“Lucy Changes Her Mind”

(S2;E21 ~ March 30, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by

Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 26, 1952 at General Service Studio. Rating: 65.6/89

Synopsis ~ When Lucy keeps changing her mind, Ricky demands she finish everything she starts. To get even with him, Lucy decides to complete an unfinished love letter to an old boyfriend. 

The plot is nearly identical to episode #50 of Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” “Liz Changes Her Mind”  aired June 24, 1949 on CBS Radio. The dialogue in the restaurant scene of the television script is nearly verbatim to the radio show with Gale Gordon and Bea Benadaret (as the Atterburys) speaking the lines given to William Frawley and Vivian Vance (as the Mertzes).

This was the last episode filmed before Lucille Ball went on pregnancy leave. It wouldn’t be aired for six months. The plot of the episode is told through flashback format.

New York City TV listings for March 30, 1953. Note that the ARB (Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting) lists “I Love Lucy” as New York’s #1 show.

The idea for the restaurant scene was thought up when the exact same scenario happened to the writers. After each new person ordered their meal, writer Madelyn Pugh kept switching her order to what the last person had just ordered.

The episode opens with Ethel calling for Lucy and Ricky saying she took the baby down to Mrs. Jenkins. This character is never seen in any episode.  Although Mrs. Trumbull (Little Ricky’s go-to babysitter) is introduced in the very next episode aired, in reality that episode was not filmed until March 1953 while this one was filmed BEFORE Ball’s pregnancy leave in late September 1952.

To demonstrate Lucy’s proclivity to change the mind, the furniture in the apartment has been rearranged, something Ethel remarks upon in this 45 second (sans Lucy) prologue. When the flashback begins, the furniture is in its traditional ‘front-facing’ position. 

Oops!  As the camera pulls back on Ricky sitting on the sofa at the beginning of the flashback, a distinct shadow passes over the sofa and Ricky’s legs as the shot widens. 

When deciding between Italian and Chinese (“Ravioli Foo Yung or Chicken Chow Pizza”), Lucy rules out Chinese because her favorite restaurant is closed on Monday nights. “I Love Lucy” ruled the airwaves on Monday evenings, and it became common in the ‘50s for people to rearrange their schedules to be home to watch it. When Lucille Ball agreed to do “The Lucy Show” in 1962, one of her stipulations was that it would air on Monday nights. This was true of all her sitcoms.

The foursome end up at what Ricky calls ‘the Roof Garden’ (although the menus say Jubilee Club), which features steaks and chops… 

…and bread sticks!

Henry, the nearsighted waiter, is played by Frank Nelson wearing thick Coke bottle eyeglasses. Nelson also played the waiter in the correlating radio show. Nelson played Freddy Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, making him the only actor to play more than one continuing role on the series. 

BONUS!!! CLICK HERE FOR A TRIBUTE TO ALL THE WAITERS WHO HAVE TRIED TO SERVE LUCY RICARDO!

Sharp-eyed viewers will recognize that the restaurant’s chairs are the same ones as used at the Tropicana. That’s because sets that were only used once (like this restaurant) were generally built ‘inside’ the roomier Tropicana set, which adjacent to the Ricardo apartment set on the soundstage.  

Going through her old love letters, she finds one to a handsome boy named Tom Henderson that she never mailed. Remembering her promise to Ricky to finish everything she starts, she intends to finish it and tease Ricky. When her lie gets out of control, Ricky says if what she says is true, he’ll mail the letter for her!  

While lying to Ricky about her relationship with Tom Henderson, she says she met him in college. If having a college education is part of her lie, Ricky would have known she was fibbing. If it is true, it is the only time she mentions going to college. Lucy does mention going to secretarial school.

Producer Jess Oppenheimer didn’t want to pay too much for the actor who would play Tom Henderson, a character who only says two words at the very end of the show. He wrote in the script that he wanted “the most handsome hunk of man anyone ever saw for $15.56.”  He got John Hart, who had replaced Clayton Moore in the title role on “The Lone Ranger.” Hart would also play the hunky lifeguard who saves Lucy from drowning in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (S4;E20). His last TV appearance was also as the Lone Ranger, on a 1981 episode of “Happy Days." 

Lucy at first thinks Harry Henderson is actually Tom (”Looks like my hunk has shrunk!”) The shorter/balder Harry is played by Phil Arnold, who later turned up on “Lucy Is Matchmaker” (S2;E27).

---

FAST FORWARD

Lucy’s comic pantomime with the store mannequin is similar to her antics in “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3) and later in the 1974 movie Mame.  

Another waiter named Henry turns up in a 1972 episode of “Here’s Lucy” played by Milton Frome. From

first appeared as Sam (the spider) who Lucy Ricardo tries to fix up with Dorothy (the fly) in “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4). Frome is one of the few character actors to have appeared on all three of Lucille Ball’s sitcoms. 

Another fur salon was featured in “Lucy Gets Amnesia” (TLS S3;E4) in 1964. This shop was run by Madame Fifi, played by Fifi D’Orsay. The mannequin wears the fur that Lucy Carmichael covets. Interestingly, the boxes later turned up in "Lucy Makes a Pinch” (TLS S3;E8), a crime caper featuring character actor Jack Kelly.

When she moved to Los Angeles, Lucy Carmichael and Mary Jane also went to a swanky fur salon (this time mainly for the lunchtime refreshments) in “Lucy and Pat Collins” (TLS S5;E11). The fur model is played by Cher’s mom, Georgia Holt and the Salon Saleswoman (standing right) is played by Patricia Cutts.