44-04-04 Sade's Job List For Vic and Russell

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND  DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Sade is busy and she's determined that the boys (Vic and Russell) must run some errands.  Though not against her, the men seem bewildered and are at a loss against Sade's no-nonsense approach to the chores.

SEE THE SCRIPT (part 1) (part 2)

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Sade often forces the men to help with chores.  Despite what excuses they may have (remember: "Handmen play fatball"?) they always comply.  The men of the family fear Sade.  Well, everyone but Uncle Fletcher, but he's nowhere to be found in this episode.

Trivia:

* The oddest part of this episode seems to be the picnic at the foundry where Fred works.  When I try to come up with a reason why I deem it odd, I really can't.  So maybe it's not so weird.  :o

* Not that uncommon in 1944: Sade refers to Ted Stembottom as "Fred", (thanks to Uncle Fletcher just a day prior to this episode).  The entire family practically stops calling Fred by his real name as the days continue.

* I never kept track of how often Russell and Rush were excused from class because of "special teacher's meetings".  This happened quite a bit beginning in 1942 and much more frequently in 1944 - increasing as time went on.

37-04-07 Exciting Information

[All of the following is quoted directly from John T. Hetherington, author of Vic and Sade on the Radio: A Cultural History of Paul Rhymer's Daytime Series, from the article, "Little Gossips"]:

In the April 7, 1937 episode Sade reports on some “exciting information” that she has heard from Mis’ Donahue, who heard it from Mis’ Razorscum, who got it from Mis’ Drummond: Mis’ Drummond bought a “half a ton of little white stones” (p.6). Sade has concluded, through a series of deductions, that Mis’ Drummond is planning to dump them in the Gooks’ backyard until she’s ready to use them to decorate her garden – nearly two months later. Needless to say, Sade’s not pleased about this.

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OK, this isn’t the most scintillating gossip; however, there are a couple of things that make this memorable to me. First, there’s the complicated flow of information that Sade must recount to Vic as she tells him what she’s learned. Then there’s the trouble she has trying to share the gossip in the first place. You see, when she arrives home from Mis’ Donahue’s Vic is trying to read the newspaper and Rush is busy trying to persuade him to let him try out a new wrestling hold that Rooster has come up with, a “combination half-nelson an’ belly-jab.” (p.1). At one point as Sade tries to impart her “exciting information” she gets annoyed with Rush, who, unable to entice either Vic or Sade into letting him practice  the hold on them, has taken to trying to practice it on himself. Exasperated, Sade tells him to “go out-doors somewhere an’ choke yourself” (p.4). Given that Sade so rarely lets either Rush or Russell complete a story, I think it appeals to my sense of justice when Sade is confronted with the same problem.

Finally, after trying to follow Sade’s saga of the half-ton of little white stones, Vic turns to Rush:

VIC: You say you had a new wresting hold?

RUSH: You bet. Combination half-nelson an’ belly jab.

VIC: Is it painful?

RUSH: Terrifically so.

VIC: Try it out on me.
(p.10)

That just about says it all! A terrifically painful combination half-nelson an’ belly jab wins out over enduring Sade’s complex chain of gossip and its potential ramifications anytime!

44-04-24 Howard, the Runaway

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND RUSSELL MILLER

• In the alley behind Graham Street, Howard suddenly bolted – all the way to Seminary Avenue. 
• Russell: "…shrill screaming and high-pitched yells of wild-eyed people."
• Russell: "Howard lost a good many true friends by his rash action."  Mr. Gumpox cried at having been betrayed by his old friend.
• Smelly Clark thinks Howard did it out of boredom, Heine Call thinks he was startled out of an exciting dream. Oyster Krecker thinks he was just blowing off steam.
• Mis' Razorscum thinks he was probably bit by an insect (also Sade's idea).
• Russell resolves to stand by Howard unless and until "it's proven his action was deliberately malicious."
• Russell (about Howard): "He's innocent as the new-mown hay." - compiled by Barbara Schwarz, edited by Jimbo Mason

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Howard is a horse most everyone loves.  But at this point in his life, he was a bit of a dangerous creature.

Two months later, he would knock holes in two garbage boxes, perhaps the product of getting loose and creating helter skelter.

44-xx-xx Garbage Box Mystery Solved

Sade had noticed a big chunk broken out of the garbage box. She had some theories and Vic and Russell too wondered what had happened to the box.

In the episode about the box, a resolution never came and we were left to wonder what happened.

Sometime after the episode above, this episode aired; Sade and Gumpox apparently talk about the garbage box and Gumpox apologizes. It seems that Howard was responsible for breaking the box and unbeknownst to the Gooks, he also broke the Razorscum's box.

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The actual title is unknown. I provided the title just for identification purposes. It's quite likely that this episode aired at the very end of July or the very first part of August (more than likely July 29 or 30th.)

41-xx-xx How Neighbor Ladies Greet Each Other When on the Outs

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Over a "game" of Rummy, Sade chronicles the neighborhood ladies' friendships with each other.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The friendships go something like this:

click to enlarge

Rush gets upset with Sade because while she's "playing" cards, she's not actually playing any cards.  I'm quite sure it upsets Vic also but since Rush is already making it known that Sade's holding up the game, he bites his lip.

45-11-30 Dwight Twentysixler's Scrapbook

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Uncle Fletcher shows Dwight Twentsixler's personal scrapbook to Mis' Harris while Dwight, Sade and Rush look on.

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Not much to this but Uncle Fletcher does tell one small story.

Uncle Fletcher is trying to start a romance between Dwight and Mis' Harris. For whatever reason, Mis' Harris already seems to be enamored with Dwight, although how she can understand him with the nails in his mouth is beyond me.

Trivia:

+ Rush tries to tell about a recent Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman and Gloria Golden film only to be drowned out by Uncle Fletcher.

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44-09-18 Vic's Greeting Cards

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic falls prey to a greeting card seller and buys a stack of them, despite the fact that he has no need or want for the awful things. Sade antagonizes him for spending money foolishly while Russell makes fun by reading the hideous things aloud.

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Not in the least bit funny and the card poetry is so beyond bad that they do not raise a smile; the curiosity with the show may be it's ending, where Russell is soundly castigated by Vic.

Trivia:

+ This the first time we hear of Mis' Gullstone in the surviving series. She is the greeting card seller and some bad cards they are!

+ Vic seems to literally be playing Sade's part when she is victimized by Christmas card sellers.

+ Vic bought a total of 14 cards; they ranged in price from 10 to 15 cents.

+ There is an unusual card about the University of Oklahoma. This card seems to be an inside joke by writer Paul Rhymer on then-director Homer Heck, who apparently (if he's anything like the oft-mentioned Heck on the show) is from Norman. Norman is the home of the university.

As stated above, the show has an odd ending: {{{HEAR}}}

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44-09-04 Out of Town Wedding Guests

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Although no wedding date has not been announced, Mis' Keller has granted the Gooks and Uncle Fletcher the opportunity to invite two guests each to the future wedding. Sade envisions inviting Fred and Ruthie Stembottom and Uncle Fletcher originally had planned on inviting Pelter Unbleet and Y.I.I.Y. Skeeber.

But Uncle Fletcher realizes that out of town guests would garner more newspaper respect and prompts Vic and Sade to invite H.K. Fleeber, who he recalls "lives in the geographic center of the United States" (Grovelman, South Carolina) and Virgil Skeesh of Sick River Junction, Missouri (the home of the Missouri State Home for the Tall.) Uncle Fletcher changes his mind and decides his guests will be Roy Dejectedly and Dwight Twentysixler.

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The courtship of Mis' Keller is one part of the series where we get to hear what happened from it's beginnings to it's fruition.  Just imagine all the other events we have missed thanks to the idiots at Proctor and Gamble who needlessly threw away so many episodes.

Trivia:

+ There's scuttle that the Razorscums might be moving to Peoria.

+ When originally told they could invite two guests to the wedding, Vic jokes that one of the people he will invite in Homer Heck of Norman Oklahoma.

+ This is the first episode that Virgil Skeesh has been mentioned. He may have had a larger role in one or more previous missing shows (as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure he did.) We can assume he's a tall person confined to the Missouri State Home of the Tall.

+ This is also the first episode where Dwight Twentysixler is mentioned. He hails from Dismal Seepage, Ohio.

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44-08-09 Mr. Gumpox Has Lost His Dentures

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

The garbage man, Mr. Gumpox has lost his upper plate of dentures and asks those in the neighborhood if they wouldn't mind looking for them near their house. Sade is out looking for them when Vic and Russell arrive.

The plot is an excuse for the family to gab about the neighbors and on the subject of teeth, in general.

SEE THE SCRIPT

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The premise used here would be most unusual for most shows but somehow you don't feel it's one bit out of the norm for Vic and Sade.

This episode also introduces us to some University Street neighbors we never knew existed before now, although we never find out exactly where they live.

Trivia:

+ At the beginning of the show, we find that Vic and Russell have just gotten back from the Bijou. There's a couple of odd things about this; firstly, Vic says he had to play hooky from work that afternoon to be able to go, making us know it was a weekday. Why then, wasn't Russell in school? Did he play hooky as well?

Another thing, we know that Vic hates Gloria Golden films. However, he explains why he went to the theater this day: A) he got to miss the last few hours of work; B) the theater was cool and it's obviously a warm, August day and C) we don't know it was a Gloria Golden film the boys saw.

We never find out the name of the movie the boys see at the Bijou but Hector Harwood was one of the stars in the film (though Gloria Golden is never mentioned we do find out it was a love story...)

Russell reminisces about older films and film stars he remembers: Gilmore Griswold in The Four Gun Cattle Thief and Wild Western Dynamite. He also recalls Bill Bleatman in The Cavalier Cowboy and I Hate You.

+ Sade has a variety of flower in her flower garden with the name, "Panther Blood" (not found on the internet, so we can assume it's made up.)

+ Vic and Russell talk about Sade before they ever reach her and both agree she's "close-fisted" - that is - she's a tightwad. I had never been given that impression in the previous episodes.

+ Mr. Gumpox's upper plate of false teeth cost over $100. According to this site, the current price for such is anywhere from $300 to $600.

+ Wallace Avenue is mentioned for the first time and it seems apparent that it lies to the west of where the Gooks live. Mr. Gumpox's garbage route begins at Kelsey Street and ends at Wallace Avenue. We don't know how large of an area that is.

+ Mis' Corkle is mentioned for the first time. She lives somewhere in the Gook's neighborhood - probably on University Street. She probably has a young son named Curtis.

+ Mis' Snyder is mentioned for the first time and also lives in the Gook's neighborhood, probably on University Street.  It's very possible that she is the wife of Grandpa Snyder.

+ Mis' Drummond is mentioned for the first time; her son is named Artie. They probably also live on University Street.

+ While the family is looking for Mr. Gumpox's teeth, Vic picks up a cigar butt and asks, "Is this them?"

+ Mis' Razorscum looks out her window as the neighbors in alleyway behind the Gook house search for the missing dentures. She does not help with the search and instead of ridiculing her or saying something nasty, Sade just says, "That's not like her."

+ The dentures are finally found by Mr. Overholt.

+ The script was a repeat from the days when Rush was doing the show since there is a script that shows Rush in it instead of Russell.

Vic is being silly: {{{HEAR}}}

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44-08-04 Vic is Boss for a Day

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Vic's bosses, Mr. Ruebush and Mr. Clooney are headed to Chicago and Vic tells the family that he's been put in charge of Plant Number 14 for the following day. But Sade asks some questions and the next thing you know, the real story comes out that Vic is going to be using Mr. Ruebush's office only because his own office is being worked on by carpenters.

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Sade almost always knocks Vic down a notch. She may not be trying to hurt his feelings but she does anyway.

Trivia:

+ Russell mentions Art Flooper, Bernie Jeffers and Kyle McSmall. These are probably boys Russell knows from school.

+ Mr. Clooney was mentioned for the first time. He's probably the man at Consolidated Kitchenware who is directly under Mr. Ruebush.

+ Sade had gone shopping and Yamilton's had a sale on washrags - a dozen for a dollar. Sade didn't buy any.

+ Sade went shopping with Mis' Appelrot. It's amazing how their relationship has changed over the last half year or so of the program. The last time we have evidence of Mis' Appelrot not being nice is February of 1944, whe she inferred that Ruthie Stembottom is short (in stature.) That's six months of Mis' Appelrot and Sade getting along.

Jack Dempsey

+ Mis' Appelrot seems to be a very aggressive shopper, since Sade described her a "lion running through a jungle" for her ability to plow through the women who were shopping.  Sade compared Mis' Appelrot to "Ralph Dempsey." (She actually meant Jack Dempsey, the former heavyweight champ who last fought in 1919.)

+ Ike Kneesuffer is in a higher position at the plant than Vic.

+ Mis' Holloway is now Mr. Ruebush's secretary - in an earlier episode, his secretary was Mis' Holland.

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43-12-15 The Color of Gumpox's Eyes

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Mr. Gumpox has heard talk around town; people have been discussing his blue eyes.

He's always felt that his eyes are his best feature. He's even been calling on Mis' Razorscum at her back door and talking to her just so he can show off his eyes; she, on the other hand, doesn't know what to say to him.

She seems to finally have gotten rid of him by sending him to the Gook house; he telephones twice near the end of the episode telling them he'd like to come over. Vic asks for the phone and Sade knows that Vic will tell Mr. Gumpox where to get off... Pretty sure Vic read Gumpox the riot act. Gumpox has gone behind Vic’s back in the past (and will do so in the future), so Vic is never happy with him. Vic also doesn’t like men who cry and Gumpox is a crier. Vic, too, has beautiful blue eyes (according to the kids at the office), so the green monster may be lurking.

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Trivia:

+ Near the very beginning of the episode Sade enters the back door; Vic calls out inquiring whether it is "Irving" the delivery boy. We know from careful listening that the delivery boy is named, "Irvin" - "Irving" on the other hand, is an office boy at Consolidated Kitchenware. (Take note, however, that after further study, it seems that Irving/Irvin is used interchangeably by various characters in various episodes and only on one occasion are they not referring to the grocery delivery boy.)

+ Russell saw and talked to Mr. Gumpox while in line at the Bijou. We learned from an earlier episode that Mr. Gumpox never misses a film opening.

+ We find out that while Mr. Gumpox might be slightly conceited about his blue eyes that he's also a soft-hearted, easy-going, sensitive fellow whose feelings easily get hurt.

+ There is more than one garbage man in town; probably several. Mr. Gruber is mentioned as the garbage collector between University and Main streets whom Mr. Gumpox almost got into a fight with.

+ Prairie Street is mentioned for the first time.

Sade sounds a lot like Uncle Fletcher: {{{HEAR}}}

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43-11-10 Eight Million Jobs

STARRING: BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE 

Sade is busy around the house but is being constantly interrupted by the phone, the door and Russell.

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A better than average episode, mainly because Russell puts in a better-than-usual performance. Otherwise, not much here.

Trivia:

+ B.B. Baugh calls to ask Sade if she will represent him as his agent in selling his stingyberry jam to the Thimble Club ladies. She refuses.

+ Russell refers to B.B. Baugh as "Ba Ba Boo."

+ Russell came in the front door to bring in the mail; even so, he was asked twice why he came in the front door (coming in the front door is a Gook household no-no.)

+ A man comes to the door wanting to fix the Gook piano; of course they don't own a piano.

David Whitehouse as Russell

+ While the beef punkles are cooking, Sade tells Russell twice to poke them to see if they are tender and also tells him to add water; this scenario tells us that the punkles are being braised. This indicates that punkles are a cheap cut of beef that must be "pot roasted" to make tender. (We certainly have assumed this all along but now we KNOW for sure.)

+ Someone calls for "Fat." (We assume it was  for "Fat Jackson.")

+ Croucher's (telephone #8987-J) has a delivery boy named "Irvin."  One of the better moments of the episode is hearing Russell talk smart to him on the telephone: {{{HEAR}}}

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43-11-08 Essay on Birds

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND DAVID WHITEHOUSE

Russell is stuck at home having to write an essay on birds but he seems to have not done any research and therefore is bereft of words to fill out his paper. His friend Arthur Grump saves him by calling on the telephone and inviting him to the Bijou. He cons Vic and Sade into putting off his homework until the next morning.

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Another run-of-the-mill episode. The episode provides a deeper look into Russell's life and his friends.

Trivia:

+ Two new friends of Russell are introduced in this episode: Bertha Fabre is a girl in his English class. Arthur Grump goes to school with Russell and invites him to go with him to the Bijou.

+ Sade says Homer Heck (his debut), who lives on Kinsey Street, knows a lot about Oklahoma. She also says Mis' Razorscum knows a lot about birds.

+ We learn that Fred and Ruthie Stembottom have a green bungalow birdhouse in their backyard.

+ Vic says B.B. Baugh claims he was elected "Nightengale of Dismal Seepage (Ohio.)" Also, he had a girlfriend named Dorothy who would forget to put pepper in fudge.

+ We find out that Mis' Sutton is the English teacher at Russell's school.

+ Perhaps the best moment of this episode is after the phone conversation that Russell has with his friend, Arthur. This is when he tells Vic and Sade the name of the film (presumably, Gloria Golden and Four-Fisted Frank Fuddleman:) {{{HEAR}}}

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41-11-xx Crowded Car Ride

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON

Fred and Ruthie Stembottom have invited the Gooks to take a car trip up Route 66 to Chenoa.

Somehow, Vic invites Hank Gutstop and Sade gets backed into "inviting" Charlie Razorscum - without even asking Fred.

Sade can't stand Hank and Razorscum wants his car towed so he can find parts.  It's going to be embarrassing for the Gooks to have explain these situations to Fred and Ruthie.

It's simply bad news!  (((HEAR)))

Meanwhile, Rush is the object of his parents irritation as he spends the whole episode upstairs yelling downstairs inquiring about his lost pants.

MIS' CROWE SAYS:

Vic and Sade have both stuck their neck out so far, they can’t even get mad at each other. 

The car situation in this episode is funny, but for me the clear star of the episode is Rush, who spends the entire time upstairs, searching for his missing pants. Not only is “I can’t find my pants!” inherently funny (the word “pants” is funny and the thought of someone wandering around without pants is funny), but Rush performs wonderfully as a drama-ridden teenager, wringing increasing amounts of rage, frustration, and despair out of the line each time he delivers it. He also has a knack for interrupting at just the right time and just the right intervals for maximum annoyance. And few things are funnier to me than Rush interrupting with a loud “WHAT?” while Vic or Sade is in the middle of trying to explain something to him. Vic and Sade may have their own drama going on as they work out how to break the news to Fred that they’ve imposed terribly on him (and we all know how easygoing Fred is about his car), but the real show is upstairs.

SCRIPT (Transcribed by Lydia Crowe)

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Other than the facts above, not much to this episode. The most fun is hearing Rush yell from upstairs but you'll probably get tired of it after about the first 20 or so calls of, "Mom?!"

Trivia:

+ Hank was invited along to talk over an important lodge ritual.  (Sade, of course, doesn't like Gutstop.)  (((HEAR)))

+ We find out that Hank Gutstop doesn't wear socks. That's not so surprising; the show's other "strange" regular, Mr. Sludge, doesn't wear socks, either.

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41-03-31 Rush Wants His Interest

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY AND BILL IDELSON

A re-working of the 40-04-15 Milton's Dirt in Fruit Jars script. Instead of getting jars of dirt from other states and selling them to Milton Welch, Rush wants to get the interest off of his savings account and pay the ones he owes and buy a few items. The ending is not quite as good as the Fruit Jars episode but it suffices.

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Sade is missing from this episode and that's probably a good thing. Sade would never let Rush even hint at getting at his bank account. She would have been a wet towel that would shut Rush up - and the conversation would have shifted to whatever Sade wanted to talk about.

While I liked the ending of the original script better, Rush has grown up quite a bit in a year, so tears seem to be out of the question. And you have to love Vic; when he and his son have a one on one, Vic always seems to come through.

Trivia:

+ Rush owes Smelly Clark a dime, Leland Richards 8 cents and Russell Duncan 3 packages of chewing gum. He's in debt to the Greek for a quarter.

When Rush gets the idea that he could withdraw his savings account interest...(edited): {{{HEAR}}}

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40-07-23 Sade Shows Razorscum Album (The Oblong Heads)

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN AND BILL IDELSON 

Sade (to Rush): All you have to do is look at velvet to make smudges!

Sade thinks it will be fun looking at the Razorscum family album. The album turns into a bit of a freak show as each page has oddities such as Cousin Dunk who has no neck, a really tall horse and of course there is the cousin who visits as Christmas time with the oblong head.

MIS' CROWE SAYS:
Sade guides Vic and Rush through a photograph album of the Razorscum family.

There are some “Vic and Sade” episodes that are characterized by a single hilarious turn of phrase that recurs throughout the script. This is one of those episodes. All you have to do is say “oblong head” and I smile. There’s the funniness of the phrase “oblong head” in itself, and then there’s the funniness of the oblong heads being the single characteristic upon which Sade focuses the most of her attention as she shows this photo album. Paul Rhymer was well aware when he had created a gem like “oblong head,” and frequently, a joke or phrase like this one functions as a major composition element in Rhymer’s script. He doesn’t hammer away at his good joke until it’s not funny anymore, like some comedy writers might (ahem, Saturday Night Live), but parcels it out carefully like a comedic refrain, introducing it, leaving it, and then bringing it back only when we’ve almost forgotten about it.

“Oblong head” is introduced almost immediately at the beginning of the script, then forgotten until almost halfway through, when Rhymer doubles down on it. We get a couple more “oblong heads” after this, but he doesn’t dwell on it. Then there’s another major pocket of “oblong head” after the halfway point — close to the golden mean of the show, or about 61% through. Note that the climaxes of songs also tend to occur in the golden mean. (All right, this is really more like 80% of the way through the episode, but let me have my moment.) Then, no more “oblong heads” until the very end — in fact, “oblong head” are the final two words of the script.

 SEE THE SCRIPT (transcribed by Lydia Crowe)

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A very funny episode.  There are lots of little crazy details in this one about the Razorscum family.

Vic is smart-alecky: {{{HEAR}}}

Trivia:

+ Kennedy was mentioned.  He was a tailor in East Orange, N.J. that made Charlie Razorscum's wedding suit in 1922.  He made a suit for a fellow once in E. Orange, N.J. that got hung for murder and he wanted to look nice at his execution; the state hired Kennedy to take measurements and fix him up with a handsome suit complete with  bell-bottom pants and a pinched-back coat with silk lining and smart patch pockets. [Richard E. Hunton compiled this bit.]

+ Charlie Razorscum wore the most-expensive suit worn by anybody in Harriet, Wisconsin in 1922 - the year he got married.

+ According to Sade, one Razorscum relation - that has been dead for many years - had a head so oblong it was almost shaped like a banana!

+ Sade says Mis' Razorscum is so colorblind, she confuses the white keys with the black keys on the piano!

+ One Razorscum relation, Eldred Bryson, shot a lion...at the zoo!

Vic doesn't really want to see the Razorscum album: {{{HEAR}}}

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