Lucy is mistaken for a red-headed shoplifter and ends up in jail, but she thinks the cops have incarcerated her for merely littering.
This is a great "sleeper" episode in that it sneaks up on you, but darned if it isn't one of the best of Season 5. The smart script builds wonderfully scene-by-scene, the dialog crackles and the casting is superb.
The interrogation scene is hilarious with the incredulous cop remarking "Boy, what nerve", and "She's the coolest chick I ever saw" at Lucy's nonchalance regarding the charges against her. Ball did not need wacky stunts with props or physical comedy to be funny when she had well-written scripts like this. She knew her way around a line but wasn't offered the chance so much on this series like on I LOVE LUCY.
Iris Adrian steals the show as Lucy's hard-as-nails cellmate. She plays the stereotype of the tough cookie from all those Women-in-Prison flicks to the hilt but with a great comic slant, and a large part of the episode's power comes from her. Claude Akins plays it straight as Lt. Finch and Byron Foulger appears as the timid jewelry store owner.
I had forgotten how good this was. One of the best-written offerings of the season, and of the entire post-Vivian era.
This is a great "sleeper" episode in that it sneaks up on you, but darned if it isn't one of the best of Season 5. The smart script builds wonderfully scene-by-scene, the dialog crackles and the casting is superb.
The interrogation scene is hilarious with the incredulous cop remarking "Boy, what nerve", and "She's the coolest chick I ever saw" at Lucy's nonchalance regarding the charges against her. Ball did not need wacky stunts with props or physical comedy to be funny when she had well-written scripts like this. She knew her way around a line but wasn't offered the chance so much on this series like on I LOVE LUCY.
Iris Adrian steals the show as Lucy's hard-as-nails cellmate. She plays the stereotype of the tough cookie from all those Women-in-Prison flicks to the hilt but with a great comic slant, and a large part of the episode's power comes from her. Claude Akins plays it straight as Lt. Finch and Byron Foulger appears as the timid jewelry store owner.
I had forgotten how good this was. One of the best-written offerings of the season, and of the entire post-Vivian era.
