In Lucy and the Ring-a-Ding Ring, Mr. Mooney makes the mistake off letting Lucy try on a ring that he’s purchased for his wife. Lucie Arnaz makes an appearance.
Lucy and the Ring-a-Ding Ring – The Lucy Show Season 5, originally aired October 10, 1966
The basic premise of Lucy and the Ring-a-Ding Ring is fairly straightforward. Mr. Mooney has ordered a custom-made,$6,000 ring for his wife. After some clowning between Lucy and Mary Jane about steaming open the envelope with the check, the ring’s delivered. And Mr. Mooney makes the foolish mistake of letting Lucy try it on! And then, it won’t come off …
So then Mr. Mooney starts yelling! Which stresses Lucy out, and her fingers swell! So, she takes some prescribed sedatives, and Mr. Mooney drivers her home, to she can relax, and he can get the ring back in time for his anniversary party.
Inebriated Lucy
Which leads to one of the funniest scenes ever filmed on television! By the time they’re at Lucy’s apartment, Lucy is so sedated, she’s effectively drunk! And poor Mr. Mooney’s trying to get her into the apartment. Lucy was excellent at playing the inebriated person (Vitameatavegamin, for example). And Gale Gordon’s no slouch at physical comedy either. And then enters Ray Kellogg as a police officer, who’s also very good at this! He and Mooney pass the drunken, limp as a dishrag Lucy back and forth between them!
Finale
Lucy sleeps the sedatives off (mostly), and in her apartment, she and Mr. Mooney lather her hands up, and the ring’s off! And into the garbage disposal unit! So Mooney tries to retrieve it with Lucy’s “help”, but it’s not there! Then Mary Jane comes in, the the fabulous ring she “found” in the laundry room! Which is, of course, Mooney’s ring! Which is now stuck on Mary Jane‘s finger!
Cast of characters
- Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy episode guide) … Lucy Carmichael
- Gale Gordon (Don’t Give Up the Ship; Visit to a Small Planet) … Mr. Theodore J. Mooney
- Mary Jane Croft (The Lucy Show season 6) … Mary Jane Lewis
- Don Beddoe (The Amazing Mr. Williams) … Mr. Barmarche
- Lucie Arnaz (The Lucy Show: The Official First Season) … Teenager
- Ray Kellogg (The Red Skelton Hour) … Cop