“Staten Island Ferry”

(S5;E12 – January 2, 1956) Directed by James V. Kern. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed on November 24, 1955 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 45.2/63

Synopsis ~ The Ricardos and the Mertzes prepare for their ocean voyage to Europe by getting their passports in order – when Fred suddenly remembers he gets seasick!  

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The episode opens with Lucy on the telephone with Marion Van Vlack (nee Strong), a character that appeared in several previous episodes. She was named in honor of Lucille Ball’s real-life Jamestown friend, who, like her TV counterpart, also married a man named Norman.

For the trip, Lucy plans to learn French, Ethel plans to learn Italian, Fred plans to learn German, and Ricky (of course) is going to take over when they go to Spain. We never see the gang in Spain or in any Spanish-speaking country. Ricky’s Spanish does come in handy during the hilarious translation scene at the police station in “Paris at Last” (S5;E18, above). 

Ethel is learning to speak Italian.

ETHEL: By the time we get to Italy, you won’t be able to tell me from Gina Lollobridgida.  

The Italian-born film star Gina Lollobridgida was known as ‘the most beautiful woman alive’. When this episode was being filmed, her film Beautiful But Dangerous was in cinemas. She will be mentioned again in “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (S5;E23).  Both Lollobridgida and Lucille Ball would be part of Bob Hope’s 1982 special “Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny” (above). 

In 1968′s “Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50″ (HL S1;E11) Lucy pretends to be a made-up Italian film star named Gina Linguini, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Gina Lollobridgida. 

So far, Fred’s German extends to knowing how to order nine different kinds of beer. 

Rough Translation!  When Fred is talking to Lucy in German, he calls her “Fräulein”; which is the German word for “miss”. He should have called her “Frau”, the German word for “missus”. 

He also says “Geben Sie mir ein Stein Würzburger” and Ethel translates it as “Give me a glass of beer”. A “Stein-Würzburger” is actually a wine sort from the mountain Würzburger and the word “stein” means stone. “Give me a glass of beer” would be “Geben Sie mir ein Glas Bier”. 

Anticipating her Jacques Marcel adventure in “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown” (S5;E20), Lucy has learned the French for “How much is that dress in the window?” and “Wrap it up. I’ll take it!”

Ethel is going to use her Aunt Martha’s luggage for the trip to Europe. Coincidentally, both Lucy and Ethel have aunts named Martha. Lucy’s aunt inspired the salad dressing in “The Million Dollar Idea” (S3;E13) and Ethel’s aunt is mentioned as a possible new tenant in “The Ricardos are Interviewed” (S5;E7).

LUCY: (about her passport photo) I look like Frankenstein!
ETHEL: Well, shake hands with your bride.

Little did the pair know that they would be taking a road trip with the Bride of Frankenstein (Elsa Lanchester) in “Off to Florida” (S6;E6). Lanchester played the title role in the 1935 Universal horror classic.

About her photo Lucy laments, “It looks like my face was put on hot and it ran” and strikes a lopsided grimace. This is the exact same face she would make in “Paris at Last” (S5;E18) when trying to convince the gendarme that her passport photo is really her; a terrific callback by the writers.

This is the first mention of the S.S. Constitution. Although the idea of a transatlantic crossing was first mentioned two episodes earlier in “Ricky’s European Booking” (S5;E10), Desilu’s financial arrangements with the American Export Lines hadn’t been ironed out at the time. Curiously, Fred waits two weeks to voice his fears about getting sick on the crossing.  

In the subsequent episode, “Bon Voyage” (S5;E13), Lucy brings a huge bottle of seasickness pills on board the S.S. Constitution, just in case!

Accounting for the fact that Little Ricky is not in the episode, Lucy says “Don’t worry about the baby. I’m gonna leave him at nursery school all day.”  The Mayer Twins will make only one more appearance on the series in ”Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy” (S5;E22) before the character is assumed by Richard Keith. 

The Staten Island Ferry first began shuttling passengers and automobiles from Manhattan and Staten Island in 1817. The five mile journey takes about 22 minutes each way and has been free of charge since 1997. At the time this episode was filmed, however, the one-way fare was a nickel. In the first episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” in 1957 guest star Ann Sothern mentions the Staten Island Ferry and its five cent fare.

Notably, this episode contains the only lengthy interaction between Fred (William Frawley) and Lucy alone. Ethel jokingly says Fred gets seasick when she has too many waves in her hair. Fred admits that he went to Europe by ship during World War One, but says that “it wasn’t my idea.” Ethel first mentioned her husband’s seasickness several months earlier in “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3) when Ricky wants to go ’‘dipsy” [deep sea] fishing. Curiously, Fred’s mal de mer is not mentioned at all during the first episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” which finds the Mertzes on a belated honeymoon cruise to Cuba in 1940.

The ferry boat seen in the episode’s second unit footage is named the ‘Gold Star Mother,’ which entered service in 1937. It was named in honor of the American Gold Star Mothers Inc., an organization formed to provide support for mothers who lost children during World War One. The name came from the custom of war mothers hanging a Service Flag in the window of their homes. The Service Flag had a blue star for those who survived and a gold one for those who had perished. 

After retirement from service in the early 1970s, the Gold Star Mother was used as a floating drug rehabilitation center and facetiously nicknamed ‘Gold Star Methadone.’ 

The footage of the ferry making multiple round trips while Fred and Lucy slept was accomplished by simply running the film backwards! 

This episode marks the fourth and final appearance (on the half hour series) of veteran character actor Charles Lane as the Passport Clerk. Lane (1905-2007) was featured in hundreds of films and television shows over his 102 years. He was a survivor of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and one of the first actors to join the Screen Actors Guild. He also played a casting agent in “Lucy Tells the Truth” (S3;E6), Mr. Hickox in “The Business Manager” (S4;E1), and expectant father Mr. Stanley in “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (S2;E16). He was featured in two episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and went on to play banker Mr. Barnsdahl in the first season of "The Lucy Show.” The character was eventually replaced by Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney. He had done seven films with Lucille Ball between 1933 and 1949 as well as five films with William Frawley.

Stanley Farrar (Ferry Officer) was previously seen in “Home Movies” (S3;E20) playing Bennett Green (not to be confused with Desi’s stand-in and frequent bit player). He also did two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”

Renita Reachi (Ferry Passerby) was Vivian Vance’s camera and lighting stand-in for “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.” She was was a costumer and made occasional crowd background appearances in “The Lucy Show”, “Here’s Lucy” and the Lucille Ball films Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) and Mame (1974).  

Also aboard is Joan Carey, a frequent background player who would go on to become Lucille Ball’s stand-in during “The Lucy Show.”  On the left is Desi Arnaz’s stand-in, Bennet Green. 

ETHEL: I thought you were the one that got seasick.
FRED: She made me look like Admiral Nimitz!

Chester William Nimitz was head of the U.S. Navy during World War II. On September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed for the United States when Japan formally surrendered on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. October 5, 1945, was officially designated as "Nimitz Day” in Washington, DC.

FRED (about a drowsy Lucy): She’ll be alright. She’s taking a little nap.
CLERK: Looks to me like she’s taken a little nip!

At the end of the original broadcast a public service announcement was aired for ‘Truth Dollars,’ which were purchased to help Radio Free Europe broadcast behind the Iron Curtain.

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