Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look At...

Included as a supplement on Universal's 5-Disc Set THE W.C. FIELDS COMEDY COLLECTION VOL. 2, this was an episode from a series of TV shows in which comedians Johnny Wayne(!!) and Frank Shuster paid tribute to comic giants of the past. Basically, it's a collection of classic scenes from some of Fields' pictures - with the occasional interpolation from the hosts related to Fields' biography (unhappy childhood, Ziegfeld Follies performer, etc.) which, essentially, influenced him in the creation of his unique on-screen characterizations. While the show included choice sequences from films that are included in both this and the previous set, I was especially grateful for the inclusion of scenes from two Fields titles which have so far eluded me - the compendium film IF I HAD A MILLION (1932) and MISSISSIPPI (1935). Ultimately, this isn't exactly an in-depth look at Fields' M.O. but the comedy sketches themselves are certainly hilarious.

I rate this highly because I happened on summer to see these when CBS ran them as a Sunday Night replacement series. CBS did this a lot on Sunday Nights as they would replace one of their variety shows during the summer with different shows. Among other replacements like The Glen Campbell show, and Hee Haw, this one had a special flavor.

At the time I did not realize the Canadian roots this series had. Much the same way as I did not realize Monty Hall was Canadian until I made a deal years later. What this show did was take 2 hosts, Wayne & Schuster, who were behaving like a comedy team, had had them hosting retrospective looks at some great entertainment of the 20 century.

Every show I saw was funny and well done. While the hosts were seldom serious, the show did seem to put together some of the best clips of the subject(s) the show had a theme built around. The purpose of the series was to present clips of folks from W C Fields to the Marx Brothers and more and show the audience how great these people could perform.

An hour would breeze by and I like them so much I always tried to catch the next show. I enjoyed them so much that I was hoping CBS would bring them back again. I believe they did in 2 summers but then Wayne & Schuster disappeared, much to the viewers loss.