Where's Jack? (New Game)

[shimp scrampi]

OK, folks - here's a new game for the forum. Figure out where Jack (or Mary, Rochester, Phil, Don etc.) is - a "mystery photo" game! Test your Benny expertise.

Ground rules:

The object of the game is to guess the context of the image - name the TV episode, movie, event, etc.

No new image is posted until the preceding one is guessed correctly - that'll save confusion. If you guess right, you can either post the next new image or pass if you just want to guess. If you post an image, please check back once in awhile to confirm/reject guesses!

Photos should have some kind of clue -a distinct costume, set detail, a co-star or something that can help figure out the picture. Don't expect us to figure out that it was the Johnny Carson episode from just a picture of Jack standing in front of a curtain, for example!

No photoshopped fakes, please!

To host an image, free services like photobucket.com or imageshack.us are great options - I like imageshack. If you've got a picture on your computer, it's really easy.

OK, here's WHERE'S JACK picture #1 ... Where's Jack?

[LLeff]

Dinah Shore show? (I don't know the answer...honest.)

[shimp scrampi]

Nope, not the Dinah Shore show...

[Clyde]

"Here's Lucy"????

[shimp scrampi]

Clyde got it!
Specifically, it's Jack's first of several apprearances on Here's Lucy, from Sept. 30, 1968 "Lucy visits Jack Benny".

Don't you think the apron looks a bit like Frank Nelson?

[shimp scrampi]

OK, here's another one to keep the game rolling and give you more of a sense of the mystery photo game. Remember, anyone can post (not just me) if the last one has been correctly guessed and confirmed.

This one obviously isn't Jack - but who is this, what's the movie, and how is she connected to Jack?

[LLeff]

I'll vote for Sara Berner in Rear Window.

(Like the game...one that I don't have to lay out of because of my research...)

[Jack Benny]

That's Jack's balcony and she's a renter?

[shimp scrampi]

LL gets the facts right, and Jack Benny gets points for amusing snark!

That's Sara Berner (Mabel, the Nasal singer), in Alfred Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW.

[shimp scrampi]

OK, folks, I will keep posting new ones to keep things rolling, but I'll also leave a few hours between answering and posting new images - if anyone else wants to jump in and put up a picture after one has been answered, please do!

That being said, here's WHERE'S JACK (and Mary) photo #3

[Alan]

My guess is the TV ep where they visit Paris...including the Eiffel tower in the above pic.

While i have only seen the "JB goes to Venice" ep, i have read that there were about 4 of these Europe based shows...and that the usually reluctant Mary was motivated to join the cast for these shows becouse of the on- location shoots.

Alan

[shimp scrampi]

ding ding ding! Alan gets it!

Jack in Paris, March of 1957. Jack puts his glasses on, and claims to be able to see Versailles, Normandy, all kinds of impossible things from the Eiffel Tower. Mary puts them on and ribs him by saying she can see Rochester back at home, napping while Jack's roof is half-shingled. Jack snatches his glasses back. It's a cute little rare bickering-couple bit from Jack & Mary.

[shimp scrampi]

Who's Jack chatting with here, and what kind of accent does this gentleman have?

[Alan]

no idea...tho the seemingly naturalistic lighting suggests a a non-stage shot.

If this was another example of filming a TV ep outside of regular sound stages, i am curious about (relative) budgets alloted to JB over his TV career.
(ps- i don't mean to tangent this neat thread)

My completely unininformed guesstimate is that ( at least thru the 50's, early 60s), JB had a relatively top tier budget...even vs most other A-listers.

While i have only seen a few dozen JB shows and even smaller numbers of other "golden" age tv shows, my impression is that the other big 50's comedy series were much more straightforward skits-in-front-of-audience productions.

Then again, i have seen bargain video compilations of early series that seem to have lower popularity shows with (for then)high production value...maybe related to large numbers of studio filmed productions
back then?..and genre related?

[LLeff]

no idea...tho the seemingly naturalistic lighting suggests a a non-stage shot.

If this was another example of filming a TV ep outside of regular sound stages, i am curious about (relative) budgets alloted to JB over his TV career.
(ps- i don't mean to tangent this neat thread)

OK fine, I'll tangent this neat thread (and lay out of this one because I know the answer and I got the previous one with Sara Berner).

These particular shows (note I'm trying not to give hints as to the answer) had the interiors shot on a soundstage and the exteriors on location. And I happen to have an interview that I did with the director who was working with Jack on that soundstage, for future publication in the Times.