Lucy and Viv Become Tycoons

S1;E20
~ February 11, 1963

Synopsis

Lucy, Viv and Eddie become business partners making caramel popcorn. Demand
is so high that Lucy and Viv start an assembly line in the living room, until they learn they may be in violation of zoning laws!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Candy Moore
(Chris Carmichael), Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)

Dick
Martin (Harry Connors) does not
appear in this episode.

Guest
Cast

Donald
Briggs
(Eddie Collins) makes
the fifth of his seven appearances as Viv’s on-again off-again
boyfriend.

Eddie reminds us that he’s been in every state of the union. He funds Lucy and Viv’s business. Eddie calls Viv “Tootsie”.

Bern
Hoffman
(Sergeant Robbins) was seen on Broadway in the original cast of Guys
and Dolls.
He is probably best remembered as Earthquake McGoon in both the
Broadway and film versions of Li’l
Abner.
He was an extra in such Hollywood musicals as On
the Town
(1949) and Hello,
Dolly
(1963). In 1960, he appeared in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film The
Facts of Life.

This episode was filmed on January 10, 1963, just a month prior to air. As with many episodes of the series, Gary Morton’s loud guffaw can be heard on the soundtrack.

Viv
says the recipe for her caramel corn was from her grandmother Ragan. In real life Vivian
Vance’s grandmother was named Louisa Mae Ragan.

Chis
mentions her friend Cynthia again. In episode #23 we will finally meet this much-talked-about character. She will be played by Lucie Arnaz (above).

After some debate, Lucy, Viv and Eddie name their caramel corn “Crazy Crunch.” Much to Viv’s dismay, Sgt. Robbins says “It’s not as good as Cracker Jack.” Cracker Jack is a molasses-flavored caramel-coated popcorn and peanut confection first patented in 1896. It is famous for being packaged with an inexpensive novelty item (a ‘prize’) inside the box. Food historians say it may be America’s first ‘junk food.’ The product is still sold today.

Crazy
Crunch is a hit with Danfield!

Marge Green wants 100 boxes to sell
at her sewing circle bazaar.
Dr.
Hoffstedder at the Drug Store has ordered 10 boxes.
Old Man Armstrong
is interested in selling Crazy Crunch in his chain of candy stores
across NY State.
Frances Sculley, Food Editor of the New Rochelle
Bulletin, calls for an interview about the new product.

Child Labor! Lucy and Viv recruit their kids to help out in their make-shift factory! The boys are in “the boxing department”…

…while Chris is in charge of weighing and gift wrapping!

Lucy
and Viv write a Crazy Crunch jingle to the tune of “Old MacDonald”
just in case they sponsor a great big television show.

Buy some Crazy Crunch today, C-R-A-Z-Y.
Make your sweet tooth say ‘hooray,’

C-R-A-Z-Y.
With a crunch crunch, here and munch
munch there.
Here-a crunch, there-a munch, eat a
bunch for lunch or brunch.
Buy some Crazy Crunch today, C-R-A-Z-Y.
It’s full of nuts!

The cast (except Lucille Ball) often did in-character commercials for sponsors of “The Lucy Show.”

Callbacks!

The
plot of this episode is most most directly taken from 1953’s “The
Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13). In it, Lucy Ricardo and
Ethel Mertz go into business selling Lucy’s family recipe for salad dressing, naming
it after her Aunt Martha. They also set up a home kitchen to make the
product and are also inundated with more orders than they can handle.The episode was colorized and aired on April 19, 2019.

“Carmichael’s Caramel Corn! Buy it by the Bagley!”

Lucy
and Viv argue over what to name the popcorn. Lucy wants "Carmichael’s
Caramel Corn” and Viv wants “Vivian’s Caramel Corn.” This is a rehash of the argument in “The
Girls Go Into Business” (ILL S3;E2) where
Lucy wants top billing in the dress shop (“Lucyeth’s”) and
Ethel wants her name to lead (“Ethelu’s”).

Another funny variation on the ‘billing war argument’ was found in “The Diner” (ILL S3;E27), which results in the eatery being divided in half: The Mertz side is named ‘Big Hunk of America’, and the Ricardo side is called ‘A Little Bit of Cuba.’

Lucy
and Ethel’s chef’s hats and uniforms, as well as the assembly line for their confection is
reminiscent of their chaotic employment at Kramer’s Candy Kitchen in
“Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1).

Lucy
wears her apron with the heart-shaped pocket. Lucy Ricardo first
wore it in “The Business Manager” (ILL S4;E1). Although it is mostly covered by her apron, Lucy Carmichael has on a monogrammed shirt. Lucy Ricardo also owned one of these.

Cracker
Jack was frequently the punchline of jokes on “I Love Lucy.”

From
1954’s “Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E8):

ETHEL
(thinking Fred has given her ugly hostess pants): What
I can’t figure out is how they got them to fit in a box of Cracker
Jack.

From
1956’s “The Fox Hunt” (ILL S5;E16):

ANGELA RANDALL: (About
Ricky) He’s
a prize.
LUCY:
Yeah,
well that prize belongs in my box of Cracker Jack!

From
1957’s “Building a Bar-B-Que” (ILL S6;E24):

ETHEL (after Lucy
can’t find her wedding ring): If
I lost my wedding ring we wouldn’t have to find it, we’d just have to
buy
another box of Cracker Jack.

From 1954’s “Bonus Bucks” (ILL S3;E21):

FRED: I found a diamond ring in a box of Cracker Jack.
LUCY: Oh, now, stop! You stop joking.
ETHEL: He’s not joking. Where do you think he got this? (Holds up her ring finger)

Fast Forward!

Lucy Carter also goes into business selling sweet snacks in “Lucy and the Franchise Fiasco” (HL S5;E20) where Lucy, Mary Jane, and Harry go into business to sell frozen custard. Like the popcorn popper, the custard machine runs amok!

Blooper
Alerts!

Too Hot To Handle! While
Viv is on the phone, Lucy takes a hot pot of caramel syrup off the
stove. After she does this, her oven mitt falls off, but she
continues to handle the hot pot with her bare hands.

Clean Up on Aisle 2! When
Lucy is putting the nuts into the mixture, one falls on the floor.
Lucy quickly picks it up and throws it in the sink.

Door is Ajar! When
Eddie rushes in to report that they may be in trouble with the
police, the front door is already ajar and he doesn’t close it when
he comes in. In the next scene, although Lucy opens the door for
Sergeant Robbins and appears to close it after he’s in the living
room, the door is still noticeably ajar while he is searching the
house.

5 Second Rule? When
Lucy and Viv have one last piece of Crazy Crunch for old times just
before the police arrive, Lucy’s piece falls on the floor.

Sitcom Logic Alert! When the policeman comes to the Carmichael home to investigate reports of a caramel corn business being operated on the premises, he should immediately smell the unmistakable aroma of popcorn popping, let alone hear the sound! Perhaps the officer has no olfactory glands? In any case, it is logistically impossible for the amount of popcorn spilling from the closet to have been popped without the constant re-filling of kernels and oil.

Papermoon Loves Lucy