Word: bergen
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...Fancy Free. Disney's famous fauna, plus Edgar Bergen and Dinah Shore, in a show that ranges from bad to brilliant and is generally likable (TIME...
...Bongo winds up his slapping all too soon. As the Northwoods twilight sends Bonge packing, the last gleam of comedy also dies, and the remainder of the picture is unbearable--in both senses. Edgar Bergen spins a new version of Jack and the Beanstalk, but while the beanstalk flourishes nicely, Bergen's tale doesn't. The reason why Bongo was cut short probably stems from Hollywood's fronetic fear of Communists; but it seems too bad that the witch-hunt has finally extended to make-believe hears...
...second half of the picture, Edgar Bergen and dummies, in Technicolor, tell a little girl (Luana Patten) a cartooned variant of the Jack & the Beanstalk story. Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy, after a first-rate sequence as starving peasants, are lifted into the sky by a magic plant. There they meet Willie the Giant, outwit him (no hard job), and rescue a captive heroine...
...spite of the Disney technical skill, it has never been a very good idea to mix cartoons and live actors. With genial showmanship, Mr. Bergen & Co. barely manage to save their part of the show. Most of the Bongo section is just middle-grade Disney, not notably inspired. And once Mickey & friends get involved with Willie, the whole picture peters out and becomes as oddly off-balance and inconsequential as its title...
...Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy (Sun. 8 p.m., NBC). First broadcast of the new season...