MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Off to Florida

Off to Florida

posted 6 years ago by [email protected] (1732)
22 replies | jump to latest

One of my all-time favorite episodes, but one that would NOT work today. AT ALL.

The whole reason Lucy and Ethel have to "hitch a ride" with the bizarre Mrs. Grundy is
due simply to the fact that they had NO ACCESS to the family bank accounts!! Imagine
a wife not having her own bank cards, or checking accounts to buy new tickets!! And
all Ethel was "left" with was "$18 and a book of green stamps" (another dated relic!).

I'm sure young audiences are baffled (and furious) to see two wives unable to
obtain their own new tickets, AND not be able to TEXT their husbands if they needed to!

Again, I love this episode, but I cringe at the reality of WHY they need to go through that
ride! BUT the power of ILL's comedy still overrides this, and we have to remember that
this is what makes the show so durable!

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Mrs Grundy (Elsa Lanchester) sure made the episode funny.

"Have a watercress sandwich."

Lucy: They're great if you like buttered grass!

But the episode is definitely outdated and outlandish, two women with absolutely no cash or access to the family bank account?

I know Ricky had chastised Lucy about being careful with the train tickets and putting them in a safe place. But really, wouldn't she have needed cab fare to get to the train station? What if she had a few expenses before she left for Florida? Ricky left her with zero cash?

In so many other episodes Lucy had plenty of money to shop for clothes and buy $50.00 hats. But now she was totally without funds?

A funny episode but completely dated for today's audience.

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

I don't understand young people who don't watch old TV shows and movies especially the classics. I grew up watching them and found how people used to live to be interesting.

Banks were only open Mon-Fri at 9-3pm. Lucy and Ethel wouldn't have access to money if they were traveling on a weekend or evening anyway. I'm surprised she didn't have her checkbook though unless she was overdrawn at the bank or it needed time to be cleared.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

True about banks. I'm just wondering why the women seemed to have NO money on them at all.

i also think about how Lucy had so many girlfriends. She was always on the phone with them! I think she'd be able to touch them for a loan. of course Caroline Appleby would probably expect her money back with interest! lol

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

I had to rewatch that episode before posting. Lucy had went on a huge shopping spree when the show started so I guess she spent it. They had money - just not enough for two tickets which cost about $900 with inflation adjusted dollars. How many people would have that type of money lying around the house? Ricky was in the woods fishing so she couldn't reach him in order to have the money wired to her.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Yeah I forgot that Lucy went on a shopping spree for clothes for her trip.

But Ricky "in the woods fishing"?? Don't you mean he was out on the ocean? Not many fish to catch in the forest. LOL

I suppose what i would have done would have been to send a telegram to Ricky to wire me some money. And I would have just stayed put until I got the money. Otherwise, I might have taken the bus. Bus tickets weren't that expensive.

I'm just surprised that Lucy had no access to the family savings account at their bank.

Of course at the end of the episode i would've given little Ricky a swat on the behind for taking his mother's train tickets and putting them in HIS toy wallet. Very "cute". But I would've been annoyed at the kid. lol

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

I was thinking that they were on a fishing boat on a lake in the woods. Nope, it was out on a boat in the ocean in Florida. Ethel tells Lucy that they can't be reached since they're on a boat so I guess there is no communication available.

Sharing a ride was probably cheaper than a bus - and funnier. I'm assuming it was Saturday morning and all the banks were closed.

Could you imagine the American outrage if Little Ricky received a swat?

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Yes there would be major outrage today. But not back then when kids regularly got paddled in school.

Not that I would really recommend a swat for little Ricky. It's just that his parents were seemingly so amused by the whole situation. He really needed to be told to keep his little mitts OFF of his parents belongings. i know I would have been given a stern lecture.

But kids on TV back then rarely got yelled at or even scolded. When I was a kid, I always wanted "TV parents". lol

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

Lucy told Little Ricky not to put the tickets in the wallet, but he disobeyed although he meant well.

I have to disagree about the swat since Little Ricky was really adored at the time. Even in the 50s, there were parents who were against hitting kids. It's rarely if ever seen on 50s TV family shows although they may talk about spankings. Kids get a lecture, are grounded or must go to their room.

School paddlings were rare too. I went to a Parochial school when "getting the ruler" was normal and I only witnessed it once or twice in the 8 years I attended. The norm was detention, a note to a parent or both parents having to come to school to meet with the principal. My sibling never witnessed it in his public school.

But, it was perfectly fine for Ricky to spank Lucy!

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Well I went to parochial school too and we had some nuns who were very fond of using that ruler or a paddle. But it was mostly used on the boys and I doubt if it really hurt. It was more of a warning.

Most kids, myself included, were more afraid of what our parents would do to us if we got in trouble!!

Ricky was an adorable little tyke. But I do think he deserved a stern lecture about not touching other people's property. Being cute isn't a license to get away with everything.

Big Ricky "spanking Lucy"! Today she would have probably called 911. lol

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

The nuns only used it on the boys in my school, too. The main punishment was putting gum on the nose if caught chewing. What a dumb thing for them to complain about. The nuns were forbidden to put in it in hair after parents complained.

My mother didn't believe in hitting so I lucked out even though I admit to being a huge spoiled brat.

I think Lucy was in more trouble for lying than Little Ricky.

Four episodes with Ricky spanking Lucy! The police may have sided with Ricky considering how wacky she was. Fred never spanked Ethel, but I'm sure she could beat him up. LOL.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Funny, gum was a big no no for us too! The problem was that kids would stick it under the desks and make a mess. I was too scared to bring gum to school. I was the proverbial "goody two shoes". lol

I didn't think about Lucy asking her mother for a loan. She probably would have lent it to her. "Mickey" already had enough black marks against him as far as Mrs. MacGillicuddy was concerned. This would just be proof to her that Ricky was cheap too! LOL

Lucy being committed for psychiatric observation? Probably!!

I do remember in one episode when Lucy told Ethel, "You can lick Fred."
She probably could.

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

The gum did me in a few times. I was easily bored in school so I would read magazines or draw while teachers talked. I was paying attention, but I needed to multitask.

Lucy's mom could've been living on a fixed income. Lucy was the type who always thought outside the box. Sharing a ride probably seemed perfectly reasonable to her.

[–] AndrewHNPX (42) 6 years ago

One of my favorite episodes as well. I never understood though why Lucy couldn't just call up her mother or something and ask her to lend her money to get new tickets. It might not have been too convenient, but it sure as hell would have been preferable to that road trip with Mrs. Grundy.

I love Mrs. Grundy too, what an odd character she was.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 6 years ago

PJ: You keep writing that Lucy and Ethel "had no money at all." They did! So Lucy DID have cab fare. Don't make the
writing worse than it already is! Lol!

It's more than just it's era. It is absurd that Lucy (suddenly) didn't have a checking account! In other eps, she wrote
checks to the beauty parlor and such. But, yes, being Lucy, it was more than possible she was overdrawn. Ethel once
claimed "I never had enough money at one time to OPEN a checking account." Also hard to swallow.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

gb- well I suppose the gals had some loose change in their pockets, but certainly not enough to buy new train tickets to Florida.

I suppose this episode just has a personal element for me. Years ago my (ex) husband took our son to Disney World.
I had already been there and I had no desire to stand on line for hours in that heat just to ride Dumbo. lol

I stayed home to take care of all our dogs. (it was sort of a vacation for me too, the peace, the quiet!)

But anyway, he left several hundred dollars on the kitchen counter in case i needed to buy anything. i also had my credit card. So it's hard for me to understand how Lucy and Ethel (who owned the building) could be so short on cash.

Of course Lucy WAS always overdrawn. In 'The Business Manager' the bill collectors threatened to turn off everything but her oxygen. LOL

Still, a very funny episode. But by today's standards most married women wouldn't be so financially dependent. At least it seems strange to me.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 6 years ago

The gals had over $50 combined - that's how they paid Mrs. Grundy their share for the ride.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

Well yes, $50 would be a lot today if adjusted for inflation. But the women were clearly expecting to stop for meals and maybe one night in a hotel. Did they have the cash for that?

Lucky for them Mrs. Grundy packed watercress sandwiches and planned to spend the night sleeping in the woods!

[–] [email protected] (1732) 6 years ago

I didn't say they had a lot - I'm merely pointing out that you had said they had NOTHING. How else would they even pay for their share of the gas to Mrs. Grundy?

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

A LOT or NOTHING? Well let's not quibble over words. LOL But $50 would be a lot back then. I just thought they seemed to have no money at first because of all their searching under the couch cushions. And when Lucy opened little Ricky's piggy bank, all she found was three I.O.U's from Ricky. lol

[–] [email protected] (1732) 6 years ago

Whoa!! You are mixing up "Lucy is Envious" with "Off to Florida." In "Florida", Ethel has $18, and Lucy
has $37. That's all that's discussed, then Lucy grabs a newspaper to see who might have an ad about
sharing a ride from NY to Florida.

[–] [email protected] (5854) 6 years ago

gb- Wow, old age is catching up to me. LOL There have been several episodes where I was SURE certain conversations took place. But later on, watching the episode, I realized it was from a different episode!

[–] Keelai (34858) 6 years ago

"I love Mrs. Grundy too, what an odd character she was."

I had to laugh at your comment because nobody was more odd than Lucy herself. Poor Ethel was surrounded by oddballs on that road trip.