LUCY AND THE DIAMOND CUTTER

S3;E10
~ November 16, 1970

Directed
by Herbert Kenwith ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Al Schwartz

Synopsis

An
eccentric rich old lady wants her valuable but cursed diamond cut so
Harry offers Lucy’s home for the diamond cutter (Wally Cox) to work.
But the Carter house is full of dangerous distractions that threaten
to fulfill the curse!  

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

Wally
Cox
(Gustav Vandemeer) was
one of Lucille Ball’s favorite character actors and best remembered
for being a panelist on TV’s “The Hollywood Squares” (1965-73)
as well as his hit series “Mr. Peepers” (1953-55).  He
played a nervous musician on “Lucy
Conducts the Symphony” (TLS S2;E13) and
a reformed safe cracker in “Lucy
and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15).
 This is the third of his four guest-star appearances on
“Here’s Lucy.”  Cox died of a heart attack in 1973 at age
48.

Cox
uses a German accent for the character and peppers his lines with
phrases like “ach du lieber!”

Ruth
McDevitt
(Mrs. Cornelius Whitmark III) was one of Hollywood’s most endearing
‘little old lady’ character actors. She was born in 1895 and didn’t
start acting until age 54. She made appearances in The
Birds
(1963),
The Parent Trap
(1961), and played Edith Bunker’s friend Jo on “All in the Family.”
In 1974 she was seen as Cousin Fan in Mame
starring Lucille Ball. She died in 1976 at the age of 80.

Harry
says Mrs. Whitmark is a billionairess. When McDevitt makes her first
entrance the studio audience lets out an audible
“Awwww”
like they are witnessing the first steps of a newborn kitten.  

Mary
Wickes
(Mrs. Whitmark’s Maid) 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 one of her 9 appearances on “Here’s
Lucy.” Their final collaboration on screen was “Lucy Calls the
President” in 1977.

This episode was aired on the same night as “Jack Benny’s 20th Anniversary TV Special” on NBC. The star-studded program featured Lucille Ball as the Benny maid, Janet. 

During
blocking rehearsals for this episode, Ruth McDevitt (Mrs. Whitlock)
had trouble hitting her marks. Allegedly, after several attempts to
get it right, Lucille Ball went over to Ruth and kicked her foot
attempting to move her into place. Ruth fell to the floor screaming
with pain.
It was at this point that director Herbert Kenwith decided that if
his friendship with Lucille Ball was going to survive, he would no
longer be able to direct any of her shows. The
incident with McDevitt was likely resolved amicably because she was
later cast in Mame
(1974).  

As
usual with any ‘little
old lady’
character on the show, Mrs. Whitmark is dressed in lots of lace and
frills and a out-of-date hat. The fact that her purse and hat don’t
match her dress indicates that she is supposed to be eccentric.
That, and the fact that she collects bits of string.  And that she
collects used teabags.  And that she laughs like a lunatic.

Mrs.
Whitmark’s Casbah
Diamond
is said to be worth 5 million dollars and is cursed. The nature of
the curse is not revealed until the last minute of the episode.  

When
the Maid goes to spray Harry with the disinfectant a second time, she
apologizes and says already been sprayed so he’s sterile.
Harry widens his eyes and the audience laughs at the naughty (for
1970) double entendre.  

Craig
talks to Steve
on the telephone about a part for his motorcycle. It turns out to be
a candy apple red air horn. Steve is probably a reference to Steve
March, who was featured on two previous episodes and is often
referenced by Craig.

Gustav
calls Kim and Craig “the Katzenjammer Kids.” The
Katzenjammer Kids
was a comic strip created by German immigrant Rudolph Dirks which
appeared from 1897 to 2006. Dirks was said to be the first to use
‘thought balloons’ in a comic strip.

The Carter living room has a wood floor instead of the green wall-to-wall carpeting previously seen.  

The
first episode of season three “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (S3;E1)
also concerned itself with a large and valuable diamond. It was set
into a ring that Richard Burton gave to Elizabeth Taylor and Lucy got
stuck on her finger.

This
is not the first time Harry has fallen through the floor of the
Carter home. 

He ended “Lucy’s Burglar Alarm” (S2;E7) going
through a trap door in the same exact location!  Gale
Gordon also went down a trap door as Mr. Mooney in “Lucy
Takes a Job at the Bank” (TLS S2;E21).

Fact Check! To
keep the diamond cutter’s identity secret while he’s at the Carter
home, Lucy tells Kim and Craig that Gustav is their uncle. In
previous episodes, however, Kim and Craig have acknowledged Harry as
their only uncle.  

Props! The
disinfectant spray used by the Maid has had the label covered in blue
tape.

Props! Motorcycles
don’t usually have air horns!

Sitcom Logic Alert! It is unclear why Mrs. Whitcomb and Harry don’t use his own homes and save having to compensate Lucy. For practical reasons, of course, the Carter home was the show’s main set and already in existence in the studio, saving the cost of constructing a new set.  

Recycling!  Mrs. Whitmark wears the same dress that Lucy wore as Abigail Throckmorton in LUCY AND THE EX-CON (S1;E15) aired on January 13, 1969.

Title Trouble! Due
to the outcome of the plot, this episode would be more aptly titled
“Harry the Diamond Cutter.”  Of course, it then wouldn’t have
“Lucy” in the title!

“Lucy the Diamond Cutter” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5 

This
is a rather contrived premise but it greatly benefits by sharp comedy
writing from Josefsberg and Schwartz. The idea of Lucy’s home being
riddled with termites is introduced early on and is nicely connected
to the episode’s big gag ending. I also like the symmetry of the
repeated joke about the injuries caused by the curse. Good gags
always seem to come in threes!