was a Schiaperelli gown. With no surrounding shows to go by (all are lost), I don't know whether this was a standard feature of the mystery guest rounds at the time or a one time aberration. Odd. The last segment was so absurdly rushed, all it served to do was take precious time from what should have a fascinating interview with Gloria. Boo!

[@krasnykavkaz]

What's My Line? She probably thought that her own normal voice would be disguise enough, since Norma Desmond was (ironically) flagrantly theatrical in her diction and that was Swanson's only real talkie role of note in the past 9 years before the show.

[@perpieta]

Arlene also knew that whale is a mammal (she mentioned "a whale" just after she confirmed the guest worked with mammals). Smart lady.

[@kguy152000]

7:20, he also has the cigarette in his hand. Very interesting to see.

[@PepsiMama2]

The gift of the Schiaperelli gown to Gloria Swanson done in that way was perfect... Gloria Swanson was a clothes horse and spent much of her time at fashion shows.... I thought it was pretty cool that they did it like that for her.. You can tell by the look on her face, she loved it..

[@bradtorville5526]

I'm not really sure why the smoking on camera bothers you so much. Gary Moore smoked like crazy on I've Got a Secret. I remember seeing a lot of smoking on I Love Lucy and other TV shows in the 50s. It was commonplace, particularly when so many of those shows had major brand cigarettes as sponsors. So why keep pointing out each time John Daly was seen smoking one?

[@secondstring]

Bennett was good at this game from the start.

[@juangalt3496]

I guess Untermeyer and Cerf were two of the few and maybe the last TV panelists born in the 1800s.

[@dylane.9470]

Fred Allen also was born in the 1890s.

[@stephenvincent4989]

By the look of the woman’s hairstyles it looks more like the 1700’s.

[@JakobSeidl]

Groucho Marx too

[@juangalt3496]

@Maxx Fleischer What TV panel show was Pinza on regularly?

[@catteadams]

Did not know that.

[@bobhayett2376]

What a great show. Everybody on the show is so polite and formal.

[@valentinr.dominguez2892]

I miss those qualities in people. Today if you have those qualities, people look at you as if you have a problem.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

@@valentinr.dominguez2892 But isn’t it so nice when you meet someone who does have these traits. They may be few and far between, but some people still raise their kids right, and the kids see the goodness in what they’ve been taught, preferring that over the foulness of those who don’t care.

[@bookwoman53]

Also in formal wear.

[@avicenna3994]

Thanks for all your hard work in assembling these episodes. It's nice seeing the show in its early days. Kilgallen, Francis and Cerf together for the first time worked so well, and Arlene seemed so excited to get the correct answers lol. Getting to know Untermeyer too (sad what happened to him). And it's nice to see John Daly give more direct explanations to the panellists instead of going on and on and on. :P

[@olenfersoi8887]

I presume you mean Untermeyer being black-listed as a result of the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. He is just one of dozens, if not hundreds of people whose lives were adversely affected by that committee.

[@voxtango1916]

@@olenfersoi8887 We desperately need a HUAC today. Back then we were a nation of patriots. Now we are practically overrun by Communists and freaks.

[@dovbarleib3256]

Arlene Francis was correct in her wild guess. A Cosmetics Buyer will often buy cosmetics for Department Stores!

[@bradmcneil4336]

Wonderful segment with Ms Swanson.

[@frankroper3274]

It was an awesome show! I still enjoy it just as much as then!

[@Rhonda9199]

Arlene Francis is so adorable!!!

[@mountrobson1]

I am smitten by this lady! I'm 56 and had not know of her before today. Her velvety voice, her Mid-Atlantic accent (a bit of an affectation, as I understand it), her sharp intuitive skills....her shoulders!! I have a most beautiful aunt that favors her --- I've already sent her a message about her look-alike!!

[@KevinDee007]

She has the shoulders of a swimmer.

[@steventrosiek2623]

Stunningly beautiful

[@M3au]

I am lamenting that I too have the hots for Arlene ... 70 years after this program was broadcast! Her enthusiasm, energy and smile are enchanting.

[@onecake34244]

I now think she's attractive... Watching these as a kid in the old days I thought she was really old. :)

[@suzannelawrence1336]

wow, all of these are so GREAT thanks for uploading them!

[@moonlightray8493]

9:33 Arlene imitating a seal is simply adorable! I love how John joins in too, haha

[@JDAbelRN]

It seemed that Gloria Swanson was quite surprised and appreciative of the STYLISH outfit the Stoppette Company gave to her as a gift. I HAVE read her autobiography and she was very interested in latest fashion and looking good in public. I do not recall any other guest receiving a gift other than a cash contribution to their favorite charity.

[@MerleOberon]

It's funny to read the smoking comments. I guess these are people too young to remember Johnny Carson always smoking on the earlier Tonight shows.

[@WhatsMyLine]

We've gotten to a point culturally where it can cause controversy to portray even a FICTIONAL character as a smoker, so on that level, the comments aren't a surprise. People aren't even allowed to smoke in their own homes in many areas of the country now, if you live in an apartment building.

[@kateluxor2986]

Very true. It was a sign also of being cool and smooth. We're just too blasted politically correct nowadays and it's getting out of hand. I don't smoke and I don't like the smell but people should have the right to live their own lives. I always thought having a smoking section was a good idea in restaurants and such. Ah well, I liked this episode, though!

[@jeffcraven7376]

Kate, I don't smoke either, and tobacco smoke (except for cherry pipe tobacco) smells like an un-wiped behind. Half my family smoked, so instead of complaining, I turn my head in the other direction & hold my breath; plus &/or I avoid places where persons' smoke. People do have the right to smoke if they have good health insurance to pay for the outcome; Lung & Throat Cancer, COPD, & poor circulation to the point of having legs etc. amputated.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

MerleOberon his guests also. All the way to the 80s.

[@mikejschin]

Those of us who are even older remember when non-smokers had ashtrays in their living room for guests who smoked. A few people even kept small boxes of cigarettes on their coffee table in case their guests ran out of smokes during their visit. Different times.

[@fortomnicron5436]

I must say that Dorothy Kilgallen was quite an attractive woman in her younger days. Arlene Francis was a beautiful woman too in the 1950s.

[@ColonelJack1]

FortOmnicron54 Dorothy is most definitely HOT in this episode!

[@amb1962]

FortOmnicron54 Definitely proves Dorothy wasn't flat-chested. You don't wear a dress cut that low if you didn't have something to show! :)

[@styremcstyre]

+Andrew Baker I agree :)

[@ih82r8]

they both had beautiful hands, especially dorothy

[@ericstuart7748]

Dorothy was attractive? I don.t see it.

[@catelynstark5689]

Oh lordy I'm loving these early episodes where they're all acting so naturally. Also you can hear car horns at 12:24 and 12:30. Love it.

[@GregInEastTennessee]

I was watching To Tell The Truth the other day and you could hear airplanes flying over and sirens going by.

[@soulierinvestments]

i think Dorothy, Louie and Arlene are fantastic even this early. G-T knew their casting stuff. No arguing. And around 9:40, we get Bennett's first WML pun. Flappers.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments Good catch on the "flapper" pun! I had missed that one. That reminds me that I haven't seen any new posts from +Johan Bengtsson in a while. Isn't he joining in on these rerun episodes?

[@dizzyology7514]

SaveThe TPC It's possible that Johan doesn't know about the reruns, if he isn't on the Facebook group. If you know of a way to contact him, please do so. I tried to tag his name in this post so he would see it, but there are over half a dozen Johan Bengtssons on YT, and none of the individuals that the name brought up matched his photo.

[@savethetpc6406]

dizzyology I don't have any other way of contacting him except through YT, and I always have the same problem when I try to tag his name. I guess it must be almost like "John Smith" for Swedes! We can reply directly to him on his posts on other videos, though.

[@WhatsMyLine]

SaveThe TPC I've had the same problem tagging Johan in a comment that wasn't a direct reply. The next time I see him add a comment to any video, I'll make sure to point out the reruns to him. But I don't think I've seen a comment from him for at least a couple of weeks.

[@dizzyology7514]

SaveThe TPC Yep, apparently the name is very much like "John Smith." Bengtsson is the 15th most common surname in Sweden, says Wikipedia.

[@tigergreg8]

I can't believe how much this show changed over time. It seemed as though it was off the cuff. It became much more of a well organized show later.

[@ChristopherUSSmith]

tigergreg8 It was still in its first year here, so things improved with time, and especially once they got the trifecta of Kilgallen-Francis-Cerf as the regular panelists (which we got a one time preview of here).

[@libertyann439]

They sure acted strange to the guests asking them to kneel and show the rings like they are at a fish market. Glad they quit doing that.

[@Teri_Berk]

You have to consider that it was a different period then. Showing rings must have been quite normal during then. The world has changed a lot.

[@catteadams]

Later the women were doing similar things, like may I see your hands, or may I see the label in your suit? Yuk. But they stopped that pretty quickly too. It was infant TV. LOL It needed time to grow.

[@billbrimmer1739]

The show had hit its stride by this telecast. Eight months had enhanced the presentation and certainly the panelists.

[@chrisallen7911]

Amazing what Class people had back then and how they dressed to be on Television. Those were the days.

[@danielbisson8032]

this was live tv its so exciting at the time

[@stephenvincent4989]

Yes, except in these days of audience participation then they were heard but never ever seen.

[@Janjanbobaney]

Thank you for this montage of our dear Dorothy. Very well done and very thoughtful.. rip Dorothy .. gone but never forgotten ♥️

[@VahanNisanian]

By Fall 1950, WML was now every Sunday. Before, it was once every two weeks on Thursday from February-March, then it was once every two weeks on Wednesday from April-September.

[@catteadams]

My family watched it every Sunday night and us kids had to HUSH. Also Perry Mason. Mom's favorite shows.

[@joyciejd9673]

@@catteadams oh, yes! Perry Mason...I couldn’t remember if that was on Saturday or Sunday night. The whole family would gather together

[@padijeff5675]

Bennet Cerf always seemed the same over the years! Nice man!😼

[@savethetpc6406]

John reminds the television audience of WML's new day and time at about 25:45 in this video. Sundays at 10:30 PM Eastern Time would remain WML's standard time slot for the next 17 years!

[@imtweetydiva29]

Gloria Swanson what a treat! I loved her in "Sunset Boulevard".

[@tomitstube]

i see john is still having to deal with those moving rings on the card turn, constantly fooling with those things. gloria swanson looked amazing at 51 years old. larger than life mega star.

[@richieb.6558]

I was with Gloria Swanson the night before she died. She went to see a movie premiere at the Peking boat. Then I read the next day she had died.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Wow. How did you know her?

[@TheMaxou92]

I thought she had been in the hospital for about a week before she died... didn't she suffere from heart ailment and a heart attack ?

[@Sparrowdean]

@@TheMaxou92 @'Richie B. is a lying fantasist, KZbin is full of them. Gloria Swanson was a hospital patient in New York for about 2 weeks before she died.

[@fossrampant5826]

"Did I say Gloria Swanson? I meant Gloria Vanderbilt. Yeah! That's the ticket!"

[@Sparrowdean]

@@fossrampant5826 Gloria Vanderbilt was still very much alive when you wrote your post 2 years ago. The 1st anniversary of her death was 17 June 2020. Where's the Peking Boat?

[@steviekicks8829]

Gloria is Beautiful!

[@ceciliaellis6721]

I love Bennett Cerf's accent - truly original.

[@joannsmith150]

I have always wondered if the autographs of the celebrities were ever saved by someone. The ones done on paper and obviously not the chalkboard ones. Can you imagine if they had replaced the chalkboard every time and had all of those autographs is a warehouse somewhere! WOW!

[@jvcomedy]

+Joann Smith I think many of them were saved as I read that there is one for sale on Ebay from time to time.

[@joannsmith150]

I would hope that somebody from the production office on the show thought of doing that. I would also hope that the autographs were not just wiped off like those of the regular contestants.

[@AllenMQuinn]

Especially Liberace's. His signature was so bad ass

[@jeffcraven7376]

I bought W.C. Fields autograph (it's been verified as authentic) at a charity fund raising auction when I was 13 yrs. old. The autograph is locked away for 30 years in Grant's Tomb buried under 3,000 whiskey and gin bottles. No I really have Bill's autograph protected by a cranky banker 20,000 leagues under the sea.

[@hmmmmmmmmm2]

They DID replace the chalkboard every time. Once in a while you can see them sliding a new one down from the back and inside that wall. I'm sure it was just faster and made sure it was very clean for the TV. Not sure if that meant they kept the celebrity autographs, though.

[@slapjohnson2808]

How classy Gloria Swanson was!

[@lydialilli4351]

So classy she slept with Joe Kennedy Sr. even though he was married with 9 kids.

[@daniellefrank007]

"Robin Williams quote".."I feel like Gloria Swanson..." 😐

[@PAn-su3wy]

Joe Kennedy Sr. was an anti-semite, inside trader and stock manipulator that made money from the struggle of others. He was an absent father and husband as well as a known womanizer. He went through all of Gloria's money on their film venture and had affairs with other movie personalities as well. He was a powerful man that nobody questioned. He had a hell of a lot to lose but kept on with his lifestyle essentially unscathed. Does that strike you as having class? Gloria was intimidated by him and he knew it.

[@bajemo359]

@@PAn-su3wy You forgot bootlegger.

[@NetCerpher]

It's so rare to find TV produced before my birth... I love it!

[@VahanNisanian]

Gloria Swanson. No other actress that came before, or after her, led a lifestyle as eccentric, yet intriguing and fascinating, as she did. She appeared again as mystery guest on February 14, 1965.

[@soulierinvestments]

And she looks absolutely great in that 1965 appearance.

[@piustwelfth]

She was WAY ahead of her time. She was a health food advocate before almost anyone else. That's one of the reasons she always looked so good.

[@hcombs0104]

@@piustwelfth It must be said she looked better than most 51-year-olds at that time.

[@OldTelivisionRocks]

I love the panel, the quip about "how to win friends and influence people" to which Bennett appropriately remarks "read anything good lately?". Just goes to show there will never be a show like it, where a publisher is on a celebrity panel and is so utterly charming. Then Dorothy's crazy rings quip. Not only is Daly smoking but that thing is super smoky. I have seen smoking on classic tv before, but not so much on these kinds of programs and never blazing like it seems to be here.

[@catteadams]

lol I know. Also the studio was HOT as hell. And in many shows they talked about that. No air conditioning? Nah.

[@salaciousbum1161]

Love watching all of these! What always strikes me is that a big majority of the guests seem to want to bolt out as soon as the panel guesses them. It's almost as if they were forced to be there and don't care.

[@waltermoriarty5157]

I remember watching this live TV as a child. All the panelists, the moderator, and even the guests were so cultivated, urbane, witty, and well spoken. Not like today...

[@georgestreng]

That is the charm of the show.

[@juanettebutts9782]

These days, people can't make it past one sentence without using vulgarities. Curse words do not improve speech. My mother used to say if a person can't think of anything else to say but a profanity, that shows a lack of intelligence. Mom was right.

[@donnacook8994]

@@juanettebutts9782 Your Mom was right!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

This episode is about two months after "Sunset Blvd" was released. It was her first film in about a decade and her first successful film in a generation or more. She was quite good in the talkies (see 1929's "The Trespasser") but did not catch the breaks, and had a reputation as being very high maintenance (which in the relatively inexpensive era of silents was acceptable, but in the high cost and very competitive talkie era was not). She did not seem to get a great reception from the audience, so I wonder if many of them had yet to see the film? If so, she would have been unrecognizable to the studio audience, I think. Her last major Hollywood motion picture role was the poorly received Three for Bedroom "C" in 1952, and so she was unable to capitalize on the tremendously successful Sunset Blvd. which had a budget of 1.75 million (very expensive for the time) and a box office of around 5 million. Too bad, She was a marvelous actress, and I would have liked to have seen more of her in pictures as she grew older.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

David, we would agree it is an all time great film. I think that Gloria Swanson was the third or fourth choice, one of the early appeals to star in the flick was to MAE WEST! How's that for frightening! However, I do think she would have been great in it. Her loss and ours.

[@Patrick3183]

Maybe the audience freaking out when stars walked on was a later development. It's possible for the early shows to be purposely more muted

[@jmccracken1963]

The following year (1951), at the time of the Academy Awards ceremony, Gloria Swanson and Jose Ferrer were starring on Broadway in a revival of the play "Twentieth Century." And Judy Holliday was also in New York, either making a picture or doing something on Broadway. A group of people, including Swanson, Holliday, and Ferrer were either watching a telecast of or (more likely) listening to a radio broadcast of the Academy Awards presentations that evening. And when the award for Best Actress was being presented, after the nominees were announced but before the winner was announced, Gloria Swanson leaned forward and whispered in Judy Holliday's ear, "One of us is about to be very, very happy." THAT is class!

[@preppysocks209]

@@MrJoeybabe25 As much as the role of Norma Desmond will always be associated with Gloria Swanson in an immortal performance, I do regret that Greta Garbo turned down the part. That would have been amazing.

[@dutchtea8354]

@@Patrick3183 This was the first episode in which the audience applauded as the MG entered.

[@pattyengler2569]

It looked like John Daly had a cigarette which was burning during the seal trainer contestant! I noticed the smoke! These old episodes are totally addicting.

[@NLPaynter]

I loved this show as a kid. I watched with my grandfather. Great memories of time with him.

[@johndoughty1619]

Thank you for posting all these great episodes of a time gone by. I've watched many hours of the show in the last few weeks. I'm very glad the perp walk and the wild guess went away, but I do wonder: was the wild guess ever correct?

[@lennypearl]

Yes! And this channel has them in one video 🙂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppPNYaiEgsuihKs

[@Kitskacat]

Yes, apparently there is a compilation video. Watch the second and third episodes in this Playlist (I think episodes 2 and 3 of the show)

[@TheBraveIntrovert]

I would have loved tohave seen more of this panel combo.

[@bleepiestofbloops]

Love how you can hear the outside traffic around the 12:20 mark. Seems a problem with New York based shows. I was watching an old Dick Cavett show the other week and heard a siren. Even once in the last months of David Letterman's show, there was a loud siren heard.

[@redtony58]

Dress by Schiaparelli. Headdress by Cindy Lou Who.

[@conniemartin4878]

Awesome comment. I first thought, Teletubby costumer.

[@neilmidkiff]

I didn't catch this one on first viewing: after the seal trainer is guessed, Louis brings up the topic of seals as pets and says something about having a seal in the bedroom. I think he must have meant the famous James Thurber cartoon with a couple in bed and a seal atop the headboard: "All right, have it your way--you heard a seal bark."

[@kristijaas4711]

That's what I assumed as well.

[@user-vh8rk1sl4g]

It's intersecting to see how the show evolved throughout the years . They're resurrecting so many game shows lately, I'd love to see this show be one of them.

[@ToddSF]

How strange to see Arlene as a brunette. I remember when, in a future episode, she made a remark indicating that she used to be a brunette and I have seen her that way before, but I'm so used to her as a blonde - and blonde hair was such a good look for her on TV.

[@WhatsMyLine]

I think she remained brunette up till 1954 or so. But the shade got lighter and lighter before she went full blonde. I also think the blonde hair suited her much better. Same with Gracie Allen (and there's a slight resemblance between them, especially in the mid 1950s.)

[@ToddSF]

What's My Line? -- I agree. Many years back when George Burns came out with his book "Gracie - A Love Story", I got a copy and was shocked to see all these photos in it of Gracie as a brunette. I simply had no idea -- I knew her from television starting from when I was a toddler. They had her go blonde for black and white television, having determined it would look better on her and it did. There is one photographic portrait, though, of Gracie in 1947 with long curly dark hair that is quite lovely. Strangely or not, my mother had the identical hairstyle in her wedding portrait taken in May 1947, though Mom's hair was always blonde. I think Gracie's blonde hair flattered her face on black-and-white television and it did exactly the same thing for Arlene.

[@catteadams]

Red head at one point too.

[@lorenanders702]

The blonde did look great on Arlene, but she was a true beauty always!

[@stitchergary]

I wish I could have been a friend of Bennett...He was so smart...

[@onecake34244]

Would have liked to me him... Though I'd be intimidated a bit.

[@VahanNisanian]

Little did Louis Untermeyer know, 5 months later, Bennett Cerf officially took his seat.

[@ta2686]

Yet Louis Untermayer became poet laureate of the United States. He held that position between 1961 and 1963.

[@WhatsMyLine]

***** The few glimpses that we have of Untermeyer, I think he was quite good on the panel. The shows he was in are so early that they're of course very awkward and different from what WML would become, but I think he would have fit in quite comfortably as the show settled in if he'd had the chance. I suppose if he had, though, we wouldn't have had Bennett Cerf on the panel.

[@PepsiMama2]

What's My Line? If Untermeyer stayed on, why wouldn't we have Bennett Cerf? They're both appearing together here in this episode...

[@WhatsMyLine]

PepsiMama2 Bennett was just a guest panelist here. The 4th regular panelist was already set as Hal Block-- Hal was just off this week for reasons unknown. Bennett wasn't back on the show until March 1951 when Untermeyer was fired and Bennett replaced him permanently.

[@DLAN-jb3hb]

+What's My Line Untermeyer too, I thought that it was just Hal Block.

[@GingerHey]

Gloria Swanson was very beautiful and classy on the show. It was good to see Bennett Cerf as a guest on the panel at the time.

[@franklesser5655]

I think that Bennett is good at this. I hope they have him on the show again!

[@savethetpc6406]

@Frank Lesser LOL!

[@Px828]

Can't look at Gloria Swanson without thinking of Carol Burnett.

[@arbyfatbuckle1733]

me too.

[@stacyblue1980]

lolol Carol Burnett is lovely. Never been a fan of Swanson. Never understood why people thought she was glamorous. But she was unique..?.. I suppose.

[@alanaronald244]

She was a HUGE silent picture star in both The Birth of a Nation, and Intolerance. Her wardrobe was so vaunted, varied, luxurious and expensive, that people appeared at any whistle stop of her tour just to see what she wore. True, she was tiny, she had tombstone teeth, and a rather outsize jaw, but her histrionics were renowned and her presence that of a giant. She radiated "star quality". Fearless, she did her own scene with a lion, she managed her own affairs after Joe Kennedy managed to almost destroy her financially, she ate natural food prepared by her own hand, and she was intelligent. Swanson was unique, more of a tour de force rather than a conventional beauty www.glamamor.com/2014/01/GloriaSwansonClareWestWhyChangeYourWife.html

[@ChristopherUSSmith]

Indeed! Gloria absolutely *LOVED* Carol's parody of Sunset Blvd. She portrayed Charlie Chaplin when Carol did a tribute to silent movies on her show in the early 1970s.

[@jeffcraven7376]

Carol did a bang up job; Remember it from when I was a smelly adolescent wanna-be hippy. Atleast I learned over again how to wash about 1974.

[@lancedukel3436]

Gloria Swanson is the essence of chic.

[@donnacook8994]

She certainly was! 👏👍

[@noe29933]

Arlene Francis was the best she had a great since of humour loved life and laughed Hartley she certainly gave us many good laughs and was great and finding out who it was

[@jerrylee8261]

Noel, I echo what you posted about AF but I sometimes wonder if the act of being before the public so often might have caused her some unshown in public stress. She seemed to have a problem with scratching her eyes.

[@cricketrecords]

I think the film they refer to is "Sunset Boulevard", which is actually a black comedy, not a tragedy in the official sense. But had she said yes to comedy it would have thrown off the panel completely, I'm sure. She was excellent in that film in any event.

[@cricketrecords]

It is a black comedy, not a traditional comedy. The acting is campy, the situations border on absurd, and the film as a whole is just so over the top that it can't be taken seriously. Which is the point. It's planned to be that way. The movie "Psycho" is the same. Most people don't realize that it, too, is a black comedy. A very jet black comedy.

[@WhatsMyLine]

First off, Hitchcock himself considered "Psycho" a comedy. I think the director's own opinion of his movie is worth at least minor consideration. "Sunset Boulevard" is indeed a black comedy, and much more obviously so than "Psycho". I'm baffled that anyone is able to appreciate "Fargo" and "Arsenic and Old Lace" without being able to discern this!

[@WhatsMyLine]

Carter le grand Wow. I'm sorry I responded to you. Go away.

[@ToddSF]

Ye gods, as my late mother used to say.

[@jmccracken1963]

And as Zaneeta Shinn said - several times - in THE MUSIC MAN.....

[@lynnlobliner3933]

I've never seen GS be herself (nor have I seen her act in much - I'll have to change that). She doesn't seem egotistical or snobby. I love the additional respect they gave her!

[@davidturk6301]

You can tell this is early production, since not a lot has been spent on the set. As any show becomes more established (confirmed that it will be around for more than a few installments), they will invest more in the set (e.g., permanent furniture designed specifically for the show, rather than transient furniture).

[@esmeephillips5888]

That Stopette spray on the front of the 'modesty screen' makes it looks like the panelists stink.

[@hcombs0104]

I beg to differ with Gloria Swanson. She was most definitely the star of Sunset Blvd.

[@JDAbelRN]

An extraordinary performance, from a forgotten silent movie star. I love Sunset Boulevard.

[@jcneverquits]

"I still am big! It's the pictures that got small!" Gloria Swanson

[@pamhoward5102]

When i was a small child. I always like Bennett Cert. He was always smiling and seem very happy

[@Ingentiy]

Dorothy had an especially beamingly great smile in this episode.

[@roberttelarket4934]

I can’t believe this is the first show that I’ve never seen!

[@miketheyunggod2534]

John gave away the second contestant's job by his reaction to one of their guesses.

[@srothbardt]

“A Seal in the Bedroom “ is a book by James Thurber. Untermeyer is an editor and writer .

[@zekezacker9449]

John Daly was a noted newscaster at the time of this show. At some point while hosting WML on CBS (Daly was apparently employed/paid by the production company, and not by CBS, for being on WML), Daly was also employed as a newscaster and executive on ABC, had a show on NBC, and occasionally filled in on Today, on NBC. It seems odd now that a person would appear on two or three networks during the same week, but doing so had not been so unusual during the peak of radio shows. Also, in the 1950s, ABC was a relatively new TV network that was still trying to become equal to NBC and CBS, so ABC was considered by many at the time as a lesser network (as an example, note that ABC tended to be on, or was relegated to, UHF channels, and not the wider reaching VHF channels on TV).

[@olenfersoi8887]

Interesting information. How broadcasting has changed since it is delivered primarily bu cable.

[@kenhenderson1762]

@@olenfersoi8887 Actually when WML started in 1950 Daly was employed by CBS radio news. He only had a 15 minute late night news show so CBS allowed him to make extra money in television. Mark Goodson hired him to host WML. In 1952 Daly's contract with CBS radio news wasn't renewed. But in 1953 ABC hired him to be in charge of their then-new television news division, while allowing him to continue to host WML for Goodson-Todman (which was broadcast by CBS).

[@ricknajera3335]

Would have liked to have met le Swanson when we were in our primes! She was something! Love Sunset Boulevard.

[@rogerrobin2774]

And the black bow ties begin! Bennett Cerf brought an additional touch of class to the program.

[@janetmarletto6667]

The men wore tuxedos..black bow tie required.

[@soulierinvestments]

0:35 .. From game three in March to at least this October episode, it looks like the game always opened with a little vignette of a regular-looking person in a set that approximates real life with the actor asking "What's My Line?" I wonder what union scale in 1950 paid for three words of dialog and a few seconds of screen time? Was it a fad among aspiring New York actors to be the WML? Person of the Week? How did that WML job look on a 1950 New York theatrical resume?

[@ToddSF]

Somehow, Gloria Swanson's close-fitting hat reminds me of the villain Ming the Merciless of the planet Mongo in the 1980 film Flash Gordon -- and maybe even in the original movie serial version from the 1980's.

[@bethe192]

I just want to hug John Daly! Such a sweetheart!

[@gorgeouss79]

The second contestant dissed John's hand for a handshake then gave Bennett a handshake when he requested one. LOL

[@michaeldonovan504]

Louis Untermeyer has a pleasant personality.

[@RobJazzful]

The little acted-out pre-show sequences were adorably stiff and uncomfortable in these early episodes.

[@justinmay3451]

Did they ever present a gift to any of the other mystery challengers? Gloria Swanson was given the dress after she was identified.

[@esmeephillips5888]

She was a dress designer after her acting career wound down.

[@soulierinvestments]

John really has found his niche by s time. His timing of the live program is good. He answers very literally giving neither too much or too little information to guide the panel. He gets laughs. And unlike Walter Cronkite, he did not have to work with a lion puppet.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments Okay, I definitely need an explanation of the "lion puppet" reference! ...Please? I agree that John has gotten more comfortable and adept in his role as moderator by this point, but I still think he gave away too much when he insisted on qualifying the answer to Arlene's "something you put on" question regarding the cosmetics buyer. In later years he would have been delighted to allow the panel to be misled by a completely accurate positive answer to such a question. :)

[@soulierinvestments]

One of Cronkite's earliest TV news assignment was in "the CBS Morning Show." a program that involved Walter with a lion puppet named "Charlemange" and here is a picture of that combo. sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=JN.as00yqcRXnkk%2bu0zMxJrAw&pid=15.1&P=0 Aside -- it is too bad that Kukla Fran and Ollie didn't do the NBC Nightly News.

[@savethetpc6406]

soulierinvestments That's pretty funny -- was it supposed to be news geared towards children?

[@ChristopherUSSmith]

soulierinvestments Or better yet, the Muppets! The Huntley and Brinkley Muppets Henson made for Sam and Friends were spot on. :)

[@VahanNisanian]

Cecil B. DeMille, who made a cameo in "Sunset Blvd.", was a mystery guest on the 05/18/52 episode.

[@Iranian.Shia-kurd]

It is obvious that the panel was informed about the job of some of the contenders. It is show business. Panel was not smart