Lucy’s Schedule – I Love Lucy episode 33, originally aired 5/26/1952
Lucy’s Schedule is a very funny, ‘girls vs. guys’ episode. Lucy is perpetually tardy, and so she sets the clock back an hour to make sure that she and Ricky will be on time for their dinner with Ricky’s boss, Mr. Littlefield (Gale Gordon). However, it turns out that she turned the clock ahead an hour, so that they’re now over an hour late. Mr. Littlefield is a stickler for time, and their lateness means that he is no longer considering Ricky as a potential manager for the Tropicana Club – to paraphrase Mr. Littlefield, after all, if a man can’t manage his wife, how can he be trusted to manage the club?
Ricky decides that enough is enough, and he puts Lucy on a very tight schedule, which strangely enough works for her – as long as she ‘borrows’ an hour from the following day. Ricky decides to demonstrate how well he is now ‘managing’ his wife’s time to Mr. Littlefield, in hopes of becoming the new manager. However, Ethel Mertz and Mrs. Littlefield convince Lucy that she is letting down all women if Lucy goes along – after all, then their husbands will expect the same from them! So, with the cooperation of Ethel and Mrs. Littlefield, Lucy decides to demonstrate just how constricting a tight schedule can be!
At the end of the dinner farce, with rolls being tossed from the kitchen and caught with a catcher’s mitt, Mr. Littlefield announces to Ricky that this is no way to run a household – but exactly the way a club should be run; congratulations, Mr. Manager!
Lucy’s Schedule is available as part of the season 1 I Love Lucy DVD collection.
Quotes from I Love Lucy – Lucy’s Schedule
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): We’re going to have dinner with the new bus.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I’m making out a schedule so you can budget your time.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Budget my time? You mean like I budget my money?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Heaven forbid!
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): How about a good morning kiss?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): It’s not on the schedule.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): How long does it take you in the bathtub?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): To do what?
Mr. Littlefield (Gayle Gordon): Don’t you people ever eat at your house?
Trivia about I Love Lucy – Lucy’s Schedule
- This is Gale Gordon’s first appearance as Mr. Littlefield, Ricky’s boss. Although he’s best remembered for his role as Mr. Mooney on The Lucy Show, he had previously worked with Lucille Ball on her radio series My Favorite Husband and was Lucy’s original choice to play Fred Mertz.
- Likewise, Vivian Vance had worked with Edith Meiser, who played Mrs. Littlefield, on Broadway.