User:Daniel Benfield/Judge For Yourself Video Archive

NBC Primetime: August 18, 1953 - May 11, 1954

Judge for Yourself was conceived by Goodson-Todman as a You Bet Your Life-esque vehicle for Fred Allen, designed so he wouldn't exert himself too much during the show due to his heart condition (a condition that prevented him from hosting the series of Two for the Money after helming the pilot, although he did fill in at least once).

While Fred shines on this show and gets more comfortable as the weeks progress, the show itself was pretty flawed and really expensive (in fact, it was the most expensive panel show on the air at the time). After the show ended, Goodson-Todman tried pitching Take Your Choice (also hosted by Fred) for NBC's 1954-55 season, but that went nowhere; in August 1954, Fred debuted as a regular panelist on What's My Line?, where he remained until his death in March 1956.

About 19 episodes exist, although GSN has only ever aired seven, and then only as part of a short-lived "The Lost Episodes" block in 1997 (a two-hour Friday-night lineup so named because it was the first time the network was airing shows that had heavy cigarette branding on the set and such – this, Two For the Money, Winston-sponsored I've Got a Secret, and Marlboro/Salem-sponsored To Tell the Truth), a block that really only ended because the main Goodson-Todman rights expired, setting off the so-called "Dark Period".

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1953-54 Goodson-Todman Productions/FremantleMedia and associated entities.

Original Format (1953)
The original format was kinda complicated and, in a rare event for Goodson-Todman, not thought out very well: the players saw/heard three acts, and had to rank them in the exact same order as the "experts", a panel of three people well-known in the music and production industry who...didn't really talk very much, honestly. Anybody who exactly matched the experts split a jackpot that started at $1,000 and went up by $1,000 each week until won.

As noted above, Fred couldn't do anything too strenous due to his heart condition, so he primarily did the player interviews and let others handle the bulk of the show.


 * August 18, 1953 (Premiere: Players - Francis Moyner/Jack Cole/Alice Kelpman; Experts - George Rosen, Sheryl Crawford, Jude Stein {Jackpot: $1,000}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Orson Bean)


 * November 10, 1953 (Players - Charles Dempsey/Alexis Pulaski/Dr. Virginia Boyojeff; Experts - Jean Dalrymple, George Seiman?, Al Olson {Jackpot: $1,000}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Orson Bean)
 * [Per the uploader, "This episode shows some minor tweaking of the format at the very end via the way the board showing the contestants' selections is displayed, but otherwise follows the pattern of the debut."]


 * December 29, 1953 (Players - D.E. Henderson/Carol Weathershef/Henry C. Roberts; Experts - Al Banks, Bob Austin?, Arthur Theadler? {Jackpot: $1,000}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Phyllis Diller)
 * [Henry thinks he's the living reincarnation of Nostradamus; no, seriously.]

Second Format (1954)
The game was now streamlined: the experts were removed, and the players now heard three upcoming songs and had to pick the same "top" one the audience did, although from what I can tell the jackpot was now frozen at $1,000. These definitely helped the show, but from what I can tell it wasn't enough.


 * January 5, 1954 (Abe Steinberg/Evans Finnegan/John Glassman; Songs: "Make Love to Me" {Columbia Records}, "Till We Two Are One" {Deka Records}, "Bell Bottom Blues" {no company given}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Steve Garvey {alternate copy... thing, same source})
 * [During John's interview, he mentions Indiana and Fred says it's the Secret Word, giving him a second box of Old Gold. Might have just been a joke at You Bet Your Life's expense (Fred mentions the Secret Word Duck a bit later), but I thought it was funny. :)]

Area behind players redone, now with the nameplates only (began by 2/16/54)
 * February 16, 1954 (Ralph Simon/Rev. John P. Cranston/Stecy Jones; Songs: "Man-Man is for the Woman Made" {RCA Victor}, "Melancholy Me", "Ridin' to Tennessee" {sung by Jaye P. Morgan}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Steve Garvey)
 * [At 1:45, Fred looks remarkably like he's pissed and/or flipping somebody off. Also, Ralph has a slip of the tongue near the end of his interview that I'm surprised hasn't made it into blooper specials.]


 * March 2, 1954 (Don Smith/Helen Burke/Sue Mayes; Songs: "The Man Upstairs" {Capitol Records}, "It Happens To Be Me", "If You Love Me"; taped from GSN, with an intro by Frank Gorshin)
 * [Don Smith has a couple of good moments; during his interview, Fred notes that "I wish you were the sponsor laughing like that...my future would be assured." Regarding Gorshin, he's apparently doing a Walter Matthau impression (specifically, his character from Grumpy Old Men), but boy does it suck.]


 * May 11, 1954 (Finale: 5/8 Smith{?!}/Max Asnas/Sally Pickett; Songs: "Thirteen Women" {Deka Records}, "I Understand" {RCA Victor}, "Happy Habit" {from the new musical By the Beautiful Sea}; taped from GSN, with an intro by Frank Gorshin)
 * [Dennis: "Always a pleasure to introduce a man I've had a great, great thrill working with and for, Mr. Fred Allen!" Fred notes that this is Max's second appearance on the show, having the "gruesome distinction" of being the first player to come back. He later closes Sally's interview with some "time is upon us" comments, although while signing off he notes this is the last show of the current season.]