For a long time, fans of British comedy in general, and fans of Monty Python's Flying Circus in particular, lamented the impossibility of viewing episodes of At Last the 1948 Show, as its cast featured a young John Cleese and Graham Chapman not long before Monty Python formed (as well as a young Marty Feldman, before he became internationally known). That frustration was particularly acute in the United States, where the sketch-focused comedy series was never forecast, and little was known of the show except from the fragmentary accounts given in some Monty Python biographies. For historical reasons alone, then, the discovery and commercial release of five episodes' worth of At Last the 1948 Show on this two-DVD set is cause for celebration. Even if you're not an intense Monty Python fan, however, you might be surprised by how funny much of this is, and how strongly some of the specific routines anticipate future Monty Python bits. While it's not as riotous, unrestrained, or surreal as Monty Python's Flying Circus, it has a similar irreverence and flippancy, even if the writing and performances are rather tamer and more conventional than what Cleese and Chapman would perform in their future troupe. One of these sketches, in fact ("The Four Yorkshiremen," in which four stuffy successful businessmen try to outdo each other in their accounts of how miserable their childhoods were) was resurrected for a bit that became a favorite in Monty Python's live performances. Other sketches, like "The Four Sydney Lotterbys" (where four British holidaymakers discover they have the same wife), "Scottish National Ballet Supporters," and "The Chartered Account Dance," are quite funny on their own terms, and Cleese in particular excels in the scenes that require him to be especially nasty and ridiculous. There are things to complain about, if you're so inclined: the shadowy black-and-white footage hasn't survived in the most pristine condition, Tim Brooke-Taylor (though capable) isn't quite as interesting a comedian as his colleagues, Feldman tends to ham it up, and the bits in which Aimi MacDonald links sketches as a token child-voiced bimbo of sorts are limited in their entertainment value. Most frustratingly of all, over half of the programs filmed for At Last the 1948 Show, which ran for 13 episodes in all, remain unavailable; this DVD presents less than half of what was initially broadcast. Still, it's entertaining viewing for appreciators of '60s television comedy, and essential for serious Monty Python fans.
by Richie Unterberger
review
