Love American Style: Season One, Volume One

The 1970s: a time when women were “chicks,” beaded door curtains were cool, and Carl Betz got top billing over Harrison Ford. Love American Style (1969-74) was an anthology series of comedic playlets about modern love—some sweet (two shy ventriloquists let their dummies do the talking in “Love and the Dummies”), some silly (a greeting card writer's romance is threatened by his penchant for practical jokes in “Love and the Joker”), and some mildly risqué (in “Love and a Couple of Couples,” a man regards his ex-wife's posterior as she asks of their former marital bed, “is it still firm?”). Love American Style was hip enough to feature a story called “Love and the Pill” and to reference Philip Roth's novel Goodbye, Columbus, although traditional values invariably triumphed. But what we truly love are the casts: you'd have to sail The Love Boat or visit Fantasy Island to find such a stellar gathering of Hollywood greats, comic legends, TV Land faves, future stars, and unsung character actors. To name a few: Bill Bixby, Sid Caesar, Hans “Uncle Tonoose” Conreid, Broderick Crawford, Dwayne “Dobie Gillis” Hickman, David Ketchum (Agent 13 on Get Smart), Shari Lewis, Regis Philbin, Connie Stevens, Larry Storch, Paul “Tigger” Winchell, Joe Flynn and Carl Ballentine from McHale's Navy, and the aforementioned Ford, who shows up as Roger the boyfriend in “Love and the Former Marriage.” Stuart Margolin (The Rockford Files) is the most recognizable face of the show's stock company who appear in the Laugh-In-style blackouts that link the stories. So cue The Cowsills (“Love American style/Truer than the red, white, and bluuue….”) and ignite the fireworks: yes, it's dated, but Love will never go out of style. Compiling 13 episodes from the debut season in a three-disc extra-less set, this pop culture artifact is recommended for larger collections. (D. Liebenson)