Merrily We Roll Along: The Early Days Of The
Automobile
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Program: B-
Made in
1961 as part of NBC’s Project Twenty
documentary series, a change of pace was offered when Groucho Marx hosted Merrily We Roll Along: The Early Days Of
The Automobile, which has a wealth of early footage of the rise of the
car. However, the history has been
glossed over on purpose so Groucho can make truly funny observations about the
many difficulties the car faced as it grew into popularity and still offers
some facts few people know.
It also
offers much footage that is not as often seen, though I recognized other
clips. The most interesting thing is how
certain Groucho edicts hold up very well 45 years later. Though we have more cars and many of them are
safer, yet durable than ever, many of the basic headaches they offer have held
up very well for over 100 years. The
show never deals with the sports car phenomenon either, but it is well edited
for what it is and having Groucho is a big plus.
The full
frame, monochrome image is soft, though much of the older footage is not going
to be to sharp to begin with. That the
newest footage has this problem comes in part from the older transfer of the
material, revealed as such with the 1993 copyright at the very end. Oh well.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is smaller sounding than it should be for a
program this age, so be careful when turning up your volume adjustment more
than usual. There are no extras.
Groucho
fans will want to get this one immediately, one of the few things besides You Bet Your Life (reviewed elsewhere
on this site) that really worked for Groucho on TV. It may not be ready for The History Channel,
but Merrily We Roll Along: The Early
Days Of The Automobile is very amusing and worth your time.
- Nicholas Sheffo
