Mary Jane Croft Movies

Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate when a woman reports that her two-year-old niece Melissa has died of a seizure. It looks like a case of epilepsy--to say nothing of depraved child neglect on the part of Melissa's alcoholic mother. The situation changes dramatically when forensics expert Ray Pinker (Olan Soule) reports that the little girl was poisoned. This episode is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of April 26, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

The friendship between Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) becomes strained when both vie for the attentions of Lucy's new Connecticut neighbor Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft). However, it looks as though everything will turn out all right when, listening in on the newly installed intercom between the Ricardos and the Mertzes, Lucy and Ricky (Desi Arnaz) jump to the conclusion that Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel are planning a housewarming for them. Only one problem: Fred and Ethel have planned nothing of the kind, and as the episode hastens to its climax, it appears as though the Ricardos are all dressed up with nowhere to go. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jealous Lucy (Lucille Ball) wants to one-up her wealthy former schoolmate Cynthia Harcourt (Mary Jane Croft) by making a large financial pledge to charity. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize how large her pledge really is until the money comes due ("Put me down for five," she said magnanimously -- whereupon she was put down for five hundred!). Desperate to cover the pledge, Lucy and Ethel (Vivian Vance) take jobs promoting the upcoming movie "Women From Mars" -- said promotion requiring the girls to dress as Martians and "invade" the observation deck of the Empire State Building. ~ All Movie Guide

It's Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) vs. Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft) as both ladies compete to win the gold cup at the annual Westport flower show. For her part, Lucy carefully cultivates a garden of tulips, then asks Ricky (Desi Arnaz) to mow the lawn to make the Ricardo backyard "picture perfect." But Ricky doesn't finish the job, leaving Lucy and Ethel (Vivian Vance) to do it themselves -- and to accidentally "do in" Betty Ramsey's tulips in the process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several changes occurred in the I Love Lucy format during the series' sixth and final season on the air. For one thing, little Richard Keith, a talented six-year-old drummer, was cast in the role of Little Ricky, the son of Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) and his wacky wife Lucy (Lucille Ball) (the character had previously been played by uncredited infants). For another, Ricky had quit his job at New York's Tropicana Club and opened his own nitery, the Club Babalu. With more money coming into the Ricardo household, Lucy and Ricky decide to leave New York City and move into an attractively appointed ranch house in suburban Connecticut. Not surprisingly, the Ricardos' longtime friends Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance) likewise make the big move to the 'burbs. The change of locale also permits the introduction of two new characters, the Ricardos' next-door neighbors Ralph and Betty Ramsey (Frank Nelson, Mary Jane Croft). Despite the scenery shifting, I Love Lucy still delivers laughs in its classic, time-tested manner with Lucy hatching zany schemes and getting her family and friends knotted up in a variety of ridiculous situations. One episode, "Lucy Raises Chickens," features the longest sustained audience laughter in the series' history -- proof positive that the bloom was definitely not off the rose for this venerable property. Other highlights of I Love Lucy's final season (at least in its half-hour format) include guest appearance by Bob Hope, Orson Welles, and George Reeves (in his familiar guise as "Superman"); a Christmas episode comprised of clips from earlier seasons, which for many years was removed from the series' syndication package and did not resurface publicly until 1989; and the last I Love Lucy installment, "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue," in which Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz' real-life son Desi Arnaz Jr. makes his TV acting debut. ~ All Movie Guide

In this classic episode, Dean Martin appears as himself and as his own stand-in, the shy, bespectacled Ed Feldman. Thanks to matchmaker Mary Jane (Mary Jane Croft), Ed invites Lucy (Lucille Ball) to a fancy charity ball. Unfortunately, Ed is unable to make the date...so guess who shows up in his place? The climax of this episode is one of the truly great moments in the annals of TV comedy -- and even though Dino gets all the best lines, "Lucy Dates Dean Martin" was Lucille Ball's favorite of all the episodes in all the series she ever starred in. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Viv (Vivian Vance) casts aspersions on Lucy's cooking, Lucy (Lucille Ball) defiantly enters a big baking contest. Things get out of hand early on, with Lucy and Viv each inadvertently passing off the other's cooking as her own. The situation rapidly degenerates into--what else?--a huge pie fight! This final episode of The Lucy Show's second season was also the last written by Lucille Ball's longtime collaborators Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To cover up a 48-cent bank shortage, Lucy (Lucille Ball) secretly takes the missing money out of her own pocket. Unfortunately, when the shortage is revealed, Mr. Cheever (Roy Roberts) becomes convinced that Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) is responsible for the coverup, and promptly fires Mooney. To get her boss' job back, Lucy concocts an elaborate ruse to convince Cheever that he will literally go insane if Mooney is not reinstated! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carol Burnett makes her first Lucy Show appearance as Carol Bradford, a meek, frumpy librarian who has become the new roommate of Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball). Hoping to get the timid Carol out of her shell, Lucy and Mary Jane (Mary Jane Croft) throw a party for the girl, replete with such guests as The Vagabonds, a musical group (and yes, that's an unbilled Joe Pesci as one of the performers!) Unwittingly, Carol drinks a wee bit too much at the party, and as a result sheds her inhibitions (and some of her clothes!) with a boisterous performance of "Hard-Hearted Hannah." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former movie villain turned Hollywood producer Sheldon Leonard arranges to film a scene for his latest TV pilot at Mr. Mooney's bank. Unaware of this, Lucy (Lucille Ball) jumps to the wrong conclusion when she hears Leonard, "in character" as a gangster, planning a major bank heist. Thus it is that Lucy and Mary Jane (Mary Jane Croft) disguise themselves as scrubwomen to foil the sinister schemes of the "crooked" Mr. Leonard. This final episode of The Lucy Show's fifth season closes with a marvelously Pirandellian moment, as Sheldon Leonard contemplates creating a new series built around the antics of a zany redhead! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Through a series of misunderstandings, Lucy (Lucille Ball) is assumed to be a notorious jewel thief called "The Red Flash" and is arrested by a zealous police lieutenant (Claude Akins). Assuming that she has been jailed merely for throwing a candy wrapper on the street, Lucy is not only surprised by the severity of her punishment, but also astonished when Mooney (Gale Gordon) and Mary Jane (Mary Jane Croft) show up with an elaborate scheme to spring her out of jail. Ere the day draws to a close, Mooney and Mary Jane have joined Lucy behind bars--as "accessories"! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While working overtime in the home of boss Mooney (Gale Gordon), Lucy (Lucille Ball) falls down and incurs a leg injury. At the insistence of her pal Mary Jane Lewis (Mary Jane Croft), Lucy hires Mary Jane's lawyer cousin, Willy Wiley (Jack Carter). Smelling out a huge financial turnover, Willy talks Lucy into taking Mooney to court--and then taking both Mooney and the bank for every penny that they've got! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide