Since Woody Allen seems to be a current topic on this blog I thought I'd share a great bit of his from the mid 60s. From time to time Woody would appear on CANDID CAMERA. For those who never heard of CANDID CAMERA, it's PUNKED but done in the 50s and 60s on CBS.
Woody Allen participated in this segment. He's an executive hiring an unsuspecting secretary.
Was Woody playing both parts?
ReplyDeleteWhat's most interesting about that is how she feels ''typing'' a love letter is impersonal. She'd be in a fit of hysterics today.
ReplyDeleteGreat clip. I love the gentle humour in these old pranks.
ReplyDeleteHer facial expressions and reaction are amazing. A critical issue to the success of these segments must have been the person they chose to pull the prank on.
ReplyDeleteNichols and May couldn't have written it any better.
ReplyDeleteSplendid.
ReplyDeleteI also thought "Elaine May" as I watched the secretary.
Notice how long the scene was. These days, nobody would run something without lots of cuts. Here, we can see the scene develop. Very nice.
Sorry I can't remember if you were the one who also introduced me/us to the French Canadian version of the show Just for Laughs, done without sound, presumably in part for a wider international audience. But there's a lot to be said for prank shows where the kicker isn't always just catharsis in the realization you are no longer being assaulted.
ReplyDeleteI also used to enjoy just the concept of sending "personal" letters to friends, checking off one of a series of multiple choice predicates -- all but one of which being outrageous. Then I realized that was a hell of a lot of work to get a laugh from just one person. We all have our media, but believe me, personal correspondence is not one of the more lucrative.
BTW, OT. Cliff Lee? I think our Rangers manager Ron Washington thought he was trading Justin Smoak’s kid brother Upin for Bill “Spaceman” Lee coming out of retirement, because when even management is prone to substance abuse, every pitch must look like some kind of eephus? I mean this Cliff fellow is good – but wouldn’t they want somebody who could keep a job? What’s your take Mr. L? Did your Mariners really need a hitter that bad? Sure takes some of the onus (wagner?) out of bankruptcy – no, I’m not sorry for this last one either.
Brilliant, just brilliant. And done with so much love instead of wanting to humiliate someone.
ReplyDeleteThis is great. It wouldn't be out of place in one of his earlier films, and yet it feels very modern, like a Ricky Gervais scene.
ReplyDeleteWhat made this so enjoyable was the respectful attitude it took toward the "victim." The pranksters didn't think she was gullible. Instead they assumed she knew something and had a standard, i. e. it is not appropriate to dictate a love letter to one's secretary. I didn't feel like I needed a shower after seeing the woman tricked (and I know that Funt made a series of videos using nudity.)
ReplyDeleteWhat’s your take Mr. L? Did your Mariners really need a hitter that bad?
ReplyDeleteAt .206 and eight HR, Smoak now becomes the leading slugger for the team.
Any more questions?