HERE'S LUCY: GINGER ROGERS COMES TO TEA (TV)

Summary

One in this comedy series starring Lucille Ball as Lucy Carter, a single mother working for her brother-in-law Harry at his employment agency.

Harry tries to get Lucy to work overtime, but she wants to go to see a Ginger Rogers film festival in town. This makes Harry instantly change his mind and accompany Lucy, as he is a devoted fan of Rogers. Meanwhile, Rogers herself plans to attend the film festival in disguise so as to avoid attracting unwanted attention. She ends up sitting next to Lucy and Harry in the movie theater, and after the film she overhears Lucy and Harry praising her. However, Lucy offers some criticism about one of her scenes in the film and Rogers can’t help but talk back to her. They get into an argument over which of them is a bigger fan of Rogers, and Rogers gets up and leaves in a huff. Later Lucy discovers that Rogers left her purse behind and she and Harry discover the true identity of its owner. Lucy wants to track her down and apologize to her, but it is late and she doesn’t want to wake her up. Soon she and Harry fight over the bag, as they each offer to drop it off the next day and each want the chance to meet her. Neither of them trusts the other one with the purse, and so Harry proposes that they put it in his office’s safe for the night and then go together to bring it back to Rogers the following day.

However, both of them attempt to sneak into the office early and make off with the purse on their own. While struggling over the purse they manage to break it, and they decide to call Rogers and have her pick it up in the afternoon, by which time they may be able to get it repaired. Lucy gets on the phone with Rogers’ secretary Spike, and explains to him what happened; he reports that Rogers was upset because of her encounter with Lucy the previous night. She offers to bring the purse back in the afternoon, but Rogers has a lunch date and then is leaving town. Spike offers to have Rogers pick up the purse at some point, and Lucy says she lives in between her hotel and the airport, asking Rogers to pick it up on her way there. She prepares tea for Rogers’ arrival and gets dressed up, making a big to-do about it. Rogers arrives before Harry can come by with the repaired purse, and she realizes that Lucy was the woman she sat next to in the movie theater. Lucy tries to apologize for her behavior and make amends with Rogers, but she simply wants to have her purse and be on her way.

Lucy stalls for time until Harry can arrive with the purse, and they sit down to tea together. Lucy becomes star-struck and flustered around Rogers, causing her to make a mess of things. When Rogers demands her purse back Lucy tells her the truth, making her furious. Lucy gives Rogers her bill folder and credit cards, which she removed from the purse beforehand. Kim arrives with some photographs of Rogers, and she reluctantly agrees to sign them. Lucy manages to keep Rogers from leaving by asking her to dance, and she, Lucy, and Kim perform the Charleston together. Finally Rogers leaves, but not before running into Harry on the way out and getting her purse back and giving him a peck on the cheek, much to his amazement. Commercials deleted.

Details

NETWORK: CBS
DATE: November 12, 1971 9:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:24:33
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: B:19744
GENRE: Comedy
SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1968-1974
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Gary Morton … Executive Producer
Cleo Smith … Producer
William Magginetti … Associate Producer
Coby Ruskin … Director
Bob Carroll Jr. … Writer
Madelyn Davis … Writer
Marl Young … Music by
Wilbur Hatch … Theme Music by
Julian Davidson … Theme Music by
Jim Bates … Choreographer
Lucille Ball … Cast, Lucy Carter
Gale Gordon … Cast, Harry Carter
Lucie Arnaz … Cast, Kim Carter
Ginger Rogers … Cast, Herself
William Lanteau … Cast, Spike