MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Million Dollar Idea- Ricky was a Jerk!

Million Dollar Idea- Ricky was a Jerk!


In Million Dollar Idea, Lucy and Ethel go into business by selling Lucy's amazing salad dressing. It's so good, Fred mentions at dinner the day before "You should bottle it and sell it." Lucy is also in a jam with Ricky with her finances. So she and Ethel get an idea to go on TV and sell the product for forty cents a quart (which I believe would be about $5 a jar today).

Ricky barges in and immediately yells that this is a bad idea, and that after all the "overhead, taxes, etc" they are losing money on the deal. BASED ON THE FACT THAT they got ALL those orders, they could have easily convinced Ricky that they just need to RAISE the price of the salad dressing. Clearly they were popular enough, and as Ethel said: "Great salespeople." I'm sure they would have profited and Ricky could have helped with his name factor alone. Instead he scolds Lucy, and they go back on TV to "unsell" the product in a rather silly sequence where Lucy dresses like a bum and hates the stuff, and of course customers think it's a gag.

On top of that, Lucy and Ethel have to "deliver" the fake jars of dressing in roller skates?? Great sight gag, but of course impossible since those orders were probably nation wide. They could have simply canceled the orders and told customers it was a "delivery" issue. They also should have charged for delivery.

I know its a suspension of disbelief for the sake of comedy (the first half of the episode is gold, and Vivian Vance delivers one of her best performances in a clean, focused immersion of confidence with how she plays the saleswoman selling "Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned Salad Dressing." Ball is always great, but Vance really did a great job playing the 'straight' role).

Anyone else find Ricky's temperament odd plus the fact that they actually COULD Have made money if they simply charged $1.00 + shipping? Some customers even asked for multiple orders.

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But the customers would probably not paid a $1 for it since it would be a lot more expensive than what was already on the market.

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Well I'm sure they could have come up with a price that was better and customers would still buy. Ricky does say "Forty cents? That's awfully cheap." But the point was they were excellent sales people on TV. Granted three (3) cents WAS going to Carolyn because it was her husband's station, I am betting they could have marketed Lucy's salad dressing and made a profit.

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There are alot of holes in this particular episode even though the first half is hilarious.

I wouldn't say that Ricky barged in. He lived there. And he was right about Lucy's lack of business sense although he did it in his usual way, at the top of his lungs. I didn't find his "temperament odd" since he had such a quick temper!

Lucy and Ethel may have had a good product to sell but in Lucy's usual way, she didn't think it through. She didn't figure in things like buying the jars and labels, packaging, mailing, taxes,etc.

She had a simplistic view of doing business. She thought they would just pay for expenses and what was left was profit. It doesn't work that way!

I worked at a lunch counter while in college and my boss, one of the owners, figured in all the cost of the food vs. what she charged for everything. For example,she used to weigh out individual ziplock bags of frozen french fries. Customers could order a small or large serving. She knew how many servings she would get per big bag and charged accordingly to make a profit. We had specific instructions on how many slices of lunch meat and cheese, etc, to put on each sub sandwich.

In business, you don't just "wing it" and hope to make a profit.

I do agree that they could have made money if they had been patient and figured in all their costs before starting to take orders. Lucy and Ethel WERE great at sales. I thought they could have gone into business as TV pitchmen (pitchwomen) and hired themselves out to other people to sell THEIR products on TV.

The one thing I always found odd was that all those orders seem to come on postcards. None of their customers actually sent them any money. Did you notice that? At least every order that they read was on a card. They never opened any envelopes with money inside.

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HOW was Ricky a "jerk?" Lucy decides to undertake a MAJOR financial risk, without even notifying her spouse. They
planned it horribly.

That said, the episode is one of my favorites, and another that proves Lucy Ricardo herself was a great comic. I
think it's funny that Lucy simply couldn't pretend to be a normal person enjoying the salad. She had to be a moronic
woman, who loves the dressing so much she DRINKS IT FROM THE BOTTLE!

The ending with the roller skates is something PJ and I have discussed for years. It's very silly, and certainly,
as PJ mentioned, it would've been next to impossible for Lucy and Ethel to get those heavy shopping carts and
skates down the stairs, and then down to the sidewalk, to deliver to all those people.

In reality, all Lucy and Ethel had to do was return the money to the people, and tell them they went out of business.

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Lucy's portrayal of a typical housewife is so funny. And I love the character she plays when she tries to "unsell" the product. "Cancel! Cancel!"

Lucy and Ethel didn't realize how funny they were. They were lousy businesswomen but great performers.

Ricky wasn't a jerk. At the end of the episode he had gotten a whole assembly line together to make a big batch of the dressing and get the whole mismanaged business venture over with once and for all.

It was Lucy and Ethel who decided to buy thousands of jars of dressing from the grocery store.

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And, as we have mentioned, PJ, it's a little unbelievable that Charlie wouldn't have consulted with Ricky. I mean,
he would HAVE to check out the facts, and, being a 1950's husband, he wouldn't leave things to chance with
those three women.

In terms of the portrayals, I love it when Lucy - as "Isabella", the first woman - gives Ethel - uh, "Mary" - a
dirty look, and pulls the salad bowl away, as Lucy keeps eating it..."Mmm...Mmm...Mmm..." And, yes, I still
laugh out loud when Lucy takes the bottle - as if it were Scotch, or something - and downs it. It's also cute
when she waves at the TV audience, then starts pounding her chest with indigestion after they're off camera.

As the second woman, I love it when Lucy starts to walk away with, "Whaddya want me to do with it?" Then
she stops and looks at us with, "TASTE IT?!"

Yes, "Cancel! Cancel!" is very funny. And so is, "Wow WOW!! WHATZ THAT???" Lol!

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I also like when 'Mary Margaret McMertz' tells Lucy's second character that it's Aunt Martha's Old Fashioned salad dressing. Lucy takes a taste and says, "Aunt Martha must've been drinking too many old fashioneds!"

I keep forgetting, but yes Charlie would've consulted with Ricky. It Was the 1950's after all. And the husband would be asked to sign any business agreements or deals.

Don't know if you watched Rhoda but it was in the 1970's and something similar was still going on. Rhoda decided to open her own window dressing business. She rented an office and her husband Joe was helping her get settled in. Rhoda was paying for the office space, but the landlord handed Joe the paperwork for him to sign.

Rhoda got miffed. Joe said to the guy that it was his wife's business and she was paying the rent. The guy did a wink wink as if to say,"Oh sure, you're setting the little lady up in business."

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I watched "Rhoda", but I don't recall that episode or scene. It doesn't surprise me, though, as everything
was "Ms." in those days with rampant (and much needed) feminism.

I have mixed feelings about the character of Joe. He was kind of a jerk, and he only seemed to tolerate
Ida and Brenda. But, boy, did the show go SOUTH after Rhoda got divorced (bad idea, in my opinion).

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I think that Rhoda episode was from early in the second season. I SHOULD know (but I don't) since I have the series on DVD. I'll have to check though. Another thing that was new, a man came to paint Rhoda's sign on her office door. He asked what the last name was and Joe started to spell out Gerard.

The sign painter said that it was a longer name and Rhoda said "Morganstern". Now it was Joe's turn to look a little miffed. Rhoda explained that while she loved being Mrs. Gerard, in her business she was known as Morganstern. That seemed to be a new thing. A lot of women were establishing themselves professionally and getting married later. They wanted to use their own name in their profession.

I used to have mixed feelings about Joe. But I think David Groh did the best he could since he wasn't primarily a comedy actor. And he was playing with some very funny actresses. Who could ever top Nancy Walker?

They originally wanted Judd Hirsch to play Joe. he would have been more natural at comedy. I thought it was a mistake to break up Rhoda's marriage. The writers had some lame excuse that they couldn't write funny stuff for Rhoda as a married woman!

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Rhoda was so "special", that I think the writers were afraid it was just going to be another
"family sitcom." After all, Mary never married. But the whole point of Rhoda was that she finally
found her "man." But he always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder.

One of my favorite episodes is when Rhoda finally meets Joe's ex-wife. What a BITCH! Rhoda
is very clumsy in her insecurity, and getting drunk doesn't help. When Ida shows up, she
really puts the woman in her place. I love when Rhoda starts questioning the guy who shows
up as Marion's date!! Too funny.

I absolutely ADORE Julie Kavner. I thought it was so cute the way she dated Lenny, her cousin!!
He had a SHOE/FOOT obsession.

A great show, but I don't care for the last two or three seasons sans Joe. And one of them has
NO Ida, as Nancy Walker was attempting her own series! I also couldn't stand Gary, and those
other idiots who moved into Rhoda's building. It just got progressively worse.

Poor David Groh thought he had security. He just bought a house in the Hollywood Hills when he
was told he was being written out. Welcome to show biz.

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The episode when Rhoda meets Marion is a classic! Ida asks her not to because she made the mistake of meeting her husband's old girlfriend.

"She was a dog. She totally ruined my respect for his taste in women." lol

I loved Marion. She sure was b#tchy. I think part of it was her own insecurity and probably jealousy at meeting her ex's new wife. ("I'm not as warm a person as I appear" No kidding)

Remember the exchange between the two women when Rhoda says that Marion got the house, she got the car. What did Joe get? And Marion answers succinctly, "Out!"

That took on a whole new meaning for me when I got divorced. I wished I had Marion's cutthroat lawyer because in my instance I was the one who got "OUT". He got the house. Of course he had to pay through the nose. And the house was on several acres of land in the country which I'd have to mow and tend to. I didn't want to do that anyway.

Love the moment when Rhoda hears her mother's voice at the door. "Marion, do you know the worst thing that ever happened to you? I do."

Actually I loved Gary. I didn't care for him when the show first aired. But he grew on me. I thought Nick Lobo the accordion player was a trip. David Masur was so funny.

When he came back from a long trip and asked a separated Rhoda where was Joe. "He didn't die, did he? Cause that would be cruddy."
And Johnny Venture, the lounge singer who had the hots for Rhoda. Could anyone wear more rhinestones than Liberace?

Julie Kavner was great as Brenda. But the show really went searching for a supporting cast as the years went by. No permanent characters, just a revolving door. Sally Gallagher as one of the worst. I was a fan of Ann Meara but her Sally was a drag.

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I like David Masur as a rule, but I thought he was extremely unfunny as the accordion player.
And I literally could not watch Gary or the lounge singer. Yuck.

And wasn't Anne Meara just a little long in the tooth to play a stewardess??

The only funny line regarding this, is when a nasty female was visiting, and she said to Meara,
"Oh, it must've been fun flying in the days when airplanes had propellers!" Very funny line.

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Up until the sixties, flight attendants, stewardesses then, were forced to retire at the age of 32 or 35 at the latest. The flying public was comprised of a majority of men and the idea was to hire young women to appeal to them. Do you remember some of the airline ads back then? "I'm Jackie. Fly me." Or "Our smiles aren't just painted on."

Stewardesses also couldn't be married. Some were, but if they got caught they got fired. But pilots could be married. Go figure!

Around 1970 with civil rights laws, all that changed. Flight Attendants can work until regular retirement age.

Still Sally Gallagher seemed a little too loud and abrasive for most airlines. I also thought she was too much like Rhoda's character, street wise and wisecracking all the time.

Nick Lobo cracked me up! He was so devoted to his accordion and I detest accordion music. There's no wedding that you can attend around here that does NOT have an accordion player. Something about Nick serenading Brenda with his accordion used to break me up.

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Yes, Meara was very miscast.

All of the stewardess scenes I recall are mainly on "Bewitched" and "Get Smart."

On "Get Smart", there was the episode where Max says to the young stewardess
as they're taking off:

"If God had intended Man to fly, He'd have given us wings."

The Stewardess says: "That's a very profound thought, Sir. Did you make that up?"

Max says: "No, I just heard the pilot announce it over the loudspeaker." Lol!

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Yes, speaking of stewardesses on "Bewitched", Raquel Welsh had a brief scene as a stewardess. It was a "don't blink or you'll miss it" scene.

I don't know if you ever watched "Monk", the detective who had a hundred phobias. He had to fly one time and he drove the poor flight attendant up a wall. The poor woman hid out in the galley and had a stiff drink. Tony Shalhoub's real wife played her.

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Never got into "Monk", but my Mom loved the show, and TS.

While we're on the subject of classic shows, here is a list of truly great shows
I could NEVER get into, no matter how hard I tried:

MASH
TAXI
CHEERS
FRIENDS
SNL

I did love "The Golden Girls", "Frasier" and "Will and Grace."

It's been YEARS since I've seen two other favorites, "Get Smart" and "The
Twilight Zone." I have to break down and get the former in its DVD box set,
and the latter in its Blu Ray box set. It will cost a pretty penny, but I miss
not having them at arm's length.

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I never watched a full episode of "Friends". I've seen a few minutes on late night TV.

I absolutely loved "Taxi". I hadn't seen it in years but then I found some episodes on youtube and I remembered why I used to laugh so hard at it.

Never missed MASH. But now I only like to rewatch the first few Henry Blake/Trapper John seasons. Later on the show became "The Alan Alda Preachy Show"

Cheers was funny.

I was one of those college kids who never really got the humor of SNL.

"Frasier" is a very intelligent show. Very funny Never got into "Will and Grace" too much.

I was always a fan of TZ. Every year the sci-fi channel does marathons around different holidays. I always try to catch at least a few of my favorites (To Serve Man, etc)

Haven't seen "Get Smart" in a long time. Another funny show.

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"Will and Grace" is strange in that the two supporting characters are much
funnier than the leads. Especially "Karen."

I still recall a Thanksgiving episode line VERBATIM, it made me laugh so hard.

"Jack", the OBVIOUSLY gay character, didn't know how to "tell" his mother
is was gay. The four invited her for Thanksgiving and told her. The mother
collapsed on the couch, like it was some big shock. "Karen" tried to ease
her pain with this howler:

"Honey, I don't think you're looking at the brighter side of this. When you're
old and in diapers, a gay son will keep you away from chiffon and
back-lighting."

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Yes, the supporting characters carried the comedy from what I could see when I watched the show. I never was a big fan of Debra Messing. I don't get how she got her own TV show!

There was a similar situation on Roseanne. Her mom Beverly was on her way home to tell her mom that she was gay. She was nervous. Roseanne's boss Leon was going with her. Martin Mull was so funny. I loved him on the short lived show Fernwood Tonight.

He told her to relax. Her mom probably knew. He said that when he told his parents, his mom turned to his dad and said, "Ya owe me fifty bucks!"

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Did you ever watch "Phyllis?" It was an especially good series.

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Very funny show. One of my favorite characters was Mother Dexter played by Judith Lowry. Lars' mother had remarried and she was her mother-in-law.

In one episode she and her boyfriend went for blood tests because they were getting married.

When they returned Phyllis asked if they got their blood tests.

She said, "Yes, we both have some." lol

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I don't think Ricky was even slightly being a jerk in this episode. If anything, had he not said anything and just let their idea crash and burn on its own, that would have made him a huge jerk. Their business plan wasn't fully thought through and neither of them were able to realize it until he did literally did the math for them.

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Yes, he was only doing what he often did, cleaning up after Lucy's messes. Also, if he had just allowed Lucy to continue with her "business venture", she would have probably lost even MORE money. She and Ethel would have just kept taking orders not realizing that they were losing money on every jar.

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Even if they didn't give Caroline the extra 3 cents (gee wow - even in 1954), they wouldn't have made much.

Everyone has a family member who makes a special kind of dressing, sauce, dish. Very, very few are able to
market and sell it.

Does anyone remember when Elizabeth Montgomery went into business with her son and marketed a spaghetti
sauce in the late '80's? Like Sinatra and Paul Newman, Liz had her likeness on the label. I never bothered to
try it, but it didn't last long. Wonder if it was anything better than Ragu.

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I don't remember Elizabeth Montgomery's spaghetti sauce. But I do like Paul Newman's pizza. I think it's one of the better brands of frozen pizza.

There was a lot of merchandising tied into ILL, like those matching p.j.s that the Ricardos sometimes wore. I wonder if they ever thought about marketing Aunt Martha's Salad Dressing? ha ha In today's world where EVERYTHING gets marketed, I bet they would.

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Well, from what I've heard (maybe it was from you, PJ), Lucy REALLY gulped a vanilla shake. That's nice,
but she had to put THAT on lettuce and eat it first. YUCK. I would've rather drank bleu cheese after having
that on the lettuce. And wasn't that really mashed potatoes and gravy with the sardines?? Sardines are soooo
gross anyway!

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I'm not sure if I knew about the vanilla shake. But I probably did say that the "hot fudge" was gravy. I've read that when the actors are eating "ice cream", it's mashed potatoes because ice cream would melt under hot lights.

I l read that the Vitameatavegamin was apple pectin. They needed something with the consistency to pour out very s-l-o-w-l-y. Must've been so sickeningly sweet though!

The things actresses will do for their art. Lucy had to stuff all that chocolate in her mouth while in the early stages of pregnancy in "Job Switching". And even though it was Serena dipping bananas in chocolate and nuts on Bewitched, it was a pregnant Elizabeth Montgomery who had to endure a chocolate/banana food fight. I read that she couldn't look at those foods for a long time.

What was with Bill Asher subjecting his enceinte leading ladies to all that food? lol

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There were even more problems with the idea than what he came up with. The cost of sending a jar in the mail so that it would not get damaged was going to add substantially to the price, the fact that without proper canning techniques you would be selling a food product that would likely go bad in transit and cause the person eating it to get sick is an issue they forgot about... you could make a list of costs that were left off the table. The truth is it was a stupid idea and if someone has a stupid idea that will potentially kill someone or bankrupt someone it isn't being a jerk to point that out to them.

And once they presented an ad to people giving them a price and then accepted the orders and money they could not change the terms of the contract as it was already made. Would you like to go buy a car and after the dealer has agreed to buy it and you've agreed on the price the dealer then takes your money and when he brings the keys to the car to you he suddenly says sorry I'm going to lose money at that price pay me twice as much now.

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So you're basically saying it's a stupid idea for anyone to sell canned goods? Seriously get a life. I have a (sad) feeling you're a Trump supporter. I also have a feeling because they were women, you thought it was a dumb idea. Oh Thomas...

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Any idea that boils down to spending more to make a product than you sell it for is a stupid idea whether it is canned goods or monster trucks. The gender has nothing to do with stupid ideas, you were the one that popped up here trying to act like Ricky was a jerk for pointing out that their idea was bad. I suppose you must be one of those feminist morons that thinks anytime someone shines a light on the stupidity of an act perpetrated by a woman that it must be driven by sexism. If you had brought up a hair brained idea that Ricky had come up with I would have mentioned it as being stupid as well. You see some of us don't pretend that gender has anything to do with what is and isn't a good idea. But when you start your comment attacking me rather that what I said, well it pretty much signals to the world that I was right and you have no reasonable argument to counter what I said so you start trying to change the direction of the discussion. Well.. The fact is you were wrong. If you think selling something for more than what it costs to produce is a good idea then you are an idiot. Look in the mirror and admire the face of stupidity, that's what it looks like... and unfortunately for you I don't think you can ever change it your destined to die an idiot.

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Well this certainly spiraled out of control from me asking a simple question about a show from the 50s, to being rudely insulted for having an opinion. How dare you.

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You are the typical snowflake liberal moron. You didn't ask a simple question you showed the world your ignorance and then proceeded to insult everyone that pointed out your stupidity. Why don't you do the world a favor and go live in a cave where you won't expand your carbon footprint... Oh that's right your the typical snowflake that loves to point out problems with others while being a complete hypocrite.

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