abridged; produced for the Bell Telephone Hour television series. Originally telecast April 29, 1960
Groucho Marx (Ko-Ko), Helen Traubel (Katisha), Stanley Holloway (Pooh-Bah), Dennis King (Mikado), Robert Rounseville (Nanki-Poo), Barbara Meister (Yum-Yum)Sharon Randall (Pitti-Sing), Melinda Marx (Peep-Bo) & Martyn Green (Host / Adaptation)
DVD Video
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Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days.
For the legendary comic actor Groucho Marx, playing the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado “fulfilled a lifelong ambition.” The Mikado was Groucho’s favorite among the works of his beloved Gilbert and Sullivan, and the 1960 Bell Telephone Hour production was adapted for television and directed by Martyn Green, a man Groucho revered as an authority on interpreting the role of Ko-Ko. The score is condensed to fit into The Bell Telephone Hour's 60-minute format (allowing room for commercials), but the adaptation was done with great ingenuity and finesse by Gilbert and Sullivan authority Martyn Green. The strong supporting cast features distinguished veterans like Helen Traubel, Stanley Holloway, Robert Rounseville, and Dennis King, as well as young artists like the lovely soprano Barbara Meister as Yum-Yum and Groucho’s 13-year-old daughter, Melinda, as Peep-Bo.
Special features [46 minutes] include audio interviews with Dick Cavett, Melinda Marx, and Barbara Meister; Martyn Green in excerpts from H.M.S. Pinafore (Bell Telephone Hour, 1963, in color), cast bios, the commercials from the original telecast, and more!
B&W, 4:3, 52 minutes, All Regions
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