George and Sapphire are first seen leaving a party in an apartment upstairs from their own, with Sapphire telling the hostess how it was "the best party I ever attended," smiling and saying she doesn't know when she ever enjoyed a party as much. The hostess thanks the smiling couple and as soon as the door closes, we can see a scowl on Sapphire's face that tells us she was just trying to be polite to the hostess. George had a wonderful time and is stunned to learn his wife didn't. The reason: He spent all evening dancing with every lady at the party except Sapphire.
Back at their place, she says, "You think I was lucky to marry you. But I had other boyfriends. She tells him all he thinks of her is someone to cook his meals, do his laundry, and clean his home. She says, "You could hire someone to do all the things I do." George protests with his usual non-thinking honesty, "No, you're wrong there. I couldn't afford to pay someone to do all those things that you do."
So he knows he's in the doghouse and tries to figure out how to make things right. Next thing he learns the following day is that an old boyfriend of hers, Bill Jackson, has come back to the city and she invited him over for dinner with George and herself.
Kingfish tries to make a good impression by purchasing a new suit and tie along with a device to help him stand more erect, as his friends point out how he slouches a bit. He winds up with a suit with extra-wide shoulders and while he is standing upright, he can barely slide into or out of a chair.
Bill comes in, looking all successful and polite, and George starts to worry that his wife might leave him and go back to Bill.
After failing to impress her, he seeks out Algonquin Calhoun for advice. Since they can't make Kingfish look good, they seek to remove the opposition. They send a fake telegram to him supposedly from the Naval Reserve, telling him to report to their office, which just happens to be at a familiar lodge hall, with Calhoun dressed in a ridiculous 19th Century naval hat-the tall kind with points on two ends, and Andy wearing a sailor-like white shirt and regular black pants, holding a rifle.
Bill asks what this is all about. Calhoun pretends to be talking to an admiral on the phone, when, because he's holding down the receiver button, the phone rings. He tells Bill, "Party line"-in New York City? He has Andy go to a map on the wall to point to some base in South Dakota, but we can easily see the place he points to is due south of Minnesota-which makes it Iowa.
Bill is told in Calhoun's excited way, that he is ordered to report to the naval base in Yuma, Arizona and await further orders. "If, when you arrive in Yuma, you find there is no naval base, you are to wait until we open one." Bill starts demanding to know what this is all about, as he isn't fooled for a minute. Andy and Algonquin duck out of the room, taking a coat on a rack that exposes Kingfish hiding behind it. Bill quickly realizes that he is behind all of this. George admits he is desperate to keep his marriage together and Bill says he isn't about to break up a marriage and agrees that George will never see him around again.
There is a neat tag scene to conclude this, but no need to reveal it here. It's the kind that had me saying, "I thought so," but laughing anyhow.
This was absolutely one of the funniest episodes in this series. George's actions, while goofy, were believable and honorable. The way they tried to get Bill out of the scene was ingenious and creative, with the execution hysterical. As I type this I am again laughing at the outrageous "Napoleon" style hat he was wearing along with a jacket full of medals. The line about waiting for a base to open in Yuma was a riot in itself.
While I often complain about believability in this series, even the way the spat began-George dancing with all the other women was believable and realistic in terms of how a husband can upset a wife without doing anything he thinks is wrong.
I'm going to give it a 10. It was that good.
Back at their place, she says, "You think I was lucky to marry you. But I had other boyfriends. She tells him all he thinks of her is someone to cook his meals, do his laundry, and clean his home. She says, "You could hire someone to do all the things I do." George protests with his usual non-thinking honesty, "No, you're wrong there. I couldn't afford to pay someone to do all those things that you do."
So he knows he's in the doghouse and tries to figure out how to make things right. Next thing he learns the following day is that an old boyfriend of hers, Bill Jackson, has come back to the city and she invited him over for dinner with George and herself.
Kingfish tries to make a good impression by purchasing a new suit and tie along with a device to help him stand more erect, as his friends point out how he slouches a bit. He winds up with a suit with extra-wide shoulders and while he is standing upright, he can barely slide into or out of a chair.
Bill comes in, looking all successful and polite, and George starts to worry that his wife might leave him and go back to Bill.
After failing to impress her, he seeks out Algonquin Calhoun for advice. Since they can't make Kingfish look good, they seek to remove the opposition. They send a fake telegram to him supposedly from the Naval Reserve, telling him to report to their office, which just happens to be at a familiar lodge hall, with Calhoun dressed in a ridiculous 19th Century naval hat-the tall kind with points on two ends, and Andy wearing a sailor-like white shirt and regular black pants, holding a rifle.
Bill asks what this is all about. Calhoun pretends to be talking to an admiral on the phone, when, because he's holding down the receiver button, the phone rings. He tells Bill, "Party line"-in New York City? He has Andy go to a map on the wall to point to some base in South Dakota, but we can easily see the place he points to is due south of Minnesota-which makes it Iowa.
Bill is told in Calhoun's excited way, that he is ordered to report to the naval base in Yuma, Arizona and await further orders. "If, when you arrive in Yuma, you find there is no naval base, you are to wait until we open one." Bill starts demanding to know what this is all about, as he isn't fooled for a minute. Andy and Algonquin duck out of the room, taking a coat on a rack that exposes Kingfish hiding behind it. Bill quickly realizes that he is behind all of this. George admits he is desperate to keep his marriage together and Bill says he isn't about to break up a marriage and agrees that George will never see him around again.
There is a neat tag scene to conclude this, but no need to reveal it here. It's the kind that had me saying, "I thought so," but laughing anyhow.
This was absolutely one of the funniest episodes in this series. George's actions, while goofy, were believable and honorable. The way they tried to get Bill out of the scene was ingenious and creative, with the execution hysterical. As I type this I am again laughing at the outrageous "Napoleon" style hat he was wearing along with a jacket full of medals. The line about waiting for a base to open in Yuma was a riot in itself.
While I often complain about believability in this series, even the way the spat began-George dancing with all the other women was believable and realistic in terms of how a husband can upset a wife without doing anything he thinks is wrong.
I'm going to give it a 10. It was that good.
