(S1;E25 ~ March 31, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on February 22, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 66.0/86
Synopsis ~ The boys bet the girls that they can survive without using anything invented after 1900, including electricity, all while Lucy and Ethel are pursuing membership in a snooty women’s club. There’s also that huge loaf of bread!
The day this episode first aired, Life Magazine’s cover image was from the phenomenally successful comic strip Li’l Abner by Al Capp. The satiric strip ran for 43 years; from August 13, 1934 through November 13, 1977.
The characters of Abner, Daisy Mae, and the other eccentric residents of Dogpatch USA were made into a Broadway musical in 1956, which was filmed in 1959.
- The last celebrity guest star of the last episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” was Edie Adams, who won a Tony Award for playing Daisy Mae. In 1968, she appeared on an episode of “The Lucy Show” “Mooney’s Other Wife” (TLS S6;E18).
- Fred Mertz called Cousin Ernie (Tennessee Ernie Ford) Li’l Abner because of his down-home twang.
- In “First Stop” (S4;E14) Fred calls One Oak “Lower Slobbovia,” which is a term first used in 1946 by Al Capp in “Li’l Abner” to describe a place that was unenlightened and socially backward.
This was said to be William Frawley’s favorite episode. He was born in 1887 and enjoyed acting as ‘technical adviser’ regarding what a middle class 19th century family might (and might not) have.
- FRED (to Ethel): What are you wearing that bustle for, honey? You don’t need it.
- LUCY: Pay no attention to him. You leave it on.
- ETHEL: I’m not wearing a bustle.
Tired of just cooking and cleaning, Lucy and Ethel do the math:
They report to the living room and give the boys an ultimatum!
- LUCY: We’re revolting!
- RICKY: No more than usual.
The men bet the women that they can do without modern luxuries longer than the girls.
- LUCY: What do you want to bet?
- FRED: How about $10?
- ETHEL: What’s the matter with $20?
- RICKY: Well, what’s the matter with $30?
- LUCY: What’s the matter with $50?
- FRED: What was the matter with $10?
We also get a rare glimpse of the Ricardo’s and Mertzes back porch and balcony but it is much different from the one shown in “Never Do Business With Friends” (S2;E31), which was after they switched apartments with the Bensons.
Something definitely not from 1900 was Lucy’s 1951 Westinghouse Frost Free Refrigerator, which appears on several episodes from that season. It was widely promoted in print publications and on TV and had a prominent position in the Ricardo kitchen. The Ricardos also had a Westinghouse vacuum cleaner (although it was called a Handy Dandy on the show). This was nearly six years before Desilu partnered with Westinghouse to create the “Westinghouse Desilu Playouse,” the program that would present “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” for its last two seasons.
The episode is best remembered for the huge loaf of bread Lucy bakes by misreading the number or yeast cakes in the recipe (3, not 13)! When the cost of constructing a prop loaf proved too high for producer Desi, they enlisted L.A.’s Union Baking Company to bake a real loaf. The final product was rye bread, as rye lasts longer without spoiling.
A rare candid shot with the clapper board in the photo.
- LUCY: Homemade bread and home churned butter!
After the filming, the giant loaf was carved up and enjoyed by cast, crew, and the studio audience. Everyone in the studio audience got a slice of bread!
“And YOU get a slice. And YOU get a slice. And YOU get a slice!”
GUEST CAST
A subplot has Lucy applying for membership in The Society Matrons League, whose investigating committee is headed by Mrs. Pomerantz and Mrs. Pettebone. The name Pettebone was inspired by Jean Pettebone, a CBS photographer, and Pomerantz by Charles Pomerantz, a Phillip Morris press representative. On Lucy’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” there was a similar club called The Young Matron’s League. Television being a visual medium, the word “Young” would have been a stretch for Lucy and Ethel!
Mrs. Pomerantz (below right) was played by Ruth Perrott. Perrott had played Katy, the maid on Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband.” She returned to “I Love Lucy” to play a nurse in “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (S2;E16) and again as one of the members of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (S3;E3).
Mrs. Pettebone (above left) is played by Florence Bates (nee Rabe) who was born in 1888. After earning her degree in mathematics, Florence went to law school and became the first woman attorney in the history of the state of Texas. She traveled abroad extensively and was fluent in many languages. After the crash of 1929, she moved to California where she auditioned for the part of Miss Bates in the Pasadena Playhouse production of Jane Austen’s Emma. It launched a career playing snooty matrons and demanding dowagers. As a nod to her good fortune, she changed her last name to Bates. In 1940, she was cast by Alfred Hitchcock as Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper in Rebecca. She was equally adept at comedy, appearing as Danny Kaye’s prospective mother-in-law in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and as the inebriated Russian dance teacher, Madame Dilyovska, in On the Town (1949). She was an avid knitter, and could usually be found knitting between takes. Bates continued in films until her death in 1954, just two years after this episode. Now that’s a true pioneer woman!
An uncredited actor delivers the telegram. It conveys the news that Lucy and Ethel have an appointment at the Waldorf to be reviewed by the Society Matrons League.
TRIVIAL PURSUITS – 1900′s Edition!
The episode had the Desilu props people searching for such unusual items as a tin bathtub, hand-cranked coffee grinder, a butter churn, a log saw, oil lamps, and a live horse, the first (but not the last) equine cast member of the series.
Making breakfast during their first day of the bet, Lucy hand grinds Ricky’s coffee adding a whole egg – shells and all! When Ricky grimaces, she quips “My grandmother was Swedish.” This is one of the first mentions of Lucy’s family history. We don’t know if she means her maternal or paternal grandmother or if she is just joking. The 2018 colorized version of the episode omits this line and much of the business of making coffee.
While not a musical episode, Ricky briefly hums “Vesti la Giubba” from Pagliacci, an Italian-language opera written by
by Ruggero Leoncavallo in 1892. Ricky’s musical education was obviously quite extensive. Later, Fred sings “The Fountain in the Park,” also known as “While Strolling Through the Park One Day,” a song written by Ed Haley in 1884.
Lucy’s interview with the Society Matrons League is supposed to take place at the Waldorf, the epitome of swanky Manhattan hotels. Six weeks later Lucy rented a room there when she pretends to be the regal Maharincess of Franistan in “The Publicity Agent” (S1;E31). Two years later, Lucy’s well-to-do school chum Cynthia Harcourt (Mary Jane Croft) took digs at the Waldorf while canvassing for donations in 1954′s “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23).
After churning butter Ethel’s fingers are gripped like they are still clutching the churn pole. She remarks “Our grandmothers must have had arms like Gorgeous George.” George Raymond Wagner (aka Gorgeous George) was a professional wrestler known for his curly blonde hair and flamboyant manner. In the 1950s, televised wrestling matches made stars of wrestlers like Wagner. He was mentioned again in “Ricky’s Movie Offer” (S4;E6). When Pete the Grocery Boy asks Lucy what she’s supposed to be in her Marilyn Monroe dress and wig, Fred replies “Gorgeous George.”
Lucy demands that Ricky buy her an automatic dishwasher. He counters with rubber gloves! Although first invented in the mid-1920s, power dish washers were not commonly available to homeowners until the 1950s, and even then were extremely costly. Lucy gets a new automatic clothes washing machine
in “Sales Resistance” (S2;E17) and once again in “Never Do Business With Friends” (S2;E31), just five months later.
BLOOPER SQUAD – How They Lost the Bet but Didn’t Know It!
When Fred gets into his turn-of-the-century clothing, he struts around proudly and declares “I am the chicken-inspector!” This is slang for a womanizer; a man who has an eye for young woman. He even wears the novelty badge! However, this expression was not coined until the 1920s, so Fred’s poor memory has unwittingly lost the bet for the men.
When the inspection committee makes a surprise visit to the Ricardo apartment, the electric lamp in the background is on. Since the couples had agreed to live like pioneers the lamp should not have been on. Earlier in the episode, Lucy even mentioned buying lanterns to avoid using electric lights.
After Lucy and Ethel put the bread dough in the oven to bake, Lucy suggests they kill time by playing Canasta. The card game was not invented until the late 1940’s and so they couldn’t be playing it if they were following the rules of the bet.
FAST FORWARD! Future Pioneers
Lucy does an impromptu chorus of “Strolling Through The Park” in “Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan Song” (S2;E12, inset). In 1971′s “Lucy’s Lucky Day” (HL S4;E15), Lucie Arnaz and Gale Gordon also perform the song.
The 2003 TV biopic Lucy starring Rachel York as Lucille Ball / Lucy Ricardo and Rebecca Hobbs as Vivian / Ethel, recreates the bread-baking sequence from this episode.
On December 14, 2018 CBS presented a colorized version of this episode as part of their annual “I Love Lucy” Christmas Special. As usual, the newly colorized episode was teamed with “The I Love Lucy Christmas Show”.
SELLING BREAD! Episode Merchandise
The Franklin Mint issued a porcelain doll commemorating this episode. The doll came with a loaf of bread and clothing that closely matched the episode.
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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