“Oil Wells”

(S3;E18 ~ February 15, 1954) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed January 14, 1954 at Ren-Mar Studios. It was the 84th episode filmed. Rating: 63.9/85

Synopsis ~ Sam and Nancy Johnson are new tenants at 623 East 68th Street. They hale from Texas and they are in oil. (LUCY: “Hair, suntan, cod liver, or castor?”) Buying some shares in their latest well, the gang is soon dreaming of striking it rich. But when Fred’s detective friend Ken comes poking around, Lucy gets suspicious that the new neighbors are scam artists.

The day this episode first aired, LIFE Magazine’s cover story was about Gina Lollobrigida’s changing her Italian hairstyle. In two months time, “I Love Lucy” will tackle the same subject with “The Black Wig” (S3;E26). In it, Lucy will even wear the same red and blue flared skirt dress she does in this one. Movie star Lollobrigida would be mentioned on two season 5 episodes of the series. 

This episode aired on Mary Jane Croft’s 38th birthday. At the time, she was playing Daisy Enright on Desilu’s “Our Miss Brooks” and would make her first appearance on “I Love Lucy” in March 1954 (above).  She went on to be one of Lucille Ball’s regular co-stars in all of her sitcoms. 

Born on the day this episode first aired in 1954 was Matt Groening, the creator of the animated hit “The Simpsons”.  The show has satirized Lucille Ball on several occasions. 

Four years earlier, Lucy and Desi were in the newspapers concerning oil wells. Seems the Arnaz’s did not own the oil rights to their Chatsworth Ranch.  As predicted, they moved out a few years later.

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Lucy and Ethel are spying on the moving men as the Johnsons move in. Their eagle-eyed inventory of the items being moved into apartment 4B includes:

• A refrigerator
• A chrome dinette set
• An automatic washer & dryer
• A fox stole
• A full-length mink coat from Saks
• A green sofa
• A modern desk

In “New Neighbors” (S1;E21, above), Lucy and Ethel also spied on the moving men when the O’Briens moved in. Like the Johnsons, who also move into apartment 4B, Lucy jumps to the wrong conclusion about her new neighbors and they promptly move out. 

Harry Cheshire (Sam Johnson) most often played bankers and western townsmen, but could also be an effective villain. His best-known role was as Judge Ben Wiley in the TV series “Buffalo Bill, Jr.” (1955). He appeared with Lucille Ball in the films Her Husband’s Affairs (1947), Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), and A Woman of Distinction (1950).

Sandra Gould (Nancy Johnson) is probably best remembered as the second actor to play Gladys Kravitz on “Bewitched” (1966-71), also directed by William Asher. Later on “I Love Lucy,” she makes a brief appearance as an alarmed strap-hanger in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (S6;E12). She appeared in the fourth episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1962, alongside veteran characters actors Charles Lane and Reta Shaw.

Ken Christy (Ken, Private Detective) later returned to the show to play the dock agent who directs Lucy to the helicopter that lowers her onto the deck of the S.S. Constitution in “Bon Voyage” (S5;E13).

Little Ricky is mentioned, but remains off-screen.    

Upon hearing that the Johnsons are millionaire oil tycoons, Ricky is immediately suspicious:

RICKY: “Look, if he’s a millionaire, what’s he doing living in a dump like this?”
FRED & ETHEL: “Dump!?!”
RICKY: “Yeah, to a millionaire, this is a dump!”
FRED: “I accept that.”

LUCY: “Millionaire. Millionaire. You know, I’ve said it so often, it doesn’t mean much any more.”
ETHEL: “You know something… we might even get to be billionaires.”
LUCY: “Yeah, or even trillionaires.”
ETHEL: “Or even zillionaires.”
LUCY: “Yeah, or even… what comes after zillionaires?”
FRED: “The Income Tax Department.”

With dollar signs in his eyes, Ricky has secretly arranged to purchase a periwinkle blue custom Cadillac whose horn plays “Babalu” that will cost $12,000. In today’s economy, that would be about $116,000!  At the time, a standard new 1954 Cadillac cost about $6,500, so the customization must have been extensive. In season 4 Fred will buy a vintage 1923 Cadillac for the trip to California, which Ricky then trades in for a new two-tone blue and white Pontiac.

Dreaming of riches, Lucy and Ethel compare themselves to Rockefeller and Dupont. The Dupont and Rockefeller families were considered to be two of the richest and most influential families in the world during the late 19th and early 20th century. Rockefeller made his riches in oil, and Dupont in gunpowder.  The above article dates from 1927. 

Ethel tries to convince Fred to invest in Mr. Johnson’s oil stock.

ETHEL: “Fred, this is our one big chance. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to be a dumb bunny, too?”
FRED: “What’s up, Doc?”

Fred is referencing one of the world’s best-known ‘bunnies’ – Bugs Bunny, whose catch phrase was “What’s up, Doc?”  The animated character was created by Warner Brothers in the 1930s and voiced by Mel Blanc. Blanc appeared in two films with Lucille Ball, G.I. Journal (1944) and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). In July 1952, Warner Brothers produced the animated short “Oily Hare” which had a similar plot to this episode of “I Love Lucy.” 

This Elois Jenssen dress makes its third of four appearances on the series.

Lucy also wears this familiar look during the episode.

Lucy spots Ethel in the hallway and asks for a five minute truce to discuss how they can get their money back. In the hallway is a framed print of a painting by Edgar Degas, “L’école de dance” (School of Dance) 1873, oil on canvas. 

We only get to see ¾ of it on screen, but here is what the full painting looks like in color. The Degas painting “The Star” (also a ballet themed print) hangs in the Ricardo corridor leading to the bedroom. 

To catch the Johnsons in what they think is a scam, Lucy is wired to a tape recorder!   

The Crestwood Tape Recorder was a new model that was widely promoted that year. 

Reporting on its appearance on the show, an article in Tape Recording magazine (proving there was a magazine for everything!) included a photo from the episode. 

At the end of the initial airing, Lucy and Desi did a quick promo for their new movie The Long, Long Trailer which went into general release three days later. 

The next time Lucy would get close to oil wells was as Wildcat Jackson in the 1960 Broadway musical Wildcat where she introduced the song “Hey, Look Me Over.”  Vivian Vance attended the opening night!