Madelyn Martin Movies

Michael J. Pollard, best known to film buffs as the moronic "C.W. Moss" in Bonnie and Clyde, makes his one-and-only Lucy Show appearance as Ted Mooney, son of banker Theodore J. Mooney (Gale Gordon). Ted is going steady with Lucy's daughter Chris (Candy Moore) a situation that neither Lucy (Lucille Ball) nor Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon approves of. To break up the young couple, Lucy applies reverse psychology, suggesting that Chris and Ted should get married. To teach her mom a lesson, Chris pretends to elope with Ted--and somehow this situation climaxes with Lucy and Mooney literally up a tree! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Singer Roberta Sherwood and her real son Robert Lanning guest in this episode as Roberta Schaefer and her "reel" son Bob. After a quarrel with Lucy (Lucille Ball), Viv (Vivian Vance) moves out of the house, whereupon banker Mooney (Gale Gordon) insists that a new tenant be found immediately. Enter Mrs. Schaefer and her son, who in no time flat convert the Carmichael living room into a rehearsal hall so that Roberta can practice her singing--day and night! In an effort to get Roberta out of the house and Viv back in, Lucy and Mooney try to land a singing job for the melodious tenant. Roberta Sherwood shows off her talents with spirited renditions of "Lazy River" and "Bill Bailey". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lucy (Lucille Ball) goes ga-ga over handsome Italian millionaire Umberto Fabriani (Cesare Danova). Alas, Fabriani speaks no English, and Lucy isn't much better at Italian, despite the "assistance" of that master linguist Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon). Things get worse when, during an intimate dinner, Lucy accidentally spills spaghetti sauce all over Fabiani's tuxedo. This situation culminates with a nocturnal foray into a closed-up dry cleaning establishment--where Lucy is unceremoniously plunked into a vat of green dye! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Broadway legend Ethel Merman opens an account at the Danfield bank. Realizing what a pest the starstruck Lucy (Lucille Ball) can be, banker Mooney (Gale Gordon conspires with Merman to throw our redheaded heroine off the track. Thus, when Lucy spots the singing star, Mooney hastily explains that the new customer is actually one "Agnes Schmidlapp", who happens to bear a remarkable resemblance to Ethel Merman. The situation culminates in an unforgettable scene wherein tone-deaf Lucy teaches "Agnes" how to sing "You're the Top" for her upcoming appearance in the Boy Scout variety show. Originally intended as a single episode, this one was expanded to two parts at the request of Ethel Merman, who genuinely enjoyed working with Lucille Ball. (Incidentally, watch for Keith Thibodeaux--who as Richard Keith used to play "Little Ricky" on I Love Lucy--in a small role). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) dream of untold riches by going into business together; this time their joint enterprise is a small restaurant. Unfortunately, despite several changes of "theme", the restaurant only seems to attract the local mailman and an army of bill collectors. Meanwhile, Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) finds out that a highway is to be built near the restaurant, which will potentially turn it into a goldmine. Mooney craftily tries to buy a share of the place for a cut-rate price, but circumstances conspire to foil his scheme. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) is campaigning for the office of City Council Comptroller, and Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) are his staunchest supporters. While planning a big political rally, Mooney entrusts Lucy with lining up some entertainment. Alas, Lucy forgets to make the necessary calls--and, just as expected, she and Viv are the "whole show" on the night of the rally. (This episode originally aired in the election year of 1964, in which Barry Goldwater almost fared as badly as poor Mr. Mooney!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ever on the lookout for extra money, Lucy (Lucille Ball lands a temp job as a process server. Her first assignment is to serve a subpoena to a prominent local banker--Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon), of course. Through a series of mishaps, Lucy is unable to hand over the subpoena at Mooney's home, forcing her to trail him to the train station, which is the first leg of his summer vacation. Finally, Lucy catches up with Mooney in the stateroom of an ocean liner--whereupon Mooney graciously accepts the summons, laughing over the fact that he's going to spend a glorious summer far, far away from the troublesome Mrs. Carmichael...or is he? Watch for Richard Keith, the former "Little Ricky" on I Love Lucy, in the train-station scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having determined that they will spend the summer at a nearby lake, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Viv (Vivian Vance) invest in a second-hand sailboat--which turns out to be the "fixer-upper" to end them all! Once the craft is seaworthy (or lakeworthy), the girls prepare to cast off, only to have the boat break away from its moorings without its sails. The climax finds Lucy and Viv frantically attempting to plug up a few leaks in the middle of the lake. More than a little reminiscent of the Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton two-reelers of yore, this was the final episode of The Lucy Show's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The all-female Danville Volunteer Fire Department organizes a softball team, with Lucy (Lucille Ball) appointing herself captain. Unfortunately, Lucy is so inept a ballplayer that team manager Mr. Cressant (William Schallert) is forced to bench her just before a big game. As often happens, however, a bizarre twist of fate finds Lucy on the field in the ninth inning--but (to quote Charlie Brown), will she be the hero, or the goat? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first episode of The Lucy Show's second season (though technically not the first one filmed) is a gentle spoof of the hubbub surrounding the recent Elizabeth Taylor film version of Cleopatra. As the Danville Volunteer Fire Department prepares to put on a variety show--giving us a delightful glance of the lovely legs of fire chief Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball)--pretentious director Dr. Gitterman (Hans Conried) announces that he intends to stage an abridged version of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra). Naturally, every member of the all-female brigade wants to play the leading role, but when the show hits the boards, it is Lucy who is decked out as Cleopatra--with her roommate Viv (Vivian Vance) in drag as Marc Antony! The climax finds the two amateur divas outrageously upstaging one another during Cleo's big death scene. This and all subsequent Lucy Shows were filmed in color (though networkcast in black and white until the series' fourth season). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There is an unexplained shortage at the bank, and banker Theodore Mooney (Gale Gordon) has been spending money like a sailor. Lucy (Lucille Ball) puts two and two together and concludes (wrongly, of course), that Mooney has turned embezzler! The misunderstanding is played to the hilt, with long-suffering police sergeant Wilcox (James Flavin) getting mixed up in the crazy climax. Eddie Applegate, then costarring as Patty Lane's boyfriend on The Patty Duke Show, is here cast as Mr. Mooney's son Bob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) are freed from the bank vault in which they've been locked up for 18 hours. In trying to explain to the media how she accidentally locked the door in the first place, Lucy succeeds in trapping Mooney in the vault all over again! The only person in town qualified to open the vault is candy manufacturer Mr. Bundy (Jay Novello), who'd once served time as a safecracker. Unfortunately, the temptation of all that money proves too much for the "reformed" Bundy, and he ends up robbing the safe and taking Lucy and Viv (Vivian Vance) hostage! The episode's riotous climax finds our two heroines, tied back to back, happily hopping around to sample the tasty confections in the back room of Bundy's candy store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide