One of my favorite actors from my childhood is in this episode, Sterling Holloway as Elmer Purdy, an aeronaut. Not at first, he's a circus barker; but he has a plan to build a balloon and take people up, but there a problem. He needs a balloon, he has to figure out what to fill it with, he has to figure out how to fly it.
The circus is going through a tough patch with falling attendance. They need a new attraction, and somehow Elmer got his hands on a real balloon. Now he has to test it; but he has never been in a balloon. He and Corky climb inside the basket and up they go, then down they come, then up they go, then crash they are down: right in the middle of the circus. Those dropping sandbags also caused a lot of damage, and Big Tim had to pay a lot of fines. He told Elmer that he never wants to see that balloon again.
Could things get worse? A huge wildfire breaks out and Big Tim and the circus people turn out to help fight it. The circus people are trying but it's a losing battle. But now it's worse: Mrs. Stebbins and her baby are trapped. And Elmer has an idea: he can fly the balloon over the flames, drop down and pick the Stebbins family up, then up and away to safety. The plan works but only because this is TV. Elmer is a hero and everyone loves the circus; and Corky and Elmer are the new attraction: hero aeronauts and their balloon.
The circus is going through a tough patch with falling attendance. They need a new attraction, and somehow Elmer got his hands on a real balloon. Now he has to test it; but he has never been in a balloon. He and Corky climb inside the basket and up they go, then down they come, then up they go, then crash they are down: right in the middle of the circus. Those dropping sandbags also caused a lot of damage, and Big Tim had to pay a lot of fines. He told Elmer that he never wants to see that balloon again.
Could things get worse? A huge wildfire breaks out and Big Tim and the circus people turn out to help fight it. The circus people are trying but it's a losing battle. But now it's worse: Mrs. Stebbins and her baby are trapped. And Elmer has an idea: he can fly the balloon over the flames, drop down and pick the Stebbins family up, then up and away to safety. The plan works but only because this is TV. Elmer is a hero and everyone loves the circus; and Corky and Elmer are the new attraction: hero aeronauts and their balloon.
