Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight!" (1967)

[naruto123651]

minecraft brought me here....

[trwent]

Hal Holbrook is a national treasure. He has been in so many films and his roles over the years have almost always been thought-provoking. And he IS Mark Twain.

[imalotafolks]

This is great! I also do some impersonations of Mark Twain, check out my channel :)

[caseyscall]

Thank you Hal Holbrook!

[iKlsR]

google...

[jjbb81]

there is no way this was made in 1967. If so, Hal looks pretty old for being only 42.

[bbofun]

@jjbb81 Are you being sarcastic? It's called make-up.

[SuperMegaUberGenius]

HAL 3000

[SuperMegaUberGenius]

but not a proper psychiatrist

/watch?v=xsXKT5RhJf8

the wordsmith unsharpened by his billard game's edges

[Ashiman12]

Is it me, or was Twain like George Carlin sans the f-bombs?

[fun747]

i thought he was shina twians dad

[snakeyuk]

this guy is just full of blasphemy.... oh well... another guy brainwashing the cattle to get rich....

[rawrimnadia]

i love this man

[hypernation2007]

Love it!

[hardman2000x]

The video can be purchased here on the web from the museum store at the mark Twin Home in Hartford, CT.

[hardman2000x]

You can buy the video at the museum store of the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT; they have a website on the web.

[Deanoodle]

Forget cheesy pop music, this is meaningful art.

[cbc51]

I saw this for the first time on PBS over the summer. Splendid. I'd to get this on DVD.

[dirtynuke]

Cat looks like Vonnegut... Even sounds like him. Creepy.

[howardholton]

@dirtynuke

Other way around. Hal's Twain was taken from photographs of Twain, Vonnegut looks like Twain, I almost think on purpose....

[SAYZ]

This amazing performance is always , so , refreshing and the words of Twain ; always

timelessly on the mark .

Thank You ; for posting this .

[mindstormsabrewin]

So poetic and profound. Twain was a true American. What a great mind.

[Obasiliasfilosofos]

Richard Dawkins + Stephen Colbert =Mark twain

[JohanVonDoorf]

@Obasiliasfilosofos LOL. Twain would have considered Dawkins quite a bore i'd say.

[hfh1245]

So hilarious-so true;very good--

[cdpieper1]

Saw this performed in Hannibal Mo. Last night. Amazing show!

[highlandsh]

We've since learned that other primates approximate war so there is a continuum among the animals.

[BarryManilowFan4eva]

i saw him in person last week 4Mark Twain's aniverasry of his death.

[rose10100]

@BarryManilowFan4eva I'm related to Mark Twain :D

[SexyAngel79]

Hal sorry about your wife.She was an amazing actress.Dixie may you R.I.P

[kevmarkpat]

My condolences to Mr.Holbrook on the death of his wife tonight.

[spartan47866]

My names hal :)

[amig90]

Badass

[BrigadaX01]

Man he was reach in that times and good writer.... ;)

[92af]

Happy 85nd Birthday to you Hal Holbrook  (17th February 2010)

[expatted]

Perfect.

[josephebacon]

My goodness, the words sound just like Vonnegut's!

[JustABiff]

@josephebacon

I can't believe never noticed how much Twain and Vonnegut looked alike!

[LeatherfaceTCM1]

Brilliant!

[robtul12]

Does anybody know where I can buy this. I looked for the 1967 version and I couldn't find it.

[lalmonmass]

Amazon and several sellers on eBay both have it. Search for Mark Twain Tonight DVD. On eBay , leave "Include title and description" unchecked.

[Serai3]

Netflix also has it, if you're a member. :)

[greatsea]

If religion disappeared tomorrow, men would invent new reasons to slaughter each other.

[TheWilliamcale]

@greatsea futbol

[MrBlamemeforit]

In Sweden religion is virtually extinct.. and we are one of the most peaceful societies on earth.

[enzomaidana]

Sweden will burn in hell.

and you ain't going to the world cup haha

[jimmybeam5445]

Nuh uh!

[solonlysander]

@greatsea We already have, but we'd have one less.

[pupilofreality]

saw him do this last night in escondido.. 80 something years old and still putting on his twain show... it was great.

[Vostokification]

He got robbed, he should have won the oscar for Into The Wild.

[drizzle1251]

very funny

[brightstarone]

Mark Twain was the father of stand up comedian's, and he exposed the truth; in his comedy. He was one of Americas treasure's.

[Vostokification]

He was also the father of american literature.

[althesmith]

@brightstarone : One of the less-endearing features of the mass of humanity- tell them the truth, and they think it's a joke, make a joke and they take it for gospel.

[leapoffaith20]

"He's the animal with the true religion. Several of them!"

[keelorenz]

I can see that Godwin's law is already in full effect on this forum.

[GreekxTragedy]

I had to watch this for my school project. This was effing hilarious! Hopefully I get an A

[michaelsummerlin]

Wonderful - cheers

[maximum512]

mark twian died in 1910

[ThePolishLover868]

"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."

— Mark Twain

[Jmontanez95]

ey i watched this yesterday

[Paneuropax]

Brilliant! Thx for the Upload and cheers from Germany.

[ldragon8er]

So much truth here

[Vandcort]

Is this on DVD?

[lalmonmass]

Yes, it's still available for about US$25 and often found on eBay for less.

[fgeorge76]

It used to be . . . I bought it around 2001.

[glen1ster]

Animals fight for territory defense or to eat, too. But humans have developed

extra things to fight over they shouldn't--if they get too 'centric over belief

or non-belief choices, race, etc., often because leaders lead or mislead the public

into it, things they might better settle another

way. Police and military can minimize crime, but humans also commit war atrocities. (See

Wikipedia > war, and see war crime)

[Kogerii]

Lame. Animals fight and kill each other, they organize into groups, more social ones like bees, ants, and monkeys have their militaries. Religion is not what prompts war. Territorial disputes and lenders prompt war.

[Exodos77]

I call bullshit on that one. Shall we look at Hitler for a moment. Why was he killing the Jews? Everywhere you go and I do mean everywhere, weither it comes to blood or not their are arguments and fights over religion!

[Kogerii]

Hitler wasn't warring with the jews he warred with France and neighboring countries. He wanted their land for Germans.

You've the irrational thought that killing someone who is a different religion means you're killing that guy b/c he's a different religion. It's possibly true but not inherently true.

Peoples of the same religion war. Russia, China, and America still war though they're atheist.

Hitler was killing jews to eliminate them from the German gene pool and produce better Germans.

[Exodos77]

Still.. what about the crusades?

I mean of course people don't just fight about religion but it does play a major part in why wars are started usually.

[Kogerii]

Less than half of recorded wars were crusades. The fact remains most wars are not primarily motivated by religion. Statements like, "think of all the wars religion causes!" are what thoughtless people say as they repeat whatever phrases they hear often.

[theboombody]

Eh, he was just writing humorous pessimistic essays is all. He was like a heel professional wrestler before professional wrestlers were around. Getting cheap heat.

[BigG99]

there are arguments and fights over everything religion or not.. so dont be stupid and desperate.. yes yes if we lost religion there would be no more fighting we would live in a world of utter peace and serenity... pfff give it up.

[lovelastsforever1000]

works for the brotherhood of man...with his mouth

lol

[lovelastsforever1000]

man is the only animal that deals in the atrocity of war-so true

[lovelastsforever1000]

an excellent portrayal of mark twain, i think

[nairda55555]

mankind = oxymoron.

[cryz8210]

Today Mark Twain have been dead 99 years.. Honor him today and have atleast 1 min of silence.. Rest In Peace Mark Twain..

[billyysands]

Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven....The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out in the Hereafter. I wonder why?

[Heeey333]

wrong

[veganactor]

wow, the portion on war is still true today, even though this was in regards to Vietnam (and basically all wards), it is true. During the first years of the Iraq war any protestors (Dixie Chicks) were deemed unpatriotic and should not be a citizen of this country. Now that we know as a fact there are, and never were, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the motto has been "stay the course". Exactly what Holbrook has said here....

[JimyRoss]

you ever see any other race think so much?

[lovelastsforever1000]

that's why there's so much trouble in the world. people think up plots and wars. they think too much about the wrong things

[spleenblender]

Mark Twain and François-Marie Arouet would have been great friends. Both so far ahead of their times, even ahead of us now.

[LinkinFreakPixar]

Do you have the one where he's telling a scary story? If so please post!

[SpicyPeanuts300]

i meet this guy in real life.

[chepenudo]

SpiceyPeanuts...Lies!...Mark Twain has been dead since 1910.

[mikechga]

It seems chepenudo is correct ... SpicyPeanuts cannot be trusted.

[MarvelKnight22]

Im pretty sure he's talking about Hal Holbrook who is very much alive.........

[mikechga]

Funny, I put several different animals in the same cage, and I did not intervene. I did not feed them or in any way affect their behavior. Within weeks the only ones that remained were fast, smart, and had very sharp teeth and claws.

I put several humans in a cage and did not intervene, and they formed a village council and erected a shelter and planted flowers around the perimeter.

Our data seems to differ.

[mousepd]

I love Mark Twains comment: "The war is wrong. But we are in the war and must stay until we leave with honor." Mike Huckabee replying to Ron Paul in a debate: "Well, Ron, right or wrong we are in Iraq and so we must stay until we can leave with honor." My oh my.Some things never change. I love Mark twain.

[dweebieMC]

as kurt vonnegut said, mark twain was (and is) an american saint

[KMO325]

This was written over 100 years ago and yet...

[mikechga]

Forgive Mark Twain. His conclusions were formed before the advent of modern psychology or (for that matter) National Geographic magazine. The cruelty he describes is abhorrent to the average citizen, and is usually driven by some past cruelty. Animals are indeed cruel and should not be excused. And he ignores that man is the only creature to celebrate a power greater than themselves, and erect monuments, and create art and poetry and music.

[mikechga]

It's funny that this piece got posted. I don't think Mark Twain uttered any of this.

[lalmonmass]

Sure he did. Holbrook would be the first to tell you that he doesn't write anything for "Mark Twain Tonight"; it's all Twain's work. Holbrook only decides what he'll include in any given show.

As to the details, most of this scene is slightly adapted from Twain's 1903 essay, "The Damned Human Race", along with parts of other essays as well. For instance, "its function is to obey orders" comes from "Papers of the Adam Family". The words are mostly verbatim in each case.

[mikechga]

I have now read that essay, and I thank you for turning me to it. My opinion of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmens) has now been changed. He was the Bill Mahr of his day wasn't he? Quite angry and quite sure of his own ideas regardless of how poorly tested they might be. He clearly suffers from "humorist disease", cut very quickly to the SIMPLE truths for they are funny. Ignore the complications for they are clearly NOT funny. I put fox and chicken together and they lived peacefully. Ridiculous!

[dweebieMC]

haha you dumb piece of shit...

how could you criticize mark twain as "sure of his own ideas" when you are writing off one of the greatest artists in american history.  his mind was capable of producing wonderful, challenging ideas that yours simply is not.

what has mikechga done to make himself so "sure of his own ideas?" perhaps you simplistically reject anyone who disagrees with you as flawed in their thinking?

you, my friend, are a fool

[mikechga]

I see. So, Mark Twain has a credential, and that gives him permission to be wrong. These quotes are being taken from an older, angrier Mark Twain, The huge irony, here, is that the reason animals are more likely to get along is that they aren't angry. The reason humans are more likely to destroy each other is that they ARE angry. Much like Mr. Twain in this piece. Much like you in your Reply.

Dealing with your own anger will help you appreciate the human race even more. Give it a try.

[integral]

Aww, how cute, a Republican with a passive aggressive approach to discourse.  Ugh.

Adorable how someone can be so wrong and so smug at the same time.

[71savages]

Twain would probably be the first one to invite people to doubt the things he says. That's part of the beauty of it. I think he would laugh at the whole concept of anonymous postings on Youtube (like this one, for instance).

I had watched the claymation movie about him, and misheard one of his quotes, but I like what I thought it said too. I heard "He is rising, like affluence through policy".

[heathcliffhuxtable]

This is amazing.

[elfprince1989]

lol this guy is amazing, ive seen the whole movie and laughed all the way through. this guy truely captures one of the greatest writers known to man.

[DotingANARCHIST]

fantastic. where is the rest of it?

[pasrachilli]

Excellent!

[ArtMusicRepeat]

this is very relevant even today..

he's great!

haha