The Life of Riley

I have long been a fan of old-time radio but only discovered the wonderful world of The Life of Riley a few months ago. Ever since, I have made every effort to collect every known available episode of the radio program and of the two different t.v. shows (1949 with Jackie Gleason as Riley and the 1953-58 series with William Bendix). And my collection now includes the 1949 big screen feature film version. I am a huge fan of Jackie Gleason, but William Bendix was the definitive Chester A. Riley. He is in the film version, along with Rosemary DeCamp from the 1949 t.v. show as Peg. Lanny Rees is also Junior Riley as he was in the 1949 t.v. series. Unfortunately, they decided to have Barbara "Babs" Riley all grown-up and chose to replace Gloria Winters from the 1949 show with the older Meg Randall. James Gleason, as another reviewer said, was too old to play Riley's neighbour Jim Gillis. It is wonderful to see the great John Brown reprise his radio and 1949 t.v. show character of Digby "Digger" O'Dell. The film is a very good adaptation and well captures the flavour of the post World War II era. It is a lot of fun for Riley fans and for those soon to be.

By 1949 radio was beginning to give way to television. The golden age of radio was reaching an end. THE LIFE OF RILEY (TLoR)had been on the radio for most of the 1940's and had quite a fan base. In 1953 William Bendix would take his radio show character Riley to television. However in 1949 fans were treated to a movie version of the show.

In typical TLoR fashion Chester Riley (William Bendix)spent most of the show confused as to what was going on around him. Basic elements of the show were present. Riley still worked in an aircraft plant, Riley was busy trying to control Babs dating life and Peg, his wife, showed everyone who really wore the pants in the house. Riley was still the "everyman" struggling to make ends meet and get ahead.

Somethings I didn't care for were the actors who portrayed Riley's children Babs and Junior. They were a far cry from their radio counterparts. Junior was so underused his character was more of a cameo. Gillis, Riley's neighbor, co-worker and friend from Brooklyn, seemed old enough to be Riley's father instead of his contemporary. Allan Reed, the future voice of Fred Flintstone, was in practically every episode of the radio show and often played Riley's boss Mr. Stevenson. It would have been nice if he had been in the movie as the Boss.

Somethings I did care for. The Riley's house was pretty much the way I imagined it to be. John Brown carried on his role as Digger O'Dell the friendly undertaker. The plot stuck close to the radio program.

Lastly, I think it is hard for a radio show to transition to film. The beauty of radio is that every persons imagination will portray what is heard on the radio in their own way. No film or television show can please everyone. Considering what TLoR was up against the end result was not too bad. It's a good view. Any fan of the radio program would enjoy it.

OUR ORIGINAL ENCOUNTER with THE LIFE OF RILEY was as an early to mid 1950's television series, and a very popular one at that. This was, in fact, our first experience with the on screen acting career of William Bendix. Naturally, the first is usually the most vivid and it wasn't until some time later that we realized that he had such an extensive resume in dramatic roles.

BEING BORN INTO that post World War II "Boomer" Generation, we knew nothing of RILEY having been a popular comedy on the radio. And to round out the spectrum, we've now seen this 1949 Universal feature film.

THE MOVIE WAS drawn from the radio show as the video, small screen version hadn't become a reality until that year and featured Jackie Gleason in the title role (that season only); due to contractual obligations of Mr.Bendix.

AS IS THE case with many adaptations from one medium to the screen, the very nature of single film creates a need for a major crisis or relatively earth-shaking event. This provides a beginning, middle and an end for the story. With a series, the operating word is episodic as the story of one week will be followed by another and another story which is unrelated to hat which went before; save for the continuity which is provided by the regular characters.

IN SUMMARY, WE much preferred Tom D'Andrea's interpretation of Gillis on television to that of James Gleason in the motion picture feature.

(THERE SCHULTZ, THAT should nail it for our reading public!)

Amusing movie entry following up on the TLOR radio series. All the characters are present including daughter Babs, son Junior, wife Peg, buddy Gillis, and of course the inimitable Riley. And what a guffaw to be reminded of Digger O'Dell, "the friendly undertaker". With his graveyard voice and dead serious demeanor, he's a real hoot.

The plot's okay. Blue-collar guy Riley doesn't like it when Babs appears to be dating the boss's son. After all, the loyal worker's been bucking for a promotion for years, but to no avail thanks to the boss. Then when the headman finds out about the dating arrangement, guess who gets a big promotion. But at what cost, as new foreman Riley soon finds out. Too bad that the gangster subplot disrupts the generally amusing flow.

One thing to note is how clearly the Riley series reflects conditions of the 30's and 40's when working men were king. That's in contrast to the upward decade of the 50's when family drama reflected white-collar life in the suburbs, e.g. Father Knows Best, (1954-60). That earlier arrangement is especially reflected in this film's windup. Anyway, Babs is cute, Junior is energetic, Peg's supportive, and Riley's his usual amusing and obstreperous self. What a perfect piece of casting Bendix was. His homely mug is so unlike the slicker dads of later times.

For geezers like myself, the 90-minutes amounts to a fond trip down memory lane. And given half-a-chance, younger folks might find it a worthwhile change from exploding cars and gutter language.

Too often Bendix was cast as a mental case who enjoyed smashing skulls, or his roles would take his gentle giant exterior to the extreme and he would be cast as an overgrown child as in "The Babe Ruth Story". This is the way I like to remember William Bendix - playing a family man doing the best he can in a world that tends to be a bit too much for him, with children that tend to be a bit too much for him too.

The plot here has to do with aircraft worker Riley's daughter preparing for her marriage to the son of Riley's boss. Neither loves the other. However, the son owes some gambling debts to some fellows that either want to start breaking big bills or the young man's legs. If the young man gets married he gets part of his inheritance and can pay off his debts. What's in it for Riley's daughter? The industrialist's son has told the girl that Riley is about to lose his job, but that his job would be safe if she married the boss' son. The girl therefore agrees to a marriage in name only to save dad's job.

I will tell you only this about how the plot works out. None of Riley's family has any idea that there is anything the least bit amiss in this situation until Riley sees the train tickets for the soon-to-be-married couple and discovers that his daughter and son-in-law will be honeymooning in separate compartments on the train. Riley's reaction - "Wow, when her mom and I got married all we could afford was one berth!" - and then it hits him that this lack of togetherness on one's wedding night is a sign of something more than an excess of cash on hand.

This film is a great slice of life of the new post-war American middle class of the 40's and 50's. Catch it if you can.