S2;E26 ~ March 30, 1964
Synopsis
When
one of the dads can’t go on the Cub Scout camping trip, Lucy and Viv
step in. Unfortunately, they lose the canoe, topple the tee-pee, and
get lost in the wilderness as well!
Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart
(Sherman Bagley)
Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode.
Guest
Cast
Barry
Livingston (Arnold
Mooney, left) is
probably best remembered as Ernie, the adopted son on “My Three
Sons.” His first appearance on that series was just one week after
he first played Arnold Mooney in “Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault”
(S2;E4). Unlike most child stars of the era, Livingston is still
acting today.
Arnold’s
mother is named Irma. He has two brothers (Bob and Ted Jr.) and an
older sister who lives in Trenton, New Jersey.
Desi
Arnaz Jr.
(Billy Simmons, center) is the real-life son of Lucille Ball. His 1953 birth was
worked into the plot of “I Love Lucy” although Desi Jr. never
played the role of Little Ricky Ricardo. He did, however, appear on
the final half-hour episode of the series “The
Ricardos Dedicate a Statue” (ILL S6;E27)
in
a crowd scene. His first series appearance was as one of the pee-wee
football players in “Lucy
is a Referee (S1;E3).
Here he plays Billy Simmons for the last time, although he will
return in the background of the season four opener. Desi Jr. also
appeared with his mother and sister on “Here’s Lucy.”
Billy
is the son of Audrey and Harvey Simmons.
A
dozen other uncredited young boys play the cub scout troupe.
This episode was filmed in color but first aired in black and white. CBS aired repeats for the next two Mondays before airing the final two episodes of the season.
The morning this episode originally aired (March 30, 1964), the game show “Jeopardy” premiered with Art Fleming as host. The quiz show, now airing evenings, is still on the air today.
The
Cub Scouts have to perform a number of Indian lore activities to win
tickets to the World’s Fair. The New
York World’s Fair was
held in Flushing Meadow, Queens, New York, opening on April 22, 1964,
just three weeks after this episode first aired. It closed on October
17, 1965, although it was not open during the winter months of
1964/65. A
12-story-high, stainless-steel model of the earth called the
Unisphere
is all that remains on the site today. The Boy Scouts of America
presented “The Wonderful World of Scouting” at the Fair.
Monday, August 31, 1964 was “Lucy Day” at the World’s Fair!
The
boys are members of Pack 57, Den 8. Lucy and Viv are their Den
Mothers. This was established in “Lucy Visits the White House”
(S1;E25). Desi Arnaz Jr. (Billy Simmons) is also in that episode, although Barry Livingston (Arnold Mooney) is not.
According
to his wife, Margaret, Joe Davis could come on the trip because he
had to have his appendix out. Lucy and Viv come in his place.
Writer Madelyn Martin’s first husband was named Davis, so it is
possible these names refer to members of her extended family.
Lucy
calls Mr. Mooney “sagamore” which she says is Indian for “leader
of the clan.” Lucy later shouts “Akela!” This is the scouting
term for the den leader. Akela
is
a symbol of wisdom, authority, and leadership.
The
founder of the Scouting movement chose Rudyard
Kipling’s
The
Jungle Book
(1894)
as
a source of symbolism
and
allegorical framework for the cub scouts.
When
dressed in his ‘Indian’ regalia, Mooney compares himself to a cigar
store Indian. In the 18th and 19th centuries, life-size wooden representations of Native American chiefs
were used as advertising symbols for tobacconists, often erected just
outside the door for easy identification. The Native Americans are
credited with the first use of tobacco products for smoking. Lucy
says Mr. Mooney could have modeled for the nickel. The Indian Head
Nickel coin was currency for five cents from 1913 to 1938. The
reverse side featured an American Buffalo. It was preceded by the
Liberty Head nickel and succeeded by the Jefferson Nickle still in
circulation today.
Each
time Lucy, Viv and Mr. Mooney appear in their ‘Indian’ costumes, the
studio audience greets them with a round of applause.
Mr.
Mooney demonstrates for the boys the Indian Stride, walking heel to
toe. In reality, Native Americans perfected the technique of walking
toe to heel to pursue their prey stealthily without excessive noise. They also used this skill for working on high rise skyscrapers in order to keep their footing on narrow beams.
Mr.
Mooney compares his tracking skills to that of Daniel Boone. After
following him around in circles, Lucy says they would have been
better off with Pat Boone! Daniel
Boone
(1734-1820) was
an American
pioneer,
explorer,
and frontiersman, whose
exploits
made him one of the first folk
heroes
of
the United States.
He was immortalized in books, films, radio, and television. Six
months after this episode aired, the TV series “Daniel Boone”
starring Fess Parker began airing on NBC. Daniel Boone was also mentioned on “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4).
Pat Boone
is
a successful pop singer during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold
over 45 million records, had 38 top-40 hits, and appeared in more
than 12 Hollywood films. Pat Boone was also mentioned in “Country Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25) and “Harrison Carter, Male Nurse” (HL S5;E3).
Callbacks!
The outfit and wig that Lucy wears in this episode is the same one
she wore on “The
Indian Show”
(ILL S2;E24).
When Lucy, Viv and Mr. Mooney are lost, hungry, and feeling that the end may be near, the episode feels very much like “Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (ILL S5;E21) where they go through pretty much the same range of emotions while trapped in a mountain cabin after an avalanche.
This
is the second time Lucy Carmichael has had to be both mother and
father to Jerry. The first time was when she became referee of his
football team in “Lucy is a Referee” (S1;E3).
This
is the third episode to be centered on the activities of Jerry and
Sherman’s cub scout troupe. The first was “Lucy Visits the White
House” (S1;E25) and the second was “Ethel Merman and the Boy
Scout Show” (S2;E19).
Blooper Alerts!
Stool Tosser! While the scouts are all giving Mr. Mooney the ‘grand howl’, Lucille Ball suddenly feels a camp stool is in her way so she picks it up and tosses it aside without much regard for where it lands!
Sitcom Logic Alert! When Mr. Mooney comes up with the idea to draw straws to determine who gets to take the canoe back to camp and who stays behind, Viv is first to pick. She immediately exclaims “I got a long one!” without seeing the size of the other two straws! How does she know the one she is holding is a long one?
WTF Happened? Lucy doesn’t trust that Viv and Mr. Mooney will return for her so she jumps in the water, capsizing the canoe – end of episode! We never discover how they were rescued. From the time Lucy leaves to find the canoe, the episode is basically about three adults getting lost – not once, but twice – while a dozen scouts fend for themselves unbothered. Thirteen minutes of screen time is dedicated to Lucy, Viv, and Mr. Mooney walking in circles and splashing around in water!
Fast Forward!
The plot of “Lucy and the Scout Trip” was pretty much recycled eight months later (minus the scouting theme) for “Lucy Becomes a Father” (S3;E9) in which Lucy takes the place of Jerry’s dead dad on a father / son camping trip. While Gale Gordon comes along as Mr. Mooney, there is no sign of Barry Livingston who played his son Arnold. In November 1964 Livingston had already joined the cast of “My Three Sons”. If one of the five uncredited boys playing the sons is supposed to be Arnold (Mr. Mooney’s other two sons Ted and Bob would have been older) he is never identified as such.
Lucy Carter dons Native American regalia (this time in her favorite color, blue), in “Lucy, The Rain Goddess” (HL S4;E15). She even got her face on a totem pole!
Lucy, Kim and Craig Carter all dressed to blend in with the Navajo Tribe, when they filmed “Lucy and the Indian Chief” (HL S2;E3) on location in Arizona in 1969, the first television sitcom to film on Native American land.
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