document_title: The Honeymooners

question_text: who played the first alice in the honeymooners

question_tokens: who played the first alice in the honeymooners

root

text: The Honeymooners

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: The majority of The Honeymooners episodes focused on its four principal characters, and generally used fixed sets within their Brooklyn apartment building. Although various secondary characters made multiple appearances and occasional exterior shots were incorporated during editing, virtually all action and dialogue was "on stage" inside the normal backdrop.

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text: Ralph Kramden[edit]

text: Played by Jackie Gleason—a bus driver for the fictional Gotham Bus Company based in New York City. He never is seen driving a bus (except in publicity photos), but sometimes is shown at the bus depot. Ralph is frustrated by his lack of success, and often develops get-rich-quick schemes. He is very short tempered, frequently resorting to bellowing, insults, and making hollow threats. Well hidden beneath the many layers of bluster, however, is a soft-hearted man who loves his wife and is devoted to his best pal, Ed Norton. Ralph enjoys—and is proficient at—bowling and playing pool, and is an enthusiastic member of the fictitious Loyal Order of Raccoons (although in several episodes a blackboard at the lodge lists his dues as being in arrears). Ralph's mother rarely is mentioned, although she does appear in one episode. Ralph's father is only mentioned in one episode ("Young Man with a Horn") as having given Ralph a cornet he learned to play as a boy, and insists on keeping when Alice suggests it be thrown away.

text: The Ralph character was given honorary membership in the union for real New York City bus drivers (Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union) during the run of the show, and a Brooklyn bus depot was named in Gleason's honor after his death.[6][7] Ralph Kramden was the inspiration for the animated character Fred Flintstone.[8]

text: Alice Kramden [edit]

text: Alice (née Alice Gibson), played in the first nine skits, starting in 1951, and ending in January 1952[9] by Pert Kelton, and by Audrey Meadows for all remaining episodes, is Ralph's patient but sharp-tongued wife of roughly 12 years. She often finds herself bearing the brunt of Ralph's insults, which she returns with biting sarcasm. She is levelheaded, in contrast to Ralph's pattern of inventing various schemes to enhance his wealth or his pride. In each case, she sees the current one's un-workability, but he becomes angry and ignores her advice (and by the end of the episode, her misgivings almost always are proven to have been well-founded). She has grown accustomed to his empty threats—such as "One of these days, POW!!! Right in the kisser!", "BANG, ZOOM!" or "You're going to the moon!"—to which she usually replies, "Ahhh, shaddap!" Alice studied to be a secretary before her marriage and works briefly in that capacity when Ralph is laid off. Wilma Flintstone is based on Alice Kramden.[8]

text: Another foil for Ralph is Alice's mother, who is even sharper-tongued than her daughter. She despises Ralph as a bad provider. Alice's father is occasionally mentioned but never seen. Alice's sister, Agnes, appeared in one episode (Ralph jeopardizes his newlywed sister-in-law's marriage after giving some bad advice to the groom, but it all works out in the end). Ralph and Alice lived with her mother for six years after getting married before they got their own apartment. In a 1967 revival, Ralph refers to Alice (played by Sheila MacRae 1966–70 and once more in 1973) as being one of 12 children with her father never working.

text: The Honeymooners originally appeared as a sketch on the DuMont Network's Cavalcade of Stars, with the role of Alice played by Pert Kelton (1907–1968). When his contract with DuMont expired, Gleason moved to the CBS network where he had The Jackie Gleason Show, and the Alice role went to Audrey Meadows because Kelton had been blacklisted during the infamous McCarthy hearings investigating alleged Communist activities in the entertainment world.

text: Edward Lillywhite "Ed" Norton[edit]

text: Played by Art Carney; a New York City municipal sewer worker and Ralph's best friend (and upstairs neighbor). He is considerably more good-natured than Ralph, but nonetheless trades insults with him on a regular basis. Ed (typically called "Norton" by Ralph and sometimes by his own wife, Trixie) often gets mixed up in Ralph's schemes. His carefree and rather dimwitted nature usually results in raising Ralph's ire, while Ralph often showers him with verbal abuse and throws him out of the apartment when Ed irritates him. In most episodes, Ed is shown to be better-read, better-liked, more worldly and more even-tempered than Ralph, despite his unassuming manner and the fact that he usually lets Ralph take the lead in their escapades. Ed and Ralph both are members of the fictional Raccoon Lodge. ("An Emergency Meeting is an emergency meeting—never a poker game. An Executive Meeting, that's a poker game.") According to Entertainment Weekly, Norton is one of the "greatest sidekicks."[10] Ed worked for the New York City sewer department and described his job as a "Sub-supervisor in the sub-division of the department of subterranean sanitation, I just keep things moving along." He served in the U. S. Navy, and used his G.I. Bill money to pay for typing school, but felt he was unable to work in an office because he hated working in confined spaces. The relatively few scenes set in the Norton apartment showed it to have the same layout as the Kramdens' but more nicely furnished. Though Norton makes the same weekly $62 salary as Ralph (about $555 in 2016 dollars), their higher standard of living might be explained by Norton's freer use of credit; at one point he admits to having 19 charge accounts. Like Ralph, Ed enjoys and is good at bowling and playing pool. Ed is the inspiration for Barney Rubble in The Flintstones.[8] He is also the inspiration behind Yogi Bear (in terms of design, clothing, and mannerisms).

text: In 1999, TV Guide ranked him 20th on its list of the "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time."[11]

text: Thelma "Trixie" Norton[edit]

text: Played most famously by Joyce Randolph; Ed's wife and Alice's best friend. She did not appear in every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be somewhat bossy toward her husband. In one episode, she surprisingly is depicted as a pool hustler. On another episode, Ralph insults Trixie by making a reference to Minsky's (a famous New York City burlesque theater; the original Trixie character was an ex-burlesque dancer). There are a few references to Trixie's burlesque background in the lost episodes (e.g., Norton: "Every night I'd meet her backstage and hand her a rose ... . It was her costume!"). Randolph played Trixie as an ordinary, rather prudish, housewife, complaining to her husband on one occasion when a "fresh" young store clerk called her "sweetie pie." In a 1967 special, Trixie (played by Jane Kean from 1966–1970 and 1976–1978) resentfully denied Ralph's implications that she "worked in burlesque" to which he replied "If the shoe fits, take it off."  Trixie is the inspiration for Betty Rubble in The Flintstones.

text: Elaine Stritch was the first and original Trixie Norton in a Honeymooners sketch with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Pert Kelton. The ex-dancer character was rewritten and recast after just one episode with the more wholesome looking Randolph playing the character as a housewife.[12]

text: Others[edit]

text: Some of the actors who appeared multiple times on the show include George O. Petrie and Frank Marth as various characters, Ethel Waite Owen as Alice's mother, Zamah Cunningham as apartment building neighbor Mrs. Manicotti, and Cliff Hall as the Raccoon Lodge president.

text: Ronnie Burns, son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, made a guest appearance on one episode. On another episode, Ed Norton makes a reference to a co-worker "Nat Birnbaum" (as in "'nat," a three-letter word for bug," says crossword puzzle aficionado Norton). George Burns's real name was Nathan Birnbaum.

text: The apartment house[edit]

text: The Kramdens and Nortons lived in an apartment house at 328 Chauncey Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York, a nod to the fact that Jackie Gleason lived there after his family moved from his birthplace at 364 Chauncey Street.[13] In the 1955 episode "A Woman's Work is Never Done," the address is referred to as 728 Chauncey Street. The landlord of the apartment house is Mr. Johnson. In the Honeymooners episodes taped from 1967 to 1970, the address of the apartment house changed to 358 Chauncey Street, and the number of the Kramden apartment is 3B. The actual 328 Chauncey Street is located in the Bushwick section of the borough, approximately eight miles northeast of the show's fictional location.

text: Apartment residents[edit]

text:
Mr. and Mrs. Manicotti: An older couple of Italian descent.
Tommy Manicotti: He played stickball and contracted the measles. He also left his water pistol in the Kramdens' apartment.
McGarrity: A vocal upstairs neighbor with whom Ralph was frequently feuding. He fought with Ralph for disturbing the neighbors with practicing for The $99,000 Answer quiz show. But showing some humour in other episodes, he accused Ralph of renting the tuxedo for his sister-in-law's wedding from an undertaker, and loved Ralph's joke about "sending a knight out on a dog like this."
McGarrity Boy: He played stickball and contracted the measles.
Mrs. Bennett: Needed her radiator fixed when Ralph was the janitor.
Johnny Bennett: He played stickball, earned an apple for a home-run—and contracted the measles like the other boys.
Mrs. Doyle: Mother of Tommy Doyle.
Tommy Doyle: He was arrested for spending a $100 counterfeit bill that Ralph gave him to take his suits to the cleaners.
Mrs. Stevens: She gave Alice a box for hairpins that was made of matchsticks for Christmas which was the same exact gift Ralph was about to give her but he vastly overpaid for it and thought he had a great gift rather than an insignificant trinket for Alice. Alice gave Mrs. Stevens a kitchen thermometer.
Mrs. Olsen: She said that Ralph broke her Venetian blinds instead of repairing them when Ralph temporarily was the building janitor.
Mrs. Hannah: Needed her bathtub fixed when Ralph was the janitor.
Mrs. Fogerty: Accused Ralph of taking food out of her ice box when Ralph was the janitor.
Mrs. Schwartz: The apartment house blabbermouth who reported that the Kramdens had set the all-time lowest gas bill for the building. She also was curious to know if the house phone was able to connect to Jersey when Ralph was the janitor.
Mr. Riley: Had a full garbage can that needed to be emptied when Ralph was the janitor.
Judy Connors: A teenager who did not want her father to meet a boy named Wallace, her date.
Tommy Mullins: A U.S. Navy service member who was home on leave for Christmas.
Carlos Sanchez: A mambo dancer who works at night.
Mr. and Mrs. August Gunther: Former residents of the building. August hit it big with his doughnut business.

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text: Plot[edit]

text: Most of The Honeymooners takes place in Ralph and Alice Kramden's small, sparsely furnished two-room apartment. Other settings used in the show included the Gotham Bus Company depot, the Raccoon Lodge, a neighborhood pool parlor, a park bench where Ralph and Ed occasionally meet for lunch, and on occasion the Nortons' apartment (always noticeably better-furnished than the Kramdens'). Many episodes begin with a shot of Alice in the apartment awaiting Ralph's arrival from work. Most episodes focus on Ralph's and Ed's characters, although Alice played a substantial role. Trixie played a smaller role in the series, and did not appear in every episode as did the other three. Each episode presented a self-contained story, which rarely carried over into a subsequent one. The show employed a number of standard sitcom clichés and plots, particularly those of jealousy, get-rich-quick schemes, and comic misunderstanding.

text: As to the occasional plot continuations, there were two such sequences—one concerning Ralph being sent to a psychiatrist because of "impatient" behavior during work that resulted in several passengers lodging complaints about his professional demeanor, and one that continued for two sequential shows in which Aunt Ethel visited and Ralph hatched a scheme to marry her off to the neighborhood butcher.

text: The series presents Ralph as an everyman and an underdog who struggles to make a better life for himself and his wife, but who ultimately fails due to his own shortcomings. He, often along with Ed, devises a number of get-rich-quick schemes, none of which succeed. Ralph would be quick to blame others for his misfortune until it was pointed out to him where he had fallen short. Ralph's anger then would be replaced by short-lived remorse, and he would apologize for his actions. Many of these apologies to Alice ended with Ralph saying in a heartfelt manner, "Baby, you're the greatest," followed by a hug and kiss.[14][15][16]

text: In most episodes, Ralph's short temper got the best of him, leading him to yell at others and to threaten comical physical violence, usually against Alice. Ralph's favorite threats to her were "One of these days ... One of these days ... Pow! right in the kisser!" or to knock her "to the Moon, Alice!" (Sometimes this last threat was simply abbreviated: as "Bang, zoom!") On other occasions, Ralph simply told Alice, "Oh, are you gonna get yours." All of this led to criticism, more than 40 years later, that the show displayed an acceptance of domestic violence.[17][18]  But Ralph never carried out his threats, and others have pointed out that Alice knew he never would because of their deep love for each other[15][16] In retaliation, the targets of Ralph's verbal abuse often responded by simply joking about his weight, a common theme throughout the series.[15][16] Incidentally, Alice never was seen to back down during any of Ralph's tirades.

text: For the "Classic 39" episodes of The Honeymooners, there was no continuing story arc. Each episode is self-contained. For example, in the series premiere episode "TV Or Not TV," Ralph and Norton buy a television set with the intent to share it. By the next week's show, the set is gone although in later episodes a set is shown in the Nortons' apartment. In the installment "The Baby Sitter," the Kramdens get a telephone, but in the next episode it is gone. And, in the episode, "A Dog's Life,"  Alice gets a dog from the pound which Ralph tries to return. But, in the end, Ralph finds himself growing to love the dog and decides to keep it along with a few other dogs. However, in the next episode, the dogs are nowhere to be seen and are never referred to again.

text: Occasionally, references to earlier episodes were made, including to Ralph's various "crazy harebrained schemes" from the lost episodes.  Norton's sleepwalking in "The Sleepwalker" was referenced in "Oh My Aching Back." But, it was not until the 1967 "Trip To Europe" shows that a Honeymooners story arc is finally used.

text: History[edit]

text: Origins[edit]

text: In July 1950, Jackie Gleason took over as the host of Cavalcade of Stars, a variety show that aired on the struggling DuMont Television Network. After the first year, he and his writers Harry Crane and Joe Bigelow[19][20] developed a sketch that drew upon familiar domestic situations for its material. Based on the popular radio show The Bickersons, Gleason wanted a realistic portrayal of life for a poor husband and wife living in Brooklyn, his home borough. The couple would continually argue, but ultimately show their love for each other. After rejecting titles such as "The Beast," "The Lovers," and "The Couple Next Door," Gleason and his staff settled on "The Honeymooners." Gleason took the role of Ralph Kramden, a blustery bus driver, and he chose veteran comedy movie actress Pert Kelton for the role of Alice Kramden, Ralph's acerbic and long-suffering wife.[14]

text: "The Honeymooners" made its debut on October 5, 1951, as a six-minute sketch.[21] Ensemble cast member Art Carney made a brief appearance as a police officer who gets hit with flour Ralph had thrown out the window. The tone of these early sketches was much darker than the later series, with Ralph exhibiting extreme bitterness and frustration with his marriage to an equally bitter and argumentative middle-aged woman (Kelton was nine years older than Gleason). The Kramdens' financial struggles mirrored those of Gleason's early life in Brooklyn, and he took great pains to duplicate on set the interior of the apartment where he grew up (right down to his boyhood address of 328 Chauncey Street).[21] The Kramdens—and later the Nortons when those characters were added—are childless, an issue only occasionally explored, but a condition on which Gleason insisted. Ralph and Alice did legally adopt a baby girl whom they named Ralphina (because he actually wanted a baby boy he could name after himself but fell in love with the baby girl the agency had placed with them). However, the biological mother requested to have her baby returned, and the agency asked whether the Kramdens would be willing to do so even though they were the legal parents. Ralph agreed and stated that they would visit her and she would have a real-life Santa Claus every Christmas. A few later skits had Ralph mistakenly believe for a while that Alice was pregnant.

text: Early cast additions in later sketches were upstairs neighbors Ed and Trixie Norton. Ed (Carney) was a sewer worker and Ralph's best friend, although his innocent and guileless nature was the source of many arguments between the two. Trixie (maiden name never mentioned), Ed's wife, originally portrayed by Elaine Stritch as a burlesque dancer but was replaced after just one appearance by the more wholesome looking Joyce Randolph. Trixie is a foil to Ed, just as Alice is for Ralph, but derivatively, and almost always off-screen.[21][15]

text: Due in part to the colorful array of characters Gleason invented (including the cast of The Honeymooners), Cavalcade of Stars became a huge success for DuMont. It increased its audience share from nine to 25 percent. Gleason's contract with DuMont expired in the summer of 1952, and the financially struggling network (which suffered through ten layoffs from July through October 1953) was unable to re-sign him so he moved on to CBS.

text: Move to CBS[edit]

text: CBS president William S. Paley in July 1952 made sure the cast of the former DuMont ensemble that was becoming The Jackie Gleason Show embarked on a highly successful five-week promotional tour across the United States, performing a variety of musical numbers and sketches (including the popular "Honeymooners"). However, actress Pert Kelton who played Alice Kramden and other roles, was blacklisted at the time and was replaced on the tour by Beulah actress Ginger Jones, who subsequently also was blacklisted (having earlier been named on the Red Channels blacklist) by CBS. All this political maneuvering meant yet another new Alice was needed.[15][16]

text: Jones's replacement was Audrey Meadows, known for her work in the 1951 Broadway musical Top Banana and on the Bob and Ray television show. However, before being cast for CBS, Meadows had to overcome Gleason's reservations about her being too attractive to make a credible Alice. To accomplish this, she hired a photographer to come to her apartment early in the morning and take pictures of her wearing no make-up, clad in a torn housecoat, and with her hair undone.[16][22] When the pictures were delivered to Gleason, he looked at them and said, "That's our Alice." When it was explained who it was, Gleason reportedly said, "Any dame who has a sense of humor like that deserves the job."[16] With the addition of Meadows the now-iconic "Honeymooners" lineup of Gleason, Carney, Meadows, and Randolph was in place.

text: The rising popularity of The Honeymooners was reflected in its increasing prominence of the sketches as part of The Jackie Gleason Show variety lineup. During the first season, it appeared on a regular basis (although not weekly) as a series of short sketches ranging in length from seven to thirteen minutes. For the 1953–54 season, the shorter sketches were outnumbered by ones that ran for a half-hour or longer. Playing off its growing popularity, during the 1954–55 season most episodes of The Jackie Gleason Show consisted entirely of The Honeymooners. Fan response became overwhelming. Meadows received hundreds of curtains and aprons in the mail from fans who wanted to help Alice lead a fancier life. By January 1955, The Jackie Gleason Show was competing with—and sometimes beating—I Love Lucy as the most-watched TV show in the United States. Audience members lined up around the block hours in advance to attend the show.[14]

text: The "Classic 39" episodes[edit]

text: The "Classic 39" episodes of The Honeymooners are the ones that originally aired as a weekly half-hour sitcom on CBS from October 1955 to September 1956.

text: Before Gleason's initial three-year contract with CBS expired, he was offered a much larger one by CBS and General Motors' Buick division (the carmaker having dropped their sponsorship of Milton Berle's Buick-Berle Show after two seasons on NBC). The three-year contract, reportedly valued at $11 million, was at the time one of the largest in show business history. It called for Gleason to produce 78 filmed episodes of The Honeymooners over two seasons, with an option for a third season of 39 more. He was scheduled to receive $65,000 for each episode ($70,000 per episode in the second season), but had to pay all production costs out of that amount. Art Carney received $3,500 per week, Audrey Meadows $2,000, and Joyce Randolph (who did not appear in every episode) $500 per week. Production for The Honeymooners was handled by Jackie Gleason Enterprises Inc., which also produced the show's lead-in, Stage Show, which starred The Dorsey Brothers.[14][21] Reportedly, only Audrey Meadows, who later became a banker, received residuals when the "Classic 39" episodes were rebroadcast in syndicated reruns. Her brother Edward, a lawyer, had inserted language to that effect into her contract.[23] However, Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton, did receive royalty payments when the "lost" Honeymooners episodes from the variety shows were released.[24]

text: The first episode of the new half-hour series aired on Saturday, October 1, 1955, at 8.30 pm Eastern Time (during prime time), opposite Ozark Jubilee on ABC and The Perry Como Show on NBC. Because it was sponsored by Buick, the opening credits originally ended with a sponsor identification by announcer Jack Lescoulie ("Brought to you by ... your Buick dealer. And, away we go!"), and the show concluded with a brief Gleason sales pitch for the company, all common practices at the time. However, all references to the carmaker were removed when the show entered syndication in 1957,[22] although "And, away we go!" was a phrase Gleason frequently used in various shows and is inscribed at his gravesite as his memorial catchphrase.

text: The initial critical reaction to the half-hour sitcom Honeymooners was mixed. The New York Times and Broadcasting & Telecasting Magazine wrote that it was "labored" and lacked the spontaneity of the live sketches. But TV Guide praised it as "rollicking," "slapsticky" and "fast-paced."[14] In February 1956, the show was moved to the 8 p.m. (EST) timeslot, but already had begun losing viewers to the hugely popular Perry Como Show.[2][3] Gleason's writers also had begun to feel confined by the restrictive half-hour format—in previous seasons, Honeymooners sketches typically ran 35 minutes or more—and Gleason felt they were beginning to run out of original ideas. So, after just one season, Gleason and CBS agreed to cancel The Honeymooners, which aired its 39th and last original episode on September 22, 1956. In explaining his decision to end the show with $7 million remaining on his contract Gleason said, "The excellence of the material could not be maintained, and I had too much fondness for the show to cheapen it.[14] Gleason subsequently sold the films of the "Classic 39" episodes of the show to CBS for $1.5 million.[21]

text: Production[edit]

text: In 1955, many television shows (including The Jackie Gleason Show) were performed live and recorded using kinescope technology, though sitcoms already largely were recorded on film, e.g., Amos 'n' Andy, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, My Little Margie, and I Married Joan. I Love Lucy, which was recorded directly onto 35mm film, had influenced television production companies to produce directly on film. For The Honeymooners, Gleason utilized the Electronicam TV-film system, developed by DuMont in the early 1950s, which allowed for a live performance to be directly captured on film. As a result of the superior picture and sound quality afforded by the system, episodes of The Honeymooners were much more suitable for rebroadcast than were most other "live" shows of the era.[21][15]

text: All 39 episodes of The Honeymooners were filmed at the DuMont Television Network's Adelphi Theatre at 152 West 54th Street in Manhattan, in front of an audience of 1,000. Episodes never were fully rehearsed because Gleason felt rehearsals would rob the show of its spontaneity. A result was that, while the cast was able to bring a fresh approach to the material, mistakes often were made. Lines either were recited incorrectly or altogether forgotten, and actors did not always follow the scripted action directions. To compensate, the cast developed visual cues for each other. For example, Gleason patted his stomach when he forgot a line, while Meadows would glance at the icebox when someone else was supposed to retrieve something from it.[22][25]

text: In contrast to other popular comedies of the era (such as Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), which depicted their characters in comfortable, middle class suburban environments, the set design for The Honeymooners reflected the blue collar existence of its characters. The Kramdens lived in a small, painfully sparsely furnished two-room apartment (the main set) in a tenement building at least four stories high (the Kramdens were on the third floor and the Nortons' were one floor above them), badly aired and with insufficient lighting. They used the single main room as the kitchen, dining and living room. It consisted of a functional table and chairs, a plain chest of drawers, a curtainless window with a view of a fire escape, a noisy sink, and an outdated icebox. The Kramdens' bedroom never was seen, although in the episode about Ed Norton's sleepwalking the Nortons' bedroom is.[21][15][16] One of the few other sitcoms about a blue collar family was The Life of Riley, whose first season (1949–50) had featured Jackie Gleason in the lead role, although veteran movie actor William Bendix, who had originated the role of Chester A. Riley on the radio show, thereafter took over the role on television.

text: The instrumental theme song for The Honeymooners, called "You're My Greatest Love," was composed by Gleason and performed by an orchestra led by Ray Bloch—who previously had been the orchestra leader on Gleason's variety show, as well as The Ed Sullivan Show. Although lyrics were composed, they were never sung. Sammy Spear, who later became Gleason's musical director, provided the arrangement.[26] The music heard in the episodes was not performed during the show, so to enhance the feeling of a live performance for the studio audience an orchestra performed before filming and during breaks.[14] The show's original announcer was Jack Lescoulie, who also was a spokesman for the sponsor, Buick. For the non-sponsored syndicated version, the introduction was voiced by CBS staff announcer Gaylord Avery.

text: Revivals[edit]

text:
On September 29, 1956, one week after The Honeymooners ended, The Jackie Gleason Show returned. The "Honeymooners" sketches soon were brought back as part of the revived variety show.
In 1959, TV Guide magazine mentioned Gleason's interest in producing new Honeymooners shows. This did not happen for several years, but he did team up with Art Carney to revive an old Honeymooners scene for an October 1960 CBS special called The Big Sell, poking fun at US salespeople.

text: After the spectacular failure of Gleason's 1961 game show You're in the Picture, and the relative success of the eight-episode talk show that Gleason used to fill its time slot, Gleason's variety show returned in 1962 under the title Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine. The "Honeymooners" sketches returned as part of that show whenever Carney was available. However, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph were replaced as Alice and Trixie by Sue Ane Langdon and Patricia Wilson, respectively, for two sketches.[21][15]

text: In January 1966, Meadows again returned as Alice for a musical special, The Honeymooners: The Adoption, a re-enactment of a 1955 sketch of the same name. When The Jackie Gleason Show (by then based in Miami Beach, FL, where Gleason lived) returned in 1966, the "Honeymooners" sketches, in color for the first time, incredibly returned as a series of elaborate musicals that, in effect, were the equivalent of a new Broadway musical each time. The sketches, which covered 10 of the first season's thirty-two shows, followed a story arc that had the Kramdens and Nortons traveling across Europe after Ralph won a contest (an updated version of a 1957 story arc, with musical numbers added). "The Color Honeymooners," as it has since become known, featured Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean in, respectively, the roles of Alice and Trixie, because Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph declined to relocate to Miami. Gleason raised no objections to that recasting, but was adamant that the Ed Norton role never be played by anyone other than Art Carney.  One notable 1967 segment featured the return of Pert Kelton (in one of her last performances before her death in 1968 of heart disease at the age of 61), but this time she played Alice's mother, Mrs. Gibson.[21][15]

text: The Honeymooners ended again when The Jackie Gleason Show was canceled in 1970, the result of a disagreement in direction between Gleason and the network. Gleason wanted to continue interspersing "The Honeymooners" within the confines of his regular variety show, while CBS wanted a full-hour "Honeymooners" every week. (CBS's ongoing effort to move its product toward younger audiences and away from established variety show stars was another potential factor in the show's demise.) On October 11, 1973, Gleason, Carney, MacRae and Kean reunited for a "Honeymooners" skit called "Women's Lib" as part of a Gleason special on CBS. In a major move as far as affiliations go, the Kramdens and Nortons were brought back for four final one-hour specials on ABC, which aired from 1976–1978. Alongside Gleason and Carney, Audrey Meadows returned as Alice. Meanwhile, Jane Kean continued to play Trixie. (Joyce Randolph, the actress most identified as Trixie, never played the part again after the 1950s.) These four specials came at a time when Gleason and Carney each achieved new-found expanded fame, with Gleason's prominent role in the box office smash Smokey and the Bandit and Carney winning an Academy Award for his leading role in Harry and Tonto, which actually brought some more attention to these series of specials. These were the final original "Honeymooners" productions.[15]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Art Carney won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Ed Norton—two for the original Jackie Gleason Show, one for The Honeymooners, and two for the final version of The Jackie Gleason Show. He was nominated for another two (in 1957 and 1966) but lost. Gleason and Meadows both were nominated in 1956 for their work on The Honeymooners. Gleason was nominated for Best Actor–Continuing Performance, but lost to Phil Silvers, while Meadows was nominated for Best Actress-Supporting Role but lost to Nanette Fabray. Meadows also was nominated for Emmys for her portrayal of Alice Kramden in 1954 and 1957.[27][28]

text: The following table summarizes award wins by cast members, both for The Honeymooners and The Jackie Gleason Show.

text:
Actor

Awards won

Show

Art Carney

Emmy, Best Series Supporting Actor (1954)

The Jackie Gleason Show

Emmy, Best Supporting Actor in a Regular Series (1955)

The Jackie Gleason Show

Emmy, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (1956)

The Honeymooners

Emmy, Special Classifications of Individual Achievement (1967)

The Jackie Gleason Show

Emmy, Special Classification of Individual Achievements (1968)

The Jackie Gleason Show

Audrey Meadows

Emmy, Best Supporting Actress in a Regular Series (1955)

The Jackie Gleason Show

tag: table

text: Broadcast history[edit]

text:
Day & Time
Preceded by

Saturdays at 8:30 pm (October 1, 1955 – February 18, 1956)Saturdays at 8:00 pm (February 25 – September 22, 1956)
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show at 8:00 pm (January 7 – February 18, 1956)Stage Show at 8:30 pm (April 14 – June 2, 1956/September 22, 1956)Two for the Money at 8:30 pm (September 8–15, 1956)

text: Episodes ("Classic 39")[edit]

text:
No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date1"TV or Not TV"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneOctober 1, 1955 (1955-10-01)
Too cheap to pay the full price, Ralph cons Norton into paying for half a TV Set; Ralph fights with Norton over a TV that they share but is in Ralph's apartment. This episode has Ralph doing a double take when Norton watches Captain Video and His Video Rangers!

In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #26 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[29]
2"Funny Money"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneOctober 8, 1955 (1955-10-08)
Ralph finds a suitcase full of money and goes on a spending spree. However, it is revealed that the money is phony, and Ralph is forced to fear for his life, and also having to return everything he got with said money.
3"The Golfer"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnOctober 15, 1955 (1955-10-15)
Ralph needs to bone up on becoming a good golfer to impress his boss. This episode is punctuated by a hilarious impromptu golfing lesson in the Kramden apartment, including the classic moment when Norton "addresses the ball."
NOTE: "Addressing the ball" is the term used for placing the club behind the ball in preparation for striking it, in particular with the ball on a tee prior to the first stroke of any hole.

In 1996, TV Guide included this episode as part of its '100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History', ranking it #56.
4"A Woman's Work Is Never Done"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneOctober 22, 1955 (1955-10-22)
Ralph and Alice hire a maid to ease Alice's burden of housework. As Alice sternly tells Ralph, "Man works from sun to sun, but woman's work is never done!"
5"A Matter of Life and Death"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneOctober 29, 1955 (1955-10-29)
When he sees the vet's report on his mother-in-law's sick dog, Ralph mistakenly concludes that he has only six months to live.
6"The Sleepwalker"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnNovember 5, 1955 (1955-11-05)
Ralph is forced to deal with a sleepwalking Norton.
7"Better Living Through TV"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneNovember 12, 1955 (1955-11-12)
Ralph devises a get-rich-quick scheme – selling Handy Housewife Helpers on TV. Features a rare gone-wrong moment when one of the gadgets flies off the handle, forcing Gleason to retrieve it and then ad-lib his way back into the scene. It classically devolves into another one of Ralph's schemes failing royally.

In 2009, TV Guide ranked this episode #7 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[30]
8"Pal o' Mine"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaNovember 19, 1955 (1955-11-19)
Ralph finds a gift from Norton that he thinks is for him, but when he discovers otherwise, his friendship with Norton is jeopardized. This changes when he finds out Norton was injured in an explosion in the sewer.
9"Brother Ralph"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneNovember 26, 1955 (1955-11-26)
Alice is forced to find a job after Ralph is temporarily laid off due to too many buses on Madison Avenue, his route. But to get the job, Alice has to claim that Ralph is her brother, because a lot of employers do not like to hire married women due to their commitments to home and family. Ralph gets jealous when he realizes that Alice's boss is interested in her.
10"Hello, Mom"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneDecember 3, 1955 (1955-12-03)
Ralph's foul mood is worsened when he finds out that Alice's mother is coming for a visit. The last time she stayed according to him "was Christmas and New Year's, except she came New Year's and stayed 'til Christmas." Later it is revealed in the end that it is his mother coming for a visit.

It is revealed that Alice's mother was commenting on Ralph's weight even at their wedding. She said: "I'm not losing a daughter, I'm gaining a ton!"
11"The Deciding Vote"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnDecember 10, 1955 (1955-12-10)
Ralph blames Norton when he loses an election for Raccoon Lodge convention manager by one vote, only to find out Norton did vote for him and it was another member who changed his vote because of a defective appliance Ralph convinced him to buy. This episode includes a conspicuous flub in that the lodge member who Ralph told about his vacuum cleaner was introduced to Alice as Joe Muncey, but later spoken of as Joe Rumsey.
12"Something Fishy"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaDecember 17, 1955 (1955-12-17)
Ralph and Norton want to go fishing with their fellow lodge members, but without their wives, who, meanwhile, will not stand for such treatment.
13"'Twas the Night Before Christmas"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneDecember 24, 1955 (1955-12-24)
Ralph sells his bowling ball to get Alice a last-minute Christmas gift.  After the end of this show, Jackie Gleason and the cast wish the audience a Merry Christmas. It is the only time in the series the fourth wall is broken.
14"The Man from Space"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnDecember 31, 1955 (1955-12-31)
Ralph wants to attend a costume party as Henry VIII, but is forced to improvise when he cannot get the money to rent the costume. Norton wins the contest when he arrives at the party at the last minute from work in his work gear.

Several scenes from this episode are prominently shown in the movie Back to the Future. There is an anachronism, as this episode originally aired on December 31, 1955 and the time frame it was shown in Back to the Future was November 5, 1955. Episode #6 The Sleepwalker would have been on television while the Baines family was eating supper.
15"A Matter of Record"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnJanuary 7, 1956 (1956-01-07)
The classic "blabbermouth" episode in which Ralph throws out his mother-in-law after she gives away the ending of a new Broadway murder mystery Ralph was about to see. Alice soon follows, leaving Ralph alone in the apartment.  In a last-ditch effort to win Alice back, Ralph records a message on record to apologize to Alice and her mother.
16"Oh, My Aching Back"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaJanuary 14, 1956 (1956-01-14)
Ralph feigns illness to avoid visiting his mother-in-law. Then the pain gets real: he injures his back at bowling.
17"The Baby Sitter""Bensonhurst 0-7741"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaJanuary 21, 1956 (1956-01-21)
Ralph is furious when Alice has had a telephone installed. Confusion ensues when she secretly starts babysitting to pay for it. In the end, everything gets sorted out - but the telephone does not appear in any of the subsequent episodes.
18"The $99,000 Answer"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaJanuary 28, 1956 (1956-01-28)
Ralph is a contestant on The $99,000 Answer (a spoof of The $64,000 Question) and is determined to go all the way in spite of Alice's concerns. This episode features a running gag of Norton's when he practices the opening bars to Swanee River to warm up. Unfortunately, Ralph flubs the first question, which asks for the composer of that song.

In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #6 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[31]
19"Ralph Kramden, Inc."A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnFebruary 4, 1956 (1956-02-04)
When Ralph is $20.00 short on his day's receipts on the bus, he convinces Norton to give him that amount by saying that it is an investment in the imaginary Kramden Corporation. When they learn that Ralph is mentioned in the will of a long-time passenger, they go the reading of the will, expecting to inherit the old lady's fortune.
20"Young at Heart"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneFebruary 11, 1956 (1956-02-11)
Ralph tries to prove to Alice that he can still do all the things he used to do when they were younger.
The song that Ralph learns to dance to is the Hucklebuck which was written by Roy Albert and Andy Gibson and sung by Kay Starr.

Ronnie Burns makes an appearance in this episode as Wallace.
21"A Dog's Life"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaFebruary 18, 1956 (1956-02-18)
Ralph thinks he has found a great idea for a new food product, not realizing it is actually dog food for the puppy Alice bought behind his back.
22"Here Comes the Bride"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneFebruary 25, 1956 (1956-02-25)
Ralph nearly ruins the imminent marriage between a fellow Raccoon Lodge member and Alice's sister, Agnes, after he provides some advice to the groom.  This episode contains a veiled reference to Willie Mays, who was, by then reaching the peak of his baseball career.  Ralph says that, out of habit, Alice's sister caught the bouquet herself.  Alice says it was because her foot slipped, to which Ralph responds, "I wish my foot could slip like that, I'd be playing center field for the New York Giants."
23"Mama Loves to Mambo"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneMarch 3, 1956 (1956-03-03)
Ralph and Norton are annoyed with a new neighbor, a mambo dance instructor, (Charles Korvin), who is unwittingly winning their wives' hearts – and their cooking time.
24"Please Leave the Premises"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneMarch 10, 1956 (1956-03-10)
The Kramdens and the Nortons are at war with the landlord over a rent increase of $5 per month, though the only one who really wants to fight is Ralph.
25"Pardon My Glove"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnMarch 17, 1956 (1956-03-17)
Alice tries to surprise Ralph for his birthday, but her plans are ruined because of his jealousy.
26"Young Man with a Horn"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnMarch 24, 1956 (1956-03-24)
In the hopes of securing a civil service job, Ralph tries to improve himself by writing down his good points and bad points, and working on eliminating the bad points.

The song that Ralph tries to hit the high note on is "Carnival of Venice".
27"Head of the House"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaMarch 31, 1956 (1956-03-31)
After boasting that he is the boss of his household, Ralph accepts a bet that he can order Alice to cook a special dinner.
28"The Worry Wart"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneApril 7, 1956 (1956-04-07)
Ralph frets after being summoned to his local IRS office to clear up a mysterious tax problem.
29"Trapped"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaApril 14, 1956 (1956-04-14)
Ralph witnesses an armed robbery and murder. He arrives home a nervous wreck. And for good reason: the killers are after him.
30"The Loudspeaker"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneApril 21, 1956 (1956-04-21)
Thinking he is about to be named Raccoon of the Year, Ralph prepares an acceptance speech. In the end, Alice finds out from the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler that the honor is going to Norton.
31"On Stage"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaApril 28, 1956 (1956-04-28)
When Ralph is asked to take the lead in a play, he lets it go to his head.
32"Opportunity Knocks But"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaMay 5, 1956 (1956-05-05)
Ralph gets a chance to impress his boss and earn a promotion, but Norton gets the job instead.
33"Unconventional Behavior"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneMay 12, 1956 (1956-05-12)
Ralph and Norton are sure to be a riot at the annual Raccoon convention...if they ever manage to get out of Norton's "trick" handcuffs.

In the meantime Norton saves up spending money ($50 in 1955 = $400 in 2017) for the trip, unlike Ralph. So Ralph, in order to get spending money for the trip from Alice, decides to take her along, to Norton's chagrin -- since it means Trixie will force him take her along as well. He finds out too late that Alice had decided to give him the money anyway. When Norton asks him how he gets them into these fixes, Ralph replies that he has a "BIG MOUTH!"
34"The Safety Award"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaMay 19, 1956 (1956-05-19)
Ralph wins an award as the safest bus driver in the city, but a series of mishaps, disagreements, and even an accident on the way to the award ceremony haunt his every step.
35"Mind Your Own Business"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaMay 26, 1956 (1956-05-26)
When Norton loses his job in the sewer after listening to advice from Ralph on how to obtain a promotion, he starts selling steam irons door-to-door. Ralph, convinced of Norton's success, wants to do the same.
36"Alice and the Blonde"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaJune 2, 1956 (1956-06-02)
Alice and Trixie feel unappreciated after being ignored by Ralph and Ed. A rare flub in the dialog consists of Alice asking who Bert Wedermeyer is after Ralph mentions Bert Wedermauer.
37"The Bensonhurst Bomber"Marvin Marx and Walter StoneSeptember 8, 1956 (1956-09-08)
Ralph (with Norton's help) inadvertently challenges a tough guy to a boxing match. After scheming with Norton to make the tough guy think that Ralph really can clobber him, a classic trick ending ensues.
38"Dial J for Janitor"A.J. Russell and Herbert FinnSeptember 15, 1956 (1956-09-15)
Ralph decides to save some money and avoid a feud with the landlord by becoming the new building janitor, but quickly finds out there is more to the job than he thought.
39"A Man's Pride"Leonard Stern and Sydney ZelinkaSeptember 22, 1956 (1956-09-22)
When Ralph runs into one of Alice's old boyfriends, he pretends that he runs the Gotham Bus Company to impress him. Another scheme collapses when the Kramdens and the Davises go to dinner in a fancy restaurant.

text: Syndication and home video/DVD/Blu-ray Disc[edit]

text: The Honeymooners gained its greatest fame in syndication, where it has aired continually since its original cancellation. WPIX in New York City has aired the series for more than five decades (after initially running in 1957–1958 on WRCA-TV, which now is WNBC),[32] with occasional brief breaks. It regularly airs on WPIX with a marathon that begins on the final hour of New Year's Eve and runs well into New Year's Day.[21] In the United Kingdom it originally aired on ITV between 1958–1963. BBC Two aired 38 of the original 39 episodes beginning in 1989 and ending in 1991.[15] The show also has aired in Australia, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, and Suriname.[14] It previously was seen on WGN America from June 2008 to September 2009 and on Me-TV from December 2010 to September 2011. In April 2012, the show returned to Me-TV. The show currently airs on the network on Sunday nights.[33]

text: In 1984, the Museum of Television and Radio announced the "discovery" of four original Honeymooners sketches from the original series The Jackie Gleason Show. Later, when they held a public viewing for three of them the response was overwhelmingly positive. In January 1985, Gleason announced the release of an additional group of "lost" episodes from his private vault. As with the previously released sketches, these "lost episodes" actually were kinescopes of sketches from the 1952–55, 1956–57 run of The Jackie Gleason Show.[1] (Kinescopes were recordings of TV programs on motion picture film, shot directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor.) Because the prints had not been stored under ideal conditions, parts of the soundtracks of three episodes were unusable, and the voices had to be redubbed.  Gleason personally approved the soundalike actors, with noted voice actor Joe Alaskey—Joseph Francis Alaskey III (1952–2016), a native of Troy, NY—providing Kramden's lines.

text: Gleason sold the broadcast rights to the so-called "lost" episodes to Viacom, and they first were aired from 1985–1986 as a series of sixty-eight 22-minute episodes on the Showtime cable network. They since have joined the original 39 episodes in syndication, and also have been released on VHS and DVD.[1] In September 2004, another "lost" episode reportedly was discovered at the Peabody Award archives in Georgia. This episode, titled "Love Letter," originally aired on The Jackie Gleason Show on October 16, 1954.[34] It aired for the first time since then on October 16, 2004, its 50th anniversary, on TVLand. CBS Television Distribution (the modern-day successor to Viacom), via CBS Broadcasting, owns the "Classic 39" series outright, while the Gleason estate owns the "lost episodes" (although CTD does distribute them).

text: Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS DVD released the six-disc DVD box set The Honeymooners "Classic 39" Episodes in November 2003 (only available in Region 1). The set contains all 39 episodes from the series' original 1955–56 broadcast run. Also included in the set is an edited version of a 1990 anniversary special hosted by Audrey Meadows, as well as original show openings and closings sponsored by Buick that were removed when the show went into syndication.

text: MPI Home Video released 80 of the "lost episodes" in Region 1 DVD format during 2001–02, spread out on 24 single-disc volumes. MPI subsequently re-packaged the 24 volumes into six 4-disc box sets. Both the 24 individual volumes and the six 4-disc box sets went out of print during the course of 2008. However, MPI has since renewed its deal with Jackie Gleason Enterprises LLC and has continued to release new editions of the "lost episodes" and other Honeymooners material not currently owned by CBS. On July 28, 2011, MPI Home Video announced the release of a complete restored set of all existing Honeymooners Lost Episodes from 1951 to 1957. The 50-hour, 15 DVD set would contain 107 Honeymooners sketches, included the home video debut of the nine existing original DuMont Network sketches, six other sketches never before released on home video and the eight musical Honeymooners episodes from 1957, which are collectively known as the "Trip To Europe" shows that have been long sought after by Honeymooners fans. The new restored set of Lost Episodes was released on Oct. 4, 2011, sixty years after the first Honeymooners sketch aired.

text:
DVD name

Ep #

Release date

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 1

13

October 30, 2001

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 2

13

October 30, 2001

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 3

15

January 29, 2002

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 4

15

March 26, 2002

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 5

12

June 25, 2002

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes Collection 6

12

August 27, 2002

The Honeymooners – Lost Episodes: The Complete Restored Series

107

October 4, 2011

text: In June 2006, MPI Home Video released The Color Honeymooners – Collection 1 (NTSC and PAL), which collects the "Trip to Europe" story arc presented on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1966. It has since released an additional three volumes featuring additional episodes from this story arc. AmericanLife TV Network has also aired The Color Honeymooners shows under license from Gleason Enterprises and Paul Brownstein Television.

text:
DVD name

Ep #

Release date

The Color Honeymooners – Collection 1

9

June 27, 2006

The Color Honeymooners – Collection 2

8

February 26, 2008

The Color Honeymooners – Collection 3

12

May 27, 2008

The Color Honeymooners – Collection 4

12

August 26, 2008

text: Paramount and CBS Home Entertainment released the 39 episodes on Blu-ray Disc in March 2014.[35]

text: Impact[edit]

text: Steven Sheehan explains the popularity of The Honeymooners as the embodiment of working-class masculinity in the character of Ralph Kramden, and postwar ideals in American society regarding work, housing, consumerism, and consumer satisfaction. The series visually demonstrated the burdens of material obligations and participation in consumer culture, as well as the common use of threats—even though The Honeymooners never showed or even hinted at actual violence—of domestic violence in working class households.[36]

text:
In 1997, the episodes "The $99,000 Answer" and "TV or Not TV" were respectively ranked #6 and #26 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".[37][29]
In 1999, TV Guide published a list titled "TV's 100 Greatest Characters Ever!" Ed Norton was #20, and Ralph Kramden was #2.[16]
In 2002, The Honeymooners was listed at #3 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
On June 1, 2007, FOX aired a TV's Funniest Moments special, in which a clip from the episode "The $99,000 Answer" was on the list. In the clip, Ralph lamely identifies the composer of "Swanee River" as being "Ed Norton".
In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Honeymooners #13 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.[38]
The instrument used for Visible/Infrared Imaging by NASA on the New Horizons space probe was named after Ralph Kramden, in parallel to the Alice instrument (naming not related to the TV show) that was used on the Rosetta Mission[39]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Due to its enduring popularity, The Honeymooners has been referenced numerous times in American pop culture, and has served as the inspiration for other television shows, most notably The Flintstones. The show also introduced memorable catchphrases into American culture, such as "Bang, zoom, straight to the moon!", "One of these days ... one of these days ...," "Homina, homina, homina," and "Baby, you're the greatest".

text: The Flintstones[edit]

text: In 1960, the Hanna-Barbera-produced animated sitcom The Flintstones debuted on ABC. Many critics and viewers noted the close resemblance of that show's premise and characters to that of The Honeymooners.[40] In various interviews over the years, co-creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera each stated that The Honeymooners was used as a basis for the concept of The Flintstones. Mel Blanc, the voice of Barney Rubble, was asked to model Barney's voice after Ed Norton, but reportedly refused. Gleason later said that he considered suing, but decided that becoming known as "the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air" was not worth the negative publicity.[41]

text: Spoofs, parodies and importation[edit]

text:
In the Futurama episode "The Series Has Landed", Fry witnesses the future's interpretation of The Honeymooners.
In the episode "Spanish Fry" of the same show, Lrrr says, "One of these days, Ndnd, bang! zoom! straight to the third moon of Omicron Persei 8!!"
The Moonlighting episode "A Trip To The Moon" contains a lengthy parody of The Honeymooners, with Bruce Willis as Ralph, Charles Rocket as Norton, Allyce Beasley as Trixie, and Cybill Shepherd as Alice.
The sitcom The King of Queens was inspired partly by The Honeymooners.[42]
The show was parodied in a series of animated Looney Tunes shorts, in which the principal characters, Ralph and Alice Crumden and Ned and Trixie Morton, are depicted as mice and Ralph's "big dream" is like to get enough cheese to impress Alice. These cartoons are The Honey-Mousers (1956), Cheese It, the Cat! (1957), and Mice Follies (1960). The Sylvester and Tweety short Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955) has the usually-cheerful Granny character taking on the role of blustery, female Ralph. Ralph and Ed are caricatured as train-riding hoboes and pitted against Bugs Bunny in the 1956 Warner cartoon Half-Fare Hare. And in another Sylvester-Tweety cartoon, A Bird in a Bonnet (1958), when Sylvester falls into an open manhole, inside a voice like Ed Norton's says, "Whoo-hoo-hoo! Hey, look at this, Ralph, a pussycat."  To which Sylvester simply peers out of the sewer to the audience.
The writer/comic Louis C.K. stated in an interview that he based the layout of Louie's apartment in the HBO show Lucky Louie  on the Kramdens' apartment, in contrast to other shows such as The King of Queens that have very nicely decorated apartments despite the characters' professed low incomes.[43]
Stan Freberg created a brief audio skit entitled "The Honeyearthers," in which Ralph, Alice, Norton and Trixie are aliens living on the moon. In keeping with 1950s ideas of what aliens would look like, they have two heads, one eye, one ear, four hands, three feet and antennae.  Ralph drives a rocket ship and Norton works in a "green cheese mine."  At the end of the skit, Ralph offers to take Alice on a "honeyearth" to renew their marriage.
In Back to the Future (1985) Lorraine's (Lea Thompson) father (George DiCenzo) wheels their newly acquired television set in front of the family table, saying giddily: "Now we can watch Jackie Gleason while we eat!"—a reference to the TV series. Scenes from the episode "The Man from Space" are also shown.
In the 21 Jump Street season 3 episode "High High" (where the Jump Street team is assigned to go undercover at a performing arts school), Doug Penhall cites The Honeymooners as one of his favorite shows growing up. Towards the end, he reenacts a scene from the episode "Young Man with a Horn" for acting class.
The Honeymooners was spoofed in an episode of Perfect Strangers as a result of the character Balki Bartoukomos (Bronson Pinchot)'s spinning an extended metaphor about the characters' existential situation to an episode of The Honeymooners he had once seen; Balki's description of the episode is shown in a black-and-white flashback.
As Ralph Kramden was a New York City bus driver, one of the service depots in Brooklyn was renamed the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in 1988. All buses that originate from the bus depot bear a sticker on the front that has a logo derived from the 'face on the Moon' opening credits of The Honeymooners. The MTA also took 1948 GM-TDH5101 bus number 4789, renumbered it to 2969 and made it the 'official Jackie Gleason bus'.
A statue of Gleason as Ralph Kramden stands at the Eighth Avenue entrance to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. The plaque on the base of the statue reads, "Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden — Bus Driver — Raccoon Lodge Treasurer — Dreamer — Presented by the People of TV Land"[44]
The Toronto Coach Terminal included a restaurant and bar named Kramden's Kafe from 1984 until 2013.
An episode of The Simpsons, "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution", includes a fictional rip-off of The Honeymooners called The Adventures of Fatso Flannigan.
In 2011, an adult parody entitled The Honeymoaners was released by DreamZone Entertainment, with Peter O'Tole as Ralph and Anthony Rosano as Ed. Both actors also played Fred and Barney in The Flintstones - A XXX Parody, an adult parody of the Flintstones, which have a resemblance to the show (as mentioned above). The plot of the parody is similar to the episode "The $99,000 Answer", only here the show is called "The $69,000 Answer" and Ralph is answering questions about sex.
The Honeymooners was spoofed in episode 22 of the first season of Saturday Night Live (then known as NBC's Saturday Night) in a sketch featuring The Killer Bees (referenced as 'The Bees' in this particular episode). John Belushi took the role of Ralph, with Gilda Radner as Alice, Dan Aykroyd as Norton, and Jane Curtin as Trixie.
The first adult film parody of the show, Honeymooners, premiered in 1976 and starred adult film legend John Leslie as the Ralph Kramden character.
In 1988 Ron Jeremy led a cast of adult performers in the critically panned The Horneymooners.

text: Adaptations and remakes[edit]

text: The success of The Honeymooners in countries outside the United States has led to the production of new shows based entirely on it.

text: International remakes[edit]

text: Indonesia[edit]

text: Two series, 26 episodes in all were made for R.C.T.I. in 1996. It was the first sitcom of that style ever attempted in Indonesia. It was entitled Detak Detik and starred Mat Sola as the Jackie Gleason character. Art Carney rang the cast prior to production to give them his best wishes. It was decided to make Mat Sola a Silver Bird taxi driver, as they had a bit more prestige in Indonesia. They left Nurbuat, who mirrored Ed Norton, as a sewerage worker. The chemistry worked well. The series had to remove any references to alcohol, as Indonesia is a country with a Muslim majority population.

text: Canada[edit]

text: French Canada was entertained for years in the 1960s and '70s by a sitcom titled Cré Basile, with Olivier Guimond, Béatrice Picard, Denis Drouin and Amulette Garneau, which was an uncredited Quebecois version of The Honeymooners.  It could, by contemporary standards, qualify as plagiarism[citation needed].

text: Netherlands[edit]

text: In 1994, the Dutch broadcasting network KRO produced a version of The Honeymooners titled Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon ([Back] then happiness was very normal), using translated scripts of the original series but changing its setting to 1950s Rotterdam. After the original 39 scripts were exhausted, the series' lead actors, Gerard Cox and Sjoerd Pleijsier, took over writing, adding many new characters and references to Dutch history and popular culture. The series was a hit in the Netherlands and it finished its run after 16 years and 229 episodes in June 2009.[45] The actors reprised their characters five years later in a feature-length movie.

text: Sweden[edit]

text: In 1994, the Swedish network TV4 produced a version of The Honeymooners titled Rena Rama Rolf, but changing its setting to modern-day Gothenburg, where Rolf (Ralph) is working as a streetcar driver. The show ran until 1998.[46]

text: Poland[edit]

text: In 1998, the Polish network Polsat produced a version of The Honeymooners titled Miodowe lata which translates to "Honeymoon years", using both translated scripts of the original series and new ones, but changing its setting to modern-day Warsaw. The original series ran until 2003 and was continued in 2004 as Całkiem nowe lata miodowe.[47]

text: Comics[edit]

text: Vince Musacchia created a comic book series based on The Honeymooners for Hypergraphics between 1987 and 1989.[48]

text: Film[edit]

text: On June 10, 2005, a feature film remake of The Honeymooners was released, featuring a predominantly African American cast. The roles of Ralph, Alice, Ed, and Trixie were played by Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Mike Epps, and Regina Hall, respectively. The movie was a critical and commercial failure, earning slightly more than US$13 million worldwide.[49] The film was released by Paramount Pictures.

text: Video Game[edit]

text: In 1988, First Row Software released a Honeymooners computer game for the Commodore 64 and DOS systems. The game involves the Kramdens and Nortons trying to earn $223 for train fare to Miami Beach, where Ralph wants to host the annual Raccoon Lodge convention, by playing a variety of mini-games related to the series. Additionally, players have the option of trying to double their money after each round by answering a Honeymooners-related question in a bonus round based on "The $99,000 Answer" episode.

text: Reboot[edit]

text: In December 2016, a CBS reboot of The Honeymooners with Bob Kushell writing and executive producing the series was announced but never came to fruition. Producers Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Eric & Kim Tannenbaum, and Jeff Greenstein were also announced as part of the development deal.[50]

text: Further reading[edit]

text:
Crescenti, Peter; Bob Columbe (1990). The Official Honeymooners Treasury: To the Moon and Back with Ralph, Norton, Alice, and Trixie. Perigee Books. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
Katsigeorgis, John (2002). To the Moon: The Honeymooners Book of Trivia – Official Authorized Edition. Metrobooks. ISBN 1-58663-694-4.
McCrohan, Donna and Peter Crescenti (1986). The Honeymooners Lost Episodes. Workman Publishing. ISBN 0-89480-157-0.
McCrohan, Donna (1978). The Honeymooners' Companion: the Kramdens and the Nortons Revisited. Workman. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
Meadows, Audrey (1994). Love, Alice: My Life as a Honeymooner. Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-59881-7.


document_title: Purna Swaraj

question_text: when was the resolution of purna swaraj passed by the congress

text: Purna Swaraj

text: Background[edit]

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text: Before 1930, few Indian political parties had openly embraced the goal of political independence from the United Kingdom. The All India Home Rule League had been advocating Home Rule for India: dominion status within the British Empire, as granted to Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and South Africa. The All India Muslim League favoured dominion status as well, and opposed calls for outright Indian independence. The Indian Liberal Party, by far the most pro-British party, explicitly opposed India's independence and even dominion status if it weakened India's links with the British Empire. The Indian National Congress, the largest Indian political party of the time, was at the head of the national debate. Congress leader and famous poet Hasrat Mohani was the first activist to demand complete independence (Poorna Swaraj) from the British in 1921 from an All-India Congress Forum. Veteran Congress leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal had also advocated explicit Indian independence from the Empire.

text: Following the 1919 Amritsar Massacre, there was considerable public outrage against British rule. Europeans, (civilians and officials) were targets and victims of violence across India. In 1920, Gandhi and the Congress committed themselves to Swaraj, described as political and spiritual independence. At the time, Gandhi described this as the basic demand of all Indians; he specifically said that the question of whether India would remain within the Empire or leave it completely would be answered by the behaviour and response of the British. Between 1920 and 1922, Mahatma Gandhi led the Non-Cooperation movement: nationwide civil disobedience to oppose the Rowlatt Acts and the exclusion of Indians from the government, and the denial of political and civil freedoms.

text: Simon commission and the Nehru report[edit]

text: In 1928, the British government further outraged people across India by appointing a seven-man committee led by Sir John Simon, it was an all - European commission Simon Commission to deliberate on constitutional and political reforms for India. Indian political parties were neither consulted nor asked to involve themselves in the process. Upon arrival in India, Chairman Sir John Simon and other commission members were met with angry public demonstrations, which followed them everywhere. The death of a prominent Indian leader, Lala Lajpat Rai, from severe beatings by British police officials further outraged the Indian public.

text: The Congress appointed an all-Indian commission to propose constitutional reforms for India. Members of other Indian political parties joined the commission led by Congress President Motilal Nehru. The Nehru Report demanded that India be granted self-government under the dominion status within the Empire. While most other Indian political parties supported the Nehru commission's work, it was opposed by the Indian Liberal Party and the All India Muslim League. The British ignored the commission, its report and refused to introduce political reform.

text: Dominion or republic?[edit]

text: But the Nehru Report was also controversial within the Congress. Younger nationalist leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru demanded that the Congress resolve to make a complete and explicit break from all ties with the British. Jawaharlal Nehru had been influenced by the idea of Bhagat Singh ("total independence"), which Singh had introduced a resolution demanding in 1927, which was rejected because of Gandhi's opposition.[1] Now Bose and Nehru opposed dominion status, which would retain the Monarch of the United Kingdom as the constitutional head of state of India (although in the separate capacity as King of India), and preserve political powers for the British Parliament in Indian constitutional affairs. They were supported in their stand by a large number of rank-and-file Congressmen.

text: In December 1928, Congress session was held in Kolkata and Mohandas Gandhi proposed a resolution that called for the British to grant dominion status to India within two years. After Some time Gandhi brokered a further compromise by reducing the time given from two years to one. Jawaharlal Nehru voted for the new resolution, while Subhash Bose told his supporters that he would not oppose the resolution, and abstained from voting himself. The All India Congress Committee voted 118 to 45 in its favor (the 45 votes came from supporters of a complete break from the British). However, when Bose introduced an amendment during the open session of Congress that sought a complete break with the British, Gandhi admonished the move:

text: You may take the name of independence on your lips but all your muttering will be an empty formula if there is no honor behind it. If you are not prepared to stand by your words, where will independence be?[2]

text: The amendment was rejected, by 1350 to 973, and the resolution was fully adopted.

text: On 31 October 1929, the Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin announced that the government would meet with Indian representatives in London for a Round Table Conference. To facilitate Indian participation, Irwin met with Mohandas Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and out-going Congress President Motilal Nehru to discuss the meeting. Gandhi asked Irwin if the conference would proceed on the basis of dominion status and Irwin said he could not assure that, resulting in the end of the meeting.[3]

text: The declaration[edit]

text: As a result of the denial of reforms and political rights, and the persistent ignorance of Indian political parties, the Indian National Congress grew increasingly cohesive – unified in the desire to oust the British from India completely.[3] A very large number of Congress volunteers and delegates, members of other political parties and an especially large public gathering attended the session convened in Lahore. Despite the bitterly cold weather, Pattabhi Sitaramayya records that:

text: The heat of passion and excitement, the resentment at the failure of negotiation, the flushing of faces on hearing the war drums – oh, it was all in marked contrast to the weather.[4]

text: Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President and veteran leaders like Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel returned to the Congress Working Committee. They approved a declaration of independence, which stated:

text: The British government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually.... Therefore...India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj or complete independence.[5]

text: At midnight on New Year's Eve, President Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the tricolour flag of India upon the banks of the Ravi in Lahore, which later became part of Pakistan. A pledge of independence was read out, which included a readiness to withhold taxes. The massive gathering of public attending the ceremony were asked if they agreed with it, and the vast majority of people were witnessed to raise their hands in approval. One hundred seventy two Indian members of central and provincial legislatures resigned in support of the resolution and in accordance with Indian public sentiment.

text: The Declaration of Independence was officially promulgated on 26 January 1930. Gandhi and other Indian leaders would immediately begin the planning of a massive national non-violence would encourage the common people not to attack Britishers even if they attcked them.[3] The Salt Satyagraha was initiated by .

text: Authorship[edit]

text: There is some dispute as to who drafted the text of the declaration. Gandhi directly claimed authorship in 1940,[6] while other sources either cite Nehru as a major editor[7] or attribute it to Nehru outright.[8]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: The Congress regularly observed 26 January as the Independence Day of India – commemorating those who campaigned for Indian independence. In 1947, the British agreed to transfer power and political finesse to India, and 15 August became the official Independence Day. However, the new Constitution of India, as drafted and approved by the Constituent Assembly, was mandated to take effect on 26 January 1950, to commemorate the 1930 declaration. On that day in 1950, India became a republic. 26 January is now celebrated as Republic Day of India every year.


document_title: Gone Girl (film)

question_text: who is the movie gone girl based on

question_tokens: who is the movie gone girl based on

text: Gone Girl (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: The day of his fifth wedding anniversary, writing teacher Nick Dunne returns home to find that his wife Amy is missing. Her disappearance receives heavy press coverage, as Amy was the inspiration for her parents' popular Amazing Amy children's books. Detective Rhonda Boney does a walkthrough of their house and finds poorly concealed evidence of a struggle. The police conduct a forensic analysis and uncover the remnants of cleaned blood stains, leading to the conclusion that Amy was murdered. Suspicions arise that Nick is responsible, and his apathetic behavior is interpreted by the media as characteristic of a sociopath.

text: Flashbacks reveal that Nick and Amy's marriage had disintegrated; both lost their jobs in the recession and moved from New York City to Nick's hometown of North Carthage, Missouri. Nick became lazy and distant, and began cheating on Amy with one of his students. Boney unearths evidence of financial troubles and domestic disputes, and a witness states that Amy wanted to purchase a gun. She also finds a medical report indicating that Amy is pregnant, of which Nick denies knowledge, and a diary supposedly written by Amy highlighting her growing isolation, ominously ending with the fear that Nick will kill her.

text: Amy is revealed to be alive and well, having changed her appearance and gone into hiding in a distant campground. Upon learning that Nick was cheating on her, she resolved to punish him by framing him for her murder. Amy plans the framing in great detail: she befriends a pregnant neighbor to steal her urine for the pregnancy test, drains her own blood to leave traces of evidence of murder and fabricates a diary describing her fear of Nick. She also has Nick increase her life insurance so it looks like he murdered her for the money. By using the clues in a "treasure hunt" game she and Nick play on their anniversary, she ensures he visits places where she has planted the corroborating evidence of Nick's guilt for the police to discover. She anticipates Nick will be convicted and executed for her murder, and contemplates committing suicide after his conviction.

text: Nick hires Tanner Bolt, a lawyer who specializes in defending men accused of killing their wives. Nick meets Amy's ex-boyfriend Tommy O'Hara, who says Amy falsely accused him of rape, and gradually deduces Amy's plan. He also approaches another ex-boyfriend, the wealthy Desi Collings, against whom Amy previously filed a restraining order, but Desi refuses to share any details. When Amy's neighbors at the campground rob her of her remaining money, she calls Desi and convinces him that she ran away from Nick because he was abusing her. He agrees to hide her in his lake house, which is equipped with surveillance cameras.

text: Nick convinces his sister, Margo, of his innocence. After Nick's mistress reveals their affair at a press conference, Nick appears on a talk show to profess his innocence and apologize for his failures as a husband in the hope of luring Amy. His performance rekindles Amy's feelings for him, even as Boney arrests him for Amy's murder. Amy inflicts injuries on herself and uses Desi's surveillance cameras to her advantage, making it appear that Desi kidnapped and raped her. She seduces Desi and kills him during sex by slitting his throat. Covered in Desi's blood, she returns home and names him as her captor and rapist, clearing Nick of suspicion.

text: When Boney questions Amy about the holes in her story, Amy accuses her of incompetence. The FBI sides with Amy, forcing Boney to back down. Amy tells Nick the truth, saying that the man she watched pleading for her return on TV is the man she wants him to become again. Nick shares this with Boney, Bolt, and Margo, but they have no way to prove Amy's guilt.

text: Nick intends to leave Amy and expose her lies, but Amy reveals she is pregnant, having artificially inseminated herself with Nick's sperm stored at a fertility clinic. He doubts the child is his and says he will take a paternity test. He then reacts violently to Amy's insistence that they remain married, but feels responsible for the child. Despite Margo's objections, Nick reluctantly decides to stay with Amy. The "happy" couple announces on television that they are expecting a child.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a teacher[5]
Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne, Nick's missing wife
Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings, Amy's wealthy ex-boyfriend
Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt, Nick's attorney
Carrie Coon as Margo "Go" Dunne, Nick's twin sister[5]
Kim Dickens as Detective Rhonda Boney, the lead investigator on Amy's disappearance
Patrick Fugit as Officer James Gilpin, Boney's partner
Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott, a cable TV host based on Nancy Grace[6]
Emily Ratajkowski as Andie Fitzgerald, Nick's mistress and student
Casey Wilson as Noelle Hawthorne, Nick and Amy's neighbor
Lola Kirke as Greta, a young woman Amy meets at a motel
Boyd Holbrook as Jeff, a flirtatious man Amy meets at a motel
Lisa Banes as Marybeth Elliott, Amy's mother
Sela Ward as Sharon Schieber, a network TV host
Scoot McNairy as Tommy O'Hara, a former boyfriend of Amy's
Scott Takeda as TV Producer
David Clennon as Rand Elliott, Amy's father
Kathleen Rose Perkins as Shawna Kelly

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Gone Girl is a film adaptation of Flynn's 2012 novel of the same name. One of the film's executive producers, Leslie Dixon, read the manuscript of the novel in 2011 and brought it to the attention of Reese Witherspoon (who was originally slated to play Amy) in December of that year. Witherspoon and Dixon then collaborated with Bruna Papandrea to further develop the manuscript—with Flynn's film agent, Shari Smiley, they met with film studios in early 2012.[7]

text: Following the release of the novel in June 2012, the 20th Century Fox studio optioned the book in a deal with Flynn, in which the author negotiated that she would be responsible for the first draft of the screenplay. By around October 2012, Flynn was engaged in the production of the first draft while she was also involved in the promotional tour for her novel. A first-time screenwriter at the time, Flynn later admitted: "I certainly felt at sea a lot of times, kind of finding my way through."[8]

text: Flynn submitted her first draft screenplay to the Fox studio in December 2012, before Fincher was selected as the director for the project.[9] Fincher had already expressed interest in the project, and after he completed Flynn's first draft, a meeting was scheduled between the director and author within days. Typically, authors are removed from film adaptations following the first draft and an experienced screenwriter takes over; but, on this occasion, Fincher agreed to work with Flynn for the entire project. Flynn later explained: "... he [Fincher] responded to the first draft and we have kind of similar sensibilities. We liked the same things about the book, and we wanted the same thing out of the movie."[10]

text: As further preparation, Flynn studied screenplay books and also met with Steve Kloves, who wrote the screenplays for the Harry Potter series.[10] Fincher also provided guidance and advised the author: "We don't have the ability to gift the audience with the characters' thoughts, so tell me how they're behaving."[11] During the production of the final screenplay, Fincher and Flynn engaged in an intensive back-and-forth working relationship: Flynn sent Fincher "big swaths" of writing, which he then reviewed, and Fincher would then discuss the swaths with Flynn by telephone. Eventually, some scenes were rewritten "a dozen times", while other scenes were unaltered.[8]

text: Following the release of the film, Flynn spoke of an overwhelming adaptation process, in which she tackled a 500-page book with an intricate plot; she explained that her experience working for a magazine meant that she "wasn't ever precious about cutting." As a consequence of the distillation process, most of the parental storylines were lost, so the mother of the character of Desi Collings does not appear in the film, and it was not possible to include flashbacks of Nick Dunne's dead mother.[12]

text: In terms of the film's ending, Flynn revealed that she experimented with a "lot of iterations". One of the aspects that she was certain of was the presence of the media, which she described as the "third player", alongside Nick and Amy. In Flynn's words: "Once we got to the ending, I wanted it to wrap up quickly. I didn't want 8 million more loop-de-loops... I had no problem tossing stuff out and trying to figure out the best way to get there."[10]

text: Flynn enjoyed the experience of making the film, and she expressed appreciation for Fincher's involvement, as he "really liked the book and didn't want to turn it into something other than what it already was", and he also reassured her, even when she second-guessed herself.[9] Fincher described Flynn's screenwriting work as "very smart", "crafty", and "extremely articulate".[8][11]

text: Filming[edit]

text: On September 11, 2013, the Gone Girl film crew began filming establishing shots.[13] Principal photography began on September 15 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S., and was scheduled to last about five weeks.[14][15] Some scenes were also filmed in Los Angeles, U.S.[15]

text: According to producer Ceán Chaffin, Fincher took, on average, as many as 50 takes for each scene,[16] while Flynn has said that, although Fincher is a visual director, he is meticulous about veracity—Fincher changed a scene in which Amy collects her own blood, as he thought it was unbelievable.[12]

text: Fincher later called Affleck "extremely bright" in regard to the manner in which he drew on his own experience with the media for the character of Nick Dunne. Fincher explained that Affleck "has a great sense of humor and great wit about what this situation is and how frustrating it is". Fincher described the behavior of the media in the film as "tragedy vampirism", but clarified that "The New York Times and NPR are not in the flowerbeds of the Dunne house".[11]

text: Music[edit]

text: On January 21, 2014, Trent Reznor announced that he and Atticus Ross would provide the score,[17] marking their third collaboration with Fincher, following The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Fincher was inspired by music he heard while at an appointment with a chiropractor and tasked Reznor with creating the musical equivalent of an insincere facade. Reznor explained Fincher's request in an interview:

text: David [Fincher] was at the chiropractor and heard this music that was inauthentically trying to make him feel OK, and that became a perfect metaphor for this film ... The challenge was, simply, what is the musical equivalent of the same sort of façade of comfort and a feeling of insincerity that that music represented? [My primary aim was] to instill doubt [and] remind you that things aren't always what they seem to be.[18]

text: The overall score is a combination of soothing sounds with staccato electronic noises, resulting in an unnerving, anxiety invoking quality.[19] NPR writer Andy Beta concludes: "Reznor and Ross relish being at their most beauteous, knowing that it'll make the brutal moments of Gone Girl all the more harrowing."[20]

text: Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs sang a cover version of the song "She", which was used in the film's teaser trailer.[21][22] The soundtrack album was released on the Columbia label on September 30, 2014.[20]

text: The soundtrack was nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media,[23] and also for the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.[24]

text: Release[edit]

text: Gone Girl opened the 52nd New York Film Festival, receiving high-profile press coverage and early positive reviews. It saw a nationwide release in North America in 3,014 theatres on October 3, 2014. Coinciding with the North America release, Gone Girl released at 5,270 screens in 39 international markets like United Kingdom, Germany, on its opening weekend.[25]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Gone Girl grossed $167.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $201.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $369.3 million, against a production budget of $61 million.[3] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline.com estimated that the film made a profit of $129.99 million, making it one of the most profitable films of 2014.[26]

text: The film was released on October 3, 2014 in North America in 3,014 theaters and earned $13.1 million on its opening day[27][28] (including the $1.3 million it earned from Thursday late-night showings).[29][30] It finished in first place at the North American box office earning $37.5 million after a neck-and-neck competition with Warner Bros./New Line Cinema's horror film Annabelle which earned $37.1 million. The film is the biggest debut of Fincher's career, (breaking Panic Room's opening). It is also the third biggest opening weekend for Affleck, (behind Pearl Harbor which opened with $59.1 million and Daredevil which opened with $40.3 million) and Rosamund Pike's second biggest opening (behind Die Another Day which opened with $47 million). The film is the tenth biggest October debut overall. The film played 60% female and 75% over-25 years old.[31] The film topped the box office for two consecutive weekends despite facing competition with Dracula Untold in its second weekend[32] before being overtaken by Fury in its third weekend.[33]

text: Outside North America, it earned $24.6 million from 5,270 screens in 39 international markets on its opening weekend, higher than expected.[25] High openings were witnessed in the United Kingdom ($6.7 million),[34] Australia ($4.6 million),[34] France ($3.65 million)[35] Russia ($3.4 million),[34] and Germany ($2.6 million).[34]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Gone Girl received positive reviews from critics, with Pike's performance in particular earning praise. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 88%, based on 317 reviews, with a rating average of 8/10. The site's consensus reads: "Dark, intelligent, and stylish to a fault, Gone Girl plays to director David Fincher's sick strengths while bringing the best out of stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike."[36] Metacritic gave the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a B grade.[38][39]

text: The Vulture's critics praised the direction, script, editing, score, visual style, and performances, particularly from Pike, Affleck, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, and Missi Pyle.[40] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Superbly cast from the two at the top to the smallest speaking parts, impeccably directed by Fincher and crafted by his regular team to within an inch of its life, Gone Girl shows the remarkable things that can happen when filmmaker and material are this well matched."[41] The Economist called the film a "brilliantly glacial adaptation... This may not be the perfect film—but it is a perfect adaptation".[42]

text: Joshua Rothman wrote in The New Yorker that he enjoyed the film "in all its abstract, intellectual, postmodern glory" and that, similar to other post-modern narratives, the film adaptation is "decisively unreal ... [the] heroes and villains in Fincher's Gone Girl aren't people but stories". Rothman, who draws parallels between Gone Girl and Fincher's 1999 adaptation Fight Club, decides that the film is ultimately a farce and has resonated with filmgoers because it expresses "a creepy, confused, and troubling part of us".[43]

text: Anthony Lane of The New Yorker wrote: "At first blush, Gone Girl is natural Fincherland ... so why doesn't the movie claw us as The Social Network did? Who could have predicted that a film about murder, betrayal, and deception would be less exciting than a film about a website?"[5] Slant Magazine's Ed Gonzalez awarded the film two out of five stars, concluding: "Fincher and Flynn should have gone further and truly grappled with the real horror that, by giving his relationship with Amy another chance, Nick is indulging in one of the great myths of feminism: that it emasculates men. Rather than undermine that noxiousness, Fincher enshrouds it in funereal brushstrokes that cast his Gone Girl as a fashionable tumbling into an abyss of willful denial."[44]

text: In response to some of the above comments, Flynn said this: "The whole point is that these are two people pretending to be other people, better people, versions of the dream guy and dream girl, but each one couldn’t keep it up, so they destroy each other".[45]

text: Top ten lists[edit]

text: Gone Girl was listed on many critics' top ten lists.[46]

text:
1st - Bryden Doyle, Inside Halton
3rd - Matthew Jacobs & Christopher Rosen, The Huffington Post
3rd - Genevieve Koski, The Dissolve
3rd – People
3rd – Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly
3rd – James Rocchi, TheWrap
4th – Ben Kenigsberg & Nick Schager, The A.V. Club
4th – William Gross, Austin Chronicle
4th – Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
4th – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
4th - Adam Chitwood, Collider.com
4th – Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
4th – Gregory Ellwood, HitFix
5th – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
5th – David Ehrlich, Little White Lies
7th - Tasha Robinson, The Dissolve
7th – Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
7th - Christopher Orr, The Atlantic
7th – Justin Chang & Scott Foundas, Variety
8th – Jeff Baker, The Oregonian
8th – Christy Lemire RogerEbert.com
8th – Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times
8th – James Berardinelli, Reelviews
9th – Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
9th – Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
9th – A.A. Dowd and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, The A.V. Club
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) – Dana Stevens, Slate
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) – Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top 10 (ranked alphabetically) – Claudia Puig, USA Today

text: Gender themes[edit]

text: In a 2013 interview with Time Out writer Novid Parsi, who described the ending of the novel as "polarizing", Flynn explained that she wanted the novel to counter the notion that "women are naturally good" and to show that women are "just as violently minded as men are".[47] In a November 2014 interview, Flynn admitted that the critical gender-related response did affect her: "I had about 24 hours where I hovered under my covers and was like: 'I killed feminism. Why did I do that? Rats. I did not mean to do that.' And then I very quickly kind of felt comfortable with what I had written."[48]

text: In an October 3, 2014, blog post for Ms. Magazine, Natalie Wilson argues that by not addressing Amy's social privilege which affords her the "necessary funds, skills, know-how and spare time" to stage a disappearance—Gone Girl is the "crystallization of a thousand misogynist myths and fears about female behavior."[49] Alyssa Rosenberg wrote in The Washington Post on October 3, 2014, that, although she was initially "unconvinced" by the book, her fascination with the novel and film was partly due to her conclusion that "Amy Elliot Dunne is the only fictional character I can think of who might be accurately described as simultaneously misogynist and misandrist."[50]

text: In an October 6, 2014, article titled "Gone Girl's Biggest Villain Is Marriage Itself", Jezebel's Jessica Coen wrote: "Movie Amy pales in comparison to the vivid character we meet in the book. Strip away Book Amy's complexities and you're left with little more than 'crazy fucking bitch.' That makes her no less captivating, but it does make the film feel a lot more misogynistic than the novel."[51] Coen concedes that this did not negate her enjoyment of the film, "as we ladies are well accustomed to these injustices."[51] Time's Eliana Dockterman wrote on the same date that Gone Girl is both "a sexist portrayal of a crazy woman" and a "feminist manifesto", and that this duality makes the film interesting.[52] Zoë Heller of The New York Review of Books wrote: "The problem with Amy is not that she acts in vicious and reprehensible ways, or even that her behavior lends credence to certain misogynist fantasies. The problem is that she isn't really a character, but rather an animation of a not very interesting idea about the female capacity for nastiness", concluding that "The film is a piece of silliness, not powerful enough in the end to engender proper 'disapproval': only wonder at its coarseness and perhaps mild dismay at its critical success."[53]

text: Writing in The Guardian on October 6, 2014, Joan Smith criticized what she saw as the film's "recycling of rape myths", citing research released in 2013 which claimed that false allegations of rape in the UK were extremely rare.[54] She wrote: "The characters live in a parallel universe where the immediate reaction to a woman who says she's been assaulted is one of chivalrous concern. Tell that to all the victims, here and in the US, who have had their claims dismissed by sceptical police officers."[54] Writing for The Guardian on the following day, Emine Saner wrote that Smith's argument "wouldn't carry as much weight were this film set against a vastly wider range of women's stories, and characters in mainstream culture", but concluded with Dockterman's plea for the portrayal of "all sorts of women in our novels".[55]

text: Tim Kroenert, of the Australian website Eureka Street wrote on October 8, 2014, that the film's predominant focus upon Nick's perspective "serves to obfuscate Amy's motives (though it is possible that she is simply a sociopath), and to amplify her personification of ... anti-women myths"; however, Kroenert concludes that Gone Girl is "a compelling rumination on the impossibility of knowing the mind of another, even within that ostensibly most intimate of relationships, marriage."[56]

text: Accolades[edit]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Gone Girl was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 13, 2015.[57] The Blu-ray release comes with a 36-page Amazing Amy book called Tattle Tale.[58]

text: Potential sequel[edit]

text: In an interview in October 2014, Rosamund Pike stated she would return for a sequel if Gillian Flynn wrote the script.[59] In January 2015, Flynn said she was open to the idea of a sequel, but said it would be "a few years down the road" when the original cast and crew would be available again.[60]