What's My Line?
1 9 5 0 - 1 9 6 7 (USA)
"Will you enter and sign in, please?" and "Is it
bigger than a breadbox?" are two catchphrases from this
classic game show that are still understood today, due to its
classic appeal.
The gimmick was simple: four celebrity panellists tried to
guess the occupation of the contestants, and then, blindfolded,
try to ascertain who the celebrity guest is as the grinning
celebrity disguised his or her voice.
The entertainment came from allowing the panel to go off on
tangents, having one of them utter something that back in the
1950s was practically scandalous, and listen to them chatting and
bantering about before and after a game.
The erudite John Charles Daly was the host; the most remembered
panellists included Broadway columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, actress
Arlene Francis, and publisher and punster Bennett Cerf.
With everyone dressed to the nines in evening gowns and
tuxedos, this is a charming and funny relic of the days when game
shows had some class, a veritable "breadbox" of humour.
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