More Monty Python help needed....

[Morticia]

All this talk about Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Jabberwocky, etc...got me to thinking...

I recall seeing (years ago) a skit that I thought at the time was from MP. The gist of it was a waiter in a restaurant describing today's specials....you could get "Frog a la Peche" or "Peche a la Frog"....variations of frogs, tadpoles, and .... peaches.

I swear it was MP, but years of college and other things have worn out that portion of my brain. I also could swear that Peter Cook was involved (as the waiter), but.....

I'd really like to see this again and if it's from MP chances are it's on DVD, and dang, I'd run out and buy it now if I knew what it was!

Lack of money keeps me from running out and buying them all to see which one it is....I'm planning on starting (and finishing) my MP library, but I'd like to be able to start with this one!

Anyone? Anyone? I'm sorry I can't offer anyone a disk in return for the info....but I'm sure we can come up with something.....my eternal gratefulness??

[Laughing Gravy]

It was Peter Cook and Dudley Moore ("Beyond the Fringe"). See their film THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.

[Morticia]

Thanks, Laughing Gravy.....I'll check it out.

Don't know what made me swear it was MP, but what the heck, right? I think I probably saw it during my heavy MP viewing days and it got all mixed up in the aforementioned abused cranium.

Again, thank you for the information.

[Chris in OC]

It was Cook and Moore, all right, but it was from their 1970s two-man show called Good Evening. I had the immense pleasure of seeing it on Broadway many moons ago, and I have the record of it (vinyl LP) somewhere. Along with The Frog and Peach, there was a piece about a one-legged man auditioning for the role of Tarzan ("You are deficient in the Leg Department, to the tune of one") and a sketch in which Moore as a reporter for the Bethlehem Star interviews Cook as Arthur Shepherd, a witness to the birth of Christ.

The connection to Monty Python is direct, as the Pythons all drew their inspiration from Beyond the Fringe (which Cook and Moore wrote and performed with two others whose names escape me right now), the Goon Show, and other British comedy shows of the 50s and 60s.

[Laughing Gravy]

It was a popular skit, and besides HOUND it may also be in one of the POLICEMAN'S BALL films (I haven't seen 'em), which would make a Monty Python connection...

[Morticia]

Cool! I (almost) knew it was Cook, didn't make the Moore connection (but I should have, they were quite the team.)

I will check out all the suggestions, it is possible that the Secret Policeman's Ball was what got me thinking it was Monty....plus as Chris mentioned, it's in the pedigree.

Thanks, guys....I'll let you know what I find when I find it...

[TechnoTim]

I think MP did a sort of similar sketch involving a box of chocolates, where the chocolates were made from some quite unpleasant things...I can't remember what though...

...and a policeman was involved...

I have the scripts at home somewhere...I'll try and look it up when I get home from work...

[Laughing Gravy]

Yeah, that was the skit with the "nasty chocolates," one of which was a chocolate frog (and another of which involved a spring slashing through the cheek)...

[manigrasso]

I believe it was Crunchy Frog
"Do you at least take the bones out?"
"If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy now, would it?"

[manigrasso]

By the way, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in its first season. During the monolgue segment, they did the "one legged man auditioning for Tarzan" routuine, and later on in a segment that I believe was supposed to be a talk show about new restaurants, they did the Peche a la Frog routine. I have it on vhs, and if I have time, I'll double check in case anyone's interested...

[Morticia]

Hey Mani --

Yep, please check for me....I might very well be remembering that ep of SNL. I watched it every week the first few years it was out, and that might've been what I was remembering. Memory's a funny thing, isn't it?

In the meantime, I'll be looking for the Policeman's ball stuff, and all else that was mentioned. Perhaps one (or more) will be on DVD!!

Oh, and I do remember the crunchy frog bit too....I'll have to add it to my 'list' right below '"Frog a la Peche' or 'Peche a la Frog'"!!

[TechnoTim]

Originally posted by manigrasso
I believe it was Crunchy Frog
"Do you at least take the bones out?"
"If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy now, would it?"

Ah, you beat me to it LG and M...

It was indeed the Crunchy Frog sketch from show 6 from the first season...

Also featured were the Ram's Bladder Cup, Cockroach Cluster, Anthrax Ripple and Spring Surprise...

Classic...

[manigrasso]

Morticia,

Yeah, SNL is probably where you saw it. It's from the first season, when it was still NBC's Saturday Night (ABC had a show called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cossell at the time. A few years after that show died a horrible death, Lorne Michaels & NBC changed the name to Saturday Night Live). Based on something said on the show, I'm guessing it was the 13th episode. And everyone was still really influenced by British humor like Cookm& Moore, the Goons & Monty Python, and it shows. Instead of a traditional monologue, Cook & Moore give what they call an "example" of British humor by doing the "one-legged man auditioning for Tarzan" routine. After Chevy Chase does Weekend Update, Dudley Moore acts as the host of a show called Table Talk, where he interviews Cook as Arthur Streeb-Greebling...or maybe it's Arthur Greeb-Streebling. They're not too sure either. Arthur has been running a failing reastaurant since the end of WW2, called the Frog & Peach. There are only two things on the menu:

Frog a la Peche, where they take a frog, cover in boiling brandy, and shove a peach in its mouth

Peche a la Frog, where a Peach is covered in boiling brandy and, when it's slit open, hundreds of tadpoles come wriggling out.

All the cooking is done by Arthur's wife, and subsequently most of the eating as well. "She's not a well woman. She hates being lowered into the well to feed the frogs. Every day she goes down screaming. AAAAAHHHHH! The frogs don't like it either, and spit the flies back in her face. 'ribbit, ribbit.... ppppppppppphhhhhhhh... ribbit, ribbit....... pppppppphhhhhh"

Since this episode is often cut down to 30 minutes in syndication, you may have missed Cook & Moore playing Scottish versions of Sonny & Cher, & the final appearance of any of Jim Henson's Muppets on the show. By this point the show hated the Muppets so much, they had one of them participate in its own degradation, putting Shred in a Bee costume and complain about his lack of roles on the show. "I can do Update! 'I'm Shred...and you're not.'" Another strong bit is Peter Cook playing a theatre director auditioning prisoners for their annual show. And what's the show this year? "Gigi," of course. This ep is actually one of the best examples of the show at the time, both for good and bad. "The girls"-Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman & Gilda Radner-are practically nonexistent, except for Gilda in the prison show sketch and as Emily Litella on Update (that may be the first time she did the character on Update, complaining about all the talk she's been hearing about Soviet jewelry). The guys were very strong, except for Garrett. And a lot of the satire was spot-on.

[Morticia]

mani -
(and TechnoTim)

Thanks for the update. You sure did your research! Oh, I hate to admit it, but it's in my profile for all to see...I did watch SNL in its infancy. I wasn't terribly old at the time, mind you, but I was (and still am) a night owl and had wonderful horrible older siblings who made me watch all sorts of late-night TV. Though the memory that made me start this thread was likely from the syndicated version.

I do remember Greeb-Streebling.....

One last question, but I think I know the answer....are these eps out on DVD?

[Chris in OC]

The only SNL material I've seen on DVD is the "best of" collections, some of which include or are completely from the five-year run with the original cast (Best of John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Gilda Radner, Steve Martin). They put several individual episodes on VHS and CED a long time ago (from Warner Home Video, if memory serves) but I would imagine that they cost a lot in clearance and residual payments for the hosts and musical acts. I'd love to see those original shows on DVD, but I'm not holding my breath.