A Guide To I Love Lucy
Airs on Monday nights at 9:00-9:30 on CBS
(Reruns air on Saturday evenings at 6:30-7:00 on CBS under the title The
Lucy Show.)
Overview:
The fifth season of I Love Lucy
continued the "trip" storylines that had been so successful in the
fourth season. The season would begin by finishing the Hollywood storyline that
it had presented last season. Then it started another "trip"
storyline. This one took the gang to Europe! For these episodes, the cast and
crew didn't actually go to Europe. The episodes were actually filmed at the
studio.
In this
season, Ricky was now a celebrity. He was no longer the small-time nightclub
entertainer that he had been in the first three seasons. He was now a famous star.
During the season, CBS continued to air reruns of I
Love Lucy on a regular basis. But they moved the timeslot from Sundays at 6
to Saturdays at 6:30-7:00, starting October 1, 1955. The reruns now aired under the title The Lucy Show
(not to be confused with Lucille Ball's 1962 sitcom of the same name), and
aired all season. After that, CBS decided to stop rerunning the show.
Also during the fifth season, Lucy's and Desi's movie, Forever,
Darling was released. It bombed at the box office.
As the 1955-56 season ended, I Love Lucy
finished as the number two show of the season, behind The $64,000 Question.
Unfortunately, Desilu's other TV series, Our Miss Brooks, was not so
lucky. It was cancelled at the end of this season.
As the filming for the fifth season ended, Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz were now tired. The production schedule was hectic, and they had
little time for their kids. Plus, the writers were saying that they were
starting to run out of ideas. Lucy and Desi wanted to end the series. So they planned
for this fifth season to be the last. The last episode of this season, "Return
Home From Europe", was intended to be the last episode of the series. The
last scene of that episode was written as a "conclusion".
But CBS balked at this. They pleaded for more episodes. So Lucy and Desi relented, and decided
to do one more season of I Love Lucy.
(Starting Saturday, October 1, CBS airs reruns of I Love Lucy under the title The Lucy Show.)
128. Lucy Visits Grauman's
First aired: October 3, 1955
Guests: Gege Pearson (tourist), Hal Gerard
(tourist), Ben Nunis (policeman), Clarence Straight (policeman), Joseph and
Michael Mayer (Little Ricky)
As the fourth season opens, the Ricardos are still
in Hollywood, still living in the same hotel suite. It's not clear how long they've been in Hollywood by now, but it must have been a while because Ricky has
now made a movie. (They must have been here all summer.) The movie is now
completed, and their trip to Hollywood is winding down. They will be here for
one more week, and then it will be time to head home to New York.
In the
meantime, Lucy and Ethel visit Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
Outside the theater, they look at the footprints of movie stars in the sidewalk.
Lucy notices that the cement slab containing John Wayne's footprints is loose.
So she steals it as a souvenir. But she ends up breaking it into a thousand
pieces.
Notes: The prop that was used for the cement slab
was actually made of thick Styrofoam, and the actors were pretending that it was
really heavy.
We are never told the name of the movie that
Ricky actually makes.
129. Lucy And John Wayne
First aired: October 10, 1955
Guests: John Wayne (himself), Ralph Volkie (George,
the masseur),
Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky), Louis A. Nicoletti (man with poster)
This is a sequel to "Lucy Visits Grauman's". Lucy has to
replace the cement slab of John Wayne's footprints that she broke. Ricky
contacts John Wayne, and asks him to make a new set of footprints. Wayne
complies. But then Lucy destroys the new set. So she has to get Mr. Wayne
to make another new set of footprints, and then another...and another...and
another...
Notes: William Frawley (who plays Fred Mertz) had
previously appeared with John Wayne in the movies The Fighting Seabees
(1944) and Flame Of Barbary Coast (1945).
130. Lucy And The Dummy
First aired: October 17, 1955
Guest: Lee Millar (Chip Jackson)
MGM asks Ricky to perform at a studio party. Ricky
declines because he has plans to go deep sea fishing. Lucy figures out a way to
get into show business: she makes a dummy of Ricky. Then she tells the studio
that she and Ricky will perform a dance at the party. She plans to dance with
the dummy, hoping to fool the audience into thinking she's dancing with Ricky.
Moreover, she hopes that this will get her into show business.
Songs sung: "I Get Ideas" (sung by Lucille
Ball)
131. Ricky Sells The Car
First aired: October 24, 1955
Guests: Bennett Green (messenger), Donald L. Brodie
(ticket agent at train station)
The trip to Hollywood is almost over, and it's time
to pack up and go home. Ricky decides that it would be cheaper to go home by
train. So he sells the car, and buys train tickets home. But he forgets to buy
train tickets for the Mertzes. This leads to problems.
Real-life connections: Ricky sells the car to a man
named Ralph Berger. Ralph Berger was the name of the series' art director.
Notes: We see Fred dressed in motorcycle gear,
riding a motorcycle. He looks like a biker!
132. The Great Train Robbery
First aired: October 31, 1955
Guests: Frank Nelson (train conductor), Kathryn
Card (Mrs. McGillicuddy), Lou Krugman (Mr. Estes, the jewelry salesman), Harry Bartell (jewel
thief), Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky), Joseph Crehan (detective), Sam
McDaniel (Sam, the porter), Louis A. Nicoletti (newspaper reporter), Hazel "Sunny" Boyne, Saul
Gross, Hubie Kerns, Evelyn Finley, Lila Finn, Gil Perkins, Hazel Pierce, and Roy
Rowan (train passengers)
The gang boards a train for New York. On the trip
home, Lucy hears that there is a jewel thief on the train. She suspects that the
man in the compartment next to hers is the thief.
Notes: This is perhaps the only episode of the
series to feature an African-American in it. It features black actor Sam
McDaniel as the train porter.
133. Homecoming
First aired: November 7, 1955
Guests: Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs. Trumbull), Elvira
Allman (Nancy Graham), Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky), Eve June Mayer,
Roy Schallert, Charlotte Lawrence,
Barbara Pepper, Bennett Green, and Hazel Pierce (neighbors)
The gang finally comes home to New York. Their
neighbors give Ricky a grand homecoming celebration. Everyone treats Ricky like
a big celebrity, which infuriates Lucy.
Notes: In this episode, get a rare glimpse of the
front of the Mertzes' apartment building.
134. The Ricardos Are Interviewed
First aired: November 14, 1955
Guests: John Gallaudet (Johnny Clark, Ricky's
agent), Elliott Reid
(Edward Warren), Monty Masters (TV director), Bennett Green (cameraman)
Now that Ricky is famous, he is asked to be
interviewed on a TV show called Face To Face. The interview will be
presented live from the Ricardos' apartment. While everyone prepares, Ricky's agent,
Johnny Clark, suggests something to the Ricardos: "Now that you're famous,
maybe you should move out of the Mertzes' apartment building to a nicer place."
The Mertzes overhear this. They are insulted, but they think that he may be right.
Songs sung: "Rancho Grande" (sung by Desi
Arnaz in Spanish, with help from Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley)
Real-life connections: Guest John Gallaudet was William
Frawley's best friend in real life.
Notes:
135. Lucy Goes To The Rodeo
First aired: November 28, 1955
Guests: John Gallaudet (Johnny Clark, Ricky's
agent), Dub Taylor
(Rattlesnake Jones), Doye O'Dell (himself as the announcer)
Fred's lodge is staging a western show. He asks
Ricky to appear, but Ricky can't do it because he is scheduled to do a radio
show then. So Lucy and the Mertzes whip up a western act for the show.
Songs sung: "Birmingham Jail" (sung by Vivian
Vance and William Frawley); "Texas Pete" (actually the song
"Cuban Pete" with different lyrics; sung by Desi Arnaz); "Red
River Valley" (sung by Vivian Vance and William Frawley); and "Down By
The Old Mill Stream" (instrumental performed by Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz,
Vivian Vance, and William Frawley)
Notes:
136. Nursery School
First aired: December 5, 1955
Guests: Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky), Olan Soule (Dr. Gettleman), Howard
Hoffman (Dr. Barnett), Iva Shepard (nurse), Maxine Semon (nurse), Alan Ray (orderly),
Robert Brubaker (orderly)
Ricky thinks that it's time Little Ricky went to nursery
school. Lucy doesn't like this because she wants Little Ricky to stay with her.
She doesn't want Little Ricky to grow up and leave the nest. And nursery school
is the first sign of it. "First it's nursery school, then next it will be
grade school, then high school, and then he'll get married and leave us! Waah! We're
losing our baby!" Then Little Ricky gets tonsillitis, and Lucy is over
protective of him.
Notes: Lucy is overprotective of Little Ricky, like
a domineering mother, but never more so than in this episode.
137. Ricky's European Booking
First aired: December 12, 1955
Guests: Harry Antrim (Mr. Feldman), Barney Phillips
(Mr. Jamison), Dorthea Wolbert (Dorthea Wolbert), Hazel Pierce (Hazel Pierce), Louis A. Nicoletti
(engineer at recording studio), The Pied
Pipers (Lee Cotch, Clark Yokum, Allen Davies, and Sue Allen) (themselves)
Ricky and his band are booked for a tour of Europe.
Fred will go along as his manager. Needless to say, Lucy and Ethel want to come
along too. But there isn't enough money to take them. Ricky says that if the
girls can raise the fare money themselves, they can come too. They will need
$3000. So Lucy and Ethel make up a phony charity, the "Ladies Overseas
Aid".
Real-life connections: In one scene, Ricky and the
Pied Pipers are in a recording studio singing the last few bars of a song called
"Forever, Darling". This was the title song from the Arnazes' upcoming
movie.
138. Passports
First aired: December 19, 1955
Guests: Sheila Bromley (Helen Kaiser), Robert
Forrest (Sidney Kaiser), Sam Hearn (Dr. Peterson), Marco Rizo (undetermined
role)
The gang has to get passports for their trip. In
order to get passports, they must produce their birth certificates. Lucy calls
her hometown for her birth certificate, and finds that none exists for her! So
now, in order to get a passport, Lucy must find people who have known her for
twenty years, and people who were present when she was born to prove that she
was born.
Songs sung: "Par Le Veau" (sung by William
Frawley); and "Skip To My Lou" (sung by Lucille Ball and guest Sam
Hearn)
Notes: This episode is partially based on an old
"My Favorite Husband" episode, "The Passports".
139. Staten Island Ferry
First aired: January 2, 1956
Guests: Charles Lane (passport clerk), Stanley
Farrar (ferry attendant)
The gang will be leaving for Europe next week. In
the meantime, Fred learns that they will be going by boat. He wants to
back out because he gets seasick. Lucy offers to take Fred on the Staten Island
Ferry, and show him that he won't get seasick if he takes seasick pills. She
takes him on the ferry, and both of them get seasick!
Notes: Fred has more screen time than usual in this
episode.
140. Bon Voyage
First aired: January 16, 1956
Guests: Kathryn Card (Mrs. McGillicuddy),
Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs. Trumbull), Tyler McVey (officer), Ken Christy (dock
agent), Jack Albertson (helicopter dispatcher), Frank Gerstle (helicopter
pilot), Bennett
Green (dock worker), Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky), Bob Carroll Jr.
(man whom Ethel talks to on the deck on the ship)
It's finally time to leave for Europe. The gang
boards a passenger ship, the U.S.S. Constitution. Little Ricky will be staying with Lucy's mother while
they are gone. After boarding, Lucy gets off the boat to say good-bye to Little
Ricky one last time, and the boat leaves without her! Lucy has to find some way
to get to the boat, or she won't go to Europe!
Real-life connections: At one point, Lucy gets flowers
from "Bill, Dani, and Jerry Asher". Bill Asher was the director of the
episode, and Dani and Jerry were his wife and child. Also, guest Bob Carroll Jr.
was one of the show's writers.
Notes: Guest Jack Albertson (the helicopter
dispatcher) would later win the 1969 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He would also play Grandpa Joe in the classic kids movie Willie
Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971), and play "the man" on the 1974-78 TV series Chico
And The Man.
141. Lucy's Second Honeymoon
First aired: January 23, 1956
Guests: Tyler McVey (social director), Harvey Grant
(Kenneth Hamilton), Louis A. Nicoletti (passenger with Rocky the dog), Herbert
Lytton (man in deck chair), Virginia Barbour (passenger),
Paula Winslow (passenger), Marco Rizo (undetermined role)
Now on the boat for Europe, Lucy dreams of a
romantic voyage. Even Fred is being romantic to Ethel! But unfortunately Ricky
and his band have to perform on the ship in order to pay for their fare. The
band is playing all day and night, and Ricky's busy schedule makes it impossible
to spend any time with Lucy. Lucy feels lonely. She can't spend time with the
Mertzes because they are off being romantic. So she schemes to get Ricky alone
with her.
Songs sung: "Cielito Lindo" (sung by Desi
Arnaz)
Notes: Fred is actually romantic in this episode!
This is probably the only episode of the show where he actually gets romantic
with Ethel!
142. Lucy Meets The Queen
First aired: January 30, 1956
Guests: Sam Edwards (hotel bellboy), Robert Shafter (man
on street who talks fast), Nancy Kulp (hotel maid), Betty Scott (dancer in
show), Patti Nestor (dancer in show)
The gang arrives in London. Lucy walks around the
city, hoping to meet the Queen.
Notes: Guest Nancy Kulp (the hotel maid) would
later play Miss Jane Hathaway on the 1962-71 TV series The Beverly
Hillbillies.
143. The Fox Hunt
First aired: February 6, 1956
Guests: Walter Kingsford (Sir Clive Richardson),
Hilary Brooke (Angela Randall), Trevor Ward (groom)
The gang is still in London. A beautiful blonde
starlet named Angela Randall sets her sights on Ricky. Lucy tries to get Ricky
away from her by getting the gang invited to an English manor for the weekend.
And it turns out that Angela is the owner's daughter!
Notes: Guest Hillary Brooke (Angela) was a regular
on The Abbott And Costello Show in the early 50s, and she played Roberta
Townsend on the 1951-55 TV series My Little Margie.
144. Lucy Goes To Scotland
First aired: February 20, 1956
Guests: Larry Orenstein (Mayor Ferguson), John
Gustafson, John Hynd, Robert E. Hamlin, Ann Ellen Walker, Norma Zimmer, Betty
Noyes, Dick Byron, Chuck Schrouder, and Betty Allen (townspeople)
The Ricardos are almost finished in London. The
next stop will be Paris. Lucy says that before they go to Paris, she wants to go
to Scotland to look up members of her old family, the McGillicuddys (remember
that Lucy's maiden name is McGillicuddy). Ricky says that they don't have time.
That night, Lucy has a dream. The dream is a musical fantasy, a la "Babes
In Toyland"! In it, Lucy visits the Scottish town of Kildoonan, where she
is welcomed as the last of the McGillicuddy family. The town welcomes her all
right, but not out of kindness. It turns out that every forty years, a two-headed
dragon comes to devour the town. The only way to satisfy its appetite for
another forty years is to sacrifice a McGillicuddy to it. Now Lucy is the last of
the McGillicuddy family, and the town wants to feed her to the dragon!
The episode is full of music, dancing, Scottish accents, and ridiculousness!
Great fun!
Songs sung: "Dragon Waltz"; "A
McGillicuddy Is Here"; "Tis Nay A Bra Bricht Nicht"; "I'm
In Love With A Dragon's Dinner" (sung by Desi Arnaz); and
"Two Heads Are Nay Better Than One" (sung by Vivian Vance and William
Frawley)
Notes: Guest Larry Orenstein (Mayor Ferguson) wrote
the lyrics for all the songs. When he demonstrated the songs to Desi Arnaz, Desi
said that Orenstein himself should play the mayor.
Guest Norma Zimmer (one of the townspeople) is best
remembered as the Champagne Lady on the 1955-82 TV series The Lawrence Welk
Show.
145. Paris At Last
First aired: February 27, 1956
Guests: Lawrence Dobkin (counterfeiter), Shepard
Menkin (Charpentier, the artist), Maurice Marsac (waiter at cafe), Rolfe Sedan (chef at
cafe), Fritz Feld (tour guide), Vincent Padula (drunk at police station), Hazel
Pierce (tourist), Bob Carroll Jr. (man in beret whom Lucy toasts at the cafe), Trevor Ward, Ramsey Hall, and John Mylong (policemen)
The gang arrives in Paris. Lucy walks through the
streets. She meets a man, and exchanges her American money for French money. But
it turns out that the man is a crook, and that the French money he gave her is
counterfeit!
146. Lucy Meets Charles Boyer
First aired: March 5, 1956
Guests: Charles Boyer (himself), Jack Chefe (waiter
at cafe)
Still in Paris, the Ricardos and Mertzes eat lunch
at a cafe that the famous French actor Charles Boyer has been known to frequent. Lucy looks
around for Boyer. Ricky remembers all the trouble that Lucy caused back in
Hollywood whenever she met a movie star. He hopes that Boyer doesn't show up.
But Boyer does. Ricky goes to Boyer, and warns her about Lucy. Boyer says
"I have friends in Hollywood. They told me stories about your wife. She has
a reputation for being a screwball." Ricky tells him "They weren't
just stories. Trust me. If Lucy approaches you, tell her that you are not
Charles Boyer, but a look-alike." Lucy does approach Boyer, and Boyer
does what Ricky says. But this leads to more
craziness.
Notes: Although this episode is part of the Europe
storyline, it has the feeling of one of the "Lucy meets a celebrity"
episodes from the Hollywood storyline.
147. Lucy Gets A Paris Gown
First aired: March 19, 1956
Guests: John Bleifer (waiter at cafe), Georgia Holt
(one of the models (uncredited))
Still in Paris, Lucy sees the glamorous Paris
gowns, and now she wants one. Ricky says no because they are too expensive. But
Lucy keeps trying.
Notes: One of the models is played by Georgia Holt,
who is the real-life mother of Cher! No kidding!
148. Lucy In The Swiss Alps
First aired: March 26, 1956
Guest: Torbin Meyer (leader of the Swiss band)
The gang stops in Lucerne, Switzerland. Fred makes
a booking mistake, and sends Ricky's band to the town of Locarno instead. Now
the gang is in Lucerne, and the band is somewhere else. Ricky is mad at Fred.
Lucy suggests that the gang go mountain hiking in the Swiss Alps. Hopefully they
can forget their troubles. While hiking, they get stuck in a deserted mountain
cabin during an avalanche.
Songs sung: "La Cucaracha" (instrumental)
Notes: That mistake that Fred made is a mistake
worthy of Lucy. For once, a mix-up occurs that isn't Lucy's fault. And for once,
Ricky is mad at somebody other than Lucy.
In addition, the writers of this episode made
of mistake of their own: Lucerne is located in the French-speaking
part of Switzerland. Yet in the episode, the townspeople speak German.
149. Lucy Gets Homesick
First aired: April 9, 1956
Guests: Vincent Padula (hotel desk clerk), Bart
Bradley (Giuseppe), Ida Smeraldo (woman on phone), Kathryn Card (Mrs.
McGillicuddy),
Kathleen Mozalo (Teresa), Joseph and Michael Mayer (Little Ricky)
The gang stops in Florence, Italy. As they settle
in, Lucy is sad. It turns out that today is Little
Ricky's birthday back home. He is now three years old. Lucy misses him, and wants to
telephone him. But it isn't easy calling New York from a fourth-class hotel in Italy.
Songs sung: "Happy Birthday To You" (sung by
guests in Italian)
Notes: This episode marks the last appearance of
Mrs. McGillicuddy, Lucy's mother.
150. Lucy's Italian Movie
First aired: April 16, 1956
Guests: Franco Corsaro (Vittorio Filippi), Saverio
Lo Medico (hotel bellboy), Teresa Tirelli (grape stomper who stomps grapes with
Lucy in the vat), Ernesta Molinari (vineyard
boss), Rosa Barbato (grape picker)
Still in Italy, the gang travels to Rome by train.
On the train, Lucy is noticed by Vittorio Filippi, an Italian movie director.
Filippi says that he is making a movie called Grapola Pungente (in English, that means "Bitter Grapes"), and that he has a
part for an American woman. He thinks that Lucy would be perfect for it. Lucy
takes the role. After the gang sets settled in Rome, Lucy figures that if she is
going to appear in a movie called "Bitter Grapes", she'd better learn about
winemaking in Italy. So she sneaks into a wine vineyard dressed as a worker.
Notes: This episode contains one of the most famous
sequences of the entire series: the scene where Lucy stomps grapes! Guest Teresa
Tirelli (the grape stomper in the vat with Lucy) was a real-life grape stomper from Northern
California. This is one of Lucille Ball's favorite episodes.
151. Lucy's Bicycle Trip
First aired: April 23, 1956
Guests: Mario Siletti (farmer), Francis Ravel
(French guard), Felix Romano (Italian guard), Henry dar Boggia (Italian guard)
The gang is finished in Italy. Their next stop is
the French Riviera, over the France-Italy border. Lucy has an idea: they will
travel to France by bicycle! Their luggage is sent ahead, and the gang takes
off.
Notes: In the scene where a goat licks Lucy's face,
Lucille Ball put a little honey on her face to get the goat to lick her.
152. Lucy Goes To Monte Carlo
First aired: May 7, 1956
Guests: John Mylong (casino manager), Gordon Clark
(gambler), Jacques Villon (croupier), Louis A. Nicoletti (croupier), Bob Carroll
Jr. (man wearing a fez hat at the casino)
The gang is back in France, and they are now in the
city of Monte Carlo, home of the famous Monte Carlo casino. Lucy wants to gamble
at the casino, but Ricky says no. Lucy goes anyway. She accidentally wins a
fortune. But she is afraid Ricky will get mad at her for gambling. She must hide
the money.
153. Return Home From Europe
First aired: May 14, 1956
Guests: Mary Jane Croft (Evelyn Bigby), Mildred Law
(stewardess), Frank Nelson (customs officer), Ray Kellogg (airline official),
Bennett Green (newsreel interviewer)
The trip to Europe is over, and it's time to go
home. They will go home by plane. Lucy promised her mother that she would bring
her mother a huge hunk of cheese from Italy. She buys a thirty-pound hunk of cheese, but Ricky says
that she can't bring it. The airplane flight allows up to sixty pounds of luggage per
person, and that cheese will put her over the limit. So Lucy tries to figure out
how to take the cheese on board the flight.
Notes: When the Arnazes filmed the fifth season,
they intended it to be the last season, and for "Return Home From
Europe" to be the last episode in the series. CBS would eventually convince
them to do one more season. But the last scene in this episode was intended to
be a "conclusion".
Season One (1951-52) Season Two (1952-53) Season Three (1953-54)
Season Four (1954-55) Season Five (1955-56) Season Six (1956-57)