MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Not Likely, but Possible

Not Likely, but Possible

posted 5 years ago by gary4movies (174)
23 replies | jump to latest

Every once in a while I, and other posters, will point out a potential hole in an episode, then realize that the writers need to be let off the hook because a certain situation or plot development is possible, if not likely.

Here's one to start things off:

In "No Children Allowed", Mrs. Trumbull lives UPSTAIRS from Lucy, then residing in apartment 4A. Yet after Lucy and Ricky move DOWN a floor, every single reference thereafter about babysitting has Lucy mention taking the baby " down" to Mrs. Trumbull's.

Blooper? Not necessarily. Perhaps Mrs. Trumbull initially had her eye on a first or second floor apartment, and moved down there once it became available. I did this once in my first apartment building when I needed to downsize from a two bedroom to a one bedroom. So it really can't count as a true "blooper" with Mrs. Trumbull.

Any other examples?

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (120) 5 years ago

Hey Gary. Cool idea for a thread. You actually just reminded me of my own theory regarding the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League, which I went over here:

https://moviechat.org/tt0043208/I-Love-Lucy/5e93eb0b1f373002b92df03e/The-Operetta-and-the-Wednesday-Afternoon-Fine-Arts-League

Now it's not necessarily a plot-hole, but I still like to think of my idea as the reason the club was so dramatically different after the events of The Operetta.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

Funny you should bring this up, as I realized last week that the operatic singer who sings, "Lucy, I'd like a word with you..." Then, the check "was post-dated..." Then, "it boun-oun-ounced..." was Betty Jaynes, a friend of Lucy's from MGM.

Jaynes was a blonde, 18 year-old soprano, who appeared with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in 1939's "Babes in Arms." She later appeared with Ball in the 1944 musical "Meet the People." She then fell off the radar.

Lucy was known for giving her old cohorts jobs (Barbara Pepper), and gave Jaynes this small singing role in "The Operetta."

Believe it or not, Jaynes was only 31 (!!) When she did Lucy. She looked (to me, anyway) twenty years older!!

Jaynes died in 2018.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

She was only 31! That was the episode where I wondered why Lucy was in a club with so many 'old ladies". ha!

I never caught that "down to Mrs. Trumbull's". If I had then I would've just assumed she meant "down the hall". It's possible that Mrs. Trumbull did move to the first floor so she wouldn't have stairs to climb.

But English if funny. Some words like up and down are used almost interchangeably. When we were kids, we'd holler to a friend who was ahead of us, "Wait UP" or "Slow DOWN." Some kids would even say, "Slow up."

Our town was small and the main shopping district was one street. Some people would say that they were going uptown. Others would say they were going downtown.

Speaking of languages, I wondered why Ricky could not understand the Italian farmer at all in the bicycle trip. I studied Spanish and when I went to Rome I found that I could read a lot of signs and menus because the words were similar. And I'm sure Ricky's Spanish was better than mine!
If Ricky and the farmer had both spoken slowly, I think they could've communicated.

The answer there might've been since Ricky had a Cuban accent, the farmer would not have understood him. I was taught Spanish with a South American accent and Castilian (spoken in Spain) was harder for me to understand.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

Two examples: in "The Girls Go into Business", Lucy tells Ethel she was late because she had to wait for Ricky to leave before she could take Little Ricky DOWN to Mrs. Trumbull's. In " Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums", Ricky asks (from the shower) how Mrs. Trumbull is going to sit with Little Ricky in the dark. Lucy says she's going to take him "DOWN to Mrs. Trumbull's."

However it happened, Mrs.Trumbull no longer lived on the fifth floor, as she did in her first episode.

The Tropicana: people seem to arrive from stage right. Yet in " Ricky Asks for a Raise", everyone enters from the back.

Blooper? No, it's simply that there's more than one entrance, with Mr. Littlefield preferring guests enter from the back.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

More examples of down? I guess I just filtered out that word because like I wrote, we often used it without actually meaning any particular direction.

Something I've always found unlikely was in a favorite episode of mine. Lucy played matchmaker for Eddie Grant and Sylvia.

We see the whole conversation between the Ricardos and Eddie. Not once does Eddie mention where he's staying. Ricky berates Lucy for her matchmaking, so even IF he knew Eddie's hotel (maybe Fred mentioned it), he certainly wouldn't have told Lucy.

The next morning Lucy and Ethel hatch their plot to get Eddie and Sylvia together. Lucy calls Eddie's hotel. How the heck did she know where Eddie was staying?

It seems obvious from their conversation that the two women hadn't talked the night before. Ricky was too mad for Lucy to call Ethel on the phone to discuss Eddie. Did she wait until Ricky was asleep?

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

You've brought this up before, and I never thought it was a big deal. Obviously, some sort of conversation somewhere took place for Lucy to know it was The Sherry Plaza Hotel. To me, the only way is Eddie mentioning it at dinner, then maybe through the kitchen, Lucy overhears Eddie leaving and Fred loudly saying within Lucy's earshot, "Enjoy the Sherry Plaza, they have great food there.". I also think Ethel could've called Lucy while Ethel was checking the dinner and told Lucy she found out Eddie was at the Sherry Plaza.

Because of these possibilities, I can't count this as a blooper.

As for down and up, I've personally never heard someone say, for example, " We'll be heading down North for the summer", or "We're going way up South." For Lucy to say she's taking the baby OVER to Mrs. Trumbull works fine, but indicating DOWN clearly indicates either a writing blooper, or the POSSIBILITY that Mrs. Trumbull moved two or three floors down. Since it IS possible, it's not a blooper to me.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Yeah I bring up Eddie Grant every once in a while. LOL I don't actually consider it a blooper. It's just that you asked the question "Not Likely, But Possible."

In the episode it's clear that Ricky was angry and felt embarrassed that Lucy was "trying to marry him off to somebody he doesn't even know."
I think Ricky would've kept an eye on Lucy all evening and would not have allowed her NEAR the phone!

If Ethel called, I think Ricky would've grabbed the phone on the first ring. LOL
It's a problem that could've been fixed with a few words of dialogue. Lucy says that, "Eddie is perfect for Sylvia. By the way, where is he staying? I'll give him a call."

"Down"...must be a California thing. LOL Actually you could say "We're heading way up South" if you lived in Brazil! ha!

I know what you mean. It's just that I grew up hearing that word without it being a reference to location. For instance, some of my mom's relatives lived a "few doors DOWN from us".

Sometimes my dad would say, "I'm going down to talk to your Uncle Ed."
Still, I can understand that Mrs. Trumbull must've moved downstairs.

Another "is it possible" in "Lucy Writes a Novel", Lucy and Ricky race out of the apartment to stop Fred from burning the trash where Lucy threw all the copies of her novel. Did they leave little Ricky alone?

Or was he down at Mrs. Trumbull's again?

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

I don't think Ricky babysat Lucy all night! And Ethel could've called while he was using the bathroom.

Still, you're right that a little on-camera exchange could've smoothed it out.

As for the three running to the basement, they probably caught Mrs.Trumbull on the way and asked her to sit with Little Ricky.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Do you think Ethel knew Ricky's bathroom schedule? LOL

Even Ricky wasn't sure of Lucy's in "Lucy's Schedule".

Ricky: How long does it take you in the bathroom?
Lucy: To do what?

If Mrs. Trumbull had moved to the first floor, it would've been easy enough for one of them to stop by her place on the way DOWN to the basement. (I'm going to be noticing that word everywhere from now on!)

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

I don't think Ethel would've KNOWN Ricky was using the bathroom if she called while making Fred's and Eddie's dinner...it would've been luck. After all, Ethel didn't witness Ricky bawling her out. The brief phone conversation could've went like this:

(Ricky's in the bathroom and the phone rings).

LUCY: Hello?
ETHEL: Lucy, I just realized Eddie would be PERFECT for Sylvia Collins.
LUCY: I know!! I tried to join you to tell you, but Ricky got wise to me. What do you know about him?
ETHEL: All I know is that he's staying at the Sherry Plaza Hotel.
(Lucy hears the toilet flush).
LUCY: Okay, honey, I have to go now - Let's compare notes tomorrow.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Oh I know that! I was just asking a silly question.

One of my favorite episodes is "The Operetta" and we are supposed to believe that Lucy wrote 'The Pleasant Peasant", words AND music? lol

Later on we see that she can't even read music when she tries to get into the All Girl Band with her saxophone.
Ricky; Are you playing a sharp or a flat?
Lucy: How can you tell?

She's supposedly tone deaf too.

I suppose it's possible. I doubt that all songwriters can carry a tune. And I believe I read somewhere that even though Jackie Gleason couldn't read music, he wrote a lot of songs. I just don't know how that's done.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

My take was Lucy used music that was in the public domain, then she and Ethel wrote the corny lyrics.

Trivia: Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and even Paul McCartney never learned how to read music.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

That's a good explanation. You're pretty good at this sort of thing. I used to have a pen pal named Eddie a long time ago and we were big fans of Star Trek. I used to give him examples of Star Trek continuity errors or flubs and he would always come up with a reasonable explanation.

But how can you say the lyrics were "corny"? I mean, Lancelot, dance a lot! Even Ricky noticed their brilliance. lol
Actually the Inn on the river Out was rather clever. Ethel's song as Lily of the Valley is cute too. If I watch that episode, I go around singing that song for days.

I thought it was one of the Beatles! How did Sir Paul write all those great songs without being able to read music? Amazing

When the Ricardos and Mertzes feuded in an early episode, Ricky brought home his band to play music all night. I know the plan was to irritate Fred and Ethel. But wow, none of the other tenants complained about the noise. Were they all on vacation?

The same was true when Ricky played the drums and the two couples got into a noisy battle. The Mertzes had the most understanding tenants in all New York. No one ever complained about the noise!

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

First, I'd wager Mrs. Trumbull hadn't moved in yet (I always picture her a fairly new tenant by the time of "No Children Allowed." Not sure why). In any case, Mrs. Trumbull would've been the first to call the police during that 4:A.M. music jam.

As for the rest of the tenants, it's once again "possible" that Ricky and Lucy told the other tenants they were having an all-night swing jam and they were welcome to participate.

In any case, Fred and Ethel selling tickets outside was pretty clever! All four of them behaved like babies, but Ethel DID start it!

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Another good explanation.

In the later one with little Ricky playing the drums, do you think the tenants were very familiar by now with the antics of their landlords and their best friends the Ricardos?

Maybe Fred gave his tenants a discount on rent whenever the noise got deafening.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

It happened, what, twice in all the years they lived there. Also, I doubt Little Ricky's drumming bothered anyone but Fred and Ethel. As for the fight, it barely gets under way before Mrs. Trumbull appears to tell them "the baby" is missing.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Well I don't know about that...they could've had noisy arguments more than a few times. ha ha!

I'm just going by something you posted a few times. There were episodes when people commented that something was "out of character" because we never saw the Ricardos or Mertzes do that before. You would come back with the explanation that we only saw part of their lives. Who knew what went on at other times?

Lucy and Ricky really knew how to push the "Mertz button". But since Fred and Ethel owned the building, sometimes they should have been more concerned about their other tenants. If they wanted to fight with the Ricardos, they should have done it more quietly.

But I really don't see how little Ricky's drumming would have been heard in the Mertz apartment. It was just a little toy drum. That whole incident was just exaggerated for effect.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

It wasn't the loudness, I think it must've been the hour-upon-hour rhythm of it. Sort of like Chinese water torture.

Most of the arguments between the two couples weren't so loud that others would've heard them.

Still, I'm sure that when Mrs.Trumbull showed up to babysit while the two couples were screaming at each other in the kitchen, she probably rolled her eyes. After all, she had to check Little Ricky's room, the master bedroom and even the bedroom before confronting the four "adults" in the kitchen to tell them Little Ricky was nowhere in sight.

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

LOL I like that, the four "adults".

The incessant drumming got on Lucy and Ricky's nerves too. But just to spite the Mertzes, they didn't tell him to stop! I wonder if Mrs. Benson or one of the other tenants called to politely complain, would they have asked the kid to stop for a while?

Funny true story similar to this- when my son was in junior high, he joined the school band (not the marching band) and he got a drum. He used to practice a LOT! But at least we lived in the country and not in an apartment.

One day I was putting away groceries and he was practicing. I found myself doing it to the rhythm of his drumming. He stopped abruptly and so did I.
Whenever I see Lucy cracking all those eggs or Ethel yelling, "Fred...Fred....FRED,FRED,FRED!", I can relate. lol

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

In "Ricky Loses His Voice", the entire conceit of the plot rests upon Ricky being bedridden and unable to talk at all. This, along with Mr.Chambers being out of town, and each thinking the other is staging the show. Fair enough.

But Ricky would have to have NO contact with his band and Mr. Chambers the evening he showed up at the club for the performance. Certainly his band members knew what Lucy was up to. Hard to believe Ricky wouldn't have been clued in before show time. Good thing Mr.Chambers liked the show!!

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Mr. Chambers had been in vaudeville remember? He got a chance to perform in the finale, so I can understand if he didn't talk to Ricky about the show.

I never thought of it before, but yes, Lucy would have needed the band's co-operation to keep quiet about her plans.

[–] gary4movies (174) 5 years ago

But Mr.Chambers was out of town until the last minute, or at least until just before showtime. Certainly he must've thought Ricky was NOT sick, and the 1920's revue was HIS idea...until Lucy quickly revealed - at the last minute - that Ricky had gotten sick, and Lucy took over.

This plot wouldn't have worked today, what with the advent of texting.

Too bad things didn't work out with Mr.Littlefield - Gale Gordon would've been a hoot dancing The Charleston!!

[–] [email protected] (6247) 5 years ago

Yes, if Lucy had lived in the age of cell phones, it would've been a lot harder for her to complete her schemes!

Another performance- in Hollywood, Ricky gave Lucy the part of the bull in the "Fernando, the Matador" number.
Surely Lucy would have had to rehearse the number a few times with Ricky, right?

So did she stage the revised choreography all by herself? She must have done it alone without asking anyone in the show for help, otherwise Ricky would've found out what she was up to.