Mountain Washin’ – The Red Skelton Show, season 1, originally aired October 28, 1951
Mountain Washin’ (named after the Tide commercial) is an early episode the The Red Skelton Show, with Red Skelton doing routines on going to the theater, Atomic Crunchies cereal sponsor, being a weatherman, and laying the cornerstone.
Theater Seat Routine
Red Skelton does a routine, talking about what it’s like going to the theater. He acts out the person reacting to the high ticket price — 60 cents! Then, he does a bit impersonating the doorman and the head usher. Finally, he ends it with a hilarious audience participation routine. He goes into the audience, pretending that he’s a person looking for a seat. He makes a reference to Texas Carnival, with the lady ahead of him in the theater wearing a big hat. “Can you please remove your hat? I can’t see.” She replies, “Laugh when I do!” He ends with a pantomime on eating popcorn in the theater.
Atomic Crunchies
A parody of the commercials of the day, where the sponsor of “Uncle Reddy’s Kiddie Club” is the mythical “Atomic Crunchies”.
Don’t eat them if they’re stale! And, don’t drink anything for thirty minutes afterwards. Oh well, we all have to go sooner or later …
The Weatherman
Continuing with the television motif, Red plays the part of a TV weatherman.
“Here we are, ready to give you the W-E-T-H-E-R. No, W-E-A-T-H-R-E. Uh. Well, tonight you can see we’re having the worst spell of weather we’ve had in a long time.”
After a lot of weather-related jokes, Red ends with: “Now I’d like to say, whether it’s cold, or weather it’s hot, we’ve got to have weather, whether or not. But in the coldest kind of summer’s hot weather, it’s better for two to sleep alone than one to sleep together.
I’d like to call attention to the fact that next week, due to the fact that Monday comes on Tuesday this Wednesday, our regular Thursday forecast will be held on Friday this Saturday, because Sunday is a holiday. Good night.”
Skelton’s Film Scrapbook – Mountain Washin’
Mountain Washin’ is a funny Clem Kadiddlehopper (named Slim here) routine that turns into a Tide commercial … and then a food fight turns into a wet laundry fight!
Man: How’s that bird dog you borrowed down the road?
Slim: That is without a doubt the stupidest dog I’ve ever seen in my life. The most stupid dog I’ve ever seen. Yeah, he’d run a few feet and stop and stare into space and lift up one leg like that.
Man: Can I borrow your gun here and go duck hunting?
Slim: Duck hunting? With a gun? Don’t be silly, why waste bullets? The fall alone would kill them.
Red Skelton Presents Miss Beverly Hudson
Walter Winchell’s protege, Beverly Hudson, sings On the Sunny Side of the Street.
Laying the Cornerstone – San Fernando Red
The “honorable” San Fernando Red is on hand for the dedication of a post office. He glad hands, insults his fellow politicians, spars with a young boy (who turns out to be his own son!) and knocks a newspaper reporter into wet cement, ending the sketch. It’s a very funny routine.
Mayor: And now, meet the man whom you placed in office by staying home last election, a man of great integrity [backhands San Fernando Red in the cigar accidentally], a man of great irresponsibility [again], a man who [again, San Fernando Red nearly swallows the cigar] … Honest San Fernando Red!
San Fernando Red: My friends, and you are my friends, don’t say you’re not my friends because nobody’s gonna tell me who my friends are.
San Fernando Red quotes:
- This post office that we have here, the man that built it is as close to me as my own family. As a matter of fact, it’s my brother. I don’t want you to think that I’m getting any favors outta this. Let me repeat that. I never repeat myself, never repeat myself. Let me repeat that, I never repeat myself. Now, I hope I’m getting through to you. I got no favors outta this at all, only money.
- [on the cornerstone is carved 1776] 1776 is when we started this. You can see it’s a government job.
Conclusion
Red comes out on stage to thank the audience, gets grabbed by the ankles and dragged back stage through the curtains, ending the episode.