You Bet Your Life Outtakes 1953-55, Part 1

Racy moments from Groucho's quiz show that couldn't be broadcast. They were compiled into "stag reels" for the annual sponsors' conventions. This is part one of a reel taken from shows filmed in 1953-1955.

[@joshuatamisford2574]

OMG! Groucho’s comedic timing was impeccable. No one quite like him before or since.

[@prospectusutube]

Groucho gets more laughs with his silence than most comics get from their whole act

[@SimAlex20000]

the way he turns to the audience is just perfect.

[@pdow52]

The fact that the sex jokes here aren't outright explicit like they are nowadays but rather are implied makes this so much funnier.

[@JustVinnyBlues]

Something we have lost is the art of the double entrendre "A double entendre is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially awkward, sexually suggestive, or offensive to state directly" This was a mainstay not only in comedy, but films, dramas, and music. It also enabled families to watch adult films without worrying about ratings. It was a lot more creative and entertaining. And certainly when skillfully applied, as with Groucho, it always seemed like it was arrived at by accident and the double meaning is a big surprise - nobody sees it coming. It was a time when people did not swear, not in public, not in movies, television, music, anywhere. It happened in bars inhabited by alcoholic men, but not socially. Even kids didn't swear. And all risque jokes were framed like this. They were suggestive, not explicit. It was funnier and even sexier because it titillated the audience's imagination. So there's a blues song called "Little Red Rooster", which is really about a wayward man out on the town chasing women, but if you are a kid it's just a funny song about barnyard animals. When comedy was an art form. And actually conformed to a sense of taste. The loss of which we are the worse for.

[@TheVirajster]

Groucho is the quintessential TV host...none comes close. And the camera shots selecting the reactions are perfect! Plus this humor STILL stands up...hysterical! Made my day..so glad there's more of these gems on youtube...THANKS!!

[@theresaholguin699]

Groucho was simply the best. Never will there be another Groucho or his awesome brothers Harpo and Chico. We need more comedy like this. Not today's cussing or other vulgar stuff

[@SpeegBJ]

Absolutely darling Groucho. A household family member in our living room on the TV screen. So glad we have these films.....

[@fromthesidelines]

This was one reason why the show was "transcribed" for radio, and filmed for TV. In addition to the "unexpected" moments, there were more than several occasions when Groucho's tongue was faster than his brain- and many a risque remark passed through his lips that couldn't be seen (or heard) for broadcast. So, these moments were saved, and were shown to the staff at the end of the season...and by Groucho, to his frequent home visitors, on his own 16mm projector {when he felt like it} for years.

[@darylmichael7]

My favorite... “Sue, can you do a grind?” Answer: “I have two children.” Classic!

[@Daniel-nf8pp]

Everyone seems to be in a good mood. Groucho the guest and the audience.

[@YouTubeallowedmynametobestolen]

Groucho is a master at getting a laugh just by drawing out the pregnant pauses.

[@Setebos]

Groucho not only had the wit, he also had the sort of face which worked so well in delivering quiet responses to some of the remarks.

[@gfriedman99]

Groucho was the master of the pregnant pause along with Jack Benny.

[@eugenemalush9284]

Groucho and Jack could get more laughs out of a pause than most comedians today!

[@JetPilotBill]

V n

[@JetPilotBill]

Eugene Malush bb

[@jago76]

Groucho=the Greatest

[@Greatdome99]

Ah the mention of Dick Lane brought back memories. He worked at Channel 13 (KCOP) in LA then, and did everything from master of ceremonies, sports announcing, weathercasting and general newscaster. Mulhulland Drive above the San Fernando Valley was a famous "necking" spot for teens--its nickname was Dick Lane.

[@sweiland75]

"this gentleman is now abroad" LOL

[@aquila7272]

"this couldn't be Christine" would have been missed by Millennials.

[@depaola63]

That was classic 😆🤣🤣🤣

[@valhalla7408]

Neil Harte “Christine” as in Jorgensen

[@66kprdwd]

As George says, The one, the only Groucho.

[@sauquoit13456]

On this day in 1947 {October 27th} the radio quiz show "You Bet Your Life" made its debut on American radio... The show ran on radio until 1959 and on TV from 1950 to 1961 with a total of 528 episodes... It was host by Groucho Marx and the announcer was George Fenneman... R.I.P. Mr. Marx {1890-1977} and Mr. Fenneman {1919-1997}...

[@bornetocrywolf5965]

3:30 that girl has the most adorable laugh.

[@lt4324]

He is now "Abroad", lol AND At 1:59 referring to Christine Jorgensen, the first sex change, lol

[@robert11751]

I love to hear the thoughts going thur Grouchos mind when he interviews theses people

[@jayrosen6663]

What a brilliant mind, no one could ad-lib better than Julius Henry Marx!!!!

[@Dim4323]

That first blooper is a classic

[@nicoley132]

@JubalCalif You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed these and thanks for the comments. Happy new year to you too. :)

[@ediekoller2636]

Very Funny....Love Groucoooo...He was the best!

[@Bobaklives]

The guy at the end... wow, it's obvious why that wasn't going to fly. Its interesting to see a "confirmed bachelor" of the era.

[@kattrakee]

Well he was young, he look like he had a story but he didn’t really wanna put his life out for everybody to know on TV, nothing bad, some people just preferred to have dates rather than be married especially at a young age, I think it’s unfair to assume he was gay and so what if he was?!

[@boggy7665]

2:09 - Adorable couple. If they had a kid shortly after this show, he/she would be around 65 years old in 2019.

[@ArizonaWillful]

I think your math is sadly messed up. This show was in the 50's. Let's say 1955. If they were 20 years old in 1955, they would be 85 years old. I was born in 1955 and I am 65 years old in 2020. So if they had a child in 1955, he would be me = 65 years old.

[@soulvillejohnny]

grossartig....groucho forever and ever....his way of thinking was so fast....where have all these people gone......thanks for all the laughter you gave and give us still groucho....

[@marjoriemargel1567]

mike loewenrosen You don’t know “Where all the (funny) people have gone?” I’m sorry to tell you this but that 31 year old guy in 1960, has gone on to his reward in Heaven!! It’s 2019 now, ya know....

[@sparkystours]

Groucho is a F'G CLASSIC

[@mitchazr]

His writing skills were equally sharp. Google Groucho Marx Casablanca letter . This is letter he wrote to Warner Bros studios when they threatened to sue because the Marx Bros. movie they were about to release had Casablanca in the title. The letter is hilarious. The man was / is a genius.

[@mb6418]

Khgjjjh

[@dancebandleader]

Thanks for your nice note, More Allen quips I've heard about. Going into a hotel room in the early 50's Allen saw a TV set on the top of which was an enormous gift basket, with fruit, novelty snacks, etc. wrapped in colored cellophane, the works, and Fred said. "That's the best thing I've seen on a televison yet" Another time Fred said, "You can take all the sincerity in television, put it in the navel of a flea. and still have room for two caraway seeds and an agent's heart"

[@oluham]

All it took was a naughty glance.....

[@rachaeljohnson4097]

Groucho Marx is the king of comedy and one liners. He is my favorite Marx Brother. Even when he stares and smiles it still makes me laugh. What a goofball.😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@TomBarrister]

"This isn't Christine?", was a reference to Christine Jorgensen, who in 1952 was the first recipient of a successful sex-change operation.

[@deanpd3402]

So, 1952 was year zero eh? Now we got LGBT madness everywhere.

[@boggy7665]

Googled it. There had been sex reassignments before, but Christine was the first that included the use of hormone therapy. Christine was a well known performer & spokesperson for TG issues.

[@ArizonaWillful]

@@deanpd3402 Asshole. Gay people have always existed. Now they are finally getting the same rights as Americans that you take for granted.

[@hakrj12]

ArizonaWillful ... You friggin idiot. At one time women couldn't vote, tell me when "gays" were banned from voting? Blacks also couldn't vote. Again, when did gays not have this right? Oh, you must mean they didn't have the right to bear arms. No wait, gays could always own firearms. Right to Assemble, freedom of speech? ... Tell me any inalienable right that was specifically banned based only on sexuality? Now go away troll. The real world already knows you're a moron best not let everyone on the internet think so too.

[@liecrusher3506]

@@ArizonaWillful And God always existed.

[@mitchazr]

What a beautiful person! So many laughs.

[@SpeegBJ]

Priceless....the 31 year-old and Groucho.

[@Stuart68505]

I love how he just sits there quietly and looks off with a smile in response to some of their comments.

[@rsf6238]

wow i loved your post thanks so much...whoa Groucho at his best..he did have alot to work with tho lol thanks again

[@bloodgrss]

I second your motion! Cheers too...

[@reach2prasanna]

Omg this is hilarity at its maximum

[@5thcorps]

100% correct! Everyone forgets Fred Allen, the only man who could go toe to toe with Groucho at any time.

[@contraryMV]

I feel bad for that last guy. Hope he had a boyfriend and they lived happily ever after.

[@ManInTheBigHat]

I'd love to know who screened these contestants. They picked the best characters.

[@dashobie]

Groucho was a Genius.

[@CharlieChaplinsAngel]

omg crying at the first second! xD

[@nefersguy]

The last guy's gay and Groucho knows it an plays it for all its worth....lol

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

Great. They don't make shows or comedians like this anymore.

[@dancebandleader]

Susan Nunes Interesting comment ! There would seem to be no other reason, than someone who clams up so completely.

[@dancebandleader]

Susan Nunes Your comment was right on the money, but I sent this to you by mistake.

[@Dim4323]

First one was gold

[@joelzenny]

Couldn't stop laughing. Thank you.

[@TimelordR]

The One, The Only, GROUCHO! 😆

[@2Brian]

great stuff!

[@yetitracker]

@TheVirajster they have a website called tunein radio and an app for it...I listen to this show at work on my phone and laugh so loud everybody looks at me...when I tell em it's Groucho they don't get it! very sad!

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

Wow, this is rare gold. Good God, Marx had a quick brain for quips...a genius. Where on Earth was this kept for all these years? I suppose it was retained by the show makers for Xmas parties or something....good that they did.

[@RexMundiarcadia]

this is so funny to watch these days...if only to see that things were the same back then as far as innuendos and subtle remarks

[@Marlondurran]

He was brilliant..

[@linkone11]

All of you should check out Groucho on What's My Line; he takes over the show every time he is on there, they just can't keep up with his rapier wit

[@djdon60]

hi, link..."WML" is another show I 'follow.' I've seen one, of Mr. Marx's appearances. I, still, am undecided...as he, just, destroyed it. (but, I was laughing-poor, Mr. Cerf was not.)

[@LouisLambert]

3:37 ( X ) wrong answer, sweetheart!@#$% First time I ever seen Groucho look genuinely squeamish on that show! Endless thanks to your for posting this video

[@ithepreacher8309]

A Dilettante Presumptuous Theorem: It is a disgrace to put it in such nice shows like Groucho’s. I’ve watched dozens of You Bet your Life shows and their great interesting interviews. At 1:11 of this video my eyes caught a Word Advertisement put into the Closed Caption. Right after Groucho said “That’s a little premature. The very next word is “ResMed.” ResMed is a company selling CPAP Machines and CPAP Supplies for we with Sleep Apnea. This advertisement deception is an example of “The Root of all Evil is the Love of Money” at any cost. Earlier in the day I did order 2 CPAP hoses from Amazon. So, we are all might be followed and all might be told in our minds how to think, how to behave, how to talk, what to wear, but all done secretly. You may not be reading the Closed Caption while it’s and the Flash of the word is caught into your mind through your eyes. I wouldn’t doubt that when the Closed Caption is off Advertisement is still shown somehow in videos. Absolutely astoundingly remarkable.

[@arlichar11]

i like that lady that was on from 2min mark... she was nice

[@rafaelsocorro3363]

The king of insult

[@mattc825]

9:02 I know you need a bag when you travel...🤣

[@Cola64]

@5:45 she described the first Sybian 🎠

[@MeenyMcSweeny]

I gotta wonder if Conan got inspiritation from this show...I see some similarities

[@deanguando9950]

This man was funny - no comparison to today.

[@dancebandleader]

That's a joke son ! Willing to bet you know who said that. Fred said once, "Married Men may have better halves. but bachelors have better quarters"

[@ragemanchoo82]

Were these outtakes because they didn't have enough room in the show for it? Or were they considered too risque? The segment at 2:41 seems fairly tame.

[@ArizonaWillful]

TV in the mid 50's was extremely lame about sex. Remember that even married couples on TV had to be depicted sleeping in separate beds. How paranoid is that?

[@caraqueno]

@@ArizonaWillful It wasn't about being lame, social mores were stricter than they are today and many subjects, especially, sex, were considered impolite and improper to talk about in respectful society.

[@jamesagwe2981]

Grocho is the best

[@Groucho-tg1tx]

The few people I know who smoke cigars are very Intelligent

[@AceripXF]

this gentleman is abroad (a brode) lmao!!

[@westy40]

Curious to know if the "There are no gentleman from Laguna Beach" comment was in reference to Laguna being known as a gay town back in the 50's

[@jamesmcload1137]

There was a gay town back in the 50's?

[@dancebandleader]

westy40 Interesting ! I'm only from the East coast, but you could be right!

[@boggy7665]

@@jamesmcload1137 Googled it. Yes, it was. Article in O C Register Jan 11, 2018, says, "Laguna Beach was once spoken of in the same breath as West Hollywood, Fire Island and Provincetown, if a miniature version of those more famous gay enclaves. The West Street Beach was - and still is - renowned among gay vacationers."

[@x1Hennesseyrocks1x]

1953s to 2020 cool

[@dancebandleader]

Right ! Too bad Fred was unable to get a foothold in Television, reportedly, He didn't really care for the medium. I think there are a few existing examples of Fred on TV. If the Tonight Show had come along a few years earlier it might have been good for him.

[@firdausHITMAN]

What was the knee bone connected with the jaw bone song Groucho was singing?

[@boggy7665]

"Dem Bones" (also called "Dry Bones" and "Dem Dry Bones") is a spiritual song. The melody was composed by author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938). Some sources also credit his brother, J Rosomond Johnson. First recorded by The Famous Myers Jubilee Singers in 1928. Both a long and a shortened version of the song are widely known. (Wikipedia)

[@liecrusher3506]

@@boggy7665 I had no idea, that was written by the same man who wrote the National Black Anthem (Lift Every Voice and Sing).

[@ArizonaWillful]

All the men look so frumpy. I am glad to be alive now.

[@liecrusher3506]

They looked dignified.

[@Sidetrackification]

these supposedly are things they couldn't show then. ..

[@randysills4418]

People sure looked older back then...

[@ArizonaWillful]

I thought the exact same thing, especially the men. Men really wore out much faster back then when they had to shoulder all the wage earning alone for the entire family.

[@liecrusher3506]

@@ArizonaWillful Now, women suffer from heart disease, more than men.

[@yankeeland1]

✝️

[@boggy7665]

3:49 - The old gent that had been in politics for 25 years said, "The old-fashioned ways are the best." This was around the time of the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Parks, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, among other events. The gent was probably about to make a racist statement. Groucho being Jewish, and Jews suffering discrimination sometimes like blacks and being often allied with blacks, Groucho was not just put off, but becoming angered. He asked, "And what do you mean...", and then said 'Beep' and made a cutting motion with his fingers. And that's where the filming was cut, so we'll never know what the gent said.

[@marymarysmarket3508]

Oh brother .....here we go AGAIN

[@captainmorgan757]

The audio is terrible.

[@ArizonaWillful]

Gee, forgive us for not having state-of-the-art recording equipment on TV in 1955. Now go to your "safe zone", take deep breaths and tell yourself that you will be OK.

[@safarraisi1279]

ه‍ندئنام قهار یا قهر

[@starbuono3333]

I think Mr. Fenneman was kinda cute!!

[@steveinchelsea]

It's obvious this was all scripted - still very funny !!

[@senorxrey6429]

I doubt it. Or maybe SOME of it was scripted, like on The Carol Burnett Show where actors like Tim Conway often veered off the script with an ad lib, causing comic mayhem. Groucho really didn't need a script with his bawdy mind and quick wit. A master of the double entendre.

[@marymarysmarket3508]

The contestants were certainly prescreened but were NOT scripted. Jokes were written for him based on those interviews but Groucho ad-libbed most of the conversations.

[@frizzlefrap]

Groucho was a dirty old man --------- but he was great at his job in making people laugh -------- miss this type of comedy and always enjoyed the entire Marx clan!

[@kattrakee]

Groucho was not too happy with the guy with the clapper for the start of the show when it cut his cigar in half and made a mess on the desk. He looked irritated but didn’t quite want to show it because the audience thought that it was part of the show I imagine since they were laughing so riotously. Thankfully Groucho recovered his cool and when went on with the show like a champ. ♥️ That guy was lucky Groucho had a sense of humor, or he would have been fired for that stunt 😡 😡😡😡😡😡😡

[@AventuraLuver]

Last dude was gay?

[@dancebandleader]

Marla Singer Interesting comment ! Never saw someone so quick to clam up about questions like this.

[@bornetocrywolf5965]

Or hookers

[@ArizonaWillful]

Being gay was a criminal offense back then, so he had to clam up fast. This was a vicious period for gay men. I hope he had a good life.

[@valhalla7408]

8:35 “How do mean that?” - Gay or serial killer?