I Love Lucy Episode Guide
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The Fifth Season
LUCY VISITS GRAUMAN'S
Episode #128, Aired October 3, 1955
Lucy prepares to give a party when Ricky finishes his picture. With his film now finalized, he plans to go back home to work at the Tropicana, but with objections from Lucy and the Mertzes. They compromise with staying in Hollywood one more week because Lucy wants souvenirs. Ricky reminds her of the box of souvenirs that is already in their hotel room: an orange autographed by Robert Taylor, a grapefruit signed by Richard Widmark, a tin can squashed by Cary Grant's left rear wheel, Lana Turner's lipstick print (which belongs to Fred), menus from the Brown Derby, match covers from Ciros, an ashtray from the Beverly Hilton, and chopsticks! The next day, Lucy and the Mertzes go to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The girls check the footprints of the celebrities in the cement against their own. As Lucy pines over seeing John Wayne's new picture, 'Blood Alley', she finds that his block of footprints is loose. She wants Ethel to help her take his block as a souvenir but she has to coax her by letting her be the only woman in New York City (besides Lucy) who has John Wayne's footprints under her bed - every other week. Fred objects but Lucy schemes with Ethel that they'll return for the block when their husbands are asleep and fill in the empty space with cement. However, when the girls return to Grauman's, Fred discovers their cement snatching with much dismay. When two cops come, they hide in the bushes, where Lucy gets her foot stuck in their bucket of cement which soon hardens. With Lucy's great insistence, Fred finally helps them take the block just to avoid being discovered by some oncoming tourists. They retreat to the Mertz hotel room, but when Ricky comes looking for Lucy, they all pretend to have fallen asleep. He wants Lucy to return to their own suite and finds the cement on her foot. She has to reveal that they brought home John Wayne's footprints. He tells her to take it back but as she and Ethel carry it out of the room, they drop it and break the corners. They decide they'll put it back in the forecourt of Grauman's, and cement in the corners. While doing this, they heard cops coming and ran and the block dropped and broke into a million pieces, leaving Lucy to have fallen in the tub of cement where she got stuck in it, once again as the cement hardened.
Songs: Happy Birthday (tune)
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Hal Gerard and Gege Pearson as that nosey couple; Ben Numis and Clarence Straight as the cops.
LUCY AND JOHN WAYNE
Episode #129; Aired October 10, 1955
Ricky discovers, through reading the newspaper, that Lucy and Ethel made the headlines for stealing John Wayne's footprints and the police are looking for these two vandals. Ricky phones Grauman's Chinese Theatre and they tell him they won't press charges if the block of footprints is returned. Because they had broken the block of cement, Fred shows off his home-made duplicate of the footprints but it's not well made. Lucy and Ethel rush out to have Irma do their hair; meanwhile, Ricky tells Fred he'll call Mr. Wayne since he's had lunch with him at the studio sometimes. He and Fred prepare cement for the willing Mr. Wayne to sign and step into, then take him to get his shoes shined in the lobby of the hotel. After their hair appointment, the girls return with curlers in their hair since Lucy is too nervous to sit in the salon. They see John's prints and signature in the cement and think Ricky forged them; Lucy wipes the cement smooth. The men arrive saying that John had just been there and notice what Lucy did to the cement. Ricky goes to the lobby to bring Mr. Wayne back to their room, while the girls try to hide the fact that they have curlers in their hair. John does a re-take with the cement for Ricky but as they say their farewell to John, Little Ricky crawls into the cement. Ricky visits Mr. Wayne in his dressing room at the studio and gets the cement re-signed again. Meanwhile, Lucy and Ethel drag a block of wet cement to the doorway of John's dressing room just as Ricky is leaving the dressing room with his newly signed cement block. He steps into Lucy's cement, loses his balance and partially destroys the footprints he's carrying. He notices the girls and leaves in disbelief. Lucy sees that the signature is not touched so she plans to go into the dressing room to steal John's boots to make imprints while Ethel drags away the slab she and Lucy brought. While Lucy's in the dressing room, John comes in for his rubdown and she escapes into his closet. He lies face down but hears Lucy leaving. Thinking it's his assistant George, he hurriedly requests his rubdown. She tentatively starts the rubdown but rushes out when John starts to tell her a 'good' story about a salesman. Back at her hotel room, she, Ricky and Fred wonder what happened to Ethel when Lucy left the studio in a rush. Ethel comes in with Mr. Wayne, having told him what happened. He had re-done the slab of cement and provided another six months' supply of his cemented signature and footprints.
Cast: John Wayne; Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Ralph Volkie as George; Louis Nicoletti as man with 'Blood Alley' movie poster
LUCY AND THE DUMMY
Episode #130; Aired October 17, 1955
Ricky shows Lucy a model of his head the studio made for trick shots and then gets ready to go deep sea fishing. When Chip Jackson of MGM phones, he asks Lucy to ask Ricky if he'll entertain the following night at a studio party for the Executives. She tells him Ricky might do it if his wife can perform also and reluctantly Chip agrees. However, she is unable to talk Ricky into going to the studio party. She comes up with the idea, and does follow through with her idea at the studio party, that she will put a fake body on the model of Ricky's head, and perform and dance with it for the party. During the dance, 'Ricky' will suddenly be taken ill and she will be able to finish the number herself with help from the Mertzes backstage. When the party is over, and Ricky comes home, Lucy is at the studio and the Mertzes reveal to him what Lucy did. The performance had been such a mess they all thought it was a comedy routine and they offered her a year's contract. Lucy soon comes home, saying she'll sign the contract the next day. Ricky uses psychology on her and 'says' he is happy she got a career in show business for the year at the studio, but mentions that he and the Mertzes must return home. He insists that Lucy must not let her family and friends interfere with her career. He tells her he'll show her picture to Little Ricky every night so he'll be able to remember who is mother is. This causes Lucy to now feel unsure about staying alone on the west coast for her career. Later, she imagines her popularity as a star, with twelve Oscars, until she hears Little Ricky crying and realizes she'd rather be at home with her family and friends, than to stay alone in California in show business.
Song: I Get Ideas
Cast: Lee Millar as Chip Jackson
RICKY SELLS THE CAR
Episode #131; Aired October 24, 1955
Ricky sells their car to Ralph Berger so they can take the train back home to New York. Ralph will pay almost as much as Ricky paid for the car and by using the Family Travel Plan, Ricky can make money on the deal. When Fred and Ethel find out that tickets were not purchased for them, they furiously buy an old motorcycle (cheap transportation) to go back to New York on. Lucy encourages Ricky to realize he forgot to buy train tickets for the Mertzes. The Ricardos try to talk the motorcycling Mertzes into going home by train but Ricky will only confess that they can 'figure out something' as to how the purchase of the Mertze's tickets will be made. This causes Fred to rush away on the motorcycle but he ends up going backward and wrecks the bike. Upset with having to pay for a useless bike as well as having to buy train tickets, the Mertzes are beside themselves with anger. Ricky is sorry and decides he will buy them tickets but Fred is worried he still has to pay for the bike. Later, Lucy goes to the Mertz suite and finds that Ethel has taken the bike to be fixed because Fred's shoulder is bothering him. Lucy rubs Fred's aching shoulder to help ease the pain of his shoulder and to ease the pain of their having been forgotten. Ethel returns and announces that no one will fix the wrecked bike or buy it, however, she did get a ticket for dumping rubbish within the city limits. She won't let Lucy rub Fred's shoulder and she cries that they're stuck having to pay for the bike and is sure Ricky won't buy them tickets. Lucy gives the Mertzes her train tickets as she is sure Ricky will obtain more. Ricky does get the Mertzes tickets, but they are for upper berths, not compartments like the Ricardos have. Now Lucy fears having to tell the Mertzes that their train tickets were less costly than the Ricardos' and tells Ricky she gave the Mertzes their tickets. Ricky tells her to go get their compartment tickets back from the Mertzes, but Ethel comes in and gratefully acknowledges to Ricky how noble he is for getting them the tickets. Now he feels he can't take back the tickets that Lucy already gave them. Ethel leaves to go to the drugstore and says Fred will thank them after his nap. Lucy remembers that Fred put those train tickets in his wallet without looking at them and she feels she can go and switch tickets so she can get back their compartment tickets while Fred is napping. While Lucy is searching Fred's pockets, he rolls over and Lucy's arm gets stuck under him. Ethel returns and demands an explanation as to why Lucy has her arms around Fred. Unable to explain, Lucy runs back to her room, followed by the Mertzes where she has to tell them that Ricky got them uppers. They don't mind, and in fact, Fred returned the compartment tickets Lucy gave them for uppers and the difference in the money helped pay for Fred's wrecked motorcycle. Now all 4 of them have uppers. When the ticket agency returns Ricky's earlier phone call for compartments, they inform the Ricardos they now have compartments which Ricky buys, soon realizing he just bought back his own tickets and Fred now has lost no money on his trashy old bike.
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Bennett Green as messenger; Donald Brodie as ticket agent at Union Pacific Railroad.
GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
Episode #132; Aired October 31, 1955
Going back home to New York is Lucy's first train trip, accompanied by Ricky, Little Ricky, the Mertzes and her mother. On the train, Lucy wonders where the spies are, like on the Orient Express and is curious as to why the emergency brake is so far away from where the engineer is. She learns there is one of those in every car and the engineer has his own set of brakes. Upon arriving at their compartment, the Ricardos learn they have a connecting door to Lucy's mother's room. The Mertzes are in the car ahead - uppers 12 and 13 and they soon head for the dining car. Lucy finds that her purse is missing and realizes she left it at the news stand so Ricky gets off the train to go get it since the train tickets are in the purse. When the train starts moving, Lucy pulls the emergency brake so Ricky can get on the train. It stops with a huge jolt and the Mertzes pass by a panicked Lucy with food all over their clothes; Lucy reveals she stopped the train. Ricky arrives back on the train after having run into it when it stopped suddenly. Later, Lucy and Ricky go for food and leave their tickets with her mother as the Mertzes come along to join them. Lucy's mother is found to be in the wrong compartment and has to move to one in the next car. Mr. Estes of a jewelry business takes over where Mrs. McGillicuddy's room was. He has a gun but has never had to use it. When Lucy brings her mother some food, she finds she and Little Ricky are gone and accuses Mr. Estes of kidnapping them when she sees his gun. She calls for the conductor and pulls the emergency brake. The train stops with a jolt and the conductor tells Lucy her mother and child are in the next car. The Mertzes and Ricky pass by Lucy and they have food all over them. Because of the gun, she tells Ricky that Estes is a criminal type. When a detective knocks on their door, he says he's looking for a jewel thief so Lucy tells him the man in the next compartment has a gun. She soon notices the detective leaving Estes' compartment without a struggle. Ricky departs to go to eat but Lucy stays behind to get her lipstick. She looks through the connecting door and sees Mr. Estes with jewelry. He gets out his gun and asks to talk to her. Ricky returns, and she tells him Estes is a jewel thief but he doesn't believe her. They go to join the Mertzes in the dining car and the men go off to sit at a different table. Meanwhile, Lucy tells Ethel about the jewel thief. A man sitting beside them hears Lucy and pretends he's from the FBI and asks Lucy to take him to the thief. He asks her to lure Estes into her compartment and when Estes enters Lucy's room, the 'FBI agent' knocks him out and gets Estes' box of jewels. He then holds the gun on Lucy and she realizes this FBI agent is the jewel thief. He leads Lucy down the hall and through a crowd of people where she hides, and slips into the bathroom. She soon comes out shaving and wearing a hat. When Ricky passes by and recognizes her she points out the jewel thief who has his gun out. She pulls the emergency brake again and the jolt causes Ricky to fall on the thief and he holds him down. The conductor takes the thief as the Mertzes arrive with food all over themselves. Later, Lucy is interviewed on the train for finding the jewel thief. While posing for a picture while holding the emergency brake, the conductor notices, and panics and pulls on Lucy. The train stops again suddenly and the clever Mertzes enter the car with food all over their raincoats!
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Frank Nelson as the conductor; Lou Krugman as Mr. Estes; Harry Bartell as jewelry thief; Kathryn Card as Mrs. McGillicuddy; Sam McDaniel as the porter; Joseph Crehan as the detective; Louis Nicoletti as reporter; Hazel Pierce, Roy Rowan, Hazel 'Sunny' Boyne, Saul Gross, Evelyn Finley, Lila Finn, Hubie Kerns, Gil Perkins as passengers.
HOMECOMING
Episode #133; Aired November 7, 1955
The Ricardos and Mertzes arrive home to NYC from their California trip, while Lucy's mother is already on her way home to Jamestown. Lucy's neighbors are going to hold a Ricky Ricardo block party the night of their arrival. Mrs. Trumbull begins to fawn over Ricky since she has not been so close to, as she calls him, a movie star, before. That night the Ricardos invite a few close friends into the apartment while a mob of people remain in the hallway, making it hard for Ricky to return to his own apartment. They want to touch him because he's a movie star and Fred makes some money selling bits of Ricky's sport coat, noticing Ricky's sudden popularity. Once inside the apartment with their own little group, Lucy knows they all want to hear about their trip and things that happened to her, but wherever Lucy says they went, her friends ask her if Ricky was there too. When Ricky comes into the living room after changing his clothes their friends throw questions at him and Lucy tries, though ignored, to answer the questions, such has Ricky's picture to be opening in February at Radio City Music Hall. No one appears interested in Lucy's story on the Richard Widmark grapefruit either! All attention is on Ricky and his stories of the trip. The next day the Mertzes check with Lucy to be sure they don't disturb Ricky while they vacuum the hall; he's a movie star now and doesn't belong to them anymore, he belongs to the world they surmise. Lucy is shocked to see the Mertzes bowing when Ricky comes in, and rushing to help him with his coat and cigarette. When he leaves to go downtown to check on uniforms, Lucy gets a call from Nancy Graham who wants to do a story on Lucy. However, when she arrives to interview Lucy she only wants to hear about Lucy's life after she met Ricky. Disappointed in this, Lucy is reassured of a new task in life, now that 80 million women in the USA will be envious of Lucy being married to Ricky, the movie star who has now made one picture. Nancy talks Lucy into fulfilling Ricky's every wish. When Ricky returns, having sneaked through the back door to avoid the crowd in the front, Lucy starts acting like his slave. She roasts a pig, Ricky's favorite food; shines his shoes; cuts up his breakfast food for him. She insists that Ricky watch the football game with Fred while she goes to the Tropicana for the music he needs. Lucy's behavior of treating her husband like a movie star puzzles Ricky and he confides in Fred that he wants to be treated like a husband. Ricky soon gets an idea to help Lucy get tired of this new worship she has; he'll become the most revolting movie star she ever met. When Lucy returns with the music, Ricky is dressed in a satin smoking jacket, waiting for her to light his cigarette and scolds her for taking so long to return. He tells her his shoes are not shined enough, and needs her to type the lyrics separately from the music at that very moment. Eager to again please Ricky, she types while her coat is only half off of her, and shines the shoes at the same time. In addition to this she's answering the phone and meanwhile, Ricky wants her to bring an ashtray for his ashes. Even though it's near him, he cannot reach it and Lucy sternly says she cannot reach it either. When he asks what she wants him to do with the ashes, she suddenly realizes it's too much and tells him she does not care anymore if any of his tasks are done, calling him a big ham. He tells her how great this is, and confesses he's made her mad enough to fight back so that she won't treat him like a movie star anymore and tells her she has been already fulfilling his every wish for fifteen years.
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Elvia Allman as Nancy Graham; Elizabeth Patterson as Mrs. Trumbull; Hazel Pierce, Barbara Pepper, Bennett Green, Roy Schallert, Charlotte Lawrence, Eva June Mayer as the neighbors.
THE RICARDOS ARE INTERVIEWED (PERSON TO PERSON)
Episode #134; Aired November 14, 1955
Lucy tells the Mertzes that Ricky signed with Associated Artists that day, a big talent agency which came after him since coming back from Hollywood. Soon Johnny Clark, Ricky's new agent, drops in and says Ed Warren wants Ricky on his 'Face to Face' TV show where millions of people will see them on TV. The agent is reluctant to have Ricky being seen on TV living in the crummy joint he has, and sets down penthouse apartment brochures for them to look through. He tells Ricky he should live like a star. Ricky says they are staying where they are and are never going to leave. The Mertzes depart, planning that the following evening the 4 of them will play bridge. The brochures show Lucy that the apartments start at $11,000 per year. The next evening when Ricky gets home, Lucy tells him she looked at a Park Avenue Penthouse, one of the $11,000 apartments, which had a view of Central Park. She wasn't comfortable there and Mrs. Skylar, the manager, would not even show it to her until Lucy told her who Ricky was. Momentarily, she phones the Mertzes to come and play bridge. Meanwhile, Ethel and Fred are planning a way to get Ricky to move, thinking that the Ricardos want to move, but won't move to avoid hurting their feelings. They feel Ricky belongs in a more beautiful building. They'll pick a fight and hopefully that will encourage the Ricardos to move, remembering how sensitive Lucy is about her bridge game. At bridge, they hesitate to play, noting that the Ricardos are lousy bridge players. Lucy strikes back with them enduring 15 years in their deep freeze building, and their arguments continue, ending with Ethel telling them to go ahead and move. The Mertzes depart, but Ricky sees through their act; they think if he stays there it will ruin his career. Fred would never tell a steady paying tenant to move. Soon, Fred phones Ethel's Aunt Martha because she always wanted to rent in their building. Ethel speaks with her and to Uncle Elmo too. Martha will take the apartment when she knows the date of the Ricardos moving. Suddenly, Lucy receives a call from Aunt Martha and realizes the Mertzes rented their apartment to the aunt and uncle. The Ricardos are now beyond being angry. Later, Ethel receives a call from Mrs. Skylar asking how good the Ricardos are as tenants and Ethel is told that Lucy was looking at an apartment. Jumping to conclusions, Ethel figures the Ricardos planned to move out and believes they were pretending they did not want to leave. The upset Mertzes head over to speak to Lucy and Ricky and pass the agent in the hall. He says the TV show will be done with a new angle being that success has not changed Ricky who prefers his old apartment near his best friends, who are now asked to be on the show too, the following night at 8 pm. Fred sees this as a golden opportunity to advertise his building on TV. The Ricardos agree to appear on TV with the Mertzes since the appearance is important to Ricky's career. As the show begins, we see on TV 'Face to Face with Edward Warren' who introduces Ricky as having made his first Hollywood film. Nervous Lucy picks out a chocolate from a dish, though with the hot TV lights on, they've melted and she ends up taking two chocolates that are stuck together. She now must eat both of them, but when Ed asks her a question, she has a mouth full of chocolates and is inaudible. Their best friends, the Mertzes, are called into the apartment and Fred says hello to his pals in Stubbenville, Ohio while Lucy offers Ethel a chocolate. Ed mentions Ricky refusing to move to a penthouse and Lucy agrees that they would not move for anything, causing Ethel difficulty swallowing her chocolate (and Lucy's answer!). Fred advertises his building on the back of his shirt with the phone number Plaza 5 6098 and the gang, nevertheless, re-creates one of their musical evenings at home though, during the song, Lucy points out that what Fred did was sneaky. The song is broken off by arguments with Lucy telling Ethel they weren't serious about moving and Ethel crying that she never wants Lucy to leave. With the girls in tears, Ed, hopelessly, can't get a word in during the conversation and helplessly says goodnight to his TV audience.
Song: Rancho Grande
Cast: Elliott Reid as Ed Warren; John Gallaudet as Johnny Clark, the agent; Monty Masters as the director; Bennett Green as the cameraman.
LUCY GOES TO A RODEO
Episode #135; Aired November 28, 1955
Fred wants Ricky to appear at his upcoming lodge show but Ricky has a previous commitment. Lucy and Ethel beg to Fred that they be in his show and he says they can. Fred gets his idea for the show while having lunch with an old crony named Rattlesnake Jones, who is in town because his kid brother is in a rodeo show at Madison Square Garden. Rattlesnake will help Fred put together a western show for the lodge. He coaches Ethel and Fred on how to sing for the show and he works with Lucy on how to sing a song and yodel. She is unable to be good with her yodel (and if you want to be technical, she can't sing either). Rattlesnake says Lucy will be able to jiggle a tune with bells all over her. Later when Ricky is speaking to Johnny, his agent, who wants to know the program Ricky has ready for their rodeo show, Ricky realizes he made a mistake and thought he was to prepare for a radio show. When he tells Lucy he now has to put together a western show in two days, she informs him that the show they're doing for Fred's lodge is a western show. Lucy and the Mertzes convince Ricky eventually to accept them as part of his western show, but since the lodge show is the same night as Ricky's rodeo show, they say they'll postpone the lodge show if the price is right. They accept Ricky's offer of $25.00. At the rodeo, Ricky is introduced as a new MGM star and great singing cowboy star who has brought his whole rootin' tootin' gang. He sings 'Texas Pete (Cuban Pete)', and then 'Fred and Little Ethel Mae Mertz' sing, with Ethel yodeling within the song. The finale is 'Lucy Cannonball McGillicuddy' and all of her famous western bell ringers. Here the Ricardos and Mertzes jiggle bells tied to them, to the tune of 'Down by The Old Millstream'.
Songs: Down by the Old Mill Stream; Birmingham Jail; Lily of the Valley; Texas Pete (Cuban Pete); Red River Valley/Listen to the Mockingbird; Old Chisholm Trail; Home on the Range; Come A Ty Yi Yippy Yippy Yay.
Cast: Dub Taylor as Rattlesnake; John Gallaudet as Johnny Clark, the agent; Doye O'Dell as the host at The Garden.
NURSERY SCHOOL
Episode #136; Aired December 5, 1955
Lucy finds herself in exhaustion from always taking 3 year old Little Ricky to the park; she puts on his snowsuit, boots and mittens and while at the park, he never stops running after pigeons and squirrels. Back home, he naps for only a half-hour. After the nap they go back to the park and he chases the animals again. They come home again and Lucy is tired out. Ricky suggests there's only one thing to do - send him to nursery school so he can play with kids of his own age. Lucy feels he's too young and she quotes from a book by one of the world's leading authorities on baby care, Dr. Spock. She tells Ricky she does not think Little Ricky should go to nursery school with Spock's quote: 'a good nursery school does not take the place of home'. Ricky feels this does not sound right and checks the book and sees that Lucy did not finish the sentence - it ends with 'it adds to it. Most children benefit from a good nursery school'. Lucy is afraid Little Ricky will catch germs at nursery school but Ricky makes her promise to enroll the child in nursery school. Lucy enrolls Little Ricky but does not promise he will attend - she keeps Little Ricky hidden with the Mertzes taking him to the park and such places. Ricky finds out Lucy's scheme when Ethel spills the beans that she feels Ricky will be very upset that the baby has not yet gone to nursery school, not knowing Ricky is in the room and hears her. Ricky puts his foot down and says he will take Little Ricky to nursery school, however, the next day Lucy has hidden the boy, but he's soon discovered when Fred returns with Little Ricky, earlier than planned allowing Ricky to then take him to nursery school. Lucy is immediately proud of her son attending nursery school, while showing off his school painting. Suddenly, she changes her mind when the baby begins sneezing. Instantly she phones Dr. Gettleman in tears. He finds the baby has had his fourth attack of tonsillitis this year and cannot fault the nursery school; his advice is to remove the tonsils. Meanwhile the hospital is on the phone, preparing for medical students to see an unusual operation on a patient being flown in. The Ricardos start to leave the hospital where Little Ricky, who has just had his operation, is staying in Room 602. Lucy tells the nurse she wants to return to stay overnight with the baby and bring him his teddy bear, but it's against rules. So, she sneaks back in with the teddy bear under her coat where a different nurse at the desk thinks Lucy's a maternity case due any minute. Lucy flees to go see the baby. On her way she disguises herself by changing into a nursing uniform, and is still carrying the teddy bear. As medical students pass her she hides the bear under a sheet on an operating table. A doctor mistakes this as the next patient due for an operation with Dr. Barnett, who is preparing the students for this most unusual, late night operation. They may never have a chance of seeing anything like this surgery again. As the teddy bear is revealed under the sheet in the operating room, Dr. Barnett faints. Lucy grabs the bear and heads to her son's room. Ricky arrives at the hospital, suspecting that Lucy is there with the baby, but is advised by the nurse that the whole hospital's in a turmoil trying to find some screwball red headed nurse that has gone berserk. Ricky asks if the nurse was carrying a teddy bear and is told she was. He realizes they are looking for Lucy and suggests they'll find her, as the missing nurse, in Room 602 with Little Ricky. They find her asleep with the baby, and she is allowed to stay there overnight.
Songs: Pop Goes the Weasel (in Little Ricky's jack in the box).
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Howard Hoffman as Dr. Barnett; Olan E. Soule as Dr. Gettleman; Iva Shepard as first nurse; Maxine Semon as second nurse; Robert Brubaker and Alan Ray as doctor and orderly.
RICKY'S EUROPEAN BOOKING
Episode #137; Aired December 12, 1955
Ricky visits Fred to say his agent booked him and his band on a tour of Europe but he can't afford to take Lucy along because it's only a short 3 week trip with one night performances. At home, Ricky starts to tell Lucy what his agent did, and she immediately phones Carolyn Appleby to say they're going to Europe; next she calls Josephine but is unable to finish the call. Ricky explains his problem to Lucy and says he'll take her some other time to Europe. Soon, Ethel rushes in to tell Lucy she's been to the market and heard that the Ricardos are going to Europe through the words of the butcher and the grocery boy who just made a delivery to Marion Strong. Lucy decides, having only told Carolyn, that by word of mouth, Marion Strong is just a hop, skip and a blab from Carolyn Appleby. Lucy tells Ethel she's not going to Europe this time. Dubious, Ethel convinces Lucy that Ricky will have a wonderful time in Europe without a wife along. Suspicious Lucy is then angry with Ricky and refuses to speak to him. When she hears Ricky needs a band manger she begins to speak to him again. She would like to be his band manager so she can go and it won't cost a cent. He does not believe she has the skills for this. She suggests she can raise the money herself to go and Ricky agrees to let her. She'll also call her mother to see if she can stay with the baby for 3 weeks. Upon speaking with Fred, Ricky finds out that Fred handled his own act in vaudeville. He asks Fred to manage the band on the European tour. If Ethel raises the money for her trip, she can also go. But they need $3000 for the two of them! Soon, with money found in chairs, cushions, sugar bowls, piggy banks, and 'going through husband's pants' Lucy has collected $200.16, however, Ethel found no money at her home. They decide to use their $200 to buy a TV, raffle it off and the money they take in will pay for the trip. Ethel reminds Lucy that raffles are held for needy causes and Lucy says she and Ethel are the 2 neediest causes she can think of. Now for their needy cause they have to think up a good phony name. Lucy calls it Ladies Overseas Aid. She calls Mr. Feldman of Feldman's Appliance Store. Since he is the man who sold the Ricardos their TV, she thinks he can give them a good price on one and explains to him the TV will be used in a raffle. For the cause he'll donate a set, have the tickets printed with his advertising on the back, and hold the draw in his store. Later, the girls bring 3000 tickets to Lucy's apartment and begin selling them at $1.00 each, even to Ricky, who buys 20. Unfortunately, just as Lucy is about to go to the drawing, a man named Jamison, of the District Attorney's Office, visits. He asks her about the raffle and about the organization, the Ladies Overseas Aid. Lucy confesses they made the name up, and it's really a raffle so she and Ethel can go to Europe. He informs her she's been defrauding the people buying the tickets since they thought they were contributing to a reputable charity and that fraud is a crime punishable by 1 to 10 years in the penitentiary. She pleads she did not know it was a crime. Understandingly, he admits that if she calls off the raffle and gives the money back, she'll be excused, however, once the drawing is held, the matter would be out of his hands and he would have to prosecute. They rush to the drawing since it will start in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, without knowledge of the crime, Ethel goes ahead with the draw and chooses the winning number 2725, and the winner is Mrs. Hazel Pierce. Lucy and Jamison arrive while Ethel makes a speech on how the $3000 will make two dear little ladies very happy. Mr. Feldman then announces that Mrs. Wolbert from Indiana and President of the Ladies Overseas Aid, is in town to accept the money in person. Lucy insists Ethel pass the money to Mrs. Wolbert. Mr. Jamison leaves, satisfied that no law has been broken. At the same time, while at MGM Records, where Ricky is recording the song 'Forever Darling', he gets a phone call from the Steamship Company who asks him to play on the boat to Europe. He rushes home to Lucy with some good news. Before he gets there, Lucy and Ethel get home and tell babysitter Fred that they got $3000 legitimately for their trip to Europe, since the Mertz building is in Ethel's name, and she mortgaged it. Ricky arrives and says they do not have to mortgage the building. He says he had thought he had to pay the passage for everyone in the band but by playing aboard ship he does not have to do that, and with the money he saves the wives can go along to Europe and it won't cost Fred a cent either!
Songs: Forever Darling.
Cast: Barney Phillips as Mr. Jamison; Harry Antrim as Mr. Feldman; Dorothea Wolbert as herself; Hazel Pierce as herself; Louis Nicoletti as Studio Recorder; The Pied Pipers as backup singers.
THE PASSPORTS
Episode #138, Aired December 19, 1955
Lucy reveals to Ethel a schedule of all places Ricky's band will play in Europe: London, Paris, Venice, Holland, The Riviera and Madrid. Lucy's mother, who's taking an auto trip through New England with a friend and not sure of their destination, will arrive the day before they leave and she'll stay with the baby while they're gone. Fred comes in to Lucy's apartment looking for Ricky. He has their old vaudeville trunk with him and to save money on the trip he plans to pack band uniforms in it, even though it has a hole in it. He thinks of Paris back when he was Corporal Mertz, 35 years ago and he asks Ethel where his old uniform is. Ricky comes home and he has their boat tickets and tells everyone they now need passports. Lucy says she had wired the Jamestown Hall of Records for her birth certificate. Soon they phone and tell her they can't find a record of her being born there nor can they find her birth certificate. Ricky calls the passport office and finds out that if you want a passport but can't find your birth certificate you have to get an affidavit from an older living blood relative. Since Lucy is not sure exactly how to get hold of her mother, she'll have to find 2 old family friends who remember when she was born and get an affidavit from them. To find former friends, Lucy calls the Jamestown Hall of Records and has them read to her alphabetically all the people in the Jamestown directory. Ricky yells, since this will cost a fortune. She hangs up, without finding anyone in Jamestown who knew her when she was born. Dr. Peterson, who was there when she was born, is visiting in New York and his daughter will try to get him to call her. However, she will still need one more witness and she tries to think of Helen Erickson's second husband's name. Helen, who lives in New York now, used to live next door to them in Jamestown and babysat with Lucy when her folks wanted to go out. While Lucy thinks, Ricky leaves to go to the club. Ethel comes in looking for Fred, who soon appears to show off his uniform. He's too overweight for the outfit now and Lucy jokes with him about it. He says, 'Don't make fun of us doughboys' and Ethel says, 'It's a good thing the Kaiser didn't see you in that outfit; he never would have surrendered'. Lucy then remembers that Helen married Sidney Kaiser. She calls Helen and arranges to go to her place to sign an affidavit. Even though Little Ricky is in nursery school, Lucy wants Ethel to stay at her apartment in case Dr. Peterson calls. As Lucy and Helen visit, her husband Sidney, who is an attorney, comes home. He informs Helen an affidavit is sworn testimony taken under oath and is to be witnessed by a notary public. However, it turns out that Helen won't sign the affidavit. Because her husband walked into the room during their visit, Helen suddenly 'became' younger than Lucy, and wouldn't admit her real age. And Lucy needed an older person to verify her being born in Jamestown. Lucy returns to her apartment and Ethel tells her Dr. Peterson is coming over. Since the doctor will be only one witness, and Lucy will need two witnesses, she thinks she might have to go to Europe hiding in the trunk Fred brought over. She gets in it to see if she fits, and has Ethel close it to see how long she could stay in it. She doesn't stay long but when Ethel tries to open the trunk, it's locked; Lucy has the key in her pocket and can't get to it since her arms are tightly down by her side inside the trunk. Ethel goes to get Fred at the same time Ricky comes home with Marco to rehearse on the piano as Ricky beats the beat on the trunk. Marco has to leave; Ethel returns but can't find Fred. Lucy can't hear from Ricky's beating on the trunk. Dr. Peterson arrives at the apartment, but he can't verify Lucy when he can't see her while she's stuck in the trunk. She tries to show her ear through the hole in the trunk so the doctor can see her scar from the stitches he put there when Lucy was bit by Fred Bigelow's cat. But he sees Lucy's red hair and says the Lucy he knew had brown hair. Lucy gives up and tells Ethel to get Fred to help. The doctor tells Lucy there is a way to absolutely identify herself. When she was a little girl he taught her a song they sang together. If she knows the song now, he will know that she is Lucy. She starts to sing, and he joins in, plus he dances. Ricky comes home with disbelief, seeing a man dancing and hearing a voice in the trunk. Fred comes in with a crowbar allowing Lucy to escape from the trunk so that she can greet Dr. Peterson. She explains why she was in the trunk and the doctor reveals that she was not born in Jamestown, but was born in West Jamestown. A special delivery letter comes then from Lucy's mother. She has sent Lucy's birth certificate, with the hopes that Lucy can use it, which she picked up in West Jamestown when she and her friend were stuck there overnight.
Songs: Skip To My Lou; Mademoiselle From Armentieres.
Cast: Sheila Bromley as Helen Kaiser; Robert Forrest as Sidney; Sam Hearn as Dr. Peterson.
STATEN ISLAND FERRY
Episode #139, Aired January 2, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes will leave next week for Europe and they're studying different languages so they can act as guides in the different countries. Lucy is learning French, Fred - German, Ethel - Italian and Ricky will take over when they get to Spain. Fred is afraid he will get seasick on the boat the same way he did when he was on a boat going to France during the First World War. Lucy reminds him they're going on The S. S. Constitution - one of the best. Ricky comes home with their passport pictures but no one is happy with the results. Ricky says they should go get their passports today but the girls want to go get better pictures taken since the baby is in nursery school all day. Mr. Emory of the American Export Lines calls Ricky, and Ricky decides he will see him on the way to the passport office. Emory will show Ricky the place where the band will play on the boat. He and Fred head out to see Emory; later they return to the apartment after having been to The Constitution but the boat made Fred seasick and he does not want to go to Europe. Lucy says that as the band manager, he has to go. Ricky tells him that seasick pills will work and Lucy suggests that Fred take some pills and try them on the Staten Island Ferry. Ricky says that this afternoon Ethel and Lucy have to get their passport. He and Fred were just down there and the man said this is the last day to get them, if they want to be on time to sail and the office closes at 5 pm. Ethel has to get Aunt Martha's luggage for the trip so Lucy will go with Fred on the Staten Island Ferry and she'll later meet them at the passport office. Even though the girls disliked their next set of passport photos, due to there being no time to re-take pictures again Ricky quickly chooses their photos for them. Lucy and Fred go on the ferry and the 2 seasick pills make Fred feel fine, and not seasick at all. Lucy soon gets seasick and takes 5 or 6 of Fred's pills but they both fall asleep. At 4:15 pm Ethel calls Ricky from the passport office wondering where Lucy and Fred are. She needs someone to identify her so she can get her passport so Ricky will go down and do it. After 5 trips on the ferry, Fred tries to wake Lucy to get off the ferry. It is 4:22 pm. At 4:52 pm, Ethel is still waiting at the passport office. Soon Fred and Lucy arrive but Fred can't identify Ethel since he is a relative. They try to wake up Lucy and she identifies Ethel. Ethel shows her passport photo and takes the oath and she'll have a passport in a week but they have 4 _ minutes left for Lucy. Ethel identifies her and now Lucy has to take the oath. Ricky comes in and is told Lucy took too many pills and is still groggy; she's too sleepy to take the oath. Ethel and Ricky try to wake her but time is running out. Finally, Lucy takes the oath and as they leave Fred plugs in the wall clock which he had earlier unplugged in order to give them more time for Lucy.
Cast: Charles Lane as Passport Office worker, Stanley Farrar as Staten Island Ferry guide.
BON VOYAGE
Episode #140, Aired January 16, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes board The Constitution, heading for Europe. Mrs. Trumbull, Little Ricky and Lucy's mother go on board the ship to say goodbye. Lucy is impressed with their stateroom and bon voyage fruit people sent. She is especially happy with the gift from Billy, Danny and Little Jerry Asher. She's also impressed that the boat has a theatre, ballroom, shops and elevators. Her mom gives her a bottle of seasick pills and Mrs. Trumbull asks Lucy to get her French perfume in Paris called 'My Sin' but Lucy says it will be a gift from her. Lucy wants her mom to call her if the baby gets sick since they have a phone on the boat but it's expensive to call. She'd have to call the marine operator and ask for The Constitution. Soon, all visitors on board have to leave the boat and go back onto the deck. Lucy wants to go down and give Little Ricky one more kiss but on the deck, her skirt gets caught in a bicycle and even though she removes her skirt, she can't get on the boat in time while it's departing. Ricky learns that she can come out on the pilot boat and come aboard when the pilot gets off. He phones the dock agent who pages Lucy to report to the dock agent's desk. She speaks to Ricky by phone and he tells her to get on the pilot boat. For directions, the dock agent tells her to go to the pier that has two boats tied to it since they are the pilot boats. Unhappily, Lucy returns to him and explains she jumped onto the pilot boat that was on its way - but it was on its way IN. By the time she noticed her mistake the other boat was gone. She hires a helicopter at Idlewilde airport and flies to the boat. The helicopter hovers over the boat and lowers Lucy down on a cable onto the boat. Lucy is full of fear, and when she lands on the boat, exclaiming there was nothing to it, she faints.
Cast: Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Kathryn Card as Lucy's Mom; Elizabeth Patterson as Mrs. Trumbull; Tyler McVey as Ship officer; Bob Carroll Jr. as passenger; Ken Christy as dock agent; Jack Albertson as helicopter clerk; Frank Gerstle as helicopter pilot.
SECOND HONEYMOON
Episode #141, Aired January 23, 1956
Lucy feels so wonderful on the ship she's sure the 5 day trip is going to be like a second honeymoon including taking part in the ship's activities like ping pong and deck tennis. Ricky reminds her he has a schedule-- band rehearsal, lunch concert, tea dances keeping him busy every day. Lucy settles for Ethel as a ping pong partner until the ocean voyage, sea air and being with Ethel goes to Fred's head. This could be their second honeymoon. The Mertzes sign up for all events. Lucy, being alone, signs up for ping pong and will play with anyone. So far only couples have signed up so Lucy waits outside for word about a partner. Her partner ends up being Kenneth Hamilton, a young boy. Later, when Ricky has 3 minutes to spare with Lucy in their room, before he starts a dance, he's reading the newspaper and reads that Lucy and partner won a cup in the shuffleboard contest. He wonders who Kenneth is and Lucy describes him as a doll. Ricky gets jealous and warns Lucy about wolves on board ship. She says she promised she'd dance every dance with Kenny tonight since Ricky will be working. Then, Kenny knocks on the door and tells Lucy his mother said Lucy should keep the cup. Ricky is relieved to see Kenny is a young boy. During the dance Lucy dances with Kenny until it's past his bedtime. When Ricky has a few minutes, he sits with Lucy and the Mertzes but Fred and Ethel soon leave to take a walk on the deck in the moonlight. Ricky's short time with Lucy is interrupted when he is told Capt. Jacobson wants to talk to him. Since Ricky will be done work at 2:30 a.m., Lucy says she'll wait for him on the promenade deck so they can have time together. While waiting on the deck Lucy encounters romantic couples, and even interrupts Fred and Ethel sitting on some steps. When Ricky arrives on the deck he spends the time yawning and trying to keep his eyes open. When he falls asleep the romantic Lucy accepts the inevitable: this is no second honeymoon yet. Later she hatches a plan with Ethel that when Ricky comes into their room at 7 p.m. to change his clothes she'll lock the door, and have Ricky kidnapped in the room for one evening of golden moments with her husband. Ethel will be out on the deck and Lucy will hand her the room key through the porthole. The girls synchronize their watches; it is 5:03 p.m. Soon, Lucy dresses up in an evening gown and Ricky arrives and heads into the bathroom. She locks their room door and he comes out with the news that he has the night off and the 2 of them will spend the evening with dinner, dancing and a walk around the deck under the moonlight. She yells for Ethel out the porthole for the key to unlock their room, and gets stuck. Ethel returns and gives Ricky the key through the Ricardo's other porthole and the Ricardos are finally alone for their evening when Ricky is outside the porthole singing to the stuck Lucy. She can only be rescued by men with torches.
Songs: Sailing Sailing; Cielito Lindo; Amor Tierno.
Cast: Harvey Grant as Kenneth; Tyler McVey as social event co-ordinator; Herbert Lytton and Paula Winslow as man and woman on deck; Louis Nicoletti and Virginia Barbour as man and woman with dog.
LUCY MEETS THE QUEEN
Episode #142, Aired January 30, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes arrive in their London hotel suites and Lucy can't believe they're there and seeing Piccadilly, London bridge, and Westminster Abbey. They can even see Buckingham Palace from their balcony. Lucy wants to go there first and see the Queen. Fred and Ricky will go to the Palladium, where they have preparations to make. Since Lucy needs money to also go shopping, Ricky gives her ten pounds of English money which is $28 in U.S. money. Fred also gives Ethel ten pounds not realizing it's worth $28. At Buckingham Palace, Lucy does not see the Queen and Ethel wants to go shopping with the money Fred gave her. Lucy tells her to wait awhile and with the help of Ethel's guidebook, it says the Palace has over 500 rooms. Lucy asks a Palace guard when the Queen might be coming out but Ethel's guidebook says he's not allowed to pay attention to anyone nor is he allowed to smile. It's tradition and no one can make him break the rule. Lucy says she can make him smile and tries by telling jokes without success and at the same time she misses seeing the Queen when Ethel rushes back to tell her what a thrill it was to see the Queen drive out. A man on the street tells them the Queen would be appearing at 1 pm at The Wimbleshire Hotel charity luncheon, the same hotel Lucy and Ethel are staying in. Again, Lucy does not see the Queen. She calls to find out what time the Queen is arriving for the luncheon and is told it was yesterday. Ricky tells Lucy that tomorrow night they open their show at The Palladium and the Royal family will be there and Lucy will be presented to Queen. Ethel runs in with news that she'll be meeting the Queen too along with band manager Fred. She and Ethel practice their curtsy to prepare for when they meet the Queen. Soon everyone leaves for lunch except Lucy who remains to practice her curtsy. When Ricky returns, he says he found out only certain people are presented to the Royal Family. He had checked his invitation and it only shows his name. Lucy is awfully upset, so he phones The International Artists Agency and speaks to Philip Wilcox (his agent in Europe) and asks if he can bring his wife when he is presented to the Queen; Ricky tells him her name is not on the list. Philip says if her name is not on the list it would not be proper to bring the wife. He also says if Lucy was in the show it would then be a different matter. Lucy begs Ricky with all her might to let her be in the show at The Palladium. He decides she can dance the lead in the trained horse circus pony number where he plays the ringmaster. She has not rehearsed it but has seen it so many times that she easily knows the steps. However, when she tries a few steps she gets a cramp in her leg, but is sure she'll be fine for the show tomorrow. Unfortunately, while doing the number in the show, she gets another cramp in her leg and even has to have the hoop she jumps through lowered. In the end, the Queen wishes to meet the lady who did the comical dancing. Ricky also meets the Queen and the Duke and a very happy Lucy is carried off to go and meet the Queen.
Music: 'Perpetual Motion'.
Cast: Nancy Kulp as maid, Sam Edwards as bellboy, Robert Shafter as English gentleman, Patti Nestor and Betty Scott as pony dancers.
THE FOX HUNT
Episode #143, Aired February 6, 1956
Lucy and Ricky return to their room after being at a party, but Lucy is jealous of Ricky dancing too much with a debutante named Angela Randall. He tells her she's just a fan who saw his performance at the Palladium and had asked him to dance. Sir Clive Richardson, a cinema producer, then phones and wants to meet with Ricky the next morning to talk about a picture deal. Lucy shows Ricky the 'London Times' which did an article on Sir Clive at his 300 acre country estate, Brookshire Manor, where he is pictured just after riding to hounds, which Lucy explains to Ricky, is fox hunting. She wishes Sir Clive would invite them to his country estate for the weekend and she hatches a scheme. Ethel and Fred visit the Ricardos the next morning with a package for Lucy, containing most likely a riding outfit and they are to call Lucy at the time of 11:30. Sir Clive arrives and explains his call of the previous night. It was his daughter's idea; she's a fan of Ricky's and she thinks he'd be a hit in British movies. Lucy goes to her room to let them talk and later returns wearing a riding outfit. She tells Ricky it's her new outfit for the weekend for her fondest dream to spend a weekend riding at an English country estate has come true. She makes up a story that The Earl of Wilson has invited them thanks to the Mertzes meeting him in the lobby. Sir Clive regrettably says if he had known their interest in horses, he would have invited them to his place for the weekend. The phone rings on cue as expected, and Lucy insists she get it and is told the Earl's cancelled the weekend invitation. Sir Clive now invites the Ricardos and Mertzes to his place. His daughter, who goes by her stage name of Angela Randall, soon arrives to pick him up for lunch. Lucy is not happy that this is the woman Ricky danced with too often the previous night but Angela is very happy to hear that Ricky will be at Sir Clive's for the weekend. At his estate, Lucy is angry that Angela is monopolizing too much of Ricky's time, and she decides she will not let them out of her sight. Lucy is incensed that Angela even wants to borrow Ricky and show him off at her friend Cecily Higgins' lawn party because Cecily gets celebrities to come. Sir Clive announces he arranged for a fox hunt the next day, and Lucy, who has never been on a horse before, will go only to keep an eye on things. At the hunt, the Mertzes and the horse groom help Lucy get on the horse, Danny Boy, though she's terrified of it. Finally she heads off on the hunt. Later, Angela, her father and Ricky return but they don't understand what happened to the fox. When Lucy returns, she is inside of a small bush though she does not know how she got into it, but a fox's tail is hanging out. Here then, Lucy has caught the fox!
Cast: Walter Kingsford as Sir Clive; Hilary Brooke as Angela; Trevor Ward as horse groom.
LUCY GOES TO SCOTLAND
Episode #144, Aired February 20, 1956
Lucy and Ricky return to their room after seeing a show where a Scottish girl sacrifices herself to save her village. This causes Lucy to want to go to Scotland and look up her mother's relatives, which she promised her mother she would do. The Mertzes come in to give Lucy a dragon toy for Little Ricky. Furthering her pursuit, Lucy tells Ricky she knows where to look for her family. Her Great Great Great Grandfather was Angus McGillicuddy who lived in Kildoonan in northern Scotland. When they go to sleep Ricky laughs at the name of Angus McGillicuddy so Lucy bets that Ricky's Great Great Great Grandfather was likely Enchilada Ricardo. Lucy dreams about Kildoonan which is full of singing. The village is distraught because the two-headed dragon comes to Kildoonan every 30 years to eat a McGillicuddy and there is no one of the Angus McGillicuddy family to throw to the monster. Lucy, in a scotch costume, arrives and the villagers are delighted to find out she is the Great Great Great Granddaughter of Angus McGillicuddy. She proves it by not being able to do the sword dance just like her relatives; none of them could ever dance it. She soon realizes the village wants her to give up her life for them and they take her captive to try and fatten her up for the dragon. Scotty MacTavish MacDougall MacArdo (Ricky in a scotch outfit) arrives in a dither as he has seen the dragon and advises the village to run, but the mayor tells him all is well as they found a McGillicuddy. He tells Scotty she's in the inn and don't let her out. Lucy opens the door and leaves the inn and sees the people are gone but Scotty won't let her go. He introduces himself to her; his Great Great Great Grandfather, Enchilada Ricardo, sailed to Scotland with the Spanish Armada. He gazes at her, and admits he's in love with her but explains she is to be the dragon's dinner. This explains why she is the last of the McGillicuddy's. Lucy and Scotty meet up with the dragon (Fred and Ethel) to see if it listens to reason, but tomorrow, they still want to eat Lucy. Scotty tells Lucy he'll fight the dragon, but when the dragon arrives in the village and the people grab Lucy to throw to it, Scotty is not sure he wants to fight the dragon now. He pushes Lucy toward the dragon and Lucy Ricardo wakes from her dream hitting Ricky with a pillow because he is such a coward. She has Ricky confused again!
Songs: Flow Gently Sweet Afton; Songs by Larry Orenstein: 'Tis Nae A Braw Bricht Nicht; A McGillicuddy is Here; Dragon's Dinner; Two Heads; Dragon Waltz.
Cast: Larry Orenstein as the Mayor.
PARIS AT LAST
Episode #145, Aired February 27, 1956
Lucy gazes at the Eiffel tower from her room at Hotel Royale, glad to be in Paris. Fred says the town is the same as it was in 1918 when he was there in the past. Ricky has to see his French agent today so Fred gets a day off and goes on a sight seeing tour with Ethel. Lucy wants to go out on her own, to get the true flavor of Paris. Ricky worries; Paris is a big city and without knowing the language Lucy could get into trouble but she has her French dictionary, guidebook and map of Paris to help. She hopes to discover an undiscovered artist whose paintings have never been discovered, as years later, they could be worth thousands. Ricky gives her $20 to spend and says to take it to the American Express office and they'll give her 7000 francs. Ricky leaves and the Mertzes decide they'll see Lucy at the Express office later since Ethel has to first take out the curlers from her hair. Lucy goes off alone and finds an unknown painter. She starts to go and exchange her American currency at the American Express office but is stopped by a counterfeiter. He tells her in the Express office she'd get 350 francs for a dollar, but for her, he can give her 450 francs. Lucy buys from him, and when he sees the police he makes a fast getaway. The Mertzes arrive, and Lucy gives them half of her money. Fred and Ethel go on their way and Lucy goes back to talk to the painter and buys a painting for 1000 francs. His name is Pierre Charpontier and when Lucy leaves, he takes out of his suitcase the exact same painting he sold Lucy, already painted and he starts to doctor it up. The Mertzes, on the way to the sight seeing bus, stop and talk to the painter. Lucy walks around the city and stops to eat at an outdoor café. Without understanding French, she orders the specialty of the house - snails. She is unable to eat them so she asks for ketchup to put on them but this insults the chef. She quickly pays for her food, which cost 400 francs, and leaves but innocently paid with counterfeit money. She is taken to jail and demands to call her husband and Ricky comes to help her. The police will ask Lucy questions and will line up various people to translate down the line to Lucy. The first sergeant speaks only French. The next cop in line speaks French and German. The next person in line is a prisoner who speaks German and Spanish. Ricky is next in line with his Spanish and he'll translate the questions to Lucy in English. Lucy tells them she got the money from a man on the street but she didn't know it was counterfeit. They tell her if she pays the rest of the bill to the café, she can go free. The Mertzes are now brought into jail for using counterfeit and they blame Lucy for selling it to them but Ricky gives the Mertzes their money back. Back at their hotel, Ricky shows Lucy a painting he bought her. Lucy and the Mertzes display the paintings they bought. The painter told Ethel it was a genuine original she says. They look at each other's paintings and find they are all identical to the one Lucy bought from the painter on street!
Songs: Mademoiselle From Armentieres; Alouetta.
Cast: Larry Dobkin as the counterfeiter; Shepard Menken as Pierre Charpontier; Maurice Marsac as the waiter; Vincent Padula as the drunk; Bob Carroll Jr. as café patron; Hazel Pierce as a tourist.
LUCY MEETS CHARLES BOYER
Episode #146, Aired March 5, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes are dining at a French café and Lucy insists that every man she sees is Charles Boyer. Ricky is getting tired of her imaginary Charles Boyers and he does not want to hear another word about it. Lucy says Ricky is jealous. When Ricky and Fred discuss the itinerary for Europe and find they are staying in Europe longer than planned with places the band will be playing, Boyer comes into the café. Lucy notices him and everyone agrees this one looks like Boyer. Ricky doesn't want Lucy to go see Boyer because she attracts trouble, but he hatches a plan. While Lucy and Ethel go fix their face up in preparation to talk to Boyer, Ricky slips over to Charles to convince him to tell Lucy he is not Boyer. Charles agrees. Boyer also tells Ricky that his agent cabled him about having lunch with Ricky this week about doing TV shows on 'Four Star Playhouse'. Charles pretends to be Maurice DuBois and tells the girls people always mistake him for Boyer and, therefore, producers won't hire him as an actor. A few days later, when Ricky reads 'The Paris Tribune', he believes Don Sharp, an agent, gave out publicity about Ricky having lunch with Boyer this week right there in Paris to discuss a deal for American TV. Ricky now wants to keep Lucy away from the luncheon. He remembers how, at the café, Lucy thought he was jealous of Boyer. He tells Fred he'll put on a big act about being jealous of Boyer every time Lucy mentions him, and that should keep her away from the lunch. Having read the paper, Lucy asks if she can go when Ricky has lunch with Boyer. Ricky puts on his jealousy act and this worries Lucy. She tells Ethel she has to convince Ricky that Boyer means nothing to her and she'll use Mr. DuBois as Boyer and have him give her lots of attention in front of Ricky and she'll ignore it, and when Ricky sees she's not impressed he'll realize there is nothing to be jealous about. Lucy returns to the outdoor café and sees DuBois, but the waiter says that man is Boyer. Lucy is glad he had fooled the waiter since it means DuBois can fool Ricky into thinking he is Boyer. She tells DuBois she has a romantic acting job for him but he says he has a luncheon appointment. She'll coach him into doing an imitation of Boyer. She explains her husband is jealous of Boyer, but there's no sense to it since they've been happily married for 15 years. She tells him she wants him to play a love scene with her in front of Ricky and she won't be impressed and he'll see he has nothing to be jealous about. She'll give him three thousand five hundred francs (ten dollars) to play this part. The role could lead to an acting career since she knows a lot of big people in Hollywood. DuBois says he can't afford to turn her down but he still can't get out of the luncheon today. She says she's at the Hotel Royale and will coach him after his luncheon. Later Ricky meets Boyer for lunch. He tells Ricky Lucy still thinks he's DuBois and about the role Lucy wants him to play due to Ricky's jealousy. Later, Boyer goes to see Lucy and she coaches him to act romantic and kiss her hand like Boyer would. He is to return at 5 pm and tell Ricky he's just passing by and thought he'd drop in. Meanwhile, Ricky knows Boyer is coming so he keeps up his jealousy act, and when they are phoned that Boyer is coming up, Lucy tells Ricky she'll prove to him that Boyer means nothing to her. Boyer comes in as Mr. DuBois (to Lucy), and acts romantic like they rehearsed and she acts like she has no interest and Ricky keeps up his jealousy act. When the phone rings, Ethel tells Lucy that Fred spilled the beans about DuBois really being Boyer. Lucy chokes on her orange and Ethel says she'll come right up to the room. Lucy is scared of Boyer's advances now and both men realize the call tipped her off to their trick. Boyer has to go as he has an interview on TV. Lucy now realizes Ricky was not jealous. Ethel rushes in and is excited having just seen Boyer leaving. However, he returns, having forgotten his hat, though it's now crushed from Lucy accidentally sitting on it. She and Ethel want his autograph and splatter ink on his shirt and rip his coat. Hurriedly he leaves, and Lucy says 'au revoir' - he's lucky he got out alive!
Cast: Charles Boyer, Jack Chefe as the waiter.
LUCY GETS A PARIS GOWN
Episode #147, Aired March 19, 1956
In Paris, band manager Mertz reports in with the mail and Ricky reads their invite to dress designer Jacques Marcel's fashion show, which will make Lucy happy. Ricky had to pull a few strings to get the invite but Fred warns him that Marcel charges lots for clothes. He tells Ricky that when the girls go to the fashion show, they will have to buy a dress that usually costs $500. Seeing this reasoning, Ricky decides not to show Lucy the invitation. Ethel and Lucy return from shopping, with Ethel having spent 1000 francs for a bag that in U.S. money, is $2.85. Lucy got a toy for Little Ricky and perfume for Mrs. Trumbull. She checks the mail, and is upset that the invite to Jacques Marcel's fashion show hasn't come yet. Ricky says he tried to get one but they are hard to get. Lucy answers the phone and Marcel's secretary asks Lucy if she got their invitation and that they're invited to the show for the following day at 2 pm. Ricky confesses the invite came and makes Lucy promise that all she'll do at the show is look, and so does Ethel. After the show the girls go to the café and are joined by their husbands. The men make fun of the two models from the show as they walk by. Lucy decides she'll not eat until Ricky buys her a Marcel dress, though he says he won't get her one. Later, to break Lucy's hunger strike, Ricky invites the Mertzes over for a delicious tasty looking lunch and decide to eat it in front of Lucy, and maybe that'll make her eat again. He is worried because she's been on this hunger strike for 3 days. Lucy still refuses to eat so Ricky goes to rehearsal and Fred goes with him. When the men leave, Lucy brings out all her hidden food while Ethel watches. She has food hidden in a book, in a lamp, a vase and other places. She has not left the hotel room these past few days, but Ethel is responsible for bringing her food secretly. Later, for dinner, Ethel brings Lucy a roast chicken, hidden in her camera bag. However, the men return and Ricky, feeling sorry for Lucy, brings her a Jacques Marcel dress. He wants to take a picture of it and finds the chicken in the camera bag and the husbands realize Lucy has been sneaking food in with Ethel's help. Ricky returns the dress and he and Fred go to the outdoor café. A model walks by and Ricky is sure she is wearing something made out of a potato sack and it gives him an idea on how to get even with Lucy and show her how silly this high fashion stuff is. He'll need the help of the tailor across the hotel where they had the band uniforms cleaned. Ricky will get him to make a crazy dress out of a real potato sack and get a Jacques Marcel label and put it on. Fred would even pay to get one made for Ethel. For hats they find a wine bucket and a horse's feedbag. Soon, they take their creations to the wives who just love their supposedly new Marcel outfits. Ricky calls them next year's fashions. They stroll to the café in their new outfits and Marcel happens to be there, staring at the two wives. As he leaves, Lucy wants to thank him for letting them scoop the fashion world but Ricky and Fred start laughing, thinking on how their wives fell for this like Ricky fell for the hunger strike. Ricky confesses to Lucy that Jacques Marcel did not make the outfits, but a tailor made them out of potato sacks. The girls leave the café embarrassed and angry. Eventually, the foursome return to the café and at 2 pm the husbands are to buy the girls Marcel dresses no matter what the cost, for humiliating them in a public place. Marcel and his models pass by and they're wearing exactly the same outfits as Lucy and Ethel's potato sack fashions. Ricky describes Marcel as a crook for stealing his potato sack dress idea. He is proud to tell the wives they don't need to buy a Marcel dress, since they already have the originals. Tearfully, the girls reveal they have burned their originals.
Cast: John Bleifer as the waiter.
LUCY IN THE SWISS ALPS
Episode #148, Aired March 26, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes arrive in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Lucy checks out Fred and Ethel's room. They find out that Fred had made a mistake when he was checking the band schedule without his glasses on. Ethel had sat on the glasses in Paris. Fred booked the band into Locarno instead of Lucerne. They decide to go see Ricky in his room and get him in a happy mood and when he's off his guard they'll laughingly sneak the bad news in that the band is in another city. This results in Ricky firing Fred from being band manager. Ricky makes a phone call and finds that a train from Locarno to Lucerne takes 4 hours. He sends a wire to the Ricky Ricardo band. They are at the American Express office in Locarno and his wire tells them to take the next train to Lucerne. He then now decides that Fred is not fired. Ricky worries that if his band doesn't arrive, they'll have to cancel tonight's show. Later, Fred says that in case the band doesn't get there on time, he has lined up a local outfit that can play. Ricky can't believe a Swiss band can play Latin rumbas but listens to the band that had been practicing for one hour. They play far too slowly for Ricky's taste. Soon, Lucy gets out their hiking outfits to go mountain climbing with the Mertzes to put in time till the band arrives. They climb up a mountain and stop for lunch, which the hotel had packed for them. When they are done eating it snows heavily and they find an empty cabin. After a few minutes, Ricky looks out the door to see if it stopped snowing, and sees a big cliff of snow is hanging over the cabin. Lucy is sure that all that snow hanging over will cause an avalanche if anyone makes a loud noise. She read it in a book and remembers it happened in the movie 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'. But she sneezes and, afraid the snow over the cabin fell, looks out the door. Seeing that all is well, she slams the door but the snow then falls and blocks the door. They are afraid they won't be discovered but Ricky is determined he has to get out, as he has a show that night. He says to wait till someone comes and digs them out. After 5 hours, they are hungry. Optimistically, Fred says the people at the inn knew they came up the mountain, but Lucy fears they might not find them under all that snow. Only Lucy had saved a sandwich from lunch on the mountain, but doesn't tell anyone. She gets it out to hide it in her coat but everyone smells the food and wants some of her sandwich. She decides to share it when the rest of them beg. After eating, Ethel is afraid they're doomed. She confesses to Fred when they got married she said she was 18 but she was really 19. Fred confesses that she was 24 and he confesses to Ricky he charged him $10 more rent than anyone else in the building. Ethel says that every month she gave them back the $10. Lucy confesses she has another sandwich in her knapsack. Ricky confesses when she napped, the rest of them ate it, but they saved her a quarter of it. Soon, Lucy hears strange far off music and the Swiss band comes in with a shovel. They had become worried when the foursome didn't return to the hotel. They found only a few feet of snow in front of the cabin door and did not have to dig for long. They asked for another chance to perform in the show, since they had practiced all afternoon. Ricky, being happy to see them, gives them the job. They begin to play, far too slowly again, causing Ricky to appear unsure about them, but they're all happy as they leave the cabin.
Songs: La Cucaracha; Schnitzelbank.
Cast: Torben Meyer as head of Swiss Band.
LUCY GETS HOMESICK IN ITALY
Episode #149, Aired April 9, 1956
Arriving at The Hotel Grande in Italy, Lucy is worried as her mother has not written for 2 weeks and this day is Little Ricky's third birthday. She hopes he got the presents she sent him that Fred mailed for her 2 weeks ago. As they check in with the hotel clerk to get their rooms, a shoeshine boy comes in and is chased away by the clerk. To go to their rooms, they try to use the elevator, but it's broke and their rooms are 4 flights up. Worn out from climbing the stairs Ethel states they climbed an Alp last week and it wasn't as bad. The Ricardos get the Bridal suite and the Mertz's room is one more flight up. Ricky arrives in the room with their mail. Lucy reads the mail from her mother, but it doesn't say a thing about the birthday presents she sent. Lucy is upset about Little Ricky being home on his birthday with no birthday presents. Ricky says she can call home and talk to him, so they go downstairs to the lobby to call. The phone operator does not understand Lucy so Ricky tries to make the call to their apartment phone number of Murray Hill 5 9099 and has no problem with the operator. Lucy declares it's just her luck she would get an operator in Italy who studied English in Cuba. The operator tells him she'll call back in 20 minutes. They walk back up the stairs but will soon make several more trips up and down the stairs due to the operator calling and double-checking things. Lucy even takes over the phone from a female hotel patron, just to ensure the woman doesn't tie up the phone any longer in case Lucy's call comes in. To hold the phone line, she pretends to talk to Benjamin Franklin about lightning, while holding down the phone receiver in case it rings with the call she's expecting. While pretending to talk to Ben, the phone rings, and it's for the Italian hotel patron. Lucy is embarrassed and the woman looks at her as if she's crazy. Later, a call finally comes from the operator, and she puts Lucy's mother on the line. She tells her Mom she's calling from Florence, Italy, but her Mom says it's now 5 o'clock in the morning in New York and the baby is sleeping, though he did get the presents Lucy sent. When they hang up, Lucy cries that she didn't get to talk to him but Ricky says she can call a few hours later and he goes off to rehearsal. Afterwards, in the hotel lobby, the shoeshine boy comes in and Lucy says he can give her a shoeshine. Soon, Lucy's call comes from the operator and she is told to wait but the boy is chased away by the clerk again. Before he runs, Lucy pays the boy and says she'll get her shine later. It's Lucy's mother on the line but the baby is not there. Since it is now 9 a.m. in New York, Mom just got back from taking him to nursery school. He'll be home at 1 pm but Lucy says it's too expensive to call again. Lucy is in tears and the shoeshine boy comes to her room to give the shine she paid for. He asks why she is crying and she explains today is her son's birthday, and she's lonesome for him. The shoeshine boy says it's his birthday today too and Lucy gives him candy to celebrate his birthday since she can't be with her little boy at this time. She finds out the shoeshine boy's name is Giuseppe and with his birthday being today, he says he's 8 _ but then says he's 9 because he forgot. Later while telling the Mertzes what the boy said, Giuseppe brings in Teresa and says it's her birthday today too. Lucy gives her candy. He brings in more kids and says it's their birthday too and Lucy gives them chocolate. Lucy decides to have a party for Little Ricky right there in Italy and, after shopping for goodies with Ethel, she has the birthday party and all the kids get presents because it's their birthday too. Soon, Giuseppe confesses it's not really any of their birthdays but they just said it to get candy. They give back the gifts but Teresa refuses because it's really her birthday, and because it's her birthday, Lucy lets all the kids keep their gifts. Ricky comes in and has Little Ricky on the phone in the lobby. Lucy speaks with her son and Giuseppe gets the kids to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Little Ricky in Italian. Ricky and tearful Lucy, wish Little Ricky a happy birthday.
Song: Happy Birthday.
Cast: Bart Bradley (now Bart Braverman) as Giuseppe; Kathryn Card as Lucy's Mom; Joseph (and Michael) Mayer as Little Ricky; Vincent Padula as hotel clerk; Ida Smeraldo as Italian patron; Kathleen Mazalo as Teresa.
LUCY'S ITALIAN MOVIE
Episode #150, Aired April 16, 1956
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On an Italian train, the Ricardos and Mertzes are on the way to Rome. They'll get there in 13 hours, at 10 o'clock the next morning. When they arrive in Rome, a man approaches them on the train. He says he is Vittorio Fellippi who produces films there in Italy and he thinks Lucy would be the type he needs for a new picture. He gives his card to Ricky and says to call if Lucy is interested in auditioning, but to call soon as they start production in a few days. In Rome, the Mertzes drop in on the Ricardos in their hotel room, Room 605. Lucy is reading about Vittorio and some of the actresses he discovered. The bellboy comes in and Lucy asks him to translate the story, as she can't read Italian. It says Vittorio announced the starting date of his new picture called 'Bitter Grapes', which is filming in color in and around Rome. Because of the movie title, Lucy feels she has to find out about the grape vineyards and what the workers do there. Ricky tells her not to do that since she'll only get into trouble. Then Ricky and Fred go out to check the theatre for a show. Lucy wants to go to the grape vineyards to soak up local color for acting purposes. She makes a call and asks the bellboy to come up and she asks him how to find the vineyards where they make wine, pick grapes and stomp the grapes in vats within the wine industry. There is one little town in the outskirts of the city called Turo where they still make wine without machinery. Lucy visits Turo, dressed like the grape stomping workers, and two workers, Rosa and Teresa are chosen to stomp the grapes in the wine vat, but Rosa is replaced by Lucy. At first Lucy hates the feel of stepping into the grapes but is soon running round and round the vat with her stomping. Meanwhile, Ethel drops in on Ricky. He asks her where Lucy is since Vittorio called, and will be there soon. Ricky makes Ethel tell him where Lucy is. Back at the vineyard, Lucy gets tired and Teresa tells her to quit goofing off. She pushes Teresa away and she throws a handful of grapes at Lucy's face in anger. Lucy does the same back. They continue and Lucy falls into the vat and is pushed under several times by Teresa. Later, Lucy returns to the hotel room all stained by the blue grape juice and Vittorio is there with Ricky and the Mertzes. She explains she was at the vineyards working to get the right atmosphere for appearing in his picture but the blue stains won't wash off. Vittorio says 'Bitter Grapes' is a symbolic title that has nothing to do with the grape industry. He had her in mind for a small part as a typical American tourist visiting Italy and since shooting would be the next day in color, he can't take the chance that Lucy would be back to normal by then. He asks Ethel if she'd be interested in playing the part and she is to report to his studio the next morning at eight o'clock. Ethel announces that this is only the beginning and she may end up being a star. Disappointed Lucy mumbles some censored words!
Cast: Franco Corsaro as Vittorio Fellippi; Teresa Tirelli as Teresa; Rosa Barbato as Rosa; Saverio Lo Medico as bellboy; Ernesto Molinari as wine vat boss.
LUCY'S BICYCLE TRIP
Episode #151, Aired April 23, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes are in the Italian Riviera and Lucy has taken a swim in the Mediterranean Sea, cold as it is. The group is packing to go to Nice, France. Lucy wants to go the 35 miles to Nice by bicycle, but no one else wants to go that way. Lucy explains her disappointment in her three companions by reminding them that they wouldn't climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower or ride a ski lift in Switzerland, or swim in The Mediterranean and now they don't want to bicycle along the Italian Riviera. Finally they all decide to go to Nice by bike. After biking awhile over many hills, they are tired, even though they haven't yet reached the French border. It's getting late and they ask a farmer if he can put them up overnight. Because he has 9 children, the only place he has where they can sleep is in the barn with cows, chickens and goats. The next morning the farmer brings them loaves of bread and he suggests milk from the cow to drink. Ricky and Fred don't want to milk the cow and Ethel says she's a city girl. The three of them go looking for a well or spring for water and Lucy decides to try to milk the cow. By the time the three return, Lucy has learned how to milk the cow and enjoys squirting everyone with milk. Later in the day, they arrive at the Italian and French border on their bikes and the Mertzes are using a bicycle built for two. Ricky and the Mertzes enter France but Lucy does not have her passport, so she's not allowed in. She thinks it's in her blue purse in the trunk sent ahead to Nice. Ricky and Fred will go to Nice on the bicycle built for two since they'll make better time that way and get Lucy's passport and bring it back to her. The men leave the knapsacks there on the French side. Ethel remains on the French side of the border to keep company with Lucy in the next country. When Ricky gets to the Plaza Hotel in Nice, he phones Lucy at the border and tells her he doesn't have the key to open the trunk to get her purse out. She explains that the key is in her blue jacket, but realizes that's what she's now wearing. She asks Ricky if he'll bring the trunk to her and she'll unlock it but he refuses to take it in a taxi for 20 miles to the border. Ethel takes the key to Nice, using Ricky's bike. When she arrives, Ricky calls Lucy at the border again and tells her the key opened the trunk and they found her purse but her passport was not in there. Lucy now remembers she put her passport in her knapsack, but it's on the French side of the border where Ricky left them. Unfortunately, the man at the border won't let Lucy into France to get the knapsack that has her passport in it because she needs a passport to get into France. Lucy calls the hotel to talk to Ricky and she notices a bicycle tournament pass by and go through the border with ease. Ricky is not in the room and Lucy leaves a pleading message for help. She tries to bicycle into France, disguised as one of the tournament participants, but, being recognized, she's stopped at the border. Soon, Ricky arrives on the French side on his bike and gets Lucy's passport out of the knapsack and hands it to the Italian border guard. He finally lets Lucy into France and Ricky takes her passport for safekeeping. Behind their backs, the Italian guard goes off duty and is replaced by the next guard coming on his shift and he enters the office to check in. Ricky starts off on his bike and Lucy remembers she left her bike on the Italian side and she goes under the border rail into Italy to get her bike while the new guard is still in the office. He comes out to work at the border, and Lucy approaches the border with her bike. He asks for her passport but it has gone off ahead already, to Nice with Ricky. Lucy again is stranded alone in Italy.
Cast: Mario Siletti as the farmer; Felix Romano as Italian Guard; Henry Dar Boggia as Italian Guard; Francis Ravel as the French guard.
LUCY GOES TO MONTE CARLO
Episode #152, Aired May 7, 1956
In Nice, France, in their hotel room Lucy asks Ricky if she and Ethel can skip seeing his show tonight and go out to dinner and a movie. The Mertzes come into the room and Fred says they better get down to the dinner show. He confesses to Ricky that he was going over the books and he made a mistake. He had thought in Rome they cleared $3000.00 but found out now they only made $300.00. Ricky is not happy with band manager Mertz and decides they'll go over the books the next day. Lucy suggests the girls go to the Monte Carlo casino, the most famous gambling casino in the world. Ricky objects, as he does not want her to gamble. As the men go off to the show, Ricky says to Lucy to have dinner anywhere she wants, then go to a movie but not to the casino. Lucy looks in a brochure of restaurants and announces she and Ethel will dine at a very famous Monte Carlo restaurant called Le Grille, which happens to be in the casino. After eating, they stroll through the casino on their way out. Lucy finds a chip on the floor and throws it on the roulette table. It wins and she gains more chips but explains it wasn't her chip in the first place, and she moves the chips to another number to get them out of her way, and those chips also win. She tries to explain again it was not her chip and says those chips can stay right where they are. But they win too. She has just won 875,000 francs. The girls take the money and hide it in Ethel's good lingerie suitcase while the men are away at Ricky's late show, to hide the fact that Lucy was gambling which would anger Ricky. The next day, Ricky goes to the Mertz's room and asks for Fred. Ethel says he's in the barbershop so Ricky calls the shop from there. Ethel goes off to look for Lucy. Ricky talks to Fred on the phone and says he is in the room to go over the books. Fred says Ricky can get started and to get the books out of his suitcase in the closet. However, Ricky pulls out Ethel's suitcase by mistake and finds Lucy's gambling money, and with disbelief, he thinks Fred has been keeping his hard-earned money based on the mistake Fred confessed about. Fred arrives in his room and admits he does not know where the money came from. Ricky leaves and goes to his room and tells Lucy that Fred is an embezzler who has a suitcase full of money in his closet. So as to not tell Ricky she was gambling, Lucy makes up a story that the money is Ethel's from her French Aunt Yvette who died and she hid it so Fred wouldn't know she had so much money. Ricky apologizes to Fred and reveals that the money is Ethel's. Fred is happy, believing that Ethel is suddenly loaded with money. Ethel comes to Lucy's room, and Fred is looking adoringly at her. He insists they go somewhere so they can be alone and Ethel goes along with confusion on her face. While in their room alone, Ethel gets a phone call from Lucy explaining Ricky found the money in her suitcase and he thought Fred was juggling the books and she had to tell him the money was Ethel's because she didn't want Ricky to think Fred was an embezzler and she didn't want Ricky to find out she was gambling. Feeling used, Ethel refuses to ever see Lucy again. Ethel now realizes Fred is acting lovey-dovey due to his thinking Ethel has a lot of money in her suitcase. She tells him it's Lucy's money. They argue as Lucy enters their room and she grabs the suitcase to take the money back to the casino where she won it. Ricky comes into the Mertz's room and Ethel tells him it's Lucy's money in the suitcase. She explains she won it gambling by accident by putting a chip on table after they ate in a restaurant that was in the casino. Ricky thinks it's wonderful that Lucy won the money. The three of them head to the casino to look for Lucy there, in her pursuit to give back the money. Meanwhile, Lucy places the cash on the table and she is given more chips to play. She pushes them away and leaves and is told the chips won. Ricky comes into the casino and says she can keep the money, but with the next number called, she loses, and her chips are swept away and in the end she has lost all the money, resulting in a cascade of tears.
Cast: John Mylong and Louis Nicoletti as men at the casino; Bob Carroll Jr. as roulette player.
RETURN HOME FROM EUROPE
Episode #153, Aired May 14, 1956
The Ricardos and Mertzes are packing to leave Nice, France to go home. Fred and Ethel come to see Lucy and check on her packing. Lucy's mother has sent their mail but it contains a telegram for Ricky and this upsets him because she sent it to them by regular mail, so he blames her for not thinking. Lucy sides with her Mom saying maybe it's a birthday greeting. He opens it and it's an important booking at The Roxy Theatre in New York and they want Ricky to open there with his band for 2 weeks, starting next Monday. Fred suggests they fly home to get there in time. Ricky calls the Roxy and meanwhile, tells Fred to go and reserve them and the band on Pan American Airlines. Fred checks and says a clipper leaves tomorrow arriving in New York the following day. Ricky tells the theatre they'll arrive in plenty of time by air from Europe. Fred will call the steamship lines and say they're going home by plane. He reminds Ricky the band was going home free for playing on the boat, but now, Ricky has to buy plane tickets for the band too. Ricky tells Lucy that thanks to her mother, he has to play The Roxy for 2 weeks for nothing, but he's been waiting a long time to play there and that's what he'll do. Lucy insists she must take to her mother some rare Italian cheese that weighs 25 pounds. Being fed up with Lucy's mother, Ricky does not want her to take the cheese, besides it will add too much to the allotted weight of 66 pounds people can carry back on the plane. He and Fred leave the room as they have a lot to do. Lucy thinks she will disguise the cheese as a baby thinking babies travel for free. Later, on the plane, Ricky discovers Lucy's disguise and refuses to sit with her. Another mother, Evelyn Bigsby, and her baby take the seat beside Lucy so they don't disturb the others with their babies. Lucy keeps the cheese a secret from Mrs. Bigsby, and still pretends that it's a baby. Lucy admits her child is named Chester and Bigsby reveals her daughter is named Carolyn. During the flight Lucy finds out that babies cost 10 per cent of the regular fare on overseas flight, which comes to $30.00 and since it costs $2.00 per pound for anything over 66 pounds allotted, then the cheese would come to $50.00. Either way, she cannot afford it. She insists Ethel and she have to eat as much of the cheese as they can, to get rid of it so they don't have to pay for the cheese, or for the disguised baby. They'll figure out what to do later with whatever is left of it. After hiding the remainder of the cheese, Lucy returns to her seat and Bigsby asks her where her baby is. Lucy reveals it was a piece of cheese, to shrieks of horror from Bigsby, causing an investigation of Lucy at the customs office when the plane lands. Ethel reveals she and Lucy ate as much as they could of the cheese and it's discovered that the rest of it is hidden in the band's musical instruments. Ricky surmises it's not easy being married to Lucy but it's a lot of fun. With anticipation, he suggests to her it is time to go home now and see the baby.
Songs: Rock a Bye Baby.
Cast: Mary Jane Croft as Evelyn Bigsby; Frank Nelson as customs officer; Bennett Green as member of the press; Mildred Law as stewardess; Ray Kellogg as airline pilot.
© Copyright 2015 Everything Imagination, LLC with additional credit going out to Mike Broad for the initial research and writing of this guide.
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