“Vacation from Marriage”

“Life. I’ve just been thinking about life.”

(S2;E6 ~ October 27, 1952) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed August 1, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 66.8/90

Synopsis ~ The monotony of married life prompts Lucy and Ethel take a break from their husbands for a week.

The plot is based on Lucy’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” #140, with which it shares a title. It aired November 11, 1950.

This episode was the first one filmed after a shortened summer hiatus so that Lucille Ball could do as many episodes as possible before her pregnancy leave in November.

At the time this episode was filmed Lucille Ball was three months pregnant.

This is one of the few episodes to have just the main foursome in the cast. It also does not feature any musical performances.

Vacation from Marriage was also the title of a 1945 MGM film starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr, which was also done on radio in 1947. The film’s story starts out similar to the episode’s, but then diverges when Kerr and Donat are separated by World War II.

ETHEL: (after predicting what Fred will do while he completes a crossword puzzle) “He hasn’t varied five minutes in 22 years.”

In the very next scene, however, Fred suggests that they’ve been married for 25 years:

FRED: (referring to a couple knowing each other like a book after so many years of marriage) “It’s the same after 25 years, only their cover gets more dog-eared.”

Oops! When Ricky enters the kitchen for his morning coffee, Fred can be seen through the kitchen window walking between the sets backstage.

This v-neck blouse with puffy sleeves and frilly collar was frequently worn by Lucy, especially when she was in an ‘artistic’ or ‘rebellious’ mood!

Lucy and Ethel went to the library!

Their week-long ‘staycation’ has the boys staying in the Ricardo apartment and the girls at the Mertzes. This is the first and only time we see the Mertz bedroom, which (not surprisingly) is outfitted with two single beds.

The ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign above the Mertzes’ beds (or one very similar to it) is seen again in the One Oak cabin near the railroad tracks during the gang’s “First Stop” (S4;E13) on their way to Hollywood.  In that episode Ethel says that she and Fred have always slept in a double bed (and demonstrates their pre-bedtime ritual), but in this episode they have clearly have single beds.

ETHEL: (to Ricky) “We’ve been to 21 four times this week. That’s 84!” 

To check up on the boys, Lucy and Ethel get all dolled up and pretend to have dates at 21.  In the episode “Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (S4;E24), Lucy tells Ricky she met a TV producer while having lunch at 21.

These are the exact same outfits that Lucy and Ethel wore at the end of the very first aired episode of “I Love Lucy” (above) a year earlier – right down to the jewelry.

The 21 Club first opened in 1922 and is still in business today. It is a restaurant and former prohibition-era speakeasy located at 21 West 52nd Street (hence the name) in NYC. Perhaps the most famous feature of 21 was the collection of painted lawn jockeys adorning the balcony above the entrance. In the 1930s, wealthy customers showed their appreciation by presenting 21 with jockeys painted with the racing colors of the stables they owned.

When they drop by for Lucy’s “good perfume” Ricky and Fred are reading the New York Chronicle (a fictional newspaper) and Ricky has a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes tucked into his rolled up sleeve.

Sitcom Logic Alert!  Lucy and Ethel sneak up the back stairs to see if the boys really had dates just as the boys duck out the front to see if the girls really did.  While walking toward the bedroom, Lucy’s eyes remain riveted on the coffee table (which is out of camera shot). She ducks into the bedroom and, finding them not there, assumes they had dates after all!  This despite the fact that Ricky left a smoldering cigarette in the ashtray, all the lights are on, and the doors are unlocked!  I imagine that Lucille Ball was distracted by the smoking cigarette, but didn’t want to stop the scene in front of a live audience. In this case, Lucy Ricardo’s powers of deduction are just as bad as Ricky’s for not immediately sensing the girls were lying about having dates.

This is the first (but not the last) time we see the rooftop of 623 East 68th Street.

If you look closely, you can see the wrinkles in the backdrop! There is also a piece of wood visible that is there to support the door frame against the backdrop / back wall!

Lucy and Ethel try to get the attention of a neighbor named Mrs. Sanders by throwing a rock against her window, but only succeed in breaking someone else’s!  The unseen Mrs. Sanders will save the day by phoning Fred to tell him there is someone on the roof.  This is similar to when neighbor Mrs. DeVries (a character we do see, albeit only briefly) calls to report Lucy is out on the ledge in “Lucy Cries Wolf” (S4;E3).

Sitcom Logic Alert!  Once she walks safely across the plank to the other building, why does Lucy need Ethel to join her?  Why couldn’t Lucy just go down (assuming their doors were not locked from the inside, like those in the Mertz building) and come up and unlock the door for Ethel?

Initially, someone in production suggested there be a POV (point of view) shot of what Lucy would see when crossing the plank.  Desi vetoed the suggestion. Interestingly, when Lucy is on the ledge in “Lucy and Superman” (ILL S6;E13), this type of shot was inserted to show how far Lucy might fall. In 1952, Desi might have nixxed the shot fearing audiences might worry about Lucy’s safety during a funny scene, thereby reducing the laughs. He might also have had no way to quickly and efficiently obtain the shot: a city alleyway at night.

Semantics: Standing on the roof, Ethel says they are five flights up. Technically, if the apartment house is four stories high (and it must be because the Ricardos live on the fourth floor and Ricky and Fred are sitting on the steps to the roof within eyeshot of Lucy) then shouldn’t it be four flights up?  But what’s a flight or two between friends?

This episode is the epitome of “I Love Lucy.” The foursome are the only characters and the plot concentrates on marriage and the battle of the sexes: the series in a nutshell. What it lacks in wild physical comedy, it more than makes up for in verbal wit and its ability to skillfully, yet humorously, address relationship issues.

FAST FORWARD!

Lucy and Ethel once again find themselves on the roof in “Ricky and Fred are TV Fans” (S2;30). Not surprisingly, the roof is differently configured than it was earlier in the season. This will be the last time we see ‘Lucy on the Roof’!

The couples take another ‘vacation from marriage’ during “In Palm Springs” (S4;E26). Once again, they can’t stay away from each other for very long!