October 5, 1950…’You Bet Your Life’ Debuts On NBC + Special Insights
October 5, 1950…’You Bet Your Life’ Debuts On NBC + Special Insights
We’re a day late with this, but it was on purpose as this pilot was directed by none other than Ralph Levy, who we just met in the article before this.
This the unaired pilot to the show that was kinescoped around the first of August in 1950 at CBS Columbia Square. Notice it is almost an hour long, yet the radio and TV show were only half hour shows. This is because Marx did so much ad libbing in trying to get contestants to say the “secret word” that each show had to be edited down on audio tape for the radio show and on film for the television show.
Unlike the NBC television show which was on film, this was shot with RCA TK30 television cameras as the radio show was recorded for editing and delayed broadcast, which explains the casual dress for Groucho.
Notice a few things. At the start, we have about 1:45 seconds of video before the start of the radio show. As we go, there are several times we do pickups of intros and extros. and at 51:35, Groucho pitches to Myron Wallace who we all now know as Mike Wallace. The pitch to Wallace was a blank space into which and Elgin Watch radio spot would be added as Wallace had been their spokesman beginning when this show was on ABC radio in 1947.