“Lucy Gets Into Pictures”

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(S4;E18 ~ February 21, 1955) finds Mrs. Ricardo alone in her hotel room sending postcards to New York while Ricky goes off to work. In a rare blooper, Desi mentions Lillian Appleby rather than Carolyn Appleby. The character was named Lillian in her first appearance but re-named Carolyn thereafter. The dress Lucy wears in this opening scene was later recreated by The Franklin Mint for one of their porcelain dolls. Lucy is seen wearing this dress many times throughout seasons 3 and 4.

Thanks to a chance meeting with former vaudeville partner Jimmy O’Connor, even the Mertz’s are now making movies – a gay ‘90s picture. The last straw for Lucy is when Bobby the Bellboy (Bob Jellison) announces he’s got a line in a picture, too!

To console her, Bobby reminds Lucy that country singer Champ Butler was discovered parking cars and Dorothy Lamour was once a department store elevator operator (both true). When she hears that Lana Turner was discovered sitting on a stool at nearby Schwab’s drugstore, Lucy decides to head down there and find fame!

She doesn’t get discovered, but she does end up eating three chocolate malts, two hot-fudge sundaes, a pineapple soda, and a banana split. Sadly, there is no actual scene set at Schwab’s, we just hear about it upon her return.

Schwab’s Pharmacy was a drug store located on Sunset Boulevard and was a popular hangout for movie actors and industry deal makers from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Schwab’s also had a soda fountain serving ice cream and light meals. Unfortunately, it is just Hollywood legend that actress Lana Turner was discovered at Schwab’s. It was actually at another Sunset Boulevard establishment, the Top Hat Cafe. Schwab’s closed its doors in October 1983 and five years later, it was demolished to make way for a shopping center and movie theater.

Feeling sorry for Lucy, Ricky prevails upon Frank Williams, a director friend of his, to give Lucy a bit part as a show girl who is gunned down during a Ziegfeld-like routine choreographed to “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody.“

The song was written by Irving Berlin in 1919 and became the theme song of Broadway’s Ziegfeld Follies. However, the song was not included in the 1946 MGM film Ziegfeld Follies, which starred Lucille Ball wearing a similar pink-feathered costume. Instead, it ended up in Paramount’s Blue Skies starring Fred Astaire, also in 1946. Lucy would later do an impromptu fashion show to the song on an episode of ”Here’s Lucy“ in 1968.

The director was played by Lou Krugman, who was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1914. After this episode was filmed, Lucy sent him a telegram telling him how impressed she was with his acting. She rewarded him with appearances in “The Great Train Robbery,” “Lucy and Bob Hope,” and “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” as well as three episodes of ”The Lucy Show.“

As Ricky leaves Lucy on the set, he says that he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli, an obvious reference to Vincente Minelli (Liza’s dad), who had just directed Lucy and Desi in 1953’s The Long, Long Trailer for MGM. But the episode is probably best remembered for Lucy’s haphazard navigation of an overly-large headdress. After several unsuccessful takes, the director decides to begin the scene after the show girl is shot and the body is covered and taken away on a stretcher.

Clever Lucy assures that her friends will still know it is her by writing her name on the underside of her shoes! When Mattel made the Barbie doll for this episode, they even remembered to include this funny little detail!

On December 2, 2016, CBS aired a colorized version of the episode, pairing it with “The I Love Lucy Christmas Special,” bringing the total number of colorized episodes to ten.