Mary Jane Croft Movies

Arguably the most popular TV situation comedy in the known world (and possibly a few worlds beyond that!), I Love Lucy has never stopped playing in rerun form since it originally aired over CBS from October 15, 1951, through June 24, 1957. It can be said without much fear of contradiction that everyone -- yes, everyone -- loves Lucy...and Ricky? and Fred? and Ethel. The first sitcom to be filmed with three cameras before a live audience, I Love Lucy starred real-life husband and wife Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, who throughout most of the series lived in a modest New York apartment house managed by their best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz. Cuban-born Ricky was the bandleader at the Tropicana Club; redheaded Lucy was a housewife who yearned to break into show business -- or, failing that, to become fabulously wealthy through some hairbrained get-rich-quick scheme or other, usually hatched in collaboration with her partner in crime, Ethel -- much to the dismay of the easily excitable Ricky and the eternally crotchety Fred. To call Lucy "zany" would be putting it mildly; there seemed to be no end to the ridiculous situations she could get herself into, nor any limit on the wild plans she cooked up on her own or with Ethel. But no matter how crazy things got, Ricky and Lucy invariably ended up in each other's arms, Ricky declaring his undying love and (at least temporary) forgiveness. During its first season on the air, I Love Lucy was the nation's third highest-rated program. Thereafter, it was ranked number one or very close to it. When during the series' second season Lucy Ricardo had a baby (to coincide with Lucille Ball's genuine pregnancy), the episode on which the blessed event occurred enjoyed the largest viewership of any single program up to that time -- and, since both Lucy Ricardo and Lucille Ball gave birth on the very same day (January 19, 1953), the news was of such magnitude that it pushed President Eisenhower's first inauguration off the front pages!

To keep the series fresh from season to season, I Love Lucy's extraordinarily talented team of writers would every so often alter the format, never more spectacularly than in season four, when the Ricardos and the Mertzes headed to Hollywood so Ricky could star in a movie musical version of Don Juan. In keeping with its tinseltown ambience, the episodes emanating from this premise positively glittered with such celebrity guest stars as Richard Widmark, William Holden, Cornel Wilde, and most memorably, Harpo Marx. The "Lucy in Hollywood" format spilled over into the next season, yielding an unforgettable two-episode story arc involving John Wayne. Season Five also saw the four principals heading to Europe, accompanying Ricky's band on tour. The most significant changes occurred during the sixth and final season. Ricky had quit his job at the Tropicana to open his own night spot, the Club Babalulu, and the increase in the Ricardos' bank account enabled the couple and their son Little Ricky (played from the fall of 1956 onward by Richard Keith) to move to an expensive ranch house in suburban Connecticut. Naturally, the Mertzes moved next door, while on the other side of the Ricardo estate there lived another couple, Ralph and Betty Ramsey (played by Mary Jane Croft and Frank Nelson, who also essayed several other supporting roles on the series). Although the half-hour version of I Love Lucy ceased production at the end of the 1956-1957 season, the four stars (and "Little Ricky") went on to appear in 13 hour-long "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" specials, filmed between 1957 and 1960. And while Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorced in 1960, their production company Desilu remained a prolific TV-series factory for the next decade, turning out such hits as The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek. On her own, Lucille Ball continued playing the "Lucy" character in two more series, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, which though very successful on their own never quite captured the unique chemistry and charm of I Love Lucy. ~ All Movie Guide

Returning from Europe to the U.S. by plane, the Ricardos and the Mertzes must be very careful in packing their bags, since any luggage over 66 pounds will cost a lot of customs money. It so happens, however, that Lucy (Lucille Ball) has purchased a 25-pound slab of rare Italian cheese as gift for her mother, and she's not about to leave the gift behind. This explains why Lucy ends up on Pan American Airlines flight number 155 holding a bundle in her arms which she claims is a sleeping baby named "Cheddar -- ah, Chester!" And thus, with this classic I Love Lucy episode, the series' fifth season comes to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mrs. Sarah Vesper (Grace Field), a lifelong friend of police detective Frank Smith (Ben Alexander), reports that several items in her home have been stolen, apparently by her new maid Margaret. It turns out that the name "Margaret" is as artificial as the references which the thief supplied to Mrs. Vesper and her other victims. When Smith and his partner Joe Friday (Jack Webb) catch up with the phony maid, she provides them with a most curious "excuse" for her misdeeds. In a sequence more bizarre than amusing, Friday tries to suppress his laughter as Mrs. Vesper recalls that Smith had been quite a poet in his younger days! This episode was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of July 26, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Familiar I Love Lucy supporting players Mary Jane Croft and Frank Nelson make their first series appearances as Betty and Ralph Ramsey, the Ricardos' new Connecticut neighbors. Becoming fast friends with Betty Ramsey, Lucy decides to take Betty's advice on purchasing new furniture at a 40-percent discount from local store manager Mr. Perry (Parley Baer). The problem: Ricky (Desi Arnaz) has allotted Lucy a furniture budget of only 500 dollars -- but impulsive Lucy has bought practically everything in Perry's store, toting up a bill exceeding 3,000 bucks! In the fracas that follows, the friendship between the Ricardos and the Ramseys bids fare to be shot down in flames before it ever gets off the ground. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucy (Lucille Ball) decides to earn some extra spending money by going into the chicken-farming business. Ricky (Desi Arnaz) then advertises for an "experienced" couple to help out with this business enterprise -- and wouldn't you know it, that couple turns out to be Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley, Vivian Vance). The fun begins when Lucy and Ethel purchase 500 baby chicks, not bothering to check if Ricky and Fred are finished building the henhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A pre-I Dream of Jeannie Barbara Eden guest stars as Diana Jordan, a sexy young lass who attends a country club dance along with the Ricardos, the Mertzes, and the Ramseys. Much to their wives' dismay, Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), Fred Mertz (William Frawley), and Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson) are all much smitten by the flirtatious Diana. In order to regain their husbands' attentions, Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance), and Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft) all purchase expensive new clothes and subject themselves to an elaborate "glamour" treatment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's no secret that Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) are the loudest and most demonstrative fans of the Little League team in which their respective sons are playing. Unforrtunately, the girls get a bit too loud and demonstrative while razzing the umpire, and are unceremoniously expelled from a ball game. Now Lucy and Viv must device a clever scheme to sneak back into the ballpark unnoticed. William Schallert (you remember him as Patty Duke's sitcom dad) appears as team manager Mr. Cressant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The all-female Danville Volunteer Fire Department needs new uniforms, but there's no money in the treasury. Hoping to raise the necessary funds--and to save her job as fire chief--Lucy (Lucille Ball) organizes a paper drive. Assuming that this undertaking will merely entail collecting old newspapers and depositing them in a truck for shipment out of town, Lucy and Viv (Vivian Vance) never imagined that they would be obliged to drive the truck themselves! Richard Reeves, a busy utility actor who popped in dozens of I Love Lucy episodes, is here cast as a cop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When her son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett) needs money for a new tuba, Lucy (Lucille Ball) wangles a job at the bank. Not surprisingly, she succeeds in driving Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) crazy, even though she's been given the simple, virtually foolproof task of handing out toasters to cutomers opening new accounts. But our gal Lucy hasn't even gotten started yet: wait until she inadvertently triggers a run on the bank! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Clint Walker makes the first of two series appearances as Frank Winslow, a handsome construction engineer whom Lucy falls for big-time. Impressed by Frank's physique while visiting the 39-story skyscraper he is working on, Lucy evinces a preference for "tall, handsome buildings" and invites him for a date. Unfortunately, it's been a long, tough day, and when Frank arrives at Lucy's doorstep, he is thoroughly exhausted. Worse still, thanks to his military training, he dares not take a nap for fear of attacking and killing the first person he sees when he awakes. It is up to Lucy to lull Frank to dreamland without risking life and limb. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mary Jane Croft, who'd appeared as Audrey Simmons during the first two seasons of I Love Lucy, becomes a series regular in this episode in the role of Lucy's new California neighbor Mary Jane Lewis. Sensing that Lucy (Lucille Ball) might be a bit lonely, Mary Jane arranges a blind date for our heroine. Lucy's escort turns out to be Howard Cole (Howard Morris), a painfully shy and extremely short gentleman. What Lucy doesn't know until she accompanies her date to a restaurant is that the diminutive Howard is transformed into a heavy-breathing lothario whenever he hears Greek music! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Wayne, who'd made two unforgettable guest appearances on I Love Lucy, is back in the saddle for this hilarious Lucy Show installment. Much against his better judgment, Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) assigns the starstruck Lucy (Lucille Ball) to deliver some important financial papers to Wayne's movie set. Despite strict orders that she is not to pester "The Duke", Lucy not only manages to splatter ketchup all over the nonplussed Mr. Wayne, but also makes a shambles of an important action scene in Wayne's latest movie. Milton Berle also shows up in a cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Popular professional hypnotist Pat Collins appears in this episode, in which Lucy (Lucille Ball) seeks out a cure for Mr. Mooney's insomnia. In the course of Collins' nightclub act, a hypnotized Lucy and Mooney (Gale Gordon) impersonate Laurel and Hardy, and Lucy does impressions of Jackie Gleason and Carol Channing. Eventually, Collins comes up with a post-hypnotic suggestion that will enable Mooney to catch a little shut-eye--and which, of course, Lucy will inadvertently trigger at all the wrong moments! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide