Lucy and the Old Mansion

S3;E22~
March 1, 1965

Synopsis

When
Viv returns to Danfield, the Countess must find another place to live
– especially after she hears she’s expecting a visit from English
nobility. Lucy and Viv help her renovate a run-down mansion, but
everything that can go wrong, does!

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)

This
is the last time that the main cast is together. This is the final
episode for Candy Moore (after 39 episodes) and Ralph Hart (after 44
episodes). Jimmy Garrett will make 3 more appearances in season 4
and Vivian Vance will return for 7 more episodes through the end of
the series.

Guest
Cast

Ann
Sothern (Rosita “Rosie” Harrigan, the Countess Framboise)
makes the fourth of her seven appearances as a countess down on her
luck. Sothern had appeared in the
first “Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour”
“Lucy
Takes a Cruise to Havana”
(1957) as Susie MacNamara, the same character she played on her show
“Private Secretary” from 1953 to 1957. In return, Lucille Ball
played Lucy Ricardo on her show in 1959. Sothern appeared with Ball
in five films between 1933 and 1943. She was nominated for an Oscar
for her final screen appearance in The
Whales of August
in 1987. She is buried near her home in Sun Valley, Idaho, a place
also dear to Lucy and Desi.

The
Countess will return in season 4 for three additional episodes.

Lester
Matthews (Lord Bertie Van Cleve) was born in England in 1900. He
played Mr. Bartley in three 1959 episodes of Desilu’s “The Ann Southern
Show.” This is his only appearances with Lucille Ball.

Maida
Severn
(Lady Violet Van Cleve) was
born in 1902 in New York City as May Harriett Shatt.
She appeared on a 1963 episode of “Dennis the Menace” with Gale
Gordon. This is her only appearance with Lucille Ball.

“The
Lucy Show” was preempted the previous week (February 22, 1965) for
the CBS special “Cinderella” by Rodgers and Hammerstein starring
Lesley Ann Warren. Lucille Ball’s friend and movie co-star Ginger Rogers played the Queen.

This
was the last episode filmed for the 1964-65 season, and the last
episode filmed featuring Vivian Vance as a regular cast member. Ann
Sothern recalled that there was tension on the set that week due to
Vivian’s departure.
Four episodes starring Vance were already filmed and will fill the
remainder of season 3.

This
is the only time Vivian Vance and Ann Sothern are on screen together
on “The Lucy Show.” The two had appeared in “Lucy Takes a
Cruise to Havana” in 1957 and “The Desilu Revue” in 1959.

The
day after this episode first aired (March 2, 1965) the film
adaptation of The
Sound of Music
premiered in New York City. It featured “Lucy” alumni Norma
Varden (above with Julie Andrews), Leoda Richards (above with Christopher Plummer), Bert Stevens, and
Sam Harris.

The stacks of luggage from “Lucy and the Countess” (S3;E20) have returned. As in that episode, when Ann Sothern appears from behind them, she is greeted with entrance applause from the studio audience. Vivian Vance, absent for several weeks, is also greeted with entrance applause.

A wrong number on the telephone is trying to reach Irving’s Meat Market. Although we have met three different butchers in Danfield, this is the first mention of Irving’s Meat Market.

When Lucy gets the idea to ask Mr. Mooney about the bank’s real estate holdings for Rosie to host the visiting royals, the writers go to great for a joke that infers the (then) profane word “hell”.

LUCY: “Maybe Mr. Mooney will tell us where to go.”
VIV: “Oh, he’ll tell you where to go, alright. I’m afraid it might be a little warm to entertain though.”

When the scene at the bank begins, Mr. Mooney is on the phone to someone he calls “J.D.” – although who that might be is never discovered.

The running gag of Rosie calling Gale Gordon’s character “Mr. Money” instead of “Mr. Mooney” continues here. His wife, Irma, is mentioned. Another running gag is that we will never meet Mrs. Mooney.

The dilapidated mansion that Mr. Mooney offers the Countess is called the Bellingham Estate.

Wanting
to speak French like the Countess, Lucy says to Mr. Mooney
“Mademoiselle
from Armetiers parlez vous.”
These are lyrics from the song “Mademoiselle from Armetiers”
which was particularly popular during World
War I.
On
“I
Love Lucy”
Fred
Mertz
(a
veteran of that war), sang the song in the episodes “Equal Rights”
(ILL S3;E4)
and
“The Passports” (ILL S5;E11).

Despite
Rosie, Lucy and Viv refurbishing the old mansion, when Lord and Lady
Van Cleve arrive, it disintegrates before their eyes:

Lord Van Cleve’s recently painted chair sticks to his bottom
Table
legs collapse under the weight of Lord Van Cleve’s hat
The
handles come off the tea cart
The
door comes off its hinges
The
sofa springs pop through the cushions
Lady
Van Cleve’s chair collapses
The floor starts to sink beneath the Van Cleve’s feet
The wallpaper begins to peel off the walls

Callbacks!

Countess: “How could anyone paper over a window?”
Viv: “If you’re Lucy, it’s easy.”

In
“Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) Lucy and Ethel also
wallpaper over a window…

…and a door! On the radio series “My Favorite Husband” Liz Cooper (Lucille Ball) also wallpapered over a door.

This episode is often confused with “Lucy and the Monsters” (S3;E18) which also has Lucy and Viv (wearing blue) exploring a dilapidated old mansion.

Blooper
Alerts!

Jagged Little Edge! Before
Lord and Lady Van Cleve come into the room through the wallpapered
door, the pre-cut jagged line of the doorway can be seen.

Fruit Football! When the wax fruit falls from the collapsing table, a stray orange rolls across the stage and stays near the sofa for the rest of the scene. During the business with the collapsing and sticky chairs, it gets kicked around like a football!

Look Before You Sink! Just as Gale Gordon enters, Maida Severn (Lady Van Cleve) looks down at the floor to make sure she’s on her mark for the collapsing floor gag that ends the episode.

Papermoon Loves Lucy