LUCY AND THE GREAT AIRPORT CHASE

S1;E18
~ February 3, 1969

Directed
by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Tommy Thompson

Synopsis

When
Harry takes a business trip to San Francisco, Lucy and the kids bring
him to the airport – only to get embroiled in a spy caper that
leads to a frantic chase all over LAX!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter), Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter)

Guest
Cast

Sid
Haig
(Enemy Agent Kurt, above right) was first employed by Desilu in a 1962 episode of
“The Untouchables.” He was buried beneath bandages as the Mummy
in “Lucy and the Monsters” (TLS S3;E18). Haig appeared in the
horror re-boots Night
of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
and Halloween
(2007).

Larry
Duran
(Enemy Agent Yang, above left) was a stunt man and actor whose career began in
1952. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Neither Enemy Agent is ever addressed by name.

Walter
Janovitz
(Dr. Maurice) is probably best known as Oscar Schnitzer on 13
episodes of “Hogan’s Heros” from 1965 to 1970. This is his only
appearance with Lucille Ball.

The
Government Agent calls him ‘The Professor,’ but he is never addressed
as Dr. Maurice in the dialogue.

Morgan
Jones (Government
Agent Bill, above right) makes the first of his two appearances on “Here’s
Lucy.”

The
character is never addressed by name.

Albert
Reed
(Paramedic, above left) was coincidentally seen in the feature film Airport
the year after this episode first aired.

The
final credits list the character as ‘Attendant’.

The Airport
Commuters (all uncredited):

Robert
Buckingham had been seen with Lucille Ball in Critic’s
Choice
(1963). This is his second appearance on the
series.
Robert
Hitchcock appeared on many TV series’ including on “Bewitched”
and ”That Girl.” He was seen in “Lucy and Phil Harris” (TLS
S6;E20) at the piano bar. This is the first of his four episodes of
“Here’s Lucy.”
Monty
O’Grady
was first seen with Lucille Ball in The
Long, Long Trailer (1953)
and played a passenger on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).
He was a traveler at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”(1959).
He made more than a dozen appearances on “The Lucy Show” and a
half dozen more on “Here’s Lucy.”
Murray
Pollack
was seen as one of the party guest in “Country
Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25),
the episode that introduced Barbara Eden. Coincidentally, he later
appeared on half a dozen episodes of “I Dream of Jeannie.” Like
Monty O’Grady, he was at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan” (1959).
He was seen in the 1963 movie Critic’s
Choice with
Lucille Ball. He made two appearances on “The Lucy Show.” This is
the second of his three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Ervin
Richardson
made four uncredited appearances on “The Lucy Show.” This is the
first of his two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Judith
Woodbury
made eight (mostly) uncredited appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
This is her only episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Other
airport commuters and staff are played by uncredited extras and
actual airport patrons and employees.

This
is the first time “Here’s Lucy” ventures outside the studio to
shoot on location. They film at Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX). The episode is filmed with one camera and no studio audience,
the only one of the season. The episode’s success, however, led to
more location shoots in subsequent seasons.

The episode’s location footage was shot during the end of July / beginning of August 1968.

This
episode was originally written for the final season of “The Lucy
Show.” This is producer Tommy Thompson’s only credit as a
screenwriter. Thompson was a producer on both “The Lucy Show”
and “Here’s Lucy.” Thompson came up with the idea for the
episode (which is more action driven than dialogue) while waiting to
catch a flight at LAX.

A Douglas
DC-8-52 of United
Airlines is on
the right and Douglas DC-8-54AF Jet Trader of United
Airlines Jet Freighter is in
the background.

On
the ground, the episode also features lots of period vehicles. A 1968 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon is on the left and a 1968 Chrysler Newport is on the right.

The
famed LAX sky restaurant where Thompson got the idea for this episode
and much of the action is set, was designed by Paul R. Williams,
who also designed the Arnaz family home in Palm Springs.

Harry
calls the chase a James
Bond
movie. This is not the first time the series has referenced the Ian
Fleming film character. The sixth Bond film, On
Her Majesty’s Secret Service,
opened in 1969.

Harry
calls Lucy a Calamity Jane. Martha
Jane Canary (1852-1903),
better known as Calamity
Jane,
was an American frontierswoman and professional scout known
for her claims of being an acquaintance of Wild
Bill Hickok and
fighting against Indians.

The
tone of this episode is decidedly different from the rest of “Here’s
Lucy.” From the surreal opening dialogue to the sped-up chase
sequences and honky-tonk music, this feels more like an episode of
“Lucy Meets Benny Hill.” One even wonders if the events
actually took place or were imagined or dreamed by Lucy Carter.

“The
Lucy Show” used stock footage of the exterior Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX) in “Lucy
Flies to London” (TLS S5;E6).

Lucy characters were previously seen in airports in “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13), where Lucy hired a helicopter at New York International Airport, informally called Idelwild and now known as Kennedy airport….

“Lucy Goes to Alaska” (LDCH 1959), at a tiny Nome airport…

“The Ricardos Go To Japan” (LDCH 1959)…

“Lucy Flies to London” (TLS S5;E6)….

“Lucy in London” (1966) filmed on location at Heathrow…

“Viv Visits Lucy” (TLS S5;E15)…

and “Little Old Lucy” (TLS S6;E7).

Like
“Lucy’s Impossible Mission” (S1;E6) this episode was a satire on
popular spy shows of the time such as “I Spy” (1965-68) and “Get
Smart” (1965-70).

“I
Love Lucy” was the very first television show to use a rear
projection process shot when the Ricardos and the Mertzes are driving
over the George Washington Bridge in “California, Here We Come!”
(ILL S4;E12).

United
Airlines seems to be the only airline or carrier logo shown in the
footage. When “Lucy
Goes to Alaska” (LDCH 1959) and “The
Ricardos Go To Japan” (LDCH 1959) they
also fly United Airlines, which is still in business today.

Lucy’s
dialogue is all over-dubbed in opening scene. It almost doesn’t even
sound like Lucille Ball speaking! Due to the nature of filming on
location, much of the dialogue was added back in later during a sound
recording process called Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR).

The Daily Chronicle was also used as a newspaper prop in “Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15). The close-up of the newspaper shows that it lacks something every newspaper has: the date!

The
stock footage of the elevated loader moving into place is very grainy
and over-exposed. It doesn’t match the episode’s film stock.

During
the rear projection chase scenes in the yellow vehicles, some studio
cables are visible in the upper left of the frame.

Before green screen technology, blue screens were used. Note the wires on the upper left are in the original shot as well.

These scenes were shot in the studio on September 26, 1968.

In the raw footage on the “Here’s Lucy” DVD extras, the face of Lucy’s stunt driver can be quickly glimpsed!

Although Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon do much of the chase sequences, the more dangerous stunts were performed by stunt doubles.

During
the opening dialogue in the restaurant, Harry and Lucy are almost
cloyingly sweet to one another. It feels like a completely different
show. By the episode’s conclusion, however, Harry and Lucy are back
to being friendly enemies.

At
the end of the episode, Lucy and the kids are scanning the parking
lots for her car, which apparently is a convertible. In “Lucy and
the Ex-Con” (S1;E15), Lucy told Wally Cox that she didn’t have a
car.