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LUCY AND MANNIX ARE HELD HOSTAGE

S4;E4 ~ October 4, 1971

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Lucy happens to see three crimes in one day. Convinced thugs are after Lucy, Harry contacts his old friend, private eye Joe Mannix. While trying to rescue Lucy from the bank robbers, Mannix and Lucy are kidnapped and held hostage.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Guest Cast

Mike Connors (Joe Mannix) began his screen career in 1952, but is probably best remembered as Joe Mannix, the role he plays here. He starred in the private detective series “Mannix” from 1967 to 1975, which ran on CBS concurrently with “Here's Lucy.” He was nominated for 5 Emmys and six Golden Globes and won a Golden Globe for the role in 1970. Connors reprised the role of Joe Mannix in a 1997 episode of “Diagnosis Murder” and in the 2003 film comedy Nobody Knows Anything! He died in January 2017.

Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ” She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and Evelyn Bigsby in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26). She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in 1999 at the age of 83.

Marc Lawrence (Ruby, right) appeared on Broadway in three plays with the Group Theatre. On screen, Lawrence specialized in playing gangster roles. He previously played a mob boss in “Lucy and Ma Parker” (S3;E15). Coincidentally, between 1969 and 1974 Lawrence appeared in three episodes of “Mannix.” John Doucette (Vernon, left) first appeared with Lucille Ball in The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). In 1973 he did one episode of “Mannix” with Mike Connors.

Robert Foulk (Policeman) played the policeman on the Brooklyn subway platform in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12) and a Los Angeles Detective in “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20). This is the fourth of his six characters, but his first of two policemen on “Here’s Lucy.”

Vince Howard (Policeman) was much more at home in hour-long crime dramas than in sitcoms. Many of his 125 TV and film credits were as law enforcement officials. Howard also played a policeman on “Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15). He did three episodes of “Mannix” with Mike Connors, one of which first aired three weeks after this episode of “Here's Lucy.”

The voice of the telephone operator was done by an uncredited performer.

“Mannix” was an hour-long crime drama that was saved from the scrap heap by Lucille Ball when she was in charge of Desilu Studios. CBS planned to cancel the show after one season, but Ball used her influence to convince them to renew it with the assurance that changes would be made. In the second season, Joe Mannix was changed into a more hard-boiled independent private detective. The changes worked and the series became a big hit running for eight seasons. It was the last successful TV show to be produced by Desilu. Lucille Ball's sitcoms shared many cast members with “Mannix”:

Monty O'Grady, Paul Picerni, Peggy Rea, Jay Novello, Ruth McDevitt, Elsa Lanchester, Maurice Marsac, Milton Berle, Howard Duff, Claude Akins, Rich Little, Natalie Schafer, Ruta Lee, Parley Baer, Army Archerd, Lurene Tuttle, Herbie Faye, Gail Bonney, Vivi Janiss, Stafford Repp, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, George DeNormand, Hans Moebus, Murray Pollack, Sig Frohlich, Shep Houghton, Jonathan Hole, Leoda Richards, Jack Berle, and Hayden Rorke.

This was the first episode filmed at Universal Studios after Lucille Ball Productions (LBP) left Paramount (formerly Desilu and RKO). Because “Mannix” was property of Paramount Television, not LBP, the series stayed at Paramount Studios for the duration of its run.

Harry gives Lucy's address as 4863 Valley Lawn Drive. She gives her Zip Code as 91041, which puts it in Sunland, California. She describes her home description as the second house from the corner, pink with blue shutters, with a big tree (named Irving) in the front yard.

Harry tells the crooks that he is claustrophobic. In real life, however, it was Lucille Ball who had claustrophobia, although she conquered it if she thought the comedy would benefit.

In this episode, Lucy becomes a plant lover who talks to her plants. Their names are Ruthie, Hugo, and Priscilla. Ruthie meets an untimely end in an attempt to stop a robbery.

In the episode's first half, Lucy, Harry, and Mary Jane talk about a policeman named Officer Maginetti. It is never stated if either one of the policemen in the final scene is named Officer Maginetti or not.

A distracted Lucy misses watering her plant and pours water into Harry's hat instead. When Harry puts it on, naturally he ends up soaking wet! Harry being wet is a staple of the “Here's Lucy” series.

Lucy mentions an Aunt Isabel. Mary Wickes played Isabel (above), another secretary in Lucy's building, in two previous episodes, but she was not Lucy's aunt. Wickes also played Lucy Carmichael's Aunt Agatha on “The Lucy Show,” but no character named Aunt Isabel has been seen (as of yet).

While tied up by the crooks, Lucy mentions the gangster films Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson and Angels with Dirty Faces starring Jimmy Cagney. Cagney was mentioned in “Lucy and Carol Burnett” (S3;E22, left) and Edward G. Robinson made a cameo appearance in “Lucy Goes To a Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20, right).

Lucy and Mannix are held hostage in a tan stucco house at the corner of Shelby and Fountain.

Crime has been the source of many “Lucy” sitcom episodes in the past:

“New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21)

“Too Many Crooks” (ILL S3;E9)

“Lucy Cries Wolf” (ILL S4;E3)

“The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E2)

“Lucy and the Great Bank Robbery” (TLS S3;E5)

“Lucy Makes a Pinch” (TLS S3;E8)

“Lucy's Impossible Mission” (S1;E6)

“Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15)

“Lucy and Viv Visit Tijuana” (S2;E19)

“Lucy’s Burglar Alarm” (S2;E7)

“Lucy and Wally Cox” (S2;E21)

“Lucy and Ma Parker” (S3;E15)

and even the previous episode, “Lucy and Harry's Italian Bombshell” (S4;E3), had Lucy and Kim encountering a burglar!

Doors! Doors! Doors! The door behind Lucy's desk at the office has changed from leading to another room to a closet. The door behind Harry's desk was originally a closet but was later transformed to a bathroom.

Wallpapered! Since the last time we saw the Carter home in “Lucy and Aladdin's Lamp” (S3;E21), there is new bright green wallpaper on the staircase. This may have been changed during the move from Paramount to Universal.

Where Do I Live? In “Lucy and Harry's Tonsils” (S2;E25) Harry gave his address as 4863 Valley Lawn Drive. This is the same address he gives the crooks when they ask where Lucy lives.

“Lucy and Mannix are Held Hostage” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

The most unusual thing about this episode is that Mannix, a television character, lives in the same fictional world with the Carters instead of being Mike Connors, an actor and celebrity. Connors handles the physical comedy really well, and Lucy is a good match for him in the acting department. This is the second time “Here's Lucy” has used one of its own shows as the basis for an episode. They first tackled “Mission: Impossible” but changed all the character names from the series. It's too bad they never go around to doing a “Star Trek” parody!

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