LUCY PROTECTS HER JOB

S2;E14
~ December 22, 1969

Directed
by Danny Dayton ~ Written by Sam Perrin and Ralph Goodman

Synopsis

When
Lucy fears her job is in danger, Kim pretends to be an bumbling
secretary to make Harry appreciate Lucy even more!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)

Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter) does not appear in this episode.

Guest
Cast

Mary
Jane Croft
(Mary Jane) makes
her third series appearance as Mary Jane. Croft played Betty Ramsey
during season six of “I Love Lucy. ” She also played Cynthia
Harcourt in “Lucy
is Envious” (ILL S3;E23)
and
Evelyn Bigsby in “Return
Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy
Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the
actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her
episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing
Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in
1999 at the age of 83.

Robert
Carson
(Mr. Morgan, Harry’s Golf Partner) 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.”

Although
Carson is credited as Mr. Morgan, his name is never spoken in the
dialogue.

Wanda
Clark
(Secretary) was Lucille Ball’s real-life secretary for 27 years.
She was also maid of honor at Lucie Arnaz’s wedding to Phil
Vandervort in 1971. This is Clark’s only screen appearance.

This
is the first of four episodes written by Ralph
Goodman,
two of which were with Sam
Perrin,
who previously wrote “Lucy, the Cement Worker” (S2;E10) with
George Balzer. This is the first of two episodes directed by Danny Dayton. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Dayton was primarily an actor who had appeared on Broadway in Guys and Dolls and was also in the 1955 film version.

Wanda
Clark
introduces this episode on the series DVD. She says that she got the
role because Lucy admired how fast she could type, something Lucy
thought was important to the character. But the typewriter on the set
was a manual and Clark had been using an electric for many
years – so she had to fake it.

This
is the final episode before Christmas 1969. Fans have noted that
“Here’s Lucy” is the only “Lucy” sitcom not to feature a
holiday-themed episode.

When
Mary Jane tells Lucy her nail polish color is Abalone
Pink,
Lucy replies “Good!
Then I can bite my nails on Friday.”
This may be a reference to the fact that Catholics were not supposed
to eat meat on Fridays, abalone being shellfish popular in the waters
off Southern California. Although this rule was relaxed and limited
to Lent in 1966, many Catholics hung on to the practice for many
years. While Lucy was not a Catholic by birth, she converted for her
marriage to Desi Arnaz. Her husband at the time, Gary Morton, was
Jewish.

Harry
asks for the file on the Dawson
account. The surname was used in the previous episode to refer to
one of Kim’s dates.

Harry
gives Lucy roses, despite saying he was allergic to them in “Lucy
and Harry’s Tonsils” (S2;E5). He says they cost $12.50 a dozen.
Today the cost of roses varies widely; anything
from $10 or under for a dozen red roses at the local corner store, to
$20
at
the supermarket, to more than $90 at a high-end florist.

In
her second scene Mary Jane wears the same black dress with white
collar and cuffs that she has worn on two of her previous
appearances. On this series, her wardrobe choices seem to be
limited.

Harry
Gives Lucy a framed photograph of himself as a gift. This is the
same photo that hangs over Harry’s mantle at home. It is actually a
colorized black and white photo of Gale
Gordon
as Mr. Mooney that was seen several times on “The Lucy Show.”

At
first glance, the photo is curiously cropped, with lots of ‘head
room’. This is to later facilitate Lucy impaling it on the ram’s
horns on the wall.

This
is the episode where Lucie Arnaz appears to want to follow in her
mother’s footsteps and is given the material to shine as a comic
actress. The script has Kim cast in a theatre production where she
plays an incompetent secretary who messes everything up (not unlike
Lucys Carter and Carmichael). Kim even imitates Lucy Ricardo’s
famously inflected “Well…”
when thing don’t go her way.

As
Shirley Shoppenhauer, the new secretary, Kim says Harry is
“so
Cary
Grant-ish”! Harry says people compare him more with Jack
Lemmon.
Later, Kim/Shirley calls him “a regular Milton
Boil.”

Harry
dictates a letter to Robert Carlton Enterprises.

With
her broad New York accent, Kim/Shirley answers the phone “Carter’s
Eunuch Employment Agency.”

Whenever
viewers see a fan next to a stack of papers, they can be assured
those papers are headed for the floor!

Similarly, at the end of the
episode, Harry notices that the water cooler jug is empty. Any
regular viewer knows that where there’s water, Harry will end up wet!
Sharp eyes may notice both the fan and the water cooler before they
have even been used for their comic purposes.

This
episode is thematically similar to “Lucy’s Substitute Secretary”
(TLS S5;E14) where Lucy Carmichael fears for her job and dons a variety of outrageous disguises.

Sitcom
Logic Alert!
Harry does not recognize his own niece even face to face!

Props! When
Harry opens the file cabinet drawer to show Kim/Shirley the “old
accounts” the drawer is completely empty! In an earlier scene,
Lucy opened the drawer above it to find the Dawson file and the file
drawer was clearly labeled “new accounts.” Amazingly, Harry
opens the same drawer to show Kim/Shirley the “new accounts.”
The acute attention to detail here is probably just happenstance.

Let It Fall! When
Kim/Shirley purposely opens the file cabinet drawer so that Harry
will bump his head, a metal vase atop the filing cabinet falls to the
floor. Lucie notices it but, like the stamps that litter the office
floor, no one picks it up.