“Lucy Goes to Mexico”

(LDCH S2;E1 ~ October 6, 1958) Directed by Jerry Thorpe. Written by Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, and Everett Freeman.  Filming completed June 16, 1958 at Ren-Mar Studios. 

Synopsis ~ While Ricky is in San Diego doing a U.S.O. show, Lucy and the Mertzes head to Mexico to shop but an unexpected stowaway causes them problems at the border. Maurice Chevalier guest-stars as himself. 

This is the first episode of the second season what would become known in syndication as “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.”  The show (formerly sponsored by Ford), is now part of “The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse”.  

This the first episode without original writers Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. who felt they had run out of ideas. This is Everett Freeman’s only series writing credit, having been a writer on the Lucille Ball films Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) and Ziegfeld Follies (1945). 

If the idea of Frenchman Maurice Chevalier in an episode set Mexico seems odd, it is because the episode “Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (ILL S5;E19) was written with Chevalier in mind.  Although it is not known why Chevalier (a perfect fit for the Paris-set episode) did not do the show, it is likely because fellow Frenchman Charles Boyer was then appearing on CBS’s “Four Star Playhouse” which was in dire need of cross-promotion.  Lucy and Desi kept Chevalier in mind and wrote him into this Tijuana adventure. 

Unusually, some of the scenes in the episode utilize a laugh track while others conspicuously do not. 

Westinghouse used the program to announce their ‘Westinghouse Desi and Lucy Fiesta of Values’ promotion with a 3-minute commercial featuring Betty Furness and the series cast. Although Lucy and Desi are referred to by their real names, Vivian Vance and William Frawley are still called Fred and Ethel. Not coincidentally, during the episode Ricky calls the finale of his show “the fiesta number.”  Similar promotions were also structured around future Westinghouse / Lucy-Desi programs. 

While this episode was being filmed, an un-aired Westinghouse corporate film (informally titled “Lucy Buys Westinghouse”) was made where Mrs. Lucy Arnaz, (the only time she is ever called by her married name on television) wants to outfit her dressing room with Westinghouse products. Vivian Vance and William Frawley portray themselves, although like Lucy, their characters behave more like their fictional counterparts than the actors themselves. The half hour film includes footage of “Lucy Goes to Mexico” being filmed as well as a helicopter tour of the newly-renamed (former RKO) Desilu Studios. 

In the above studio-shot street scene from “Lucy Buys Westinghouse” (later colorized for video) that also appears in “Lucy Goes To Mexico”, a street vendor tries to get his ‘zonkey’ to move because it is holding up traffic. In Tijuana zonkeys are donkeys painted with fake zebra stripes, so that tourists will pay to appear in souvenir photos with them. The practice began in the mid-1930s but by 2003 there were only 3 zonkeys on the streets of Tijuana due to the decline in tourism. The city has a professional basketball team whose name is inspired by the zonkey as a mascot: the Tijuana Zonkeys.

The night this episode premiered (October 6, 1958) marked the debut of a new Desilu sitcom called “The Ann Sothern Show” (1958-61), a reformatted version of Sothern’s “Private Secretary”. Lucille Ball will play Lucy Ricardo on the season 2 premiere a year later.  That night also saw a new episode of Desilu’s “The Danny Thomas Show” that starred Lucy favorites Bob Hope and Mary Wickes. Both Sothern and Thomas appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” playing their TV characters in cross-over episodes. 

There was a massive press presence for the second season premiere, including an article in Life Magazine the day the episode first aired: “The TV Production Empire of Lucy and Desi.” 

The article inside is titled “$30 Million Desilu Gamble” and dealt with their purchase of RKO Studios. 

The episode opens at San Diego’s iconic Hotel del Coronado. When it first opened in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. It is still the second largest wooden structure in the United States and has landmark status. It has been featured in at least a dozen films, starting with Coronado (1935) starring Andy Devine and Jack Haley, bt perhaps most memorably in Some Like It Hot, which premiered just a few months after this episode first aired. It is still in business today.

Maurice Chevalier was born in 1888 (the same year the Coronado opened) in Paris, France. He came to Hollywood in the 1920s but returned to France during World War II. 

Lucy crushes Maurice Chevalier’s hat. She also crushed Uncle Alberto’s straw hat in "The Ricardo’s Visit Cuba” (ILL S6;E9). 

The same year this episode was filmed Chevalier was seen in the film musical Gigi, which resulted in him getting a special Oscar in 1959 for his commitment to entertainment. Although an episode set in Mexico seems unlikely timing for Chevalier to guest star, Gigi was an MGM film, and Lucy and Desi had done two films for the studio, The Long Long Trailer (1953) and Forever, Darling (1956). Ricky Ricardo was employed by MGM while in Hollywood.

In his room at the Coronado, Chevalier rehearses “Something’s Gotta Give.” The song was written by Johnny Mercer for the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, who coincidentally co-starred with Chevalier in Gigi. Daddy Long Legs also featured Kathryn Card, who played Mrs. McGillicuddy (Lucy’s mother) on “I Love Lucy.” She will be seen (briefly) in the penultimate “Comedy Hour” in late 1959.

As he tries to rehearse, Ricky and Lucy are loudly arguing in the room next door, and Fred and Ethel in the room on the other side! 

Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize the Edgar Degas painting “The Star” in Chevalier’s hotel room as the same one that hangs in the Ricardo’s hallway back in New York City. It also turned up in the Mertzes hotel room in Hollywood. Prints of famous works of art are frequently used to decorate hotel rooms.

Lucy threatens to horn in on Ricky’s act by imitating Chevalier singing “Louise.” The song was first sung by Chevalier in the 1929 film Innocents of Paris. On “I Love Lucy” it was sung by the Ricardos and the Mertzes during “The French Revue” (ILL S3;E7). In that episode Ricky also sang Chevalier’s signature song “Valentine.” Later on, in the hotel showroom, we see a dress rehearsal that features three variations on “Valentine” – the traditional French version starring Chevalier; a Latin-themed version led by Ricky; and a youthful circus-themed version with a drum solo by Little Ricky.

After the rehearsal, Desilu regular Louis Nicoletti pages Ricky to take a phone call from Lucy, who has been detained at the border. 

The car that Lucy and the Mertzes drive over the border to go shopping is a white 1958 Buick Century convertible. The trunk is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate a small Mexican boy or an aging French singer! The episode also utilizes a 1958 Buick Limited Riviera 750.

Chevalier asks Lucy to bring back some French perfume just as Mrs. Trumbull did when Lucy went to Paris (”My Sin”). Lucy also had trouble crossing the border when she traveled from Italy to France in “Lucy’s Bicycle Trip” (ILL S5;E24).

A colorful visit south of the border would have benefited greatly by being seen in color. 

Charles Lane (Customs Officer) makes his second “Comedy Hour” appearance after playing the Claims Officer in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” in season one. He did seven films with Lucille Ball and made four memorable appearances on “I Love Lucy.” He would go on to play the recurring role of Mr. Barnsdahl on the first season of "The Lucy Show." 

Frank Nelson (another Desilu regular) also played a Customs Officer when the gang returned from Europe in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26). 

A shop owner (Vitto Scotti) tells his salesman that the pastimes of America are “baseball, basketball and bargaining.” Meanwhile, Lucy tells Ethel that the national pastimes of Mexico are “jai-alai, horse racing and haggling.”  

Vito Scotti was born in Italy, which he betrays by the constant use of his hands during his brief scene. After this episode he had a small role in Lucy’s film The Facts of Life (1960) and did two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” He is probably best remembered for his recurring role as Captain Fomento on "The Flying Nun” (1967-69).

Anticipating going to jail for smuggling, Fred tells a shopkeeper to mail his change care of Devil’s Island, a notorious remote penal colony located in French Guiana. It was closed in 1953, nearly five years before this episode was filmed. It is also mentioned in “Paris at Last!” (ILL S5;E18).

To avoid being arrested, Ricky informs the Customs Officer that he was in the US Army. He also mentions that he received a Good Conduct medal. The time in which Ricky served in the military is unknown, but it’s most likely during WWII or at the very beginning of the Korean War.

Desi Arnaz enlisted in the US Army for active duty, but was relegated to stateside service in the USO.  

After finding Alfredo and Chevalier hidden in the trunk of their cars, the Customs Officer asks Ricky if he has Brigitte Bardot in his trunk.  Fred replies “We should be so lucky.”  Brigitte Bardot was a French-born actress and one of the best known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remains a major pop culture icon. While this episode was being filmed, Bardot and Maurice Chevalier appeared together on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Trying to get released in time for the show on the aircraft carrier, Ethel suggest contacting the Red Cross and Lucy suggests calling her mother!  Mrs. McGillicuddy (Kathryn Card) will only make one appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in the penultimate episode. 

Technically, the episode is comprised of studio filming, second unit footage with actor doubles, and stock footage (of the Hotel del Coronado and bullfighting arena). The main cast never traveled to Mexico or San Diego.  

Although actual animals were used, the charging bull was accomplished by inter-cutting stock footage of an actual bullfight with bull’s horns mounted on the front of the camera dolly. 

The mechanical bull malfunctioned and jumped off the tracks while Lucy was on it. She credits director Jerry Thorpe with "saving her life.” She previously credited him with the same thing after a mishap in “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (S1;E5).  

During their stay in Hollywood, Lucy and Ricky did an act about a bullfight in “Bullfight Dance” (ILL S4;E22) in which Lucy was a rather feminine bull. In the “I Love Lucy Pilot” Desi Arnaz wore a a pajama top with a snorting bull on the back! 

The bullfighting ring seen in the second unit footage is actually El Toreo de Tijuana. It first opened in 1938 but the year before the episode was filmed it was rebuilt as a steel structure with a capacity for 14,000 spectators. It was torn down in 2007, just one year from earning landmark status.

Ten year-old Alan Roberts (nee Costello) played Alfredo, the enterprising Mexican boy who wants nothing more than to see a great ‘flat top’ (air craft carrier). Two weeks after this episode aired, he appeared on “Leave it to Beaver” as a Spanish boy who is befriends by the Beaver. His last screen credit was in 1965 and he died in 2008 at the age of 59.

Dozens of extras were required for this episode, mostly to play Tijuana townspeople and bullfight spectators: 

• Abdullah Abbas was also a guest at the “Country Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25) that introduced Barbara Eden. 
• Audrey Betz played the large woman Lucy accidentally sits on in the bus during “The Tour” (S4;E30). 
• Eumenio Blanco was born in Spain in 1891. This is his only “Lucy” credit.
• Mexican-born actors in the cast are Ray Beltram, Tony Roux and Joe Dominguez, who first appeared with Lucille Ball in 1939’s Panama Lady. 
• Gene Coogan was seen with Lucy and Desi in The Long, Long Trailer (1953) but also was in such classics as Citizen Kane (1941), True Grit (1969) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950). 
• Paul Cristo was a Greek-born actor who was in the audience of The Most Happy Fella in “Lucy’s Night in Town” (ILL S6;E22) and as one of the Cubans in the first “Comedy Hour” “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana.” He made two appearances on "The Lucy Show” in 1962 and was in Critic’s Choice with Lucille in 1963. 
• Herschel Graham first appeared with Lucille Ball in Lured (1947) and went on to appear in the background of two episodes of “I Love Lucy” and two of “The Lucy Show”.  He was also in The Facts of Life (1960). 
• Bert Madrid was born in Texas, despite his surname. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 
• David O. McCall played a Mexican townsperson again for Desilu in a 1959 episode of “The Untouchables.” 
• Addison Richards (below photo, as the American Consul) had done four films with Lucille Ball between 1939 and 1960. He was also the artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse.
• Tony Urchel was a background player from 1937 to 1968.

At the end of the episode Chevalier and Ricky entertain aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown. 

The USS Yorktown is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the US Navy. She is named after the Battle of Yorktown of the American Revolutionary War, and is the fourth Navy ship to bear the name. The Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943 and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation. Late in her career, she served as a recovery ship for the Apollo 8 space mission and was used in the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora! On November 1, 1958 (just three weeks after this episode was first aired) she departed San Diego to return to the western Pacific. The Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and in 1975 became a museum ship berthed at Patriot’s Point, South Carolina. She is a National Historic Landmark.

The Admiral of the Yorktown says he’s been leery of actors ever since he saw The Caine Mutiny. The 1954 film starred "I Love Lucy” and “Comedy Hour” performers Fred MacMurray (“Lucy Hunts Uranium”), Claude Akins (“Desert Island” ILL S6;E8), and Van Johnson (“The Dancing Star” ILL S4;E27). The stage play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial was mentioned by Miss Hanna (Ellen Corby) in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3) in 1956.

The performance on the aircraft carrier begins with Chevalier singing "Mimi” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, which he first sang to Jeanette MacDonald in the 1932 film Love Me Tonight. Declaring his affection for the United States, he sings a French-infused version of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” that inserts mentions of Sophie Tucker and Marilyn Monroe, yet another mention of the blonde bombshell on the series. In 1977, Lucille Ball played Sophie Tucker on a Bob Hope special.

The Yorktown is flying a 48-star flag. Alaska officially became a state three months after this episode first aired, a fact that would be celebrated with the “Comedy Hour” episode “Lucy Goes to Alaska” in February 1959. 

The episode ends with Lucy handcuffed to a sturdy sailor for safe-keeping. Viewers previously saw Lucy manacled in “The Handcuffs” (ILL S2;E4).

FAST FORWARD! 

This episode was rerun on March 4, 1960, two days after the filming of the final episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”.  

In 1970, Lucy Carter and Viv Jones also visited Tijuana, Mexico on “Here’s Lucy.” The episodes have some scenarios in common, especially their problems shopping and crossing the border. Finally, Mexico is in color!

The bull was on the other horn when Lucille Ball appeared on the game show “Body Language” in 1984 with exercise guru Richard Simmons as her partner.

On August 6, 2013 (Lucy’s birthday) the dress worn by Lucille Ball in this episode was sold at auction for $168,000!