MovieChat Forums > Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964) Discussion > Gomer and Sgt Carter shopping for an eng...

Gomer and Sgt Carter shopping for an engagement ring...

posted 10 years ago by flapdoodle64
2 replies | jump to latest

Last time I came upon an ep of GPUSMC, the set-up was the Carter wanted Gomer to ask Luann to marry him so that Gomer wouldn't re-up when his tour was over, thus finally getting Gomer out of his hair.

Gomer and Carter end up at a jewelry store, with Carter being all nicey-nicey and pushing Gomer to get a ring. A clerk is watching and interacting with them and he gets this great shocked/amused expression that tells the audience that he thinks that Gomer will give the ring to Carter, not Luann.

It amazed me to see this episode now, knowing that if the network censors had been on the ball, this scene would not have been shown. I imagine a lot of the GPUSMC was oblivious and just thought it was silly for two men to get married, and didn't know about gay dudes. Also imagine a lot of viewers got the joke, but weren't going to try to explain it to Aunt Bertha.

[–] FlushingCaps 10 years ago

I cannot figure out why you figure the network censors should have had a problem with that scene. Had they depicted two men actually planning to marry each other--there would have been a huge problem with that. But nobody watching the show would not have known that Pyle was supposed to be getting engaged to his girlfriend and that the scene was funny only because of the reaction of the clerk in thinking there was a different sort of wedding being discussed.

I've seen plenty of shows from the era where there was some sort of joke regarding someone seeming surprised as they seem to hear of some sort of romance between two men. In all cases, the viewers knew the truth and were supposed to only laugh at the other guy for being confused.

[–] flapdoodle64 10 years ago

I think on the surface you are correct, that viewers in small towns and naive people would have just thought it was silly.

But sophisticated viewers would have laughed to think that the shop-keeper thought Gomer and the Sgt. were gay dudes.

I think this was a two-level gag, and obviously the censors must have thought it would go over the heads of the viewers. Either that, or the censors must have been unsophisticated themselves.