LUCY & THE CRIMINALS

Lucy’s Encounters with the Criminal Underworld ~ Part 1

To add drama and an element of danger to her sitcoms, Lucy would often encounter burglars, thieves, robbers, and other criminals.  Here’s a look at some of those on the ‘other side of the law’ in early Lucycoms. 

“The Burglar” (1947) ~ Lucille Ball guest stars on the radio show “The Smiths of Hollywood” starring Arthur Treacher and Brenda Marshall. At Lucille Ball’s home, a burglar and a concerned neighbor break in!  

BILL: “By the time he finishes off that Scotch, you’ll wish the real burglar had gotten in!” 

BURGLAR: “I am in.” 

LUCY (screams): “They’re coming through the woodwork!”

“The Fur Coat” (1951) ~ To get an expensive fur back from Lucy, Ricky enlists Fred to paly a burglar to steal it back. Naturally a real burglar (Ben Weldon) shows up on the same night! 

“New Neighbors” (1952) ~ Lucy believes the actors who move into the building are actually dangerous spies intent on blowing up the capitol. This leads to a shoot-out with the police. Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens play the couple. 

“The Kleptomaniac” (1952) ~ When Lucy is caught collecting household items for a tag sale, Ricky and Fred believe she is a kleptomaniac, a theif who steals uncontrolably. Lucy learns of their misapprehension and decides to teach them a lesson by pretending to be a real thief – robbing a bank and stealing a baby elephant from the circus. 

“The Publicity Agent” (1952) ~ To get Ricky’s name in the papers, Lucy at first thinks that she should stage a robbery, but after a quick inventory, her jewels are only worth $43. 

LUCY: “You know how those Hollywood stars get their name in the paper when their jewels are stolen?” 

This actually happened to Lucille Ball when on tour with Desi in 1950. Their Chicago hotel room was robbed and nearly all Lucy’s jewelry was stolen.

“Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953) ~ Lucy and Ethel are arrested attempting to cut the wires on the roof of their apartment building. At the police station, the desk sergeant (Frank Nelson) assumes they are wanted female felons “Pickpocket Pearl and Sticky Fingers Sal”. Later, Sergeant Nelson apologies when he finds out that the criminals are already in prison. 

“Too Many Crooks” (1953) ~ The entire neighborhood is on alert over a prowler nicknamed Madame X.  Ethel thinks it may be Lucy and Lucy thinks it may be Ethel!  Then the real Madame X (Alice Wills) shows up!  The original script had Madame X get away at the end, taking both Ricky and Fred’s suits along with her! In the filmed ending, justice was served!  

“Equal Rights” (1953) ~ Over the telephone, Lucy and Ethel pretend to be held up at gunpoint by robbers to get Ricky and Fred to rescue them from washing dishes. But when the boys discover that they were just faking, they pretend to be burglars to teach them a lesson. When the police arrive, it is Ricky and Fred who are arrested. 

“Lucy Cries Wolf” (1954) ~ Lucy is worried about her safety during a local crime spree, demanding Ricky demonstrate her love by protecting her against made-up thieves. Whe real burglars really break in and kidnap her, Ricky and the Mertzes think Lucy is just ‘yelling tiger’ – Ricky’s version of ‘crying wolf’!  The same two actors who played the policeman in “Equal Rights” (Fred Aldrich and Louis Nicoletti) turn to the darkside here as the burglars. 

“The Great Train Robbery” (1955) ~ A jewel thief (Harry Bartel) is aboard the train and Lucy is tricked into telling him that there is a jewelry salesman in the next compartment. 

“Paris at Last” (1956) ~ Lucy gets a taste of the dark side of the City of Light. First she encounters a counterfeitter (Lawrence Dobkin)…

Followed immediately by a forger (Shepard Menken), who passes off a mass-produced painting as an original. 

“Off to Florida” (1956) ~ During a rideshare to Florida, Lucy and Ethel hear a radio report about Evelyn Holmby, a hatchet murderess driving south and believe it to be their driver, Edna Grundy, who matches the description. While Lucy and Ethel take a cat nap, Mrs. Grundy hears a report that the hatchet murderess is traveling with a red-haired companion and believes it to be Lucy and Ethel. Finding a hatchett in the car’s trunk, Lucy is convinced her hunch is correct. 

“Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (1957) ~ To convince the Spauldings  that they are undesireables and that they should give Ricky his deposit back, Lucy and the Mertzes pretend to be Runyonesque gangsters and Ricky their mob boss!  Believing them, the Spauldings (Eleanor Audley and Frank Wilcox) hold them at gunpoint! 

“K.O. Kitty” (1958) ~ An episode of “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” in which Lucille Ball plays a dance instructor who inherits a prize fighter. Two mobsters (Jesse White and Sid Melton) hold Kitty at gunpoint, pressuring her to fix the fight. In the end, the criminals reveal that they are not real mobsters and their guns are nothing but cigarette lighters!

“Sunday Showcase: The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” (1959) ~ Lucy and Desi play the Ricardos on a Milton Berle special on NBC. In the story set in Las Vegas, Lucy gets an expensive ring intended for Mrs. Berle stuck on her finger.   Two jewel thieves (George Macready and Mike Mazurki) tell Lucy they are jewelry wholesalers. When the ring won’t come off, the thieves pursue Lucy and Berle all around the hotel. 

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2