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“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation”
(S3;E22 ~ March 22, 1954) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed February 11, 1954 at Ren-Mar Studios.
Synopsis ~ A millionaire wants to take Ricky and his band to Hawaii with some other entertainers to play at a dance. Naturally, Lucy has a scheme to get into the act!
Lucy starts the episode wearing the now-iconic blue and white polka dot dress first worn in “Sales Resistance” (S2;E17). This dress is the outfit of choice for Lucy impersonators today. As the show opens, Lucy is watching “Be a Good Neighbor” on TV and we hear Freddie Fillmore congratulate a Mrs. Weston, who is getting a new house thanks to her ‘good neighbor’ Cleo Morgan. Cleo Morgan is the name of Lucille Ball’s cousin, who was later a producer on “Here’s Lucy.”
Ricky gets a letter from Mr. Jenssen of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. Although we never see the hotel, it is a real-life landmark first opened in 1927. Its lobby was featured in the 1952 film Big Jim McLain starring future “I Love Lucy” guest star John Wayne. The name Jenssen may be an homage to the show’s costume designer Elois Jenssen.
To convince Ricky to take her to Hawaii as one of the ‘other entertainers,’ Lucy turns the apartment into the set of a Hawaiian revue, complete with a tropical backdrop, a huge rock, and cut-out palm trees. Fred and Ethel join Lucy to regale Ricky with their rendition of “King Kamehameha” and “A Hawaiian War Chant,” both written by Johnny Noble, a composer who was a native Hawaiian.
This is the third and final appearance of quiz master Freddie Fillmore (Frank Nelson) who has finally made the leap from radio to television to host “Be a Good Neighbor.” Fillmore previously presided over the radio quiz / game shows “Females Are Fabulous” in “The Quiz Show” (S1;E5) and “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” in “Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (S1;E32). Nelson will continue with the series to play a variety of eccentric characters, including the recurring role of Ralph Ramsey in season six. He holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring characters in the series.
When Lucy and the Mertzes put on their ‘poor act’ for Freddie Fillmore, they claim to have seen his show by watching through the appliance store window, which is how many people were introduced to the new medium in the late 1940s and early 50s.
When Fillmore wants to meet Mrs. Ricardo and Ma (aka Lucy) at the same time, Lucy launches into a quick change act that nearly proves her undoing. Lucy previously played ‘old’ in “The Young Fans” (S1;E20) and “The Girls Go Into Business” (S3;E1).
Ethel also played Lucy’s dowdy Ma in the very first episode aired “The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub” (S1;E1).
As she always did before filming a stunt where her face got messy, Lucy removed her false eyelashes. The stunts involves Ricky singing lyrics from famous songs to cue various assaults on Lucy:
- "I Get the Blues When It Rains” [water] – was written by Marcy Klauber and Harry Stoddard for the 1929 Laurel and Hardy film Angora Love.
- "I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket” [eggs / basket] – was written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet (also starring Lucille Ball) and performed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
- “(I’m In Love With You) Honey” [honey] – first appeared in 1938 written by Richard Whiting, Seymour Simons, and Haven Gillespie. It was sung by June Allyson in the film Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945).
- "Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee” [coffee / pie] – was written by Irving Berlin for the 1932 stage play Face the Music.
Although Lucy and the Mertzes don’t win the trip, we never learn if Ricky actually went to Hawaii or not. This is similar to the ending of season three, when Ricky gets a summer job in Del Mar, California. Both trips are never mentioned again. Hawaii and Del Mar were cherished get-away spots for the Arnaz family – places to escape from the pressures of Hollywood.
In 2007, Lucie Arnaz remembered their trips to Hawaii fondly:
"It was before my parents were divorced and the time when they were at their happiest. No arguing, no work to take them away, and they just loved being there and with each other.”
In 1954 Hawaii was still just a US territory. It became the 50th state on March 18, 1959. In “The Quiz Show” (1951) Lucy has trouble remembering whether Alaska and Hawaii are states or not. Just one month after Alaska was granted statehood in January 1959, the foursome traveled to Nome with Red Skelton to scout some property they’d purchased in an episode of "The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.”
ETHEL (about going on “Be A Good Neighbor”): “I’d get a pie in my face. She’d get an all-expense cruise.”
Ethel was prescient! Lucy and Vivian eventually go on a cruise to Hawaii in a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” The two-parter was titled “Lucy Goes Hawaiian” and featured Gale Gordon, Desi Arnaz, Jr., and Lucie Arnaz. In both 1954 and 1971 Lucy gets to sing and dance the hula and “A Hawaiian War Chant” is heard. Coming full circle, the “Here’s Lucy” episodes were produced by Cleo Morgan, who was mentioned in the opening dialogue of “Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” 17 years earlier!
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“Changing the Boys’ Wardrobe”
(S3;E10 ~ December 7, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by
Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 5, 1953 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 67.2/79
Synopsis ~ Ricky and Fred infuriate the girls by wearing their old clothes in public. So Lucy and Ethel secretly sell their husbands’ clothes to a second-hand clothes dealer.
This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show, “My Favorite Husband” episode #95 titled “Husbands are Sloppy Dressers” broadcast September 2, 1950. The radio show is included on the “I Love Lucy” DVD for comparison.
Sitcom Logic Alert! The premise of this episode is somewhat unbelievable since the boys are usually impeccably dressed, even when they are just hanging around the apartment. The exception being when wardrobe designer wanted to indicate that they are engaged in some sort of manual labor. Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, author of The Lucy Book, is of the same opinion.
Unusually, this episode opens with a round of applause from the studio audience. These were generally edited out or covered by musical intros.
At the start of the episodes the gang is heading to the movies to see “That picture we’ve been trying to get to for weeks with Marilyn Monroe.” The movie is either Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which premiered in New York City in July 1953, or How To Marry A Millionaire, which premiered (just in Los Angeles) one day after this episode was filmed. In either case it is likely that the title goes unmentioned because Lucy and Desi had just filmed The Long, Long Trailer for MGM Studios and How To Marry a Millionaire and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes were 20th Century Fox pictures.
When they return from the movie, Ethel remarks “Wasn’t that a wonderful dress she had on in the big number?” Both films were musicals, so this doesn’t narrow it down very much.
Much of the plot of “Second Honeymoon” (S5;E14) set aboard the S.S. Constitution, was copied from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Like Marilyn, Lucy also has a young boy for a dinner companion and also gets stuck in a porthole!
In “Ricky’s Movie Offer” (S4;E5) Lucy dresses up like Monroe, including wearing a platinum blonde wig. As one of the biggest screen stars of the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe was mentioned by name many times throughout the series.
On November 5, 1953, the same day “Changing the Boy’s Wardrobe” was filmed, Monroe’s ascent to the heights of stardom was marked by two very different events. First, her new film How to Marry a Millionaire was released in the US. Second, the town of Monroe, New York, was temporarily renamed Marilyn Monroe!
ETHEL (about sloppily-dressed Fred): “I couldn’t do a thing with Raggedy Andy.”
Raggedy Andy was introduced in 1920 as a companion to Raggedy Ann, characters from a series of childrens’ book written by Johnny Gruelle. Although Gruelle died in 1938, the books continued to be published under his name. In 1953 the most recent book was “Raggedy Andy’s Surprise.” Perhaps Lucy read it to Little Ricky?
After Lucy convinces Ricky to change for the movies, he discovers that Fred is wearing his old clothes.
FRED: “Come on, Little Lord
Fauntleroy.”
RICKY: “That’s it! Nobody’s gonna call me Little Fonterooey!”
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a children’s book by Frances Hodgson Burnett (author of The Secret Garden). The Fauntleroy suit (also known as the Buster Brown suit), created a fad for formal dress for American middle-class children.
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Fred dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy when “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (S2;E13).
- Lucy Carmichael calls Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) out for being dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy in a 1965 episode of “The Lucy Show.”
One piece of Ricky’s old clothes that Lucy sold was a button down cardigan sweater with a big “H” on the front and “Universidad de la Habana” [University of Havana] on the back. In “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (S2;E13) Ricky buys a t-shirt for his yet-unborn son that says “Havana U 1974” and brags about attending the college – even singing the school fight song.
Fred’s oldest piece of clothing is a pull-over sweater saying “Golden Gloves 1909,” which he supposedly won boxing. In real life, the first Golden Gloves competition didn’t take place until 1923. However, Fred frequently adopts a sparring posture, even when just kidding around with Little Ricky.
This is the second of six times Lucille Ball wears this Elois Jenssen white house dress with flower and leaf pattern at the waist. Lucy liked the outfit so much, Jenssen recreated it as a yellow housecoat for the film Forever Darling. By placing the pattern at the waist, Elois de-emphasized Lucille Ball’s height.
This is the third time Ricky sings "Granada,” written by Agustin Lara in 1932. It was previously heard on the un-aired pilot and “Lucy Is Enciente” (S2;E10). It is presented here in its entirety as a rehearsal, although it is performed with full orchestra and lighting. If an episode was running short, a song (however unrelated to the plot) was a good way to fill time.
Alberto Calderon, a member of the Ricky Ricardo (and Desi Arnaz) Orchestra, has a few lines in Spanish with Ricky and Fred. Interestingly, Desi / Ricky’s usual accompanist, Marco Rizo, is not at the piano for this episode.
Lucy and Ethel sell their husbands’ old clothes to Allen’s Used Clothes Emporium on 3rd Avenue and 32nd Street. Oliver Blake (Zeb Allen) starred with Lucy in Fancy Pants in 1950 as well as in playing Mr. Ludlow in The Long, Long Trailer, filmed just prior to this episode. He used his birth name Oliver Prickett for stage work at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he was a regular performer and teacher.
Zeb phones Ricky at work to sell his old clothes back to him – for a profit!
ZEB: “Buying men’s old clothes from their wives is a tidy little business, but I make my real money selling them back to the husbands.”
In “Redecorating” (S2;E8), second-hand furniture dealer Mr. Jenkins (Hans Conried) buys the Ricardo’s furniture for $75, but when they want it back he charges $500! Mr. Watson (James Burke), the man who sells the Ricardos and Mertzes “The Diner” (S3;E27), will say something similar:
MR. WATSON: “I make a fortune…selling this place and buying it back from people who want to go into business for themselves.”
It seems the entrepreneurial spirit was alive in well in the fabulous ‘50s!
To get even with Lucy for selling his clothes, Ricky gets some empty boxes from Brooks Brothers and puts his re-purchased garments inside.
Established in 1918, Brooks Brothers was known as the premiere men’s clothing retailer, specializing in suits. In 1953, the store pioneered the manufacture of poly blend wash-and-wear shirts that they called Brooksweave.
When Ricky opens the boxes to reveal the worn-out duds, Lucy is caught in a lie that she accidentally burned them! [cue spider face] “Ewwwww!”
Coincidentally, Jerry, Ricky’s agent, arranges for him to receive an award as one of the ‘Ten Best Dressed Men in America.’ For the presentation and photo shoot, Ricky names Fred as his ‘fashion consultant.’ Jerry Hausner reprises the role of Jerry he created in the un-aired pilot and would play until 1954.
When Lucy puts Little Ricky (the Mayer Twins) into his playpen, she also give him a toy and tells him to “play with that big bug”. The toys she is referring to is a pull toy named Buzzy Bee, which was made by Fisher-Price from 1950 to 1985. It previously turned up in “The Ricardos Change Apartments” (S2;E26, above) when Little Ricky was played by the Simmons Twins.
Paul Power (Award Presenter) returned to the series to be in The Most Happy Fella audience in “Lucy’s Night In Town” (S6;E22). The Chicago native was born as Lester Vestergard.
Lee Millar (Bill, the photographer) returns for his second of four appearances on the series. He was first seen as the announcer for the radio show “Females are Fabulous” in “The Quiz Show” (S1;E5) and will play Chip Jackson, host of the MGM executive’s show, in “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3). He was also on “The Lucy Show” in 1964. In real life, his mother was actress Verna Felton, who played Lucy’s maid, Mrs. Porter.
Busy Hollywood extra Forbes Murphy appears as one of the men at the award presentation, having been seen with Lucille Ball in That’s Right – You’re Wrong (1939), The Dark Corner (1946), and The Long, Long Trailer (1953), which wrapped filming a few weeks before season three began.
1953, Brooks Brothers, CBS, Changing the Boys’ Wardrobe, Desi Arnaz, Ethel Mertz, Forbes Murphy, Fred Mertz, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Golden Gloves, Granada, I love lucy, Jerry Hausner, Lee Millar, Lucille Ball, Lucy, Lucy Ricardo, Marilyn Monroe, Old Clothes, Oliver Blake, Paul Power, Raggedy Andy, Ricky Ricardo, tv, University of Havana, Vivian Vance, William Frawley -
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“Never Do Business with Friends”
(S2;E31 ~ June 29, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed May 29, 1953 at General Service Studios. Rating: 41.8/83
Synopsis ~ When Lucy convinces Ricky to buy her a new automatic washer and dryer to help with all the laundry from their new baby, they agree to sell the old washing machine to Fred and Ethel, but the transaction ends up proving Ricky’s old saying “nunca hagas negocios con amigos” [never do business with friends].
This was the final episode of the second season and was also the last episode to be filmed at General Service Studios on Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood. Desilu Productions had outgrown the small studio and shortly after the season wrapped they moved a few blocks away to Cahuenga Boulevard and the more spacious Motion Picture Center, which would eventually become known as Desilu Cahuenga.
Season 2 ended as number one in the ratings (an overall 67.3 share) with a total of 31 new episodes aired from September 15, 1952 to June 29, 1953. This is the highest rating share the series achieved. This is also the latest in the season (September through June) that new episodes were aired, due primarily to Lucille Ball’s pregnancy.
During the summer of 1953, “I Love Lucy” was replaced by another Philip Morris-sponsored show, “Racket Squad” starring Reed Hadley.
Ethel complains that her washing machine is old enough to belong in the Smithsonian Institution. Dubbed ‘the Nation’s attic’, the Smithsonian museums (located in Washington DC) will be mentioned again in reference to the antique Cadillac that Fred buys for the trip to Hollywood. Although the bulk of “I Love Lucy” memorabilia is held by the Lucy-Desi Museum in Jamestown, New York, a portrait of Lucille Ball is part of the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery.
Some ask why Ethel needs a new washing machine when Fred just bought her a new Handy Dandy washing machine in “Sales Resistance” (S2;E17) just five months earlier. To be fair, however, “Sales Resistance” is a flashback episode, so a much longer period of time must have passed – at least before Little Ricky’s birth. When Ethel buys the Ricardo’s washer, she keeps it in the kitchen. Lucy already has a washer at the beginning of this episode, but we never see where she keeps hers. Also, we never get to see Lucy’s new washer and dryer.
At the opening of the episode there are so many lines of laundry in the kitchen that Ricky can’t find Lucy. When he finally does meet her, she says “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Doctor David Livingstone was a 17th century missionary and explorer in central Africa, the first European to see Victoria Falls. When reporter H.M. Stanley finally found him in 1871, he supposedly greeted him with “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
In 1939, a film called Stanley and Livingstone was released, starring Spencer Tracy as Stanley and Cedric Hardwicke as Livingstone. Young film starlet Lucille Ball attended the premiere on the arm of Orson Welles. The famous quote was included in the film and is majorly responsible for its popularity today.
The appliance used in the episode is labeled Epernay (a fictional brand). In actuality, it is probably a Launderall Horton 500 with gas stove handles affixed to the sides to help move it back and forth on the narrow porch. Epernay is the name of the Champagne-producing region of France, so it could possibly be a tribute to the way the malfunctioning washer spurts forth water just like a newly-uncorked bottle of Champagne spews forth bubbly!
LUCY: “Carrying this heavy basket – up and down, up and down. My muscles straining, body all aching and racked with pain. Fold those shirts, lift those sheets.”
RICKY: “Now, look, Old Man River, will you dry up?”
Lucy is paraphrasing the lyrics of “Old Man River” by Oscar Hammerstein II from the 1927 Broadway musical Show Boat. The groundbreaking show had revivals in 1932 and 1946 with the most recent of four film versions released just two years before this episode aired.
At the start of the second scene, we see Ethel doing wash in her new (well, new to her, as Fred points out) machine and absent-mindedly singing – extremely off-key! This is more Lucy’s schtick than Ethel’s. Vivian Vance was an accomplished singer who appeared in Broadway musicals with Ethel Merman, and in every other episode her voice is perfectly on pitch. The gag is simply a set-up for Fred to confuse her vocalizing with the noise of a faulty washing machine.
This is the first and only time we get to see inside the Mertzes kitchen.
We also get a rare glimpse of the Ricardo’s and Mertzes back porch and balcony but it is much different from the one shown in “Pioneer Women” (S1;E25), which was before they switched apartments with the Bensons.
When Ethel invites the Ricardos to stay for lunch, she says “Anybody from Albuquerque has always had enough to eat.” We will visit Albuquerque in “Ethel’s Home Town” (S4;E15) where “the room and meals will be for free.”
While Ethel is loading the washing machine, there is a space between the machine and the wall that clearly has movement behind it. This is likely because a stagehand got inside the washer from the back to grab the dry laundry as Ethel throws it in.
When the machine malfunctions, a stick pushes the lid up from inside. Again this is likely the work of a stagehand inside the washer who also has the job of pitching the clothes out of it as it sprays water.
Much of the sequence was shot after the studio audience left to allow close-ups of laundry landing in the faces of the cast.
Lucille Ball took off her false eyelashes before the start of the scene where the washer sprays water everywhere.
This is the fourth of 10 appearances by Elizabeth Patterson as neighbor and baby-sitter Mrs. Trumbull. The daughter of a Confederate soldier, Patterson actually made her debut in the series as Mrs. Willoughby in “The Marriage License” (S1;E26). In this episode we learn that Mrs. Trumbull’s first name is Matilda and that she has a nephew named Joe who runs Joe’s Repair Shop.
Herb Vigran (Joe, the repairman) had already appeared as Jule, the music union agent, in “The Saxophone” (S2;E2) and “The Anniversary Present” (S2;E3) and would go on to play Al Sparks, the man who arranges for Lucy and Ethel to be women from Mars in “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23). He worked with the Arnazes again a few weeks after this episode was filmed when he played the salesman who sells them The Long, Long Trailer (1954).
Little Ricky is played by the Simmons Twins. Insert shots of the baby were done after the studio audience had left. The scene with the baby in the stroller was played to an empty stroller or with a doll.
FLASHBACK!
A year earlier, Lucille Ball provided the voice a washing machine (aka laundromat) for a Westinghouse full-color industrial film titled Ellis in Freedomland.
FAST FORWARD!
In 1958, Westinghouse becomes a major sponsor of Desilu and the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” cast (in character) appear with Betty Furness in commercials to promote Westinghouse appliances, including automatic washers and dryers.
An unaired (and later colorized) 1958 promotional film called Lucy Buys Westinghouse filmed to highlight Desilu’s partnership with Westinghouse ends with Lucille Ball inside a washing machine! The film was originally in black and white and later colorized for home video.
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“The Indian Show”
(S2;E24 ~ May 4, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by
Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 3, 1953 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 63.8/90
Synopsis ~ Ricky is producing an American Indian-themed show at the club and naturally Lucy wants to get into the act!
[Ed. Note: During the 1950s Native Americans were frequently depicted on stage and screen in comic songs and situations – such as the character of Tiger Lily in the film and stage musical of Peter Pan. This episode is no exception. It acknowledges the stereotypes but sets them in a comedic scenario.]
Native American relations in the Arizona Territory circa 1868 was the subject of Lucille Ball’s 1942 film Valley of the Sun. Above, Christine Larson (Ball) tries to reason with Geronimo (Tom Tyler).
Coincidentally, this episode was filmed on the 46th birthday of Iron Eyes Cody (nee Espera DeCorti), one of the most famous actors to ever play a Native American, despite actually being an Italian American. He first worked with Lucy and Desi in 1940’s Too Many Girls and 1942’s Valley of the Sun, a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” in which he played a different kind of Native American, an Eskimo. He played a Medicine Man
in “Lucy and the Indian Chief” (HL S2;E3). He is probably best remembered as the Indian that sheds a single tear in the ‘Keep America Beautiful’ ads that ran from 1971 to the 1980s.
Also celebrating a birthday on April 3, 1953 is Wayne Newton, who was just 11. He would go on to be one of Lucille Ball’s favorite guest-stars on both “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”
Also on the date this episode was filmed (April 3, 1954), the very first national edition of TV Guide was published with newborn Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lucille Ball on the cover.
The episode opens with an orchestra underscoring that is reminiscent of American Indian themes, but the theme of the ‘Indian Show’ isn’t introduced until the second scene, making it a bit incongruous.
While Ricky is reading in the living room, Lucy brings him to the bedroom to watch her make the baby laugh. Instead of simply cutting from the living room to the bedroom, the camera awkwardly tracks left, showing the end of the cut-away wall of the set. Early episodes often experimented with this new, three camera system.
In the bedroom, Lucy tries to get newborn Little Ricky to laugh for the first time by making funny faces, something Lucille Ball was quite adept at. She does her ‘Pekingese dog’ face here for the first time. She will do it again in “Ricky’s Contract” (S4;E9) to try to make her distracted husband laugh.
She also does a grimace that is best described as ‘putting her face on melt.’
This is the second appearance of Richard and Ronald Lee Simmons as infant Little Ricky. During the insert shots of the baby in the crib, the bolster is embroidered with the stick figure logos of Lucy and Desi that opened the show in its initial broadcasts. In the final shot of the baby, however, the logo is absent.
Oops! As Lucy and Ricky leave the bedroom, the baby doll that stood in for the Simmons Twins in the master shot is clearly visible.
Ricky’s poor English says the Indian stories make his blood “cuddle”. Fred says he means like in the song “Curdle Up a Little Closer.” “Cuddle Up A Little Closer, Lovey Mine” is a popular song written by Karl Hoschna, the lyrics by Otto Harbach published in 1908. It was from the Broadway musical The Three Twins.
When ex-vaudevillian Fred hears Ricky is casting, he ducks into the kitchen and returns in a make-shift Indian outfit using a feather duster for a headdress and a gingham table cloth over his shoulders.
FRED: “How you like ‘um?”
RICKY: “Stink ‘um.”Ricky explains to Fred that they have to be REAL Indians.
Lucy, too wants to get into the act, but Ricky is quick to remind Lucy that she is a mother now and that she gave her farewell performance in “Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan Song” (S2;E12).
LUCY: “It’s time for that swan to hit the come-back trail.”
FRED: “That swan’s got a little ham in it.”
When the two men show up at Lucy’s door, they are clearly NOT real Indians: one speaks with a Brooklyn accent, the other is named Herman. He then hires Fred and Ethel to dress up like Indians and sing anyway! So much for hiring “real Indians.”
Oops! During the rehearsal scene, the moving shadow of the boom microphone can be seen over the Mertzes’ heads.
To impress Ricky, Lucy recites Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1855 poem “The Song of Hiawatha.” Lucy claims to have played Hiawatha in a school pageant once.
In the act, the Mertzes join Ricky in singing “Pass That Peace Pipe,” a song by Ralph Blaine, Hugh Martin, and Roger Edens from Good News (1947). It was nominated for the 1948 Academy Award for Best Song. The song was not in the original stage version of Good News, which served as the inspiration for the fictional musical “The Professor and the Co-Ed,” the 1920s musical that Bill Parker is producing in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (S3;E11).
“By the Waters of the Minnetonka: An Indian Love Song” was written by Thurlow Lieurance. Around 1909, Lieurance acquired a portable recording device and carried it with him whenever he went to visit Native American performers. In October 1911, he recorded a Crow singer, Sitting Eagle, also known as Mortimer Dreamer. From this recording he took the melody for "By the Waters of the Minnetonka.” It was published in 1913 with words by J.M. Cavanass, becoming an instant success and going through several editions; it was also frequently recorded before 1950. In the episode, the song is first sung by Juanita and Ricky, and then again by Lucy and Ricky.
Carol Richards (Juanita) made her screen debut with this episode. In 1976 she was seen as Mary Ryan on “Ryan’s Hope.” She is best remembered for her recording with with Bing Crosby of the classic Christmas song “Silver Bells” (1952).
Richard Reeves (the taller Indian) makes his fifth of eight appearances on the series. During the first season he was seen as Bill Foster in “The Gossip” (S1;24) and “The Publicity Agent” (S1;E31). He later played a policeman on a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show.”
Frank Gerstle (Herman, the shorter Indian) would return to the show to play the helicopter pilot who flies Lucy out to the S.S. Constitution in “Bon Voyage” (S5;E13). He also played a gas station attendant in The Long, Long Trailer (1953).
Little Ricky’s cry is provided by Jerry Hausner, who usually plays Jerry the Agent. Interestingly, Ricky has a phone conversation with Jerry in this episode, but we only see and hear Ricky’s side of the conversation.
FAST FORWARD
In season four, when Ethel visits her hometown of Albuquerque, she dons a traditional headdress for a photo shoot.
In season six, babysitter Fred wears a toy Indian headdress in the opening scene of “Little Ricky’s School Pageant” (S6;E10). Ethel remarks that it’s the most hair he’s had in years!
Lucy plays an Indian Squaw in the Westport PTA’s “Western Frolics” as part of “Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (1959).
Finally, Ricky puts on the headdress for a publicity still that was used on the cover of ‘I Love Lucy’ comics. Judging by the outerwear, the photo was taken in Sun Valley, Utah, during the location shoot for “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (1958).
Lucy Carmichael took her son on a scout camping trip where Lucille Ball wears the exact same costume she wore in 1953.
Viv (Vivian Vance) gets into the act as well. The costumes are greeted by a spontaneous round of applause by the studio audience.
In 1963, ‘The Lucy Show’ comics got into the act. “Heap Big Fun”?
In “Lucy, the Rain Goddess” (TLS S4;E15), Lucy Carmichael bears an uncanny resemblance to the rain goddess depicted on a Native American totem pole.
When bank employee Lucy Carmichael builds Jack Benny a heavily-guarded bank vault underground, it is guarded by a tribe of wild Indians – actually actors demanding overtime!
In “Lucy and the Efficiency Expert” (TLS S5;E13), the shelves of the Grantland Toy Factory in which Lucy Carmichael works the assembly line, featured boxes of this mechanical toy, one which would definitely not be sold today!
In “Lucy and the Indian Chief” (HL S2;E3), standing on the edge of Lake Powell, Lucy Carter recites the same verse from Longfellow’s 1855 poem that Lucy Ricardo” spoke on “I Love Lucy.” The episode was shot on location on Navajo land using Navajo background players, the first television show to do so. The principal Native American characters, however, are played by white actors.
Indian Wells, California, a city in Riverside County, was where Desi Arnaz opened what is now known as The Indian Wells Resort in 1957. The area was home to thriving Indian tribes as early as 1820. In 1876, The Wells Fargo Company revitalized the area with railroad service. The city was incorporated in 1967 to avoid being annexed by nearby Palm Springs.
1953, American Indian, By The Waters of the Minnetonka, Carol Richards, CBS, Desi Arnaz, Ethel Mertz, Frank Gerstle, Fred Mertz, Good News, I love lucy, Little Ricky, Longfellow, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Native Americans, Pass That Peace Pipe, Ralph Blaine, Richard Reeves, Ricky Ricardo, Simmons Twins, The Song of Hiawatha, tv, Vivian Vance, William Frawley -
“The Courtroom”
“A television set! For us?”
(S2;E7 ~ November 10, 1952) Directed by William Asher. Written by
Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed August 8, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 66.5/91
Synopsis ~ For the Mertzes anniversary, the Ricardo’s buy them a new 20” television set. Tempers flare when the TV set needs adjusting and gets damaged, resulting in a law suit and an appearance in court!
This was the second episode filmed after the company came back from an abbreviated summer hiatus to account for Lucille Ball’s pregnancy and the necessity to ‘bank’ episodes for her post-partum period.
This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show, “My Favorite Husband” episode #49, appropriately titled “Television” and aired June 17, 1949.
This episode brings together two of the show’s strongest themes – marital relationships and television. Television obsession was also explored in:
- In season one, “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (S1;E30) for Vitameatavegamin after disemboweling their own television set to demonstrate her star quality on the small screen.
- In “Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (S1;E32) the only reason the foursome are listening to the radio in the first place is because the TV set isn’t working.
- In season two an entire episode is centered around the new national pastime in “Ricky and Fred are TV Fans” (S2;E30).
In 1952 television was still not found in every home, as we see in “The Courtroom” when the Mertzes are given their first set.
When this episode was filmed, many people had purchased their first TV specifically to see the 1952 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which aired in July. Lucy and Desi also helped sell televisions by appearing in GE’s print-ads for the Black-Daylite Ultravision sets.
Oops! In “Be a Pal” (S1;E2), just a year earlier, the Mertzes were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary but here it has been advanced to their 25th. They will continue to say they’ve been married for 25 years for the rest of the series.
When the set explodes mere minutes after the Ricardos give it to the Mertzes, there is a dispute about whose set it really is.
ETHEL (to the Ricardos): “Well! A couple of Indian-TV-Givers!”
An ‘Indian Giver’ is a now politically incorrect expression for someone who gives a gift and then expects it back later on. Many theorize that early settlers misunderstood the Native American concept of bartering. The term made its first appearance in John Russell Barlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms in 1848.
The camera comes in for a tight two-shot of Ricky and Fred to capture that gleam in William Frawley’s eyes when Fred gets the idea to get even by putting his foot through the Ricardo’s TV set.
Sitcom Logic Alert! The sort of glass used in early televisions was actually quite thick. It would be nearly impossible for Fred to put his foot through the set. The glass used in the episode is likely ‘candy glass’ – the sort that was also made into break-away bottles for movies and TV with the sound effect of shattering glass added in during post-production.
After Fred kicks in the glass of the Ricardo TV, Fred and Ethel leave in a huff but go opposite directions once in the hallway. Could this be an indication of William Frawley and Vivian Vance’s off-stage animosity? Or perhaps Frawley’s dressing room was in the opposite direction from Vance’s? Vivian’s next entrance is only a moment away so it was likely the best place to wait for her cue.
Oops? When Lucy slams the door shut in Ethel’s face (”You’re Welcome!”), she slams it so hard that the painting over the piano falls off the wall. It is difficult to tell whether this really happened by chance or was scripted.
As the next scene begins, Lucy is catching up with her reading with the April 1952 edition of Mademoiselle magazine. The women’s monthly was first published in 1935 and its last issue hit the newsstands in 2001. The magazine billed itself for “smart young women” so perhaps this accounts for the fact that Lucille Ball (age 41) never appeared on its cover and that this is its only major screen time on the series.
For a Look at the Magazines Seen on “I Love Lucy” – Click Here!
This episode twice references little-seen tenant Miss Lewis, who gives the Mertzes a small anniversary cake. The process server also asks for the Lewis apartment when he knocks on the Ricardos’ door, and Lucy indicates that she lives in 1A. Miss Lewis only appeared in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (S1;E15) and was played by Bea Benaderet (inset), Lucy’s “My Favorite Husband” co-star and the first choice to play Ethel Mertz.
Oops! Lucy refers to her as MRS. Lewis instead of MISS Lewis. It is unlikely that she married and kept her maiden name!
Harry Bartell (Process Server) would return to the series to play the waiter who serves William Holden at the Brown Derby in “Hollywood at Last” (S4;E16), as well as the jewel thief in “The Great Train Robbery” (S5;E5).
Ricky intends to act as his own lawyer, coaching Lucy through her “onrehearsed espontaneous testimony”. She gets carried away with the stage direction (snarls at Mertzes). Ricky seems to forget the old adage: A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client!
Parts of the courtroom scene of the original episode were trimmed for syndication but added back for the DVD release. The restored moments include:
- Lucy’s full practice the first time she reads the scripted testimony Ricky wrote for her.
- Ricky feeding Lucy her part and Lucy stumbling over her memorized lines.
- When the judge asks Lucy to repeat the part where she compliments him.
In the courtroom there is a 48 star flag. In 1952, Alaska and Hawaii had not yet been admitted to the union. This flag flew from 1912 to 1959. There are also portraits of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. For much of the 20th century portraits of these presidents were displayed in most every municipal building and school. The famously unfinished portrait of Washington (here with an oval matte) is by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), who is widely considered one of America’s foremost portraitists. This is his best known work and is sometimes referred to as The Athenaeum. The portrait of Lincoln appears to be by David Bustill Bowser (1820-1900) finished in 1865. Both portraits also appeared on US currency.
Moroni Olsen (the Judge) appeared in three Three Musketeers films including a 1935 version which also starred Lucille Ball. He also appeared with her in The Farmer in the Dell (1936) and That’s Right – You’re Wrong (1939). After filming this episode he would star as Mr. Tewitt in the Arnazes The Long, Long Trailer (1954). He died the same year the film was released.
Robert B. Williams (the Bailiff) was a busy Hollywood day player who had recurring roles on "Dennis the Menace” and “Hazel.” His last role was as Garth Gimble Sr. (Martin Mull’s father) on “Fernwood Tonight” in 1977.
Editing Goof! As the Judge starts down the stairs from his bench, the door to his chambers is open. The camera cuts to a wider shot, and the door is closed. After the TV set explodes, the judge fans away the smoke and when the camera once again goes to close-up, the smoke is completely gone and the door is open again.
JUDGE: “We must never lose our tempers!”
FAST FORWARD JUSTICE!
This episode was rerun on March 7, 1955, during the show’s Hollywood season with new introductory footage of Ricky showing Lucy his Don Juan make-up. Lucy says that Ricky looks like a Spanish Uncle Sam. The Ricardos receive a letter from Lucy’s mother, and Mrs. McGillicuddy refers to Fred and Ethel as ‘Ted and Evelyn.’ She also says in the letter that she sent the Ricardos’ and the Mertzes’ television sets out to be fixed before she figured out that they weren’t working due to the electricity being off in the building. Ricky says that the Mertzes’ TV has been a problem ever since the Ricardos gave it to them for their anniversary. This leads in to the memory of what happened in “The Courtroom.” Sadly, only the script for this introductory footage still exists. The film has been lost.
The opening moments from this episode, where Lucy shows off her new dress, were partly colorized (characters only) for the Time-Life “I Love Lucy” VHS collection. The intro was played before each of the three episodes on the tape.
The Ricardos and the Mertzes find themselves in court again in “Lucy Makes Room for Danny,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” where Gale Gordon plays the Judge.
In that episode, Ethel once again tries to influence the judge by showing her legs, something Fred (again) disapproves of.
In a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show”, Lucy Carmichael chases a runaway butterfly into the Danfield courtroom! She nets both the butterfly and the judge!
“Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (TLS S2;E23) when called to court over barking dogs in the neighborhood. Joe Mell is the Bailiff and John McGiver is the Judge.
In 1964, as part of her new job as a Meter Maid, Mrs. Carmichael must appear in court to defend the parking ticket she issued to Vivian. Once again, Joe Mell plays the Bailiff.
When “Lucy Sues Mooney” (TLS S6;E12) in 1967, Mrs. Carmichael is represented by a lawyer played by Jack Carter. The Judge is played by Parley Baer.
In a 1966 episode, Lucy Carmichael appears on a TV soap opera as a courtroom spectator, but gets carried away in the moment, taking on the role of attorney as well. The only summation she can recall is from Shakespeare!
In a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy” Lucy Carter went to court
to defend her illegal raffle, appearing in front of a judge played by Hayden Rorke.
In an episode of “Life With Lucy” Lucy Barker goes to court to fight for ownership of a teddy bear!
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“Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald”
(S1;E34 ~ June 2, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 25, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 56.0/90
Synopsis ~ Ricky’s receding hairline causes him concern, so Lucy decides to give him painful scalp treatments.
This is the penultimate episode of the first season, the longest of any “Lucy” sitcom, racking up 35 episodes.
The inspiration for this episode, specifically the ‘torture treatment,’ came from head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer (above), who went through the same thing when he first started losing his hair. Oppenheimer actually tried out the odd-looking device that Lucy uses on Ricky.
Jess Oppenheimer later said that this episode was a lesson in how not to do a Lucy show. First and foremost, it made Ricky the center of attention, with Lucy playing the concerned housewife. It even had Desi doing most of the slapstick, with Lucille merely reacting. “The best Lucy episodes always focused on Lucy and her problems or idiosyncrasies,” Jess remarked. “If anyone was going to get goop spilled all over her, it had to be Lucy.”
The show was also memorable for Oppenheimer because it did not ‘work’ the way it was originally filmed. In the original script, Lucy put Ricky through all the messy home remedies at the end of Act One. When those things failed to dissuade him, she hired the group of bald men to come over for a visit, only to have Ricky phone to say he would not be home until later. The original ending had Ricky call Lucy to say that he saw a photo of himself from 15 years ago, and that he has just as much hair now, if not more, than he did when the picture was taken.
When Oppenheimer saw the finished show, he instinctively knew that the kitchen scene, with Ricky’s scalp being pulverized by Lucy’s home remedies, was the high point of the story – so he, Bob Carroll and Madelyn Pugh quickly wrote a couple of new conversations (between Lucy and Ethel), and Dann Cahn re-edited the show to reverse the order of things.
Lucy repeats the gag of launching toast out of the toaster first seen in “Be a Pal” (S1;E3) – this time catching it in her hat!
LUCY: “I feel like I’m having breakfast in a beanery.”
Although the word ‘beanery’ is not used much today, it referred to inexpensive restaurants or cafes, the ‘beans’ referring to coffee beans, as the term was used mostly for coffee shops. Before Chock Full o’ Nuts became a supermarket brand coffee, they operated a chain of Manhattan coffee shops that were often referred to as beaneries.
The shops first opened in 1931 and still exist today.
Because gentlemen often stopped in for a quick cup of coffee, they often did not take off their hats.
Mr. Thurlough, owner of the shop where Lucy buys the hair restoring products, is played by Milton Parsons. Although this is his only appearance in the series, Parsons had appeared in four Broadway plays between 1930 and 1950, the last directed by Hume Cronyn. He was seen in four films with William Frawley, the most popular of which was 1942’s Roxie Hart starring Lucy’s pal Ginger Rogers. It was later the basis for the hit musical Chicago.
At the bald party, Parson’s removes his toupee to reveal that he, too, is completely bald! He recruits Mr. Johnson, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Davis as party guests – with six more dome tops coming!
The three bald actors who appear go uncredited but the scene fades out before the others arrive.
FRED: “I have plenty of hair, it goes way down over my eyes.”
LUCY: “Yeah, Fred, you better cut it or people will think you’re a girl.”This joke was pre-Beatles, who started the trend of longer hair that become symbolic of the counter-culture movement of the mid-to-late 1960s.
Fred comes to the party, too, but wearing a classy toupee. The next time viewers see Fred with hair will be an insert snapshot of a young William Frawley in “Sentimental Anniversary” (S3;E16) and then again in in the flashback that comprises “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana” (1957), the first episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” That is, if you don’t count the wigs he wears in the next episode “Ricky Asks for a Raise” (S1;E35).
“Treatment, Ricky, Treatment!”
The first thing Lucy tries is a vibrating massage of the scalp.
Lucy uses the Stim-U-Lax Scalp Massager by Oster, which was mainly used by barbers.
After that, Lucy uses another vibrating device on her husband’s head.
She uses the state-of-the-art Vitabrush Vibrating Hairbrush made by Hershey Manufacturing Inc.
The top left photo depicts the Electric Scalp Massage Exerciser.
Devices like this were sold as early as the 1920s and were advertised in magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics.
The idea for Ricky to pull the stocking over his head came from real life. One Halloween, friends of Lucy and Desi’s came to their house wearing stockings over their heads and Lucy was scared stiff at the sight. The sight of Ricky’s face under the nylon stocking is indeed alarming.
When Lucille Ball was growing up, her aunt owned a beauty salon and Lucy would often visit to observe. Lucy even had a mini-beauty parlor at her Chatsworth ranch and enjoyed giving friends permanents and trying the latest beauty products.
In later life Desi Arnaz’s hair turned gray but unlike William Frawley, he never went bald.
FAST FORWARD
“Job Switching” (S2;E1) ~ 1952
In 1957′s “Country Club Dance” (S6;E25), Fred compares himself actor Yul Brynner, one of the most famous bald actors in Hollywood. Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson) seems amused by the idea.
In 1958′s “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (LDCH), Lucy and guest-star Fernando Lamas (who had a thick head of hair) skied down….Bald Mountain aka Mount Baldy or just ‘Baldy’ for short!
When George Washington comes to visit Mr. and Mrs. Paul Revere in a 1964 “Jack Benny Program”, Jack holds his hat, while Lucy holds his wig – revealing that the Father of our Country (Don Wilson) was bald.
In 1970′s “Lucy the Crusader” (HL S3;E5), Lucy demonstrates a faulty electric hair dryer that eats the hair off the head of one of the stockholders.
During 1971′s “The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (HL S3;E22) Lucy went blonde and Harry went bald to complete the look of the 1930 German film The Blue Angel.
In 1973′s “Lucy and Her Genuine Twimby” (HL S5;E17), actor William Lanteau (who was NOT bald) wore a bald pate under a toupee for this sake of this visual gag.
Mame and Vera (Beatrice Arthur) sing “Bosom Buddies” in Mame (1974).
On 1977′s “Circus of the Stars II” Lucille Ball and Telly Savalas, television’s most famous bad actor, were two of four ringmasters aka hosts.
“Ricky Thinks He Is Getting Bald” is referenced in the 2001 movie Rat Race.
In 2001, a Polish remake loosely based on “I Love Lucy” titled “Kocham Klara” (”I Love Clara”), presented “A Wonderful Treatment” loosely based on this episode and co-written with the cooperation of the original “I Love Lucy” writers.
Looking in the mirror, Kuba concludes that he is going bald. Klara tries to convince him that this is not true, but to no avail. Overnight, Kuba’s fear of losing his hair turns into a panicky obsession. Klara decides to apply a treatment for hair growth, after which Kuba will forget about his imaginary baldness once and for all.
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“Lucy Fakes Illness”
(S1;E16 ~ January 28, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on December 18, 1951 at General Service Studios. It was the 16th episode filmed. Rating: 57.4/77
Synopsis ~ When Ricky is casting a new show and forbids Lucy to audition, she takes a tip from a book on Abnormal Psychology and pretends to be mentally ill – until Ricky turns the tables!
This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” episode #111 titled “Liz Has the Flimjabs”
broadcast December 30, 1950.
A portion of the opening scene with Fred and Ethel showing Lucy the ad in Variety, was cut for syndication. The DVD restored the episode to its full length.
In this scene, Fred and Ethel wear unusually dressy clothes. Ethel generally wears house dresses and William Frawley rarely wears such a fancy jacket. While much of the cast’s wardrobe is repeated, these never are seen again. Later in the episode, Ricky wears a turtleneck sweater, something the character rarely does.
The three complexes that Lucy adopts from the book are:
- acting like a famous actress (Lucy chooses Tallulah Bankhead);
- developing amnesia (or ‘magnesia’, as Ricky calls it);
- and acting like a child.
Lucy is referring to Noel Coward, the famous British playwright. Shortly before this show Bankhead had starred in a successful revival of his Private Lives on Broadway.
At the time of filming, Bankhead was in the midst of hosting “The Big Show” on NBC radio, which ended in April 1952. Lucy gets to do her Bankhead impersonation again at the very end of the season in “Ricky Asks For A Raise” (S1;E35).
The real Tallulah Bankhead would guest star on “The Celebrity Next Door,” the second episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” (1957, inset photo) when Bette Davis withdrew.
Lucy
again reverts to childhood in “The Kleptomaniac” (S1;E27), where her baby voice is inspired by Ginger Rogers in the 1942 film The Major and the Minor.
At first Ricky calls Dr. Stevenson, but only reaches his answering service. The doctor’s surname may be a reference to noted costume designer Edward Stevenson, who designed gowns for Lucille Ball in more than a dozen RKO films and would eventually become costume designer of “I Love Lucy” after the departure of Elois Jenssen in 1955.
This is Hal March’s first appearance on the series, playing an actor friend of Ricky’s, also named Hal March. At the end of the show, announcer Johnny Jacobs says “The part of Hal March was played by Hal March.”
In real life, March was indeed a friend of the Arnazes.
March returned to the show to play womanizing lingerie salesman Eddie Grant in “Lucy Is Matchmaker” (S2;E27). In 1966 he was seen on “The Lucy Show.”
For the television script, the ‘flimjabs’ was renamed the ‘gobloots’ – a rare tropical disease that carried into America on the hind legs of the ‘boo-shoo bird.’ It can necessitate a person having to undergo a ‘zorchectomy’ – total or partial removal of the ‘zorch.’ Even if doctors are able to save half a person’s ‘zorch,’ the patient will never be able to ‘trummle’ again. ‘Trummling’ is a mysterious involuntary internal process. Finally, if you turn green while suffering from the ‘gobloots’ you will be dead in 30 minutes!
Oops! When Ricky replaces Lucy’s bedside lamps with green bulbs to convince her she’s really ill, why doesn’t Ethel see that Ricky and Fred are also green?
Although we don’t hear the lyrics (or even the title), the song Ricky’s musicians play for Lucy at her ‘death bed,’ was “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead (You Rascal You)” written by Sam Heard in 1931. Lucy either recognizes this jazz standard, or is surprised by its upbeat tone, but she is visibly alarmed when it is played. Some “I Love Lucy” books and websites incorrectly list the song as “When the Saints Come Marching In.”
This is the first appearance of the “I Love Lucy” teddy bear, nestled next to Lucy in her ‘sick bed.’ The bear will return in “Ricky Minds the Baby” (S3;E14) and a variation of the bear is seen in “Nursery School” (S5;E9) when Little Ricky has his tonsils out. It would later be made commercially available.
While playing cards in the living room, Ricky pulls a carton of Philip Morris cigarettes out of the desk. He gives Fred a pack and Fred pockets it. He then offers Fred a single cigarette from the pack, but William Frawley fails to take it, so Desi drops the pack on the desk. Frawley notices this and takes a cigarette out of the pack. Philip Morris was the show’s sponsor and they took any opportunity to show their product. During the height of the show’s popularity, Lucy and Desi’s image would be on the carton instead of Johnny the Bellboy, their living mascot.
Oops!
Ricky says they have lived in their apartment for five years when earlier in the season it was only three.
This episode was rerun during season 2. A newly filmed intro has Fred faking his “yearly case of lumbago” to get out of cleaning the furnace. Ethel knows Fred is faking, and she proves it by pretending to have tickets to a show that night. Fred wants to go to the show, so he suddenly recovers from his lumbago. Fred asks, “Are the seats good?” Ethel replies with, “They sure are – right in front of the furnace!” Ricky then chides Fred for faking, saying how nobody ever falls for “that phony sick routine.” Fred and Ethel then remind Ricky of when he fell for Lucy’s phony psychological problems and the re-run begins as a flashback.
In “Lucy the Stockholder” (TLS S3;E25), Lucy Carmichael pretends to regress to childhood to convince a rich doctor to deposit money in Mr. Mooney’s bank!
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“Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer”
(S1;E10 ~ December 17, 1951) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed November 16, 1951 at General Service Studios.
Rating: 41.4/62
Synopsis ~ Upset by a blind item in the gossip column that links Ricky’s name with a girl at the club, Lucy dons a disguise and heads for the Tropicana to spy on her husband.
Title Trouble! The intended title of this episode was “Lucy is Jealous of Girl Dancer,” which more accurately reflects the script. It was decided that having Lucy get involved in a dance routine would be funnier than having her interrupt a song. In fact, Rosemary (the “Girl” of the title) does not sing a note during the entire episode! For years the titles were used interchangeably, even by CBS itself. The title is also grammatically odd: it should read “Lucy is Jealous of A Girl Singer.”
This is one of several season one episodes in which William Frawley (Fred Mertz) does not appear. The others are “The Quiz Show” (S1;E5), “The Young Fans” (S1;E20), and “Lucy Plays Cupid” (S1;E15), the latter two also without Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz). Ethel does mention Fred and we hear a banging noise on the floor supposedly Fred’s signal to Ethel to come downstairs.
When Ethel enters the Ricardo apartment, Lucy is vacuuming and screams out loud when Ethel surprises her. She shushes Ethel and says that Ricky is still sleeping! Lucy then proceeds to shout at Ethel over the sound of the vacuum. Ricky must be a heavy sleeper!
Lucy uses a Hoover Upright Electric Sweeper. In 1950, film and radio star Lucille Ball had done print advertising for Hoover.
During “Sales Resistance” (S2;E17, above photo), Lucy is convinced to trade in her Hoover for a Handy Dandy (actually a Westinghouse) with all the attachments (”the works”) by a slick salesman. In 1958, Desilu partnered with Westinghouse.
Ethel has a newspaper prominently tucked under her arm. She is trying to get Lucy to ask about it and spill the news!
Oops! In one shot the newspaper has small print and in the very next shot of Ethel, it is a headline page with the word HERE clearly visible. This indicates that the scene was edited from different takes.
When Lucy flips open the paper to read the inside item, the headline reads: “CHURCHILL, HST [Harry S. Truman] TO CONFER HERE”. Early in 1952, the newly reinstalled British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once again crossed the Atlantic to confer with a US President.
Coincidentally, the day of his re-election, October 25, 1951 Churchill filed a writ of suit in British courts against the LONDON Daily Mirror claiming the made false and malicious comments about him. The paper Lucy and Ethel hold is the NEW YORK Daily Mirror. The confusion has caused many viewers to think the use of this prop is an error by the prop department. The back (sports) page talks about the Eagles and the Giants, both American teams. The abbreviation of Harry S. Truman to HST and the use of the word “HERE” indicates an American paper. The New York Daily Mirror was founded in 1924 and ceased publication in 1963.
Interestingly, it is Ethel who has the sneaky plan on how to find out what Ricky and Rosemary are up to, not Lucy. Ethel hatches the entire scheme which jealous Lucy eagerly goes along with; quite the opposite of the usual scenario.
The insert shot of the newspaper item is nearly identical to one found in Lucille Ball’s 1938 film Joy of Living. In the film, Margaret Garrett was played by Irene Dunne. Nearly all prop newspapers were printed by Hollywood’s Earl Hays Press, who used the same fonts, ads, and articles.
Oops! When Lucy goes to wake up Ricky to confront him about the story in the paper, a man’s arm in a sport coat is briefly visible on the right side of the screen.
The scene at the Tropicana opens on Marco Rizo riffing on the piano as the rest of the Ricky Ricardo / Desi Arnaz Orchestra relaxes around the room.
If Lucy looks especially beautiful in this screen shot, it is because this was one of a handful of specially-lit medium shots that populated the first season. Cinematographer Karl Freund took great care to create these portrait shots, an advantage of shooting on film. Costly and time-consuming, these portrait shots were generally discontinued after season one.
Lucy’s suspicions are confirmed when she finds a piece of black lace from Rosemary’s costume tucked into Ricky’s sports jacket pocket.
This is one of the earliest instances of Ricky saying ”‘splain" for “explain.” Contrary to popular belief, the often-quoted phrase of “Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!” was never uttered in the show’s history. While Ricky has told Lucy to “’splain” many times, the exact words of the popular quote were never spoken. The writers were careful when making fun of Ricky’s English because Desi Arnaz was very sensitive about it in real life.
The actor who nails the sign on the door where Lucy and Ethel have just hidden has his back to the camera the whole time and is not credited.
In this episode ‘arroz con pollo’ (chicken and rice) is said to be Ricky’s favorite meal, just as it was for Desi. When Lucy and Ethel go off to work in “Job Switching” (S2;E1) this is the dinner Ricky disastrously cooks up. Later in the series, Ricky will also say that roast pig is his favorite dish.
Rosemary is played by Helen Silvers, although some sources report her last name as Silver (no ‘s’). She made her screen debut with this episode. The following year she appeared (uncredited) in two movie musicals: Castles in the Air and Stars and Stripes Forever. She is the lead dancer in the “Jezebel” number, although there are four uncredited back-up dancers in the number as well. A heavily disguised Lucy makes five.
“Jezebel” is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. It was recorded by Frankie Laine with Mitch Miller and his orchestra in April 1951 and released on Columbia Records, a division of CBS. The record reached #2 on the Billboard chart. The title refers to the Biblical woman Jezebel of the Old Testament. A ‘Jezebel’ became synonymous with any woman who used her feminine wiles to lead men astray, so the song’s lyrics tie in nicely with the episode’s theme.
Ricky starts to rehearse the orchestra in “El Cumbanchero” by Rafael Hernández, but they only get out the first note. The song was later heard in full in “Breaking the Lease” (S1;E18).
RICKY (to his band): “The first fellow who acts like he’s playing in his sleep is going to get traded to Phil Spitalny.”
Phil Spitalny was a Russian-born bandleader often heard on the radio during the 1930s and ‘40s. Between 1951 and 1953 he made several appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He rose to fame after forming an all-girl orchestra, so Ricky’s remark is slightly sexist. Funny enough, in “Lucy’s Club Dance” (S3;E25), the Ricky Ricardo orchestra appears in drag as an “all girl band”. It was Desi Arnaz’s least favorite episode.
Lucy and Ricky’s long kiss at the very end of episode made it past the censors only once. It was drastically cut by about 7 seconds for all subsequent reruns. The longer kiss has been restored for the DVD release.
FAST FORWARD!
This episode was rerun in season 2 on April 6, 1953 (the end of Lucille Ball’s pregnancy leave), with new introductory footage: While Lucy is away at a gym trying to lose her ‘baby’ weight, Ricky and Ethel play cards and Fred is reads the newspaper. When Fred sees an item in a gossip column about a married bandleader who is womanizing, Ricky says he’s thankful Lucy is not the jealous type. Fred says that whenever Ricky even looks at another girl, Lucy “turns as green as a $2 watch.” They then prompt Ricky to recall a similar situation that happened to him and the episode fades into a flashback of this episode.
Jealousy also caused Lucy Ricardo to go to the Tropicana in disguise to keep an eye on Ricky in “Cuban Pals” (S1;E28).
The green-eyed monster strikes again in “Ricky’s Old Girlfriend” (S3;E12) and again in “Don Juan and the Starlets” (S4;E17, above) where Lucy also tries to blend in with the girls.
Professional jealousy caused Lucy Carmichael to go to the bank in disguise to keep an eye on the sexy secy (Ruta Lee) subbing for her during vacation in “Lucy’s Substitute Secretary” (TLS S5;E14).
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“Be a Pal”
(S1;E2 ~ October 22, 1951) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed September 21, 1951 at General Service Studios. Rating: 40.3/60
Synopsis ~ When Lucy thinks Ricky is losing interest in her, she takes desperate measures prescribed in the Book of the Month Club selection “How to Keep the Honeymoon From Ending” by Dr. Humphries.
This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” episode #93, also titled “Be a Pal,” broadcast June 18, 1950. In it, a speaker at Liz’s club convinces her the way to have a happy marriage is for her to be interested in everything her husband is interested in.
This episode was filmed the third week in September and the series would not premiere for another three weeks (October 15, 1951). America had not yet discovered “I Love Lucy.” Although the first episode filmed the previous week would be moved to air third, this episode remained second on the schedule.
The date this episode first aired, “Demagogue” Senator Joseph McCarthy was on the cover of Time Magazine. Little did Lucille Ball know how much trouble this man and his House Un-American Activities Committee would cause her two years later when they accused her of being a Communist.
This is the first time Lucy launches bread out of a toaster, a gag she would repeat many times throughout her TV career. Also in this episode Lucy makes fun of Ricky’s English for the first time, something that would become a staple of the series. As usual, the toast Lucille Ball puts in the toaster is already well-toasted!
When apathetic Ricky puckers up for a goodbye kiss, Lucy offers him her grapefruit instead! Ricky doesn’t even notice!
A box of Duz powdered laundry detergent is prominently displayed next to the sink. Duz brand first appeared in the 1940s and offered glassware and plates in each box! It was discontinued in 1980.
Resolved to get Ricky’s attention away from the morning papers, Lucy tries everything she can think of, including mounting the kitchen table!
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Ricky reads the same newspaper (The New York Times) two mornings in a row. By the second scene the newspaper is tattered and torn, likely from the number of rehearsals required for the scene were Lucy lights the paper on fire to get his attention.
Lucy and Ethel do a funny bit where Lucy thinks she is talking to Ethel on the telephone, but she is actually in the next room wondering what Lucy is talking about.
Oops! Phones must have worked differently in the 1950s, otherwise why would Lucy not be hearing a continual ring tone while she was talking to Ethel?
During the scene, Vivian Vance is eating a donut. At one point she takes too big a bite and has to take a piece out of her mouth and put it on the kitchen counter!
Oops! The camera following Lucy briefly pans over too far and allows viewers a glimpse of the edge of the set wall!
Ricky’s poker buddies are played by Richard Reeves (Hank, left) and Tony Michaels (Charlie, right). This is the first of eight appearances for the burly Richard Reeves. This first season he will be seen as Bill Foster in “The Gossip” (S1;24) and “The Publicity Agent” (S1;E31). He played a policeman on a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show.” Michaels returns to play a laundryman in “Bonus Bucks” (S3;E21).
During the poker game, Lucy calls her two queens ‘sisters.’ When Fred looks at his newly-dealt hand he quips “You can tell your two Andrews Sisters not to wait up for LaVerne.” The Andrews Sisters were a close-harmony singing group most popular during World War II. In 1969 Lucy played LaVerne Andrews on an episode of “Here’s Lucy” that guest-starred Patty Andrews as herself. Lucie Arnaz took the role of the third Andrews sister, Maxene.
Oops! When Lucy and the guys play poker, you can hear a crew member cough very loudly. Also, when the men open by putting in two white chips ($1 each), Fred tosses in two DARKER colored chips (red or blue, it is hard to tell in black and white). This effectively increases the ante, but Fred does not announce that he is raising and Charlie then also antes $2. This means that it is likely that William Frawley was not a poker player! The rest of the game continues like this – chips tossed in haphazardly.
It is claimed that Lucy asked Carmen Miranda’s permission to imitate her and that Miranda may have been in the audience when this episode was filmed. Miranda was born in Portugal, but her family soon moved to Brazil, where she was raised. In 1939, both Miranda and Desi Arnaz were on Broadway at the same time; she in The Streets of Paris and he in Too Many Girls. Both went on to Hollywood careers. At one point, Miranda (dubbed ‘The Brazilian Bombshell’) was the highest paid woman in Hollywood. She died of a heart attack in 1955, four years after this episode first aired and one day shy of Lucille Ball’s 44th birthday.
Lucy lip syncs to “Mamãe Eu Quero” (“I Want My Mama”), a song composed by Vicente Paiva in 1937. The original recording was made by the composer himself but the song earned international acclaim when sung by Carmen Miranda. It was included in her Broadway debut Streets of Paris (1939) and then in the films Down Argentine Way (1940) and Four Jills in a Jeep (1944).
About Ricky’s youth in Cuba, Lucy says that she knows his mother was a great singer and dancer and that he had five brothers: Pedro, Pablo, Chu-Chu, Josinte, and Jose.
Although we meet Ricky’s mother in “Lucy’s Mother-in-Law” (S4;E7) and a lot of the rest of his family during “The Ricardos Visit Cuba” (S6;E9), neither her show-business past nor Ricky’s siblings are ever mentioned again after this episode.
Lucy’s approximation of Cuba looks more like Mexico! The apartment is decked out with a live donkey, live chickens, and caged birds! His ‘brothers’ are dressed in Mexican serapes and sombreros.
Also in the audience, accompanied by her husband Fred Brisson, was Rosalind Russell, who would go on to play the irrepressible Auntie Mame in 1958, a role Lucy would also play on film in the 1974 musical version. Lucy had made a cameo appearance in Russell’s 1950 film A Woman of Distinction. Vivian Vance’s pal Teresa Wright, a Broadway and film actress, also attended the filming. Both actresses had photos taken with the cast after the filming, although no photographic evidence confirms Miranda’s attendance.
FAST FORWARD
In 1953, two years after Lucy did her Carmen Miranda impression, Jerry Lewis also did a lip synch to “Mama Yo Quiero” in the film Scared Stiff. The record even skips, speeds up, and slows down – just as it does for Lucy Ricardo.
In a 1987 episode of ABC’s “The Charmings,” the Magic Mirror (Paul Winfield) mentions Lucy dressed as Carmen Miranda.
In a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show,” Lucy Carmichael is anxious to be “one of the boys” and joins in on a poker game. Mis-hearing the word ‘ante’ as ‘auntie’ Lucy jokingly says “Oh, she lives in Milwaukee with my uncle!”
Lucy also played poker with Mr. Mooney when they were locked in the bank vault in “Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault” (S2;E4). This time there were no chips – just real money!
PEDALING ‘PALS’!
Lucy as Carmen Miranda is one of the most popular images to be reproduced on “Lucy” merchandise!
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“Building a Bar-B-Q”
(S6;E24 ~ April 8, 1957) Directed by William Asher. Written by
Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed March 14, 1957 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 42.1/56
Synopsis ~ Lucy thinks her wedding ring has fallen into the wet cement used to build their new barbecue, so she and Ethel spend all night taking the barbecue apart to look for it – all to no avail.
At home, Desi Arnaz built this mammoth barbecue grill, big enough for Lucy and their two dogs to stand atop!
Lucille Ball is more than capable of handling this modest backyard BBQ, despite her worried expression!
At the time, reruns were still not common on television. To introduce an old episode, a ‘bridge scene’ was filmed to used to start the flashback into the rerun(s).
During the filming of this episode, two bridge scenes were filmed to introduce reruns of season one episodes: “The Diet” (S1;E3) and “Men Are Messy” (S1;E8). Although some script pages for these scenes survive, the footage never entered syndication.
This episode of “I Love Lucy” competed against the final episode of “Life Is Worth Living” starring Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on ABC TV.
To get the boys to build the barbecue, the girls use reverse psychology, a plot device often used on the show. It often backfires, as it does here when Ricky recruits Lucy and Ethel as helpers to mix the cement and pile up the bricks. It also backfired when Ethel clumsily tried to talk Little Ricky into playing his drums in "Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright” (S6;E4):
ETHEL: I said, ‘Little Ricky, you don’t want to play those nasty old drums, do you?’ and he said ‘No.’
When Ricky says he’ll buy Lucy a brand-new ring with huge diamonds all the way around, Lucy says that she wants the old ring with the little diamonds halfway around. This is a reference to Lucy and Desi’s real-life elopement in 1940. Desi only had time to buy Lucy an inexpensive ring from Woolworths. He later bought Lucy a beautiful aquamarine ring, but sentimental Lucy still loved the dime store ring just as much. Lucille Ball wears her original wedding ring in early episodes of the series, but starts wearing her aquamarine ring around season four.
ETHEL: If I lost my wedding ring, we wouldn’t have to find it, we’d just have to buy another box of Cracker Jacks.
This is the the last of several references inferring that Ethel’s ring is so cheap that it was found inside a box of Cracker Jack as one of their famous ‘prizes’. The first was in “Breaking the Lease” (S1;E18). Ethel makes a similar joke in “Bonus Bucks” (S3;E21).
Trying to explain away the lopsidedly rebuilt barbecue, Lucy offers natural phenomena as the excuse for its nocturnal transformation. Ricky claims they don’t have earthquakes or tornadoes in Connecticut. Although uncommon, both are by no means strangers to the Constitution state. The most severe earthquake in Connecticut’s history occurred at East Haddam in 1791. In June 1957, just two months after this episode aired, an F1 category tornado touched down in central Glastonbury in Hartford County. When Lucy brings up hurricanes, Ricky doesn’t dispute that they were very likely to be the cause: Hurricane Lucy and Hurricane Ethel! In 1971 a real Hurricane Lucy hit the Philippines. Hurricane Ethel hit the panhandle of Florida in 1960, just three years after this episode’s initial airing.
Lucy Ricardo would take a job as a TV weather girl in “Lucy Wants a Career,” a 1959 episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.” Her forecasts were as disastrous as her barbecue-building skills!
This episode is ingeniously written with a plot to rival the best stage farce. Consider this exchange, which occurs after it has been established that Lucy’s ring is not in the barbecue, but in Ricky’s shirt pocket:
LUCY: That shirt was all covered with cement. I gave it to Ethel to use as a rag.
ETHEL: Oh, and I gave it to Fred to use on the lawnmower.
FRED: Oh, for corn’s sake. I tore it to pieces to make the tail for Little Ricky’s kite.
LUCY (to Little Ricky): Oh, well, where’s your kite?
LITTLE RICKY: That’s what I been trying to tell you. It flew away.
So it is assumed that Lucy’s ring is “flying somewhere over Long Island Sound.”
In the next scene, a different scenario is revealed, one which played out in full view of the audience, although viewers didn’t know it at the time: the ring dropped from Ricky’s shirt pocket into a bowl of ground beef, which he had to bend over to pick up because Lucy was about to place it on the still-wet cement of the barbecue! Lucy took the meat back into the kitchen and made it into burgers, embedding her the ring in her own dinner. Good thing she learned in “Lucy’s Night in Town” (S6;E22) to chew her food 25 times before swallowing, or she might have digested her much-beloved wedding ring. Moliere couldn’t have done better!
FAST FORWARD!
During the first season of “The Lucy Show,” Lucy Carmichael’s sister Marge is getting married and her wedding ring accidentally gets lost in the punch bowl just as Lucy Ricardo’s wedding ring accidentally gets lost in the hamburger meat! Lucy and Viv decide the only solution is to drink the (spiked) punch to find the ring!
In “Building a Bar-B-Q” Lucy Ricardo thinks she’s lost her wedding ring in a Bar-B-Q, so she spends all night looking through wet cement and in “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (TLS S3;E10) Lucy Carmichael thinks she’s lost her contact lens in a cake batter, so she spends all night looking through chocolate cakes! Both times Vivian Vance, her partner in comic crime, is by her side.
In 2013, a replica of the deconstructed / reconstructed BBQ was built in the backyard of 59 Lucy Lane, Lucille Ball’s childhood home in Celoron, New York. It was unveiled during the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. The barbecue sits on a replica of the Westport home’s flagstone patio. Wedding ring hamburgers are probably the special of the day there!
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