Taken from a Marty Feldman appearance on The Flip Wilson Show. The sketch was originally written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman for At Last The 1948 Show.
I always found that the version with John Cleese was the best version of the bookshop sketch but I do love seeing other comedians playing opposite Marty, and I found that Flip Wilson had an interesting take on the character. Flip played the book seller a lot less tightly wound which was kind of fun. My favorite part of the sketch was when Marty says "Funny, they sent me here," and John has this incredible "Did they?" Which cracks me up every time but in this version Flip omits that line entirely. It's really neat seeing how different comedians approach different skits much like it's fun to see different musicians playing well known songs.
Wow - I grew up on Flip Wilson and his contemporaries, long before I saw any Monty Python - but missed this. Also didn't realize this was originally for "At Last The 1948 Show" - thanks!
Version I like the best is 101 ways to start a fight by an Irish gentleman whose name eludes me at the moment. Never seen this version but man it wasn't that bad
Saying that all Americans are unfunny and talentless is a sweeping and unfair generalization (though I, an American, do prefer British humour in general, with a few Ameeicans among my favourite comedians - Americans for standup and Brits for anything sketch-based). That said, these two styles of humour did not play well together at all. Feldman's brilliance is unparalleled, but this sketch was awkward. A flustered upper class English bookseller is what this sketch requires.
It's not even a matter of the bookseller being upper-class. It's how well the straight man does his job, or doesn't, as is the case here. The version from the "1948 show" (a British show) even suffers a bit because the shopkeeper in that sketch does not push things along enough. I grew up with the audio-only version --with Chapman as the customer and Cleese as the salesman, and neither of the Feldman versions I've seen have the flow of the carefully crafted (edited) version from the Contractual Obligation album. Cleese, as the shopkeeper, is great at the interruptions and emotional reactions --as the co-writer, he knew where the beats needed to be precisely. And there could also be a dynamic related to the timing being different when you are working with an audience. Laughter can interrupt the flow. Tim Conway (an American) was brilliant at working in those gaps created by audience reaction. Not by saying more, but by acting with his body while the audience recovered (or continued to go off in hysterics). Wilson, on the other hand, he's fighting being the straight-man (he is the star of his show after all), and when he gets a response from the audience, his instinct is to embellish --ham it up. Bad move. Although, it may have indeed worked in the moment (e.g. you had to be there) --the audience do seem to be enjoying themselves, but it doesn't translate to video.
A comedy sketch where the joke is how obnoxious the customer gets, completely derailing and deranging the shopkeeper, and Flip decides to play it cool and unflappable. Well, it was a choice, I guess... It's not horrid, but Feldman is working twice as hard to make it half as funny.
Marty in America. Marty hilarious as ever having to perform with typically talentless unfunny American. He may have earned a fortune but going to the USOfA eventually destroyed his creativity. Shame.
I always found that the version with John Cleese was the best version of the bookshop sketch but I do love seeing other comedians playing opposite Marty, and I found that Flip Wilson had an interesting take on the character. Flip played the book seller a lot less tightly wound which was kind of fun. My favorite part of the sketch was when Marty says "Funny, they sent me here," and John has this incredible "Did they?" Which cracks me up every time but in this version Flip omits that line entirely. It's really neat seeing how different comedians approach different skits much like it's fun to see different musicians playing well known songs.
And also, that Python version ends with the greatest song ever recorded, "Do Wot John"!
I love Flip's reaction to Marty asking for the expurgated version of the bird book. "He want da one widdout da ganet! I don't desire to have a ganet!"
I think this is the first Monty Python-related comedy I've ever seen performed with a black performer. It's an interesting interpretation.
Pure Gold! Marty Feldman is such a gem!
It was Feldman who gave most Americans their first taste of Python-written comedy.
Wow - I grew up on Flip Wilson and his contemporaries, long before I saw any Monty Python - but missed this. Also didn't realize this was originally for "At Last The 1948 Show" - thanks!
Marty Feldman always makes me smile x
Marty: i can't read
Me: i can't breathe 🤣
Marty: spells things out
also Marty: "I can't read."
:-)
"Tom Swift Combs His Hair, or The Bobbsey Twins Get a Double Hernia"...LOL!!
Flip Wilson performing in a (sort of) Python skit? Who knew?!
Marty's as good as always, but Flip slows down the sketch compared to UK versions.
It's a completely different style of comedy, and Wilson does a pretty good job.
@@mikecooney8422 - An excellent job!
Version I like the best is 101 ways to start a fight by an Irish gentleman whose name eludes me at the moment. Never seen this version but man it wasn't that bad
How many versions of this sketch are there?
I love Flip Wilson, but he doesn't play it right here. He's supposed to be the straight man.
Saying that all Americans are unfunny and talentless is a sweeping and unfair generalization (though I, an American, do prefer British humour in general, with a few Ameeicans among my favourite comedians - Americans for standup and Brits for anything sketch-based). That said, these two styles of humour did not play well together at all. Feldman's brilliance is unparalleled, but this sketch was awkward. A flustered upper class English bookseller is what this sketch requires.
It's not even a matter of the bookseller being upper-class. It's how well the straight man does his job, or doesn't, as is the case here. The version from the "1948 show" (a British show) even suffers a bit because the shopkeeper in that sketch does not push things along enough. I grew up with the audio-only version --with Chapman as the customer and Cleese as the salesman, and neither of the Feldman versions I've seen have the flow of the carefully crafted (edited) version from the Contractual Obligation album. Cleese, as the shopkeeper, is great at the interruptions and emotional reactions --as the co-writer, he knew where the beats needed to be precisely. And there could also be a dynamic related to the timing being different when you are working with an audience. Laughter can interrupt the flow. Tim Conway (an American) was brilliant at working in those gaps created by audience reaction. Not by saying more, but by acting with his body while the audience recovered (or continued to go off in hysterics). Wilson, on the other hand, he's fighting being the straight-man (he is the star of his show after all), and when he gets a response from the audience, his instinct is to embellish --ham it up. Bad move. Although, it may have indeed worked in the moment (e.g. you had to be there) --the audience do seem to be enjoying themselves, but it doesn't translate to video.
no
Who’s the black comedian?
A comedy sketch where the joke is how obnoxious the customer gets, completely derailing and deranging the shopkeeper, and Flip decides to play it cool and unflappable.
Well, it was a choice, I guess...
It's not horrid, but Feldman is working twice as hard to make it half as funny.
Quite horrible compared to the original with John Cleese.
Marty in America. Marty hilarious as ever having to perform with typically talentless unfunny American. He may have earned a fortune but going to the USOfA eventually destroyed his creativity. Shame.