Honest Harold

Not One or the Other

(3 stars)

FK3

As others have pointed out, the early episodes are fun to listen to, but then it somewhere took a turn for a while. I also noticed that there seemed to be quite a few similarities to stories in the "Jack Benny Program," similarities that "The Great Gildersleeve" didn't have. Harold Peary in this now has a relic of a car, like Benny's antique Maxwell, complete with exaggerated engine sputtering. In one Harold episode he's scared of "the Hummer" - a parody of "The Whistler" that Benny did as "The Fiddler." In another Harold has to deal with a male singing group that keeps interrupting him, much like Benny's Sportsman Quartet. Even his Cousin Raymond comes across as something of a Phil Harris type, using slang and boasting all the time. Granted, other shows used similar themes as well, but these are pretty obvious. Don't know if this had anything to do with the move to CBS, maybe using the same writers. It'll be interesting to listen top the later episodes.

Writers didn't do the show justice and so ends Peary's radio days

(2 stars)

bippy

After discovering the Great Gildersleeve programs and listening to nearly every show that was made including the Willard Waterman era to find this show with Harold Peary was exciting (at first). The audition show was pretty good but then it went downhill from there until the following spring where they changed some things that made it even more like the old Gildersleeve show but since the original GG was still successful with W. Waterman on NBC there was no reason for this weak imitation to keep going on CBS. Kraft Co. and bad writing on this show finished off radio for Harold Peary and forced him into a bad TV show soon after.

Honest Harold

(4 stars)

Tommy F

Harold Peary role as Honest Harold is somewhat of a continuation of his Gildersleeve role. Same laugh and situations. His fellow actors' roles bear a remarkable resemblance to other Gildersleeve characters. Doc Yak yak (Judge Hooker)and Pete the Marshall (Mr Peavey) His secretary is the same actress (His real life wife) as on GG. Non the less the plots are entertaining and I recommend it.

(4 stars)

JeanieCat

I really enjoyed Harold Peary as Honest Harold. It is similar to The Great Gildersleeve. As I understand it, Harold Peary got a lot of requests to sing more but he wasn’t allowed to do this on Gildersleeve.He left Gildersleeve and became Honest Harold where he often broke into song.