THE NOT-SO-POPULAR MECHANICS

S5;E22
~ February 19, 1973

Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Harry
buys a vintage car at the same time that Lucy and Mary Jane are
taking an adult school class in automotive repair. When Harry goes
away on a trip, he asks Lucy to phone his mechanic, but she forgets.
Lucy thinks she can do the work herself – but things don’t go as
planned when Harry comes home early from his trip.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter)

Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter) does not appear in this episode, nor does she receive screen
credit. Except for the clips seen in the season finale, the character
will not return to the series until the fourth episode of season six.

Guest
Cast

Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane) 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
Rockwell (Jack
Scott) is probably best remembered as biology teacher Mr. Boynton on
“Our Miss Brooks” (1952-56) opposite Gale Gordon (Osgood Conklin)
and Mary Jane Croft (Miss Enright), who were also series regulars.
Although not the first to play Mr. Boynton, he assumed the role on
radio and made the transition with the show to television. He
previously played Viv’s handsome match in “Lucy Digs Up a Date”
(TLS S1;E2) the second installment of “The Lucy Show” in 1962.
He continued working until 1995 and died in 2003 at age 82.

In
addition to being an auto mechanic and a teacher at the Valley Trade
School, Jack Scott is also a sailor who docks his boat at the Paradise
Yacht Club. The character’s name may have been inspired by Jack Scott Fones, an advertising executive working with Philip-Morris who befriended Lucille Ball during “I Love Lucy.”

Leigh
Adams-Bennett (Mrs.
Foley, student) makes her first of only two TV appearances after doing
background work on two films in 1972.

The character’s surname is likely a tribute to the show’s film editor, John Foley A.C.E.

Shirley Anthony (Student, uncredited, extreme right) made more than a dozen background appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” From 1994 to 1999 she played Sally on “The Rockford Files” TV movies.

The
other female students in Mr. Scott’s class are played by uncredited and unidentified background performers.

The
title refers to Popular
Mechanics,
a magazine devoted to science and technology first published in 1902
by H.H. Windsor. Since 1958 it has been owned by the Hearst
Corporation.

Chevrolet
provided
all the training materials as well as the motor parts for the car.
They received screen credit. Series Executive Producer (and husband
to Lucille Ball) Gary Morton was an auto enthusiast so he acted as
consultant for this episode. He was, however, billed under his birth
name, Morton
Goldaper.

At
the start of the episode, Mary Jane has come over to take Lucy to
Morton’s Department Store End-of-the-Month sale. This is the second
time that Lucy’s married name has been used as the name of a Los
Angeles department store.

When
Harry drools over his new Rolls Royce, Lucy quips “I
haven’t seen that expression on his face since he judged the Miss
Borego Springs beauty contest.” Borego Springs was where Gale Gordon lived and was briefly mayor. It
is located outside San Diego, California, and was previously
mentioned in “Someone’s on the Ski Lift with Dinah” (S4;E7).

The
license plate on Lucy’s new car is 592-IMW. The last time we saw inside Lucy’s garage was in “Lucy and Aladdin’s Lamp” (S3;E21) two years earlier when she had a garage sale.

Harry’s
mechanic is named Mr. Nickel. Harry has entered his vintage Rolls in
the Classic Car Show and needs some minor repairs performed while he
is away in San Francisco.

Harry
mentions (but does not sing) the song “Embraceable
You,” a
song by George and Ira Gershwin originally written in 1928 for the
un-produced operetta East
is West.
It was eventually included in the 1930 musical Girl
Crazy.
It is now part of the musical Crazy
for You.

The
reveal of Harry’s vintage Rolls Royce is visually similar to the
reveal of the 1923 Cadillac when the Ricardos and Mertzes are
“Getting Ready” (ILL S4;E10) to drive to Hollywood.

Lucy Ricardo’s knowledge of auto repair was also pretty poor! She didn’t even know how to change a tire in “Off To Florida” (ILL S6;E6).

Like the auto parts of the Rolls Royce, Mrs. Ricardo also had no idea what to do with the many parts she took out of her television set in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30).

Lucy
Carmichael and Viv Bagley went to adult night school in “Lucy and
Viv Take Up Chemistry” (TLS S1;E26).

FAST FORWARD!

Lucille Ball owned several Rolls Royces over the years, including a 1965 Silver Cloud III convertible.

Lucille Ball and Gary Morton owned a 1984 Silver Spur Rolls Royce which was put up for auction after Morton’s death.

The blue gingham blouse worn in this episode also came up for auction. Ball first wore it on “The Flip Wilson Show” (1971). This blouse is also documented as being worn at birthday party for Lucie Arnaz in the 1970’s.

Brand X! The
brand name of the chart on the easel of Mr. Scott’s classroom has
been blacked out for broadcast.

Similarly, the carton of oil has the
brand name taped over, but it is clearly the Penzoil logo.
Unusually, the yellow oil cans have no label on them at all!

Lights! Camera! Action! Mary
Jane is unusually close to the camera (and out of her light) when she
brings in the oil at the start of the repair scene.

Script Girl! When
Lucy is reading the Rolls Royce’s owner’s manual, a page flops open
and there are some handwritten notes inside in cursive script. This
could be some of Lucy’s dialogue.

Age Check! In real life, Gale Gordon was barely ten years older than Robert Rockwell. At the time, Gordon was 66 and Rockwell was 56.

Sitcom Logic Alert! Uncle Harry rings the doorbell at Lucy’s home, but Jack Scott walks in without knocking or ringing!

Where the Driveway Ends / Where the Sky Begins! The
first time we see Harry’s new Rolls in Lucy’s driveway, the edge of
the sky drop is visible at the top left of the frame – along with a
piece of equipment or pipe hanging down. The wide shot also shows
were the driveway ends and the stage floor begins.