(S4;E28 ~ May 9, 1955) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 24, 1955 at Ren-Mar Studios.
Rating: 42.9/63
Synopsis ~ Lucy promises Carolyn Appleby she will meet some real Hollywood celebrities. Now she’s got to deliver. Stealing her eyeglasses and dressing up as some famous stars, she manages to fool Carolyn. Then the real Harpo Marx shows up only to discover Lucy dressed up as him.
The episode is sometimes just referred to simply as “Harpo Marx” because it features a guest appearance by the famous non-verbal comedian. The previous episode, “The Dancing Star” (S4;E27) featuring Van Johnson, was actually filmed after this episode, perhaps to accommodate the schedules of the guest stars.
Lucy and Harpo had appeared together in Room Service in 1938 for RKO Studios. He was said to be her ‘favorite’ Marx Brother. By 1955 Lucy and Desi owned RKO and had re-named it Desilu Studios. Just before the filming, Harpo suffered a heart attack and his doctors discouraged him from doing the show. Thankfully for TV comedy history, he ignored their wishes.
Harpo Marx was born Adolph Marx on November 23, 1893, in New York.
He was the second of five brothers: Julius (Groucho), Milton (Gummo), Leonard (Chico), and Herbert (Zeppo). He quit school after kindergarten to help support his family by taking a job as a delivery boy. His musical talent was developed by learning to play his grandmother’s harp. In 1922, he and his brothers left vaudeville to perform on Broadway, and soon landed in Hollywood making movies together throughout the 1930s and 40s.
Harpo never spoke on screen and was usually seen in a fright wig, battered top hat, and wearing a trench coat, all of which he does in this episode.
Lucy and Ethel fancifully mention inviting Princess Margaret for tea. She was the younger sister of Elizabeth II, who had been on the throne only two years at the time this episode was first aired. Margaret had a reputation of being extraordinarily social for a royal. She was often photographed by the press at balls, parties, and night-clubs.
Once again, Marilyn Monroe is mentioned, with Lucy wondering if Ethel might pass for Monroe to a near-sighted Carolyn. After Ethel tries to walk like Marilyn, Lucy decides that “nobody is that near-sighted!” In “Ricky’s Movie Offer” (S4;E5) Lucy and Ethel argue about who looks more like Marilyn Monroe. Fred says he looks more like Marilyn than either of them! Monroe’s name is dropped in five episodes.
Oops! When giving instructions to Ethel, Lucille Ball momentarily trips over her words when saying “the important thing for dew…you’d…to remember is…”
Preparing for Caroline’s visit, Lucy puts out flowers and chocolates in her glass Fostoria ‘American’ Compote Candy Dish. The dish was previously used in “Lucy’s Schedule” and “The Ricardos Are Interviewed.”
Ethel explains away the absence of Mrs. McGillicuddy (Kathryn Card) and Little Ricky (the Mayer Twins) by saying that they’ve gone to the zoo.
Doris Singleton makes her penultimate of her ten appearances as Lucy’s friend Carolyn Appleby. A New Yorker, Carolyn is conveniently on her way to Hawaii to join her husband Charlie, but stops over in Los Angeles to see Lucy. All of this is established in “The Dancing Star.”
Once Carolyn arrives, Lucy mentions that “Ronnie and Benita” might drop by but quickly corrects herself, fibbing that they’d dropped by last week. She is referring to Oscar winner Ronald Colman and his wife Benita Hume. Lucille Ball was an un-credited extra in Colman’s 1934 film Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back.
The full celebrity guest list for Lucy’s faux Hollywood party consists of Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Walter Pidgeon, Jimmy Durante, and Harpo Marx. After making sure Carolyn is without her glasses, Lucy uses masks from the magic shop on the boulevard for her impersonations.
As Gary Cooper, she answers most questions with Cooper’s trademark “yep” or “nope” something he memorably did in the 1949 Warner Brothers picture It’s a Great Feeling. Cooper was mentioned in two previous episode of “I Love Lucy.”
As Clark Gable, Lucy pretends he has laryngitis, accounting for his gruff voice and Ethel’s warning that Carolyn not get too close lest she catch his cold. Lucille Ball was great friends with Gable’s third wife, Carole Lombard. Gable is mentioned in seven other episodes.
As Jimmy Durante, Lucy paraphrases some of Durante’s famous sayings: “What a catastrastrope” (instead of catastrophe), something he often said on his NBC radio show. On his departure, Lucy/Durante says “Goodnight Mrs. Appleby, whoever you are.” This is a variation on Durante’s famous radio sign-off “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.”
A few episodes earlier, Durante’s nose took up two frames at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Lucille Ball had an uncredited role in Durante’s 1935 film Carnival.
Sitcom Logic Alert! When the real Harpo Marx enters instead of Lucy, one wonders if Ethel is as near-sighted as Carolyn. She is face to face with the famous comic and can’t see that it isn’t Lucy or a magic store mask! Also, Carolyn’s vision has improved enough to be chased around the hotel room by Harpo without bumping into the furniture!
We don’t see Lucy’s impersonation of Bing Crosby or Walter Pidgeon. According to “The Dancing Star,” Cary Grant and Marlon Brando were also supposed to be at the party, but since that episode was filmed after this one, it’s understandable why the guest list had discrepancies.
Harpo plays “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on the harp, an arrangement done by his son Billy. The song was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer. It was featured in the 1935 Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera as well as in a 1949 film called Take Me Out to the Ball Game starring Frank Sinatra.
Bill Marx wrote about his experiences working with his dad in his memoir Son of Harpo Speaks, sharing memories of Harpo and Lucille Ball recreating the Marx Brothers’ famous mirror scene:
“I was 18 years old at the time. Dad said, ‘We’re going to do an ‘I Love Lucy’ episode. I want you to write something for me to play on the show.’ I had this summer job at Desilu as a page or an usher, because they shot all these shows before a live audience. They had me as an usher for this episode, and at the same time, I was continuing on as I had since I was 12 years old, as my dad’s prop man. I went back and forth, doing both those jobs at the time. I was there for the entire week of rehearsals, which were really most fascinating.”
The mirror routine first performed by Groucho in Duck Soup (1933). Lucy insisted on lots of rehearsal while Harpo was inclined to improvise, so the routine had to be re-filmed after the studio audience left to get it right.
Although it may look seamless in the final edit, the scene is actually many takes edited together. After the final take of the mirror routine, Harpo remained behind and played the harp for the cast and crew while Vivian Vance sang. Shortly after the episode aired, Harpo had another heart attack but survived for another nine years, dying at the age of 75 from complications following heart surgery.
FAST FORWARD!
On May 19, 2017, CBS aired this episode and “The Dancing Star” (S4;E27) colorized as “I Love Lucy: Superstar Special”. The episode was edited for television, removing Lucy masquerading as Gary Cooper, Ethel walking like Marilyn Monroe, and much of Harpo’s harp solo.
On a 1974 “Dick Cavett Show” Cavett tells Lucille Ball that this is one of his favorite episodes. He introduces a clip from the show. Before it rolls, Lucy adds that although Harpo was a dear man, he usually worked alone and could not remember his own routine with her from take to take.
On a 1984 episode of the game show “Body Language” Lucille Ball is given the clue “Marx Brothers.” She chooses to imitate Groucho instead of Harpo. Her partner guesses it correctly. Two years later, Groucho’s son Arthur was a writer on “Life With Lucy.”
Jimmy Durante did a cameo as himself (along with his wife Margie Little) in a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show.”
In a 2005 episode of “The Gilmore Girls” the characters talk about this episode, and also reference “Don Juan is Shelved” and “Don Juan and the Starlets.”
A July 2007 episode of “TV Land Confidential” featured clips of Harpo and Lucy from this episode.
MARX MERCH!
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