S1;E21
~ February 24, 1969
Directed
by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs
Synopsis
Harry’s
old Army buddy is working in Counter-Intelligence and needs a
stenographer to help get the goods on a suspected spy (Victor Buono).
Naturally, Lucy gets the assignment.
Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter), Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter)
Guest
Cast
Victor
Buono
(Arthur Vermillion) was a character actor whose screen
career began in 1959. He was nominated for a 1963 Oscar for his
portrayal of Edwin Flagg in
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane,
which he quickly followed up with Hush,
Hush Sweet Charlotte,
both starring Bette Davis. He is perhaps best remembered for
playing arch-villain King Tut on “Batman” (inset). Buono died in 1982 at
the age of 43.
Buono
uses a thick middle-European accent as Vermillion. According to the dictionary, ‘vermillion’ (or ‘vermilion’), describes a deep, brilliant shade of red. ‘Red’ is slang for a communist, based on the color of the communist flag, which ties into the spy theme of the episode.
Mary
Wickes (Isabel)
was one of Lucille Ball’s closest friends and at one time, a
neighbor. She made a memorable appearances on “I Love Lucy” as
ballet mistress Madame Lamond in “The
Ballet” (ILL S1;E19). In
her initial “Lucy Show” appearances her characters name was
Frances, but she then made four more as a variety of characters for a
total of 8 episodes. This is the first of her 9 appearances on
“Here’s Lucy.” She also played Isabel in “Lucy Goes on
Strike” (S1;E16). Their final collaboration on screen was “Lucy
Calls the President” in 1977.
Wickes
only has 40 seconds of screen time at the very start of the episode. Before Mary Jane Croft joined the show, the character of Isabel was intended to be a secretary friend of Lucy Carter’s who works in her building. Wickes only played the character twice before moving into different characters for the rest of the series.
Robert
Carson
(Buzzy Brock) was a busy Canadian-born character actor who appeared
on six episodes of “The Lucy Show.” This is the second of his
five appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”
Buzzy
was an Army Colonel at the Pentagon during World War II. He got a
Purple Heart when his desk collapsed! He is currently working with
‘Counter-Intelligence’.
Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1969
This is the third spy story on “Here’s Lucy” in just five months, preceded by “Lucy’s Impossible Mission” (S1;6) and “Lucy and the Great Airport Chase” (S1;E18). Spy series’ such as “Get Smart” and “Mission: Impossible” were tremendously popular at the time. Craig mentions a show called “Spy Mission” and Kim talks about “Counter Agent,” both made-up TV spy programs.
Lucille Ball and Victor Buono were both featured in “Like Hep!”, a Dinah Shore special that aired a few months after this episode. In it, Ball did a variety of sketches, including one set in a speakeasy with Buono as a mob boss.
Upon arriving at work, Lucy off-handedly says “another day behind the iron curtain.” The Iron Curtain was the name for the imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The use of the term contributes to the spy nature of the story, but seems a bit precipitous considering the plot has yet to be revealed!
Isabel
calls Harry Jack
the Ripper,
comparing him to the famous London serial killer. There was also a character named Jack D. Ripper in the 1964 iron curtain comedy Dr. Strangelove. Could this be another vague and precipitous reference to the episode’s theme?
After
Isabel and Harry continually bump into one another going
out the door (doing a sort of ‘after you’ dance) Harry calls her St. Vitus. Saint
Vitus
(290-303 AD) was
a child
saint
from
Sicily.
In
the late Middle
Ages,
people
celebrated
the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. The name “Saint
Vitus Dance” was given to neurological
disorders like epilepsy.
It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers.
We learn that Harry
was an Army major during World War II and worked at the Pentagon.
Buzzy
calls Harry ‘Foamy’ because he wore out twelve foam rubber cushions
on his swivel chair. Clearly Buzzy and ‘Foamy’ (aka Harry) were desk
jockeys during the war. The script doesn’t specify, however, why Buzzy is
named Buzzy.
When Kim comes home from school, she asks her mother if Jerry called. Presumably, Jerry is her boyfriend. Jerry was also the name of Lucy Carmichael’s son on “The Lucy Show.” She uses her childrens’ questions as a memory test for her upcoming spy assignment.
Kim says her birthday is the 17th of next month. In real life, Lucie Arnaz’s birthday is the 17th of July.
The song Kim and Craig play for Uncle Harry, to show him what life with teenagers in the house might be like, is a jazzy version of “I Know A Place” by Tony Hatch. The song was recorded in 1965 by Petula Clark. It is here performed without lyrics with Kim dancing and Craig playing the drums. Lucy danced to the song in “Mod, Mod Lucy” (S1;E1). Clark will do a guest appearance on the series in season 5, although she will not sing “I Know A Place.”
When Lucille Ball enters Vermillion’s hotel suite at the (fictional) Crescent Palms Hotel wearing a black wig, she gets a round of applause from the studio audience.
If the horse statue in Vermillion’s hotel room looks familiar, it is likely the same horse used later that year on the set of “The Brady Bunch” (1969-74). Both shows were filmed at Paramount Studios. Similar horses also turned up on “Bewitched” (1964-72) and in the film Bell, Book and Candle (1958) starring Ernie Kovacs. This iteration of the horse statue has its saddle and reigns painted black, but they are otherwise identical. Equine statuary was quite common in mid-century decorating.
Vermillion, under the guise of a greeting card writer, dictates correspondence to
Gregory Schmidt, General Delivery, St. Louis,
Misery
and another to
Igor Shaffsky, Hotel Scimitar, Istanbul
He eats his notes. Is he really a spy or just really hungry?
When
Vermillion looks around the room to see that they he and Lucy are
alone, the soundtrack plays “Mission: Impossible” style music.
The TV score by Lalo Schifrin was extensively used in “Lucy’s
Impossible Mission” (S1;E6).
Victor Buono is best known for his role in the Bette Davis / Joan Crawford 1962 horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, a movie that was mentioned on “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21). Lucy Carmichael rejected the film for date night as “too scary”. Coincidentally, both shows were the 21st aired episodes aired in their first seasons!
This is not the first time Lucy has mined humor from being sat on by a larger actor. She was underneath a tubby tourist (Audrey Bentz) in “The Tour” (ILL S4;E30) and a girthy granny (Reta Shaw) in “Lucy Misplaces $2,000″ (TLS S1;E4).
Lucy
Ricardo also “wore a wire” when trying to record a confession by who
she thought was a Texas oil swindler in “Oil Wells” (ILL S3;E18). Both times her urge to be wired for sound was misguided.
Thinking
they were enemy agents, Lucy Ricardo also spied on the “New
Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21). Like Vermillion, the O’Briens were not
who Lucy first assumed they were but they sure talked a good game!
This is not the first, nor the last, time Gale Gordon will get into unconvincing drag without shaving off his mustache!
FAST FORWARD!
On August 16, 1971, Victor Buono and Lucille Ball were both guests on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”. Kaye Ballard was the musical guest.
Vermillion is not the last character to be a writer of greeting card verses…
It would also be the occupation of Ben Fletcher (Don Knotts) when “Lucy Goes on Her Last Blind Date” (S5;E16).
Sitcom
Logic Alert! Craig just
happens to own a pocket-sized miniature tape recorder. Doesn’t every teenager in 1969?
Color Blind! Vermillion tells Harry (as the Bellboy) that he “never wears blue” yet he is clearly wearing a powder blue tie. Is he just trying to get rid of Harry through intimidation?
Product Dis-Placement! The brand name of Craig’s drum set is partly taped over. The top loop of the ‘R’ reveals that it is made by Rogers. Founded in 1849 in Farmingdale, NJ, by Joseph Rogers, the company went out of business in 2006.
Where the Floor Ends! In the lower right corner of the above screen shot, viewers get a glimpse of where the Carter’s wall-to-wall carpet ends and meets the cement stage floor!
“Lucy Gets Her Man” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
A nearly five minute scene without Lucille Ball,
when
Kim and Craig convince their Uncle Harry to keep an eye on their
mother, is a bit
awkward and too long. Mary Wickes is given virtually nothing to do
in this episode. Her lines could just as well have been spoken by an uncredited day player. Lucille Ball’s scene with
Victor Buono, however, is quite good and Gale Gordon in maid drag
(with his trademark mustache) is well worth the wait. The surprise
ending actually makes sense and is very funny, if a bit abrupt.
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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