HILLBILLIES OF BEVERLY HILLS, THE {EXTENDED UNAIRED PILOT OF THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES} (TV)
Summary
The unaired pilot of this comedy series about a family of dim-witted mountain people made suddenly rich by the discovery of oil on their property, and their new lives in a Beverly Hills mansion.
As the program opens, a hillbilly clan -- middle-aged widower Jed Clampett, his feisty mother-in-law Daisy May (a.k.a. Granny), tomboy-natured daughter Elly May, and her burly, dim-witted cousin Jethro -- are driving in their antiquated truck to the family's new home in Beverly Hills. The narrative then stops to relate its origins, flashing back to the Clampett's one-room cabin in the Ozark Mountains. There, Granny tells Jed that Elly May is becoming a woman, though she's still more interested in wrestling with animals. As Granny departs to tend her still, Elly May enters with an unconscious man that she knocked out for "nosing around." Upon waking, the geologist tells Jed that he'll be a rich man if a petroleum company is allowed to pump out the rich source of oil feeding into Jed's swamp.
After oil company executives makes a second trip to the cabin, Jed signs their contract for 25 million dollars. The news brings Jed's cousin, Pearl, to the cabin with her son, Jethro. Pearl tells Jed to move to Beverly Hills, noting that she'd be able to come visit him often. Jed agrees, but Granny refuses to budge until Jed physically puts her in Jethro's truck. The group then heads off to California with their dog, Duke.
Money-obsessed Milton Drysdale of the Beverly Hills Bank tells secretary Jane Hathaway that, despite his wife's objections, he's arranged for the Clampetts to become his next-door neighbors, having paid for the adjoining estate from Jed's 25-million-dollar account. Mr. Drysdale then gets a phone call, stating that the Clampetts are holding the gardeners at gunpoint. The police quickly arrive, jailing Jed and his clan, all of whom mistakenly believe that their federal-style mansion is a prison and that the gardeners are inmates trying to escape. Upon realizing that the poorly dressed Clampetts are his rich new neighbors, Mr. Drysdale bails them out and drives them back home. However, Jed, Granny, Elly May, and Jethro "head for the hills" after thinking that Mr. Drysdale tricked them into returning to prison.
A sequence titled "and now for the future" follows, in which Mr. Drysdale relates how he finally rounded up the Clampetts. He recalls their initial reactions to the mansion's lavish interior and "cement pond," Elly May's disastrous date with a young banker, and Jed's confusion over the home's intercom system. It's then revealed that Mr. Drysdale is relating his memories to a psychiatrist. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE:
- RUNNING TIME: 0:31:59
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:91325
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1962-1971
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Al Simon … Executive Producer
- Paul Henning … Producer, Created by, Writer, Theme Music by
- Ralph Levy … Director
- Herbert W. Browar … Associate Producer
- Perry Botkin … Music by
- Lester Flatt … Theme Music by
- Earl Scruggs … Theme Music by
- Buddy Ebsen … Cast, Jed Clampett
- Irene Ryan … Cast, Daisy May "Granny" Moses
- Donna Douglas … Cast, Elly May Clampett
- Max Baer (See also: Max Baer Jr.) … Cast, Jethro Bodine
- Bea Benaderet … Cast, Cousin Pearl Bodine
- Raymond Bailey … Cast, Milburn Drysdale
- Nancy Kulp … Cast, Secretary Jane Hathaway
- Frank Wilcox … Cast, John Brewster
- Ron Hagerthy … Cast, Geologist
- Bob Osborne … Cast, Jeff Taylor