Fred Allen Show

This was Fred's only appearance on Jack's program. Too bad, because when they traded barbs on radio, they were hilarious. But frankly, the skit here fails to take advantage of their mock feud. They're kept separate for too long, and when finally paired up, the material unfortunately sags. Reviewer jhboswell is right—Allen's real forte was radio. His program was both very funny and well put together with its colorful supporting characters.

It's also revealing seeing Allen and Benny together, and how much of Jack's comedy was visual as well as spoken. So it's not surprising, to me at least, that Jack would be a bigger TV success than Fred. Nonetheless, it's a good chance to catch one of the giants of radio comedy. Also—be sure to catch the surprise guest.