Desperate to get Milton Berle to perform in their PTA production (much like Tallulah Bankhead in "The Celebrity Next Door"), Lucy visits him at his New York office and manages to convince him to come out to Connecticut to finish his latest book in peace where nobody will interrupt him. But of course, Ricky forbids such a plot, knowing that Lucy's machinations would cost him getting a gig as a bandleader on Uncle Miltie's T.V. show. So Lucy does it on the sly, hiding Milton even from Fred and Ethel. But once Ethel maneuvers her way in, the naive Fred tells Ricky that Lucy's been hiding a man on a daily basis, and the jealous Ricky socks the unknowing Fred Keating, who happens to be Milton's publisher. Milton ends up in drag thanks to Lucy's attempts to get him out of the house, but when his wig falls off, Ricky (still not knowing who the man is) slugs him, and Lucy's attempts to get him to appear in the PTA play seems shot. She tries one last ploy, coming up in a cement lifter, and ultimately creating a stunt gag that would have every silent comic envious that they hadn't thought of it first, with Milton hanging onto the cement lifter, Lucy hanging onto his legs, and ultimately Ricky hanging onto his wife's legs.
That sketch alone is worth the price of admission, but the plot takes time to get rolling before the hilarity really starts. The concluding musical number is an almost disaster, pretty much totally unfunny, with only Ethel as a saloon girl and Fred as the lovable old bartender really making any impact. Little Ricky makes a cameo as the sheriff, with Uncle Miltie as the bandit, Lucy as a Native American maiden (a performance that might be considered offensive to some), and poor Ricky locked up behind the horse's costume. It reminds me of those novelty numbers shoved into sitcoms of the 1960's that were instantly dated. While Lucy and Ricky had some great musical moments on "I Love Lucy", this is perhaps the weakest of the bunch. Still, with the cement truck sketch, watching the three of them hanging onto each other 24 stories above ground, that sequence alone is a total classic.
That sketch alone is worth the price of admission, but the plot takes time to get rolling before the hilarity really starts. The concluding musical number is an almost disaster, pretty much totally unfunny, with only Ethel as a saloon girl and Fred as the lovable old bartender really making any impact. Little Ricky makes a cameo as the sheriff, with Uncle Miltie as the bandit, Lucy as a Native American maiden (a performance that might be considered offensive to some), and poor Ricky locked up behind the horse's costume. It reminds me of those novelty numbers shoved into sitcoms of the 1960's that were instantly dated. While Lucy and Ricky had some great musical moments on "I Love Lucy", this is perhaps the weakest of the bunch. Still, with the cement truck sketch, watching the three of them hanging onto each other 24 stories above ground, that sequence alone is a total classic.
