Lucy the Bean Queen
S5;E3 ~ September 26, 1966
Synopsis
Mr. Mooney partners with an enterprising southern colonel to market canned baked beans offering a double your money back guarantee. This gives Lucy an idea how to raise enough money to pay for her new furniture.
Regular Cast
Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis)
Guest Cast
Ed Begley (Colonel Beauregard Bailey, above right) was born in 1901 in Hartford, Connecticut. His first success was the 1947 Arthur Miller play All My Sons followed by Inherit the Wind (1955-57), which ran for 806 performances on Broadway and won Begley the 1956 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. In 1962 he won an Oscar for his supporting role in Sweet Bird of Youth. His son is the actor Ed Begley Jr. This is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball. He died in 1970.
Richard Jury (Addison, Sales Manager, above left) was born Richard Satriano in 1926. He appeared occasionally on sitcoms of the time. This is his only appearance on “The Lucy Show.”
Joseph Mell (Supermarket Manager #1) previously played Bailiffs in “Lucy the Meter Maid” (S3;E7) and “Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (S2;E23). His first role on the series was as a Butcher in “Together for Christmas” (S1;E13). In 1964 he appeared in the TV special “Mr. and Mrs.” (aka “The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour”), which featured many of the Desilu regulars. Mell also appeared in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” In 1971, he was a Taxi Driver on “Lucy and the Lecher,” a cross-over episode of Danny Thomas’s “Make Room for Granddaddy” in which Lucille Ball played Lucy Carter, her character from “Here’s Lucy.”
In the final credits, Mell is actually listed as 2nd Manager, but is the first supermarket manager on screen.
John Perri (John Coke, Supermarket Manager #2) played the Man from Full-of-Pep Vitamins in “Lucy, the Superwoman” (S4;E26) and was previously seen as a Supermarket Checker in “Lucy and Joan” (S4;E4). He was seen on Broadway in The Boy Friend (1954), the musical that introduced Julie Andrews. This marks his final appearance on “The Lucy Show.”
In the final credits, Perri is listed as 3rd Manager, but is the second supermarket manager on screen. The character name is not spoken or credited, but comes from the name badge on his chest. The surname may also read 'Cole' or 'Cone.'
Sid Gould (Furniture Delivery Man #1, above right) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as background characters. He also did 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.
Gould's furniture moving partner (above left) is uncredited.
Bennett Green (Furniture Delivery Man #2) was Desi Arnaz’s stand-in during “I Love Lucy.” He does frequent background work on “The Lucy Show.”
Green's furniture moving partner goes uncredited. This is the third time Gould and Green have played delivery men. They delivered Major Fun Fun in “Lucy the Robot” (S4;E23) and the massive computer in “Lucy, the Superwoman” (S4;E26). This time, however, they are teamed with different partners.
The voice of Perkins in the Bailey Beans sales department goes uncredited
This episode was filmed June 30, 1966, just before the production broke for summer hiatus.
Ed Begley (Colonel Bailey) is the first actor on “The Lucy Show” to have won a competitive acting Oscar at the time of his appearance. Four years earlier he had won Best Supporting Actor for Sweet Bird of Youth. Earlier in 1966, Mickey Rooney made a guest appearance on “The Lucy Show” having won an honorary Juvenile Oscar in 1938 along with Deana Durbin. Joan Crawford, who won the Academy Award in 1945, would guest-star on “The Lucy Show” in 1968. Coincidentally, the year Begley won, Joan Crawford accepted the Best Actress Award for Anne Bancroft, who was appearing in a play. Begley, however, is the only one to appear on “The Lucy Show” playing a character, while the others played themselves.
The first (and only) actor to have won a competitive Oscar at the time of his appearance on “I Love Lucy” was William Holden, who won for Stalag-17 in 1954.
This is the first and only “Lucy Show” episode written by Phil Leslie, who started his career on radio writing for “Fibber McGee and Molly” on which this “Lucy Show” plot is loosely based. It was broadcast on the NBC Red Network on January 8, 1946 and was called “Bean Counting Contest.” Jim and Marian Jordan played Fibber and his wife Molly. Leslie will also write four episodes of “Here's Lucy.”
To prepare for this episode, Lucille Ball learned to drive a forklift and spent much rehearsal time working to ensure she could maneuver it on a dime.
Colonel Bailey and Mr. Mooney were formerly partners in Bailey's Pickles.
Lucy's pyramid scheme of rebates is based on the fact that Bailey's Barbecued Baked Beans cost 25 cents per can. Newspaper ads from mid-1966 (above) offer Heinz and Dundee beans (on sale) for 19 and 20 cents per can, so fictional Bailey's is right in line with the cost of their real-world competitors.
Lucy intends to buy new furniture from the Royal Furniture Company for $1,500 over three years, despite the fact that she has only paid back $100 of the $800 her furniture cost the year before!
Lucy says her mother baked the best beans she ever ate. In "Lucy with George Burns” (S5;E1) Lucy says her mother's noodles were the best she ever ate.
Recognizable character actor Ed Begley receives entrance applause from the studio audience.
Mr. Mooney notes that it costs five cents postage to send a letter. This rate went into effect in 1963, rising a penny, and went up again another penny in 1968. Today the cost is 47 cents, down from an all-time high of 49 cents in 2014.
Lucille Ball frequently had episodes written around redecorating so that the show's visuals would not become stagnant. Lucy Carmichael has only had her California apartment furniture for a year. Although aired in the fall, this episode was actually filmed before the production went on summer hiatus, giving the set designers and decorators time to make the changes. Lucy's Danfield home (above) was redecorated in the hiatus between seasons 1 and 2.
Colonel Bailey says the Bailey's Bean sales chart looks like a ride at Disneyland. The now-iconic theme park in Orange County, California first opened in 1955. In late 1965 Disney announced plans to build a sister park in Orange County, Florida. Walt Disney World opened in 1971.
Bailey: “Rome wasn't built in a day, you know.”
Mooney: “We're not in the construction business!”
“Rome wasn't built in a day” was a plea for someone to be patient. The phrase was a French proverb in the late 1100s but was not recorded in English until 1545. Ironically, Mr. Mooney was recently in the construction business, partnering with Winslow Construction Company in “Lucy and the Sleeping Beauty” (S4;E9) and “Lucy and Clint Walker” (S4;E24).
Desilu saves a salary by having the voice of Perkins in Colonel Bailey's sales department come from the overhead intercom system instead of an onscreen actor.
Lucy buys 3,000 cans of beans (in cases) and stores them in her (empty) apartment. When she turns the cases into a sofa and armchair, she calls the decorating style “early pork and beans.”
Lucy gets a phone call from Frank Winslow, whom she dated in “Lucy and the Sleeping Beauty” (S4;E9) and “Lucy and Clint Walker” (S4;E24). Frank owns a construction company and is loaning Lucy the forklift.
Bailey's Barbecued Beans jingle:
Bailey's Beans, Bailey's Beans Priced for folks of every means. Fix a pot, cold or hot Good old Bailey's Beans. Don't delay, go today To your nearest store. Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up! Woah! Buy Bailey's Beans!
Callbacks!
A 1949 episode of Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” also dealt with beans: “OVER BUDGET - BEANS!” Liz (Lucille Ball) goes over her budget again by buying six cases of beans that were on special, so George cuts off her allowance. Soon they’re eating nothing but beans, and the electricity and telephone have been disconnected!
Baked beans were a point of contention when Lucy Carmichael and Mr. Mooney first met in “Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault” (S2;E24) where the only food they had was a can of beans (but no opener).
In “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) Lucy Ricardo schemes to get new furniture by entering a drawing at the Home Show – 100 times!
Having an apartment full of baked beans is visually similar to Lucy Ricardo having an apartment full of Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing in “The Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S2;E13).
Mary Jane getting trapped by stacked cartons of baked beans is visually reminiscent of when Lucy Carmichael stacked recycled newspapers in her Danfield home to sell to salvage to pay for the new Fire Department dress uniforms. Just as Lucy drives a forklift in this episode, “Lucy Drives a Dump Truck” (S1;E24) full of newspapers in 1963. Both episodes featured Mary Jane Croft.
When Lucy meets Colonel Beauregard Bailey, she turns on the southern charm. Lucille Ball also tried to charm a southerner named Beauregard (Robert Preston) as Mame in the 1974 film of the same name.
Blooper Alerts
The safe in Mr. Mooney's office in the previous episode is now gone and the office has reverted to the way it looked at the start of season 5.
Lucy says the two pinheads at the bottom of the supermarket map represent her and Mary Jane. If that is so, they must be living in or around the San Pedro area, not Hollywood. Also, if Mary Jane lives next door to Lucy in the same complex the two pin heads should be adjacent – or practically on top of one another.
All three supermarkets were filmed on the same set, slightly rearranged. In supermarket #3, a shelf of bread has been moved in front of the soda machine.
In supermarket #2 (top photo) you can see boxes of Kiddie Cookies, a fictional product first seen on “The Talent Discoverers Show” in “Lucy and the Plumber” (S3;E2), then in the Los Angeles supermarket during “Lucy and Joan” (S4;E4), and again on the the kitchen shelves of the inventor in “Lucy the Robot” (S4;E23).
Mr. Mooney is investing his personal money in Bailey's Barbecued Beans, which might be a conflict of interest for a bank executive, especially having a meeting on bank time.
After Lucy and Mary Jane relax on their pork and bean box furniture, the camera pulls back far enough to see where the edge of the wall-to-wall carpet meets the gray cement of the studio floor. This area had to remain uncarpeted to allow the heavy cameras to move freely during filming. You can also see the actors' 'marks' – white tape denoting where the actors should stand to be in the camera shot.
“Lucy the Bean Queen” rates 5 Paper Hearts out of 5