Carol Burnett, Mel Torme', Soupy Sales - MILDRED FIERCE!

This is the original "Mildred Fierce" most people have forgotten because it didn't rerun in syndication. From 1970.

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Carol
• Burnett
• Show
• TV
• popular
• female
• comedy
• variety
• Joan
• Crawford
• parody
• Mel
• Torme'
• Soupy
• Sales
• Harvey
• Korman

[stefan103]

This is actually a very subtle, excellently acted, and well written skit. The guest stars are excellent. Soupy is surprisingly good as her "gay" secretary. Considering how corny some of the later Carol Burnett skits became, this is a real gem.

[ohbutyes]

Thanks for recognizing subtlety - this is a great skit!

[fromthesidelines]

I completely forgot about her partnership with Bob Banner {"Burngood"} during those initial five seasons, 'oh'. Well, he was Garry Moore's partner on HIS variety show, and she initially needed him for hers {even back in the days of "THE ENTERTAINERS", which she will NOT discuss at all}.

[ohbutyes]

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what the terms were, but I believe CBS signed Carol to a 10 year deal in 1962, which began with her specials and then continued to 1972. All these were Burngood. Hopefully someday PBS will be rid of their current programming ilk and recognize the match made in heaven this show would be.

[GRober1050]

I'm confused, there is a later MIldred Fierce sketch? Love me some Carol movie parodies, but this one doesn't work for me because there is nothing—the character, the plot—that is like the movie Mildred Pierce. It's like they took Joan Crawford's real-life reputation/persona and shoe-horned it into bit. In the real movie, Mildred is a noble character, i.e., the hard-working, self-sacrificing mother to a "bad seed' daugher, Vida.

[marxfan8]

Every Joan Crawford movie in a nutshell!! Love it!!

This is a wonderful parody. Carol Burnett is a genius!! Her Crawford is impeccable!!

[MrsWLeach]

@GRober1050 I DO remember there was another full Mildred Fierce, where Vicki Lawrence plays Vida, at the end of the 'movie' , she shoots vida and then confesses to the murder.

[MrsWLeach]

I love Carol's parodies of movies!

[BetsyBooth22]

It's amazing how one can look like Joan Crawford with the right eyebrows.

[cannibalmonkey13]

thumbs up if you were sent here by Rupaul

[TheCatgirl6]

@wmbrown6 God, he was great. I heard he could be a real pain in the ass, very temperamental and rude, even to guest stars--at one point CB almost gave him his walking papers--but he was practically the co-star of the show, he was so hugely talented. When he finally left it was just never the same. And I loved his movie work with Mel Brooks, especially "Blazing Saddles."

[wmbrown6]

@TheCatgirl6 - You're not the only one. Practically everyone I know can't see anyone else but Harvey as "Ratt Butler."

[emmers57]

Carol Burnett's movie parodies made me want to watch the original movies,

[Oppledeldoc]

Do you have any other very early routines besides this and the dating Game one? It's so irritating that the very early seasons (and the final one) didn't end up in the reruns.

[MiamiPush2theLimit]

This is the best:)

[TheCatgirl6]

@wmbrown6 Really? I didn't realize she revisited the parodies that way--but then I didn't start paying attention to The Carol Burnett Show until around "72 or '73 when I was a teen. By then I'd missed a good 5-6 years of it... I've noticed in retrospective clips Carol doing a send-up of Rita Hayworth's "Gilda"--would LOVE to have seen that one!

Btw, having seen Harvey as Ratt Butler, I just can't see Richard Chamberlain in the role--Harvey was so insanely funny with his Gable mannerisms. :-)