MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Lucy and Ethel's Dress Shop

Lucy and Ethel's Dress Shop

posted 4 years ago by [email protected] (5507)
5 replies | jump to latest

Very amusing episode but I wish it had been a two parter at the very least.

Of course that's not the way ILL worked. They were tightly knit half hour episodes.

Sometimes there was so much story crammed into a half hour that there were unanswered questions. In this case, how long did Lucy and Ethel think they could hide a $3000 withdrawal from their respective checking accounts. That was $1500 apiece. Did Fred really keep that much in an account that Ethel could lay her hands on so easily? lol And with inflation that would be ie withdrawing $10,000 or probably more from the bank.

When Lucy races home to intercept Mrs. Hansen's phone call, she has Ricky translate, "The check is good" without Mrs. Hansen even asking him a question!

The old gal seemed like one shrewd cookie. You think she would've called right back and asked, "Senor Ricardo, que paso?" As in what just happened. How did you know what I was going to ask?

If the store had been a success, how would Lucy and Ethel explain their long absences from home every day? Wouldn't Ricky wonder why the baby was always at Mrs. Trumbull's? Wouldn't Fred wonder where Ethel spent all her time? After all he worked around the apartment building and always came looking for Ethel at lunch time.

Still a funny episode. But I wonder how long they could've pulled it off until they started to show a profit and could come clean to their husbands.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 4 years ago

Eh, I don't think comedy should go longer than 22 minutes, we did get the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and it definitely was of lesser quality, the problem is it's just way too hard to be funny for that long. I don't know of a single comedy longer than 22 minutes that is funny the entire time.

But yes there is no way they ever could have keep that hidden from Ricky, I don't think they thought that all the way through which is pretty consistent as far as Lucy's character is concerned.

On a side note have you ever noticed that Lucy is unbelievably good at math, like she calculated how much money they would have potentially made in a matter of seconds.

[–] [email protected] (5507) 4 years ago

Yes I agree that the half hour format of ILL was fine the way it was. I just wished the dress shop episode could've bee a two parter. 'Cousin Ernie" was a two parter and both episodes were funny.

But then again, arguing against myself, most Lucy episodes were great. They were funny and told the story. It's just my bad luck that I ponder all the unanswered questions and details. Guess I should just go write some fan fiction!

Lucy was great at math when she had to be. Other times she seemed to flounder with simple things, like in the first season episode when she was constantly late. She set the clocks BACK an hour to give herself more time when she should've set them forward.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 4 years ago

That’s true the cousin Ernie episode was good, I guess they just didn’t have enough jokes to make it a 2 parter.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 4 years ago

I love this episode too, but do not agree it should've been a two-parter. It plays fine as a 25-minute show.

Yes, while it's hard to believe that the girls (Ethel, in particular) could've laid their hands on that much cash without
their hubby's knowing about it (especially in 1953), I always figured the women owned and sold the business in
a matter of days, and were able to put the money right back in the bank before the guys noticed.

Some story holes perhaps, but still a fun offering.

As for the Ernie Ford two-parter, yes, it works in two parts, but as funny as it is, they're not episodes I ever
watch very frequently. I like sitcoms to begin/end a story in 25 minutes.

[–] [email protected] (5507) 4 years ago

Yes it is a fun episode the way it is. I just get carried away with my obsession to have every question answered.

Sitcoms usually tell a story in 25 minutes. That's fine. But to tell the truth, I used to watch the soaps and I am used to a story that goes on and on and on... so I don't mind a two or three part episode.