“The Handcuffs”

(S2;E4 ~ October 6, 1952)  Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by

Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed May 16, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 67.7/64

Synopsis ~ When Lucy feels Ricky is neglecting her for work, she handcuffs herself to him using Fred’s magic act handcuffs. Unfortunately, they are not trick handcuffs – but genuine Civil War manacles given to Fred at a 1919 police benefit. Naturally, Fred doesn’t have the key!

This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show “My Favorite Husband" titled “Liz and George Are Handcuffed” (#69), broadcast December 30, 1949.

This was one of five episodes filmed in May 1952 and held for broadcast the following season. Although it was the 37th episode filmed, it was aired 39th. 

Some of the wrap-around footage for the 1953 “I Love Lucy” feature film was shot the same evening as this show, although this episode itself was not part of the unreleased film.  The above photo of Desi welcoming the audience is in front of the Ricardo living room, the TV studio dressing room, and the Tropicana set.  

HOCUS! POCUS! DOMINOCUS!

The episode opens with doing a magic act for a bored Lucy, Ricky and Ethel. His first feat is to make a pack of cigarettes ‘re-appear’.  Naturally, William Frawley holds a pack of Philip Morris Cigarettes, the show’s sponsor.  

During Fred’s stale magic act, Ethel jokingly calls Fred “Houdini”. Harry Houdini (nee Erick Weisz, 1874-1926) was one of the world’s most renowned magicians, illusionists, and escape artists. One of his best-known escapes was from iron shackles. 

Judging by the laughter on the soundtrack, there were quite a few young people in the studio audience that night. 

LUCY: “But Ricky, tonight is Monday. You were going to take me to a movie and dinner.”

Once again the action is set on a Monday night, which was quickly becoming known as “I Love Lucy” night in America. All Lucille Ball’s sitcoms would air on Monday nights. In this episode, we find out Ricky’s night off is on Mondays.

Lucy says that the last movie she was the one with the guy named Ben who won a chariot race. Lucy is referring to Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, a 1925 silent film starring Ramon Navarro in the title role. Lucille Ball’s good friend Carole Lombard was in the film as an uncredited extra. The story was re-made in 1959 starring Charleton Heston as Ben Hur. 

To mark the passage of time, the series makes use of the ‘fast forward clock’ trope frequently seen in movies of the period. In this case, the hands quickly advance from 5:00pm to 8:15pm. The Toleware Wall Clock can be seen over the mantel in the Ricardo’s living room for most of the early episodes. In a rare color photo (inset above) we see that the octagonal clock was a deep red color with hand painted gold floral decorations.

Tole clocks are usually made of painted tin.

After handcuffing Ricky while he sleeps on the sofa, Lucy runs her fingers over his lips to wake him.  Somewhat inexplicably, Ricky groggily stirs and says “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” as if calling to a pet cat!  Is this a dream?  If so, why is he looking around for the cat?  Very odd behavior!  

Fred’s handcuffs turn out not to be trick handcuffs, but genuine Civil War handcuffs given to him when he did a police benefit in 1919. The American Civil War was fought from 1861-1865 making the cuffs around 90 years old at the time of the episode. Fred never had a key to unlock them. 

Locksmith Mr. Walters recognizes Ricky because he and his wife Abigail went to the “Tipicanny Nightclub” on their 40th wedding anniversary to hear him sing that “Bobolink” number. 

Mr. Walters is played by Will Wright, who will return to the series to play Bent Fork sheriff (and father of Teensy and Weensy) in “Tennessee Bound” (S4;E14). In 1949 he appeared with Lucille Ball in the film Miss Grant Takes Richmond.  He is not related to Wil Wright’s, Lucille Ball’s favorite place to get ice cream. 

Walters says that before becoming a locksmith he had show-business aspirations and once won an amateur dance contest.  

WALTERS: “My friends all said I’d make another Freddy Astaire.” 

Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was one of Hollywood’s most admired performers, and known for his singing and dancing, especially with Lucille’s former movie co-star Ginger Rogers. From 1935 to 1945, Astaire and Ball did four films together. Astaire was previously mentioned in the dance-themed episode “The Adagio” during season one. Will Wright had an uncredited role in Astaire’s 1946 film Blue Skies.

When Walters doesn’t have the right key, he says he has to “dash on home” to get it. Someone in the studio audience can be heard saying the word “Dash!” in disbelief that a codger like Walters could dash anywhere! 

Walters lives in Yonkers, and claims he can get there and back in two hours – although he doesn’t specify if that is by cab, subway, bus, or foot. Ironically, the 13 mile trip actually takes him five hours because he locked himself out of his house!

In “The Handcuffs” the real showcase for Lucy’s knack for physical comedy is the bedroom scene where Lucy and Ricky discover it will be impossible to undress or sleep on their accustomed sides of the bed! This is where Lucille Ball’s dedication to rehearsal really pays off. Although it was meticulously planned, the intricate series of maneuvers looks completely spontaneous, yet remains blissfully funny.

Writers Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh first tried out the handcuff routine and then gave it to director Marc Daniels who worked out the routines with his wife (and “I Love Lucy” camera coordinator), Emily, before instructing Lucille and Desi.

When Ricky picks up Lucy to plop her face down on her side of the bed, he mutters “Eleven years of marriage, twenty-two pounds”!   A year earlier, in “The Diet” (S1;E3, above), Lucy says that she was 100 pounds when she got married but is now 132, a gain of 22 pounds. It is unusual for the writers to keep track of such minutiae, but it appears that Lucy Ricardo has maintained that 132 pound weight for a full year! 

To assure that the stars weren’t injured by the metal handcuffs, Lucy and Desi both have Ace bandages wrapped around their wrists.

Oops! When Lucy and Ricky attempt to undress while handcuffed together, Ricky takes off his tie in the bedroom. But when they walk out into the living room, his tie is back around his neck.

Ricky is late for his appearance on the TV show “Your Favorite Celebrity on TV ‘Guest Stars’.” Lucy’s plan is for her to stick her free arm through the show curtain while he sings, disguising fact that one arm is shackled to his wife!

Oops! One of the doors from the Ricardos’ apartment building is visible behind Ricky’s agent in the hallway of what is supposed to be the television studio.

In this episode Jerry the Agent is not played by Jerry Hausner (as he usually is) but by Paul Dubov. Two months later, Hausner returned to the role that he originated in the pilot. Dubov later played Crandall, Ernie Kovacs’ chauffeur, in “Lucy Meets the Mustache,” the very final episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” in 1960. 

Here we learn that Jerry has “a wife and two kids” and that he gets the standard 10% of whatever Ricky makes. 

The voice of the stage manager is uncredited, but is likely one of the “I Love Lucy” creative staff. 

Ricky is interviewed and introduced by Veola Vonn. In real-life Vonn was married to Frank Nelson (inset), who played Freddy Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, among others. 

Lucy’s flamboyant arm threatens to upstage Ricky’s vocal rendition of “In Santiago, Chile (’Tain’t Chilly at All) by Albert Games and Jimmy Carroll. The song was recorded in 1951 by Xavier Cugat on Columbia Records, (not surprisingly) a division of CBS. 

Ricky says he has also recently recorded versions of “Similau” and “(You Can in) Yucatan.” Desi Arnaz recorded both songs in 1952. 

The background music for Ricky’s curtain call is a song entitled “A Romantic Guy, I” which later became the theme for “The Bob Cummings Show” (1955-59). 

Two scenes were cut from the final script; one where Ricky danced with the TV show hostess thus revealing Lucy hiding behind; and another where Lucy is forced to take Ricky to the beauty parlor because they are handcuffed.

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FAST FORWARD – CUFF LINKS! 

This episode was re-run at the end of season 4, introduced by announcer Roy Rowan standing in front of the MGM office set used in “Ricky Needs an Agent” (S4;E29). At the end of the repeated show, Lucy and Desi (as themselves), standing in the Hollywood hotel room set, tell the TV audience they are going on vacation for the summer (“13 weeks, to be exact” Lucille says) and reminds them to tune in to the new Desilu show “Those Whiting Girls” starring Margaret Whiting and her sister Barbara, which filled their time slot during the summer of 1955.

The arm through the curtain gag was so successful that Lucy used it in each of her subsequent sitcoms: on “The Lucy Show” episode “Lucy the Music Lover,” and (perhaps most famously) on the “Here’s Lucy” episode “Lucy Meets the Burtons,” where she gets Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond ring stuck on her finger just prior to its reveal to the press.

The CBS / Desilu series “December Bride” also did an episode titled “The Handcuffs” which also involved two of the series regulars manacled together and not being able to shed the shackles. The locksmith was played by Irving Bacon, who would play Ethel’s father, Will Potter, in 1955.

The gag of being handcuffed together was used in “The Honeymooners” episode “Unconventional Behavior” (S1;E33) in 1956.  Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) are cuffed together. Like Lucy and Ricky, they also have trouble with the sleeping arrangements – on a train! 

In 1966, “Green
Acres” did an episode entitled “The
Deputy” (S1;E24) in which Oliver (Eddie Albert) is appointed temporary deputy of Hooterville and takes the opportunity to show Lisa (Eva Gabor) how handcuffs work.  Of course, he has no idea where the key is! 

The premise was also used on the “Handcuffed” (S4;E18), a 1980 episode of “Three’s Company.” This sitcom was admired by Lucille Ball, who hosted a one hour retrospective special about the series in 1982.  John Ritter (Jack Tripper) guest-starred as himself on a 1987 “Life With Lucy.” 

On a 1989 episode of “Hey Dude” titled “Ted and Brad Get Handcuffed” (S1;E10), the teens also contend with sleeping while shackled together! 

Miley (Cyrus) and Lilly (Emily Osment) had to go through the episode in handcuffs in the 2007 “Hannah Montana” episode “Cuffs Will Keep Us Together”(S2;E2).