The Honeymooners
From fifties
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[edit] Plot Synopsis
Cast[1] Jackie Gleason ... Ralph Kramden Art Carney ... Ed Norton Audrey Meadows ... Alice Kramden Joyce Randolph ... Trixie Norton
The Honeymooners was about Ralph and Alice Kramden, a working-class married couple from Brooklyn, and their friends Ed and Trixie Norton. Ralph, a bus driver, was a "perennial loser" who saw himself as "eternally on the brink of making it big." [2] Alice was a "survivor, hanging in doggedly, naggingly, as Ralph tried to dominate her with the sheer force of his voice and self-importance." [2] The plots usually consisted of Ralph having a scheme, the scheme backfires, Alice chastises Ralph, he verbally rages at her, he accepts his own humiliation, and is grateful that Alice still loves him: "Baby, you're the greatest!" [2] Ralph's buddy Ed was a sewer worker, whose function was to make the Kramdens' fights worse, and to be a co-conspirator to Ralph's "harebrained quick-money schemes." Trixie was a former burlesque dancer, "just smart enough to be a friend to Alice and just dippy enough to tolerate Ed." [2]
[edit] History
The Honeymooners began as a skit on the Jackie Gleason-hosted variety show, Cavalcade of Stars which aired on the now-defunct DuMont Network. Gleason had previously played a much tamer character similar to Ralph Kramden on the sitcom The Life of Riley. When "The Honeymooners" skit was first performed in 1951, the ratings of Cavalcade of the Stars skyrocketed, and audience surveys showed that the skit was the single biggest cause. [2] CBS wooed Gleason away from DuMont to host The Jackie Gleason Show, and "The Honeymooners" cast (with the exception of Pert Kelton, the original Alice Kramden, who was replaced by Audrey Meadows due to being blacklisted) followed. The skits became centerpieces to the Gleason show and sometimes even ran half an hour, eventually evolving into The Honeymooners sitcom in 1955. [2] Although it initially debuted at the #2 position, The Honeymooners was soon considered a ratings disaster, ranking at number 19 for their first season. The next season, Gleason reincorporated The Honeymooners back into a skit on The Jackie Gleason Show, but it was soon canceled. [2]
[edit] Episodes
A selection of episode/skits:[3]
- Ralph's Diet
Mrs. Raferty is throwing a surprise party for her husband and while Ralph isn't home, she asks Alice to hide the turkey and cake in her apartment. She asks the Kramdens to attend the party but Alice says no because Ralph is on a diet and all the food would be too tempting. The diet is driving Ralph crazy. For dinner, Alice made him a raw vegetable salad. He tries to get his mind off food, so he turns on the radio but hears a commercial for fried chicken and puts his fist through it. Alice leaves and Ralph discovers the cake and turkey that Alice hid in the bureau drawer. He goes into an eating frenzy and tears apart the tukey and cake. Alice offers to replace the food and Ralph gets to finish his feast after promising Alice that he'll begin a new diet tomorrow.
- Head of the House
Ralph tells a newspaper that he's head of the house and then has to prove it to a co-worker.
- Suspense
Alice is in the bedroom rehearsing for a play with Trixie in which a woman plots to kill her husband. Ralph and Ed walk in and overhear them. Ralph thinks she wants to kill him. The Nortons leave and Ralph tells Alice that he overheard her in the bedroom. She thinks that Ralph knows she was rehearsing for the play, and is just against her acting. She catches on to what Ralph thinks when she puts a vitamin in his juice and he accuses her of trying to poison him. Alice "confesses" and says that if she can't kill him, she'll kill herself, and drinks the juice. Ralph is hysterical, thinking that he is about to lose Alice. Alice "recovers" and tells Ralph the truth. Ralph threatens to beat her up, but she reminds him how he was acting a few minutes ago, saying that she's his whole world. Ralph kisses her.
- Norton Moves In
The Nortons have had their apartment painted and they can't stand the smell of paint. Trixie comes down at 3am and asks if they can stay down there for the night. Ralph ends up sleeping in the kitchen with Ed on a cot that collapses as soon as Ralph lays down. Norton then decides to smoke a cigarette and accidentally drops the match under the covers. Ralph is burnt and then he brutally insults Norton and throws him and Trixie out. Alice reminds Ralph of all the favors that Norton has done for him and Ralph decides to go up and apologize to him. In comes Norton, who was standing right outside the door.
[edit] Quotes
Ralph: Don't start that again, Alice. No wife of mine is gonna work. I got my pride. You know, no Kramden woman has ever supported her husband. The Kramden men are the workers in the family.
Alice: Wait a minute, Ralph. What about your father? For a long time there he didn't work at all.
Ralph: But neither did my mother. At least he kept his pride, Alice. He went on relief. [1]
Ralph: [to Alice] Let's get one thing straight right now, right here and now: a man's home is just like his ship. And I am the captain of this ship, that's what I am, you understand. You're nothing but a lowly, third-class seaman. That's all you are. Your duties are to get the mess, swab the deck and see that the captain feels good. That's all you have to do. Remember, I'm the captain and you're just a third-class seaman.
[He notices that Alice is leaving and he stops her]
Ralph: Where are you going?
Alice: Seaman Kramden, third class, is retiring to the poop deck until this big wind blows over. [leaves the room][1]
Alice: Ralph, what do you need ten dollars for? What crazy scheme have you got in mind now?
Ralph: It ain't no crazy scheme. I need the money to rent a costume for the party tomorrow night.
Alice: Rent a costume? I thought you were going to do what you did last year - wear a torn undershirt, talk out of the side of your mouth and go as Marlon Brando. [1]
[edit] Cultural Significance
The Honeymooners was one of the first portrayals of the working class in television sitcoms. It influenced many sitcoms that came after it, including The Flintstones, All in the Family, Married...with Children, and Roseanne. While many sitcoms in the 1950's presented an idealized portrait of suburban life, The Honeymooners showcased the struggle of poverty in an urban environment. Additionally, the character of Ralph Kramden stood in stark contrast to the loving husbands and fathers of other 1950's sitcoms; he was verbally abusive towards Alice and his threats of physical violence were regarded as comedy. Ralph's treatment of Alice displayed the acceptance of domestic violence and abuse in The Honeymooners era. Ralph's phrase "To the moon, Alice!" was ranked #2 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 20 Top Catchphrases" in 2005.[1]
