“Lucy’s Schedule”

(S1;E33 ~ May 26, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by

Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 18, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 51.7/81

Synopsis ~ After being late for dinner with his new boss, Ricky is determined to teach Lucy the importance of punctuality, so he puts her on a rigid time schedule.

This script is based on Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” episode “Time Budgeting” aired on April 22, 1949, on the CBS radio network.  Interestingly, although Gale Gordon played the boss on “My Favorite Husband,” that week the role was played by Hans Conried.  This episode of “I Love Lucy” feels long overdue hearing Gale Gordon speak the lines originally written for Rudolph Atterbury, now Alvin Littlefield. 

The date this episode first aired (May 26, 1952), Lucille Ball was on the cover of Time Magazine. 

This marks the first television teaming of Gale Gordon and Lucille Ball. Their on-screen partnership will continue until 1986. 

The episode opens with the Ricardos preparing to join the Mertzes to go to the movies to see Gary Cooper in High Noon. In this case, Lucy would have been early, not late, since the film didn’t premiere in Manhattan until July 24th, two months after the episode aired! 

Lucy dressed as Cooper to impress near-sighted Carolyn Appleby in season 4’s “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (S4;E28). He will be mentioned again when “Lucy Goes To Grauman’s” (S5;E1). The mention of High Noon is usually cut for time from the syndicated episode, but was restored for the DVD release. 

Ethel seems to need a schedule more than Lucy – she is so tardy she has to go to the movies in her bloomers! 

A closer look at the actual timetable reveals that Lucy spends 77 minutes a day on the telephone and 123 minutes taking a nap and doing her hair! 

RICKY: “Fifteen minutes for this, fifteen minutes for that…”
LUCY: “Oh, I’m going to need a lot more than 15 minutes for that.”

While waiting for the tardy Ricardos, Mr. Littlefield reads the May 25, 1952 issue of American Weekly. The cover art is titled “Raining Car Wash” by Euclid Shook.

Gale Gordon (Alvin Littlefield) was born Charles T. Aldrich Jr. and was said to be the highest paid radio artist of the 1930’s. He was in such demand that he often did two or more radio shows a day. His professional collaboration with Lucille Ball started in 1938 as the announcer of Jack Haley’s “The Wonder Show” (Wonder Bread was their sponsor). He played Mr. Atterbury on Lucy’s “My Favorite Husband” and was a front-runner for the part of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In addition to Mr. Littlefield, he played a Judge in “Lucy Makes Room for Danny,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.”  He went on to play Theodore J. Mooney in “The Lucy Show,” Harrison Otis Carter in "Here’s Lucy,” Omar Whittaker in “Lucy Calls The President,” and Curtis McGibbon in “Life with Lucy.” He died in 1995 at the age of 89.

Edith Meiser (Phoebe Littlefield) performed with the Marx Brothers on radio and wrote scripts for Helen Hayes’s first radio serial “The New Penny,” and for the “Sherlock Holmes” series. She made her Broadway debut in 1923 and appeared in more than 20 shows, including Garrick Gaieties, Sabrina Fair, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. 

In 1941 Meiser appeared in the Broadway musical Let’s Face It! co-starring Vivian Vance (top right). The two introduced the Cole Porter song “A Lady Needs a Rest.” Meiser was a member of the Actor’s Equity board of governors and the chairwoman of the Equity Library Theater. She died in 1993 at the age of 95.

When Mrs. Littlefield learns that Lucy’s allowed herself to be put on a household schedule, she calls Lucy a ‘Benedict Arnold.’ Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was an American military officer who served as a general during the Revolutionary War, fighting for the Continental Army before defecting to the British in 1780. Arnold planned to surrender to the British forces, but the plot was discovered and he fled to the British. His name quickly became synonymous with treason and betrayal because he led the British Army in battle against the very men he once commanded. In “The Mustache” (S1;E23) Lucy disapproves of Ricky’s new facial hair so she calls Ethel upstairs to confirm her opinion, but Ethel actually likes Ricky’s mustache. Lucy calls her ‘Benedict Ethel.’ 

When the three couples sit down to a ‘scheduled’ dinner, Meiser seems to really enjoy the antics, even tossing an extra biscuit at Gordon’s back! 

The speed-dinner that Lucy serves to the Littlefields consists of split pea soup, salad with radishes, steak, peas, and biscuits. To make a point, Lucy makes sure the men don’t get to taste a bite of it!  

Meisner and Gordon will return as the Littlefields in “Ricky Asks for a Raise” (S1;E35). It would have been great to see the Littlefields become recurring characters, but it is likely that the actors’ busy schedule didn’t allow for it!

Having missed dinner, Lucy eats all the after-dinner mints in Mrs. Littlefield’s candy dish. The glass dish is a Fostoria ‘American’ Compote Candy Dish. 

Five years later, the Ricardos have the same candy dish. It can be seen in “Lucy and Superman” (S6;E13). 

The dinner the Ricardos just missed featured “stuffed, thick” pork chops, baked potatoes “with big globs of cheese and butter” and “fresh, tender” asparagus tips with Hollandaise sauce. 

To stave off her hunger pangs, Lucy tries to bite into one of the Littlefield’s wax apples!  

Mr. Littlefield likens Ricky to Simon Legree, who was the sadistic slave owner in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the final episode of the series, Lucy calls Ricky “Senor Simon of Legree” when he demands Fred the dog demonstrate what he learned at obedience school. In a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show,” Lucy asks Viv why she didn’t follow the dog when he ran away. Viv calls Lucy Simon Legree and says “she lost the scent when he crossed the river,” a direct reference to the novel. The book was also alluded to in: 

• “Lucy and the Countess Lose Weight” (TLS S3;E21) 
• “Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft” (TLS S5;E9)
• “Lucy, the Philanthropist” (TLS S6;E11) 
• “Lucy Gets Involved” (TLS S6;E17) 

Clearly, the book was a favorite of the “Lucy” writers! Coincidentally, in the book, Lucy is the name of a very old and feeble slave woman helped by Uncle Tom on Legree’s plantation. 

LUCY (putting on a catcher’s mitt): “Ethel!  Let’s have those biscuits!”

I wonder if Lambert’s was inspired by this episode?  

---

FAST FORWARD!

A clip from this episode was included in the 2006 BBC series “Girls Who Do: Comedy” (S3;E1) presented by Dawn French.