I Married Joan

When Lucille Ball was an acclaimed, but not very widely known B picture actress, Joan Davis was winning a lot more acclaim for her own brand of goofy physical humor on radio and on film. She was a mainstay of support to a lot of the glamor girls and guys at 20th Century Fox.

A long term extra marital affair with Eddie Cantor helped push her career along as Cantor featured her on radio and had her co-star in two of his films.

Like so many players when the motion picture studios started cutting down production and leaving people out of work, Davis turned to television. Unfortunately one year too late to get credit for originality.

Lucille Ball and her real life husband beat her to the tube by a year. They put on a very successful situation comedy about a wacky wife with an exasperated husband that we all know about.

So when Joan Davis debuted I Married Joan in 1952 she was accused of copying Lucy. Not so as any viewing of her films will so demonstrate.

But Lucy was there first and got the deserved credit.

I Married Joan was a very funny show that trailed in the wake of I Love Lucy. It ended in 1955 because her TV husband Jim Backus quit the show. As Judge Bradley J. Stevens, he was her exasperated straight man of a husband. He'd get to show his comic flair later on in Gilligan's Island.

Sad that Joan Davis was never able to develop another television show to show her talent before she died.

A very funny lady, with a very funny show.

I just purchased the two DVDs that just came out on "I Married Joan." Miss Davis is a wonderful actress that did not get her just do, mainly because everything was focused on another great lady, Lucille Ball.

One of the fun things to watch are the supporting actors, who moved from set to set. You find the same actors on "Lucy," "Joan," "My Little Margie," "Private Secretary," and "Burns and Allen." I don't believe that Joan Davis was Emmy-nominated in the Best Actress category for comedy. That's very surprising and just as shocking as the fact that Esther Rolle was never nominated for "Good Times," in which she gave some of the finest acting on TV. Doris Day was never nominated for The Doris Day Show, either, but WAS cited by the Golden Globes. Miss Rolle never tried to BE funny, she played comedy straight -- the SITUATION was funny. Same with Miss Day. They didn't appear to be "funny" but they were.

If you "love Lucy," you might want to take a gander at Joan Davis in "I Married Joan," Gale Storm in "My Little Margie," and Gracie Allen in "Burns and Allen." All different, but all funny as hell for 50s comedy.

"I Married Joan" (NBC) was a contemporary of "I Love Lucy" (CBS) and in many ways they were similar. The show wasn't a ratings hit, but it did make it into the top 25. Joan Davis was even nominated for an Emmy Award in 1953. Unfortunately "I Married Joan" didn't have as much syndication sales muscle behind its reruns. Desilu did an exceptional job of getting their old shows on the air, which is part of the reason why Lucille Ball is better known today.

I have watched each episode several times and find them priceless classics. Watching Joan Davis and Jim Backus together is a treat! The show is a must see for Jim Backus fans. If you can't watch "I Married Joan", find the Abbott and Costello movie "Hold That Ghost" Co-starring Joan Davis. It is a small sample of her comic genius. Some episodes of "I Married Joan" can be viewed on retrovision.TV at the time of this review, July 2013.

"I Married Joan "is wonderful, delightful and hysterically funny. Joan Davis was an exceptionally gifted comedian. Her use of timing, delivery, and physical comedy make her a master of her craft. It is very unfortunate that few people have seen this great performer in her classic T.V. series. Many of the episodes are masterpieces that rival "I Love Lucy". In fact, in my humble opinion, are better. Joan Davis' real life daughter Beverly Wills plays her sister on the series and the very talented Jim Backus portrays her husband, Judge Bradley Stevens. If you admire and appreciate great comedy, this series is a MUST view. I hope that it is aired again soon.

It is hard to believe that Joan Davis was one of the highest paid actresses in the 1940's for her radio and "B" movie work, since most people have forgotten her. I can remember watching this program as a small child, and then again on cable when it was rereun in the mid 1980's. Even though some of the comedy bits were butchered due to poor editing, many others that were shown were still top notch. Although television comedy tastes, formats, etc., have changed over the years, some of the comedy bits, particularly the physical comedy, on the show were superior to anything that I've seen done before or since. Because Joan Davis started out as a child performer in front of live audiences, she was able to perfect her brand of physical comedy long before she became a television star through this program. Jim Backus as her husband was perfectly cast, even though he relates in his books that he was not happy playing second banana during this time, as Judge Stevens, her husband. While Lucy is far better known, and for many still defines 1950's TV comedy, I believe that Joan did it better. I only wish that these programs were still available on cable to be viewed.