Love Thy Neighbor – The Red Skelton Show, with Mary McCarty – season 4, originally aired January 25, 1955
In Love Thy Neighbor, Red Skelton is urged by his butler to get a hobby. This leads him to buying a build-it-yourself RV kit from Sadie Murphy, keeping it at her trailer park … and her trying to marry him!
Monologue
Red Skelton does a funny bit, showing off his new sponsor, Johnson’s Wax. He even went out and waxed his car … and showed the before and after photos!
Love Thy Neighbor / Sadie Murphy’s Trailer Park
Love Thy Neighbor begins with Red’s butler Reginald Denny working on his hobby, building model airplanes. Red hears the sound of the engine, and runs in.
Reggie the butler: Have you ever seen a model with better equipment?
Red Skelton: Well, once in Atlantic City …
Reggie uses this as a segue to try and get Red to take up a hobby …
Reggie the Butler: Well, frankly sir, if I may say so, you haven’t been at all yourself lately.
Red Skelton: Well, who have I been?
Reggie the Butler: I don’t know, but it’s a great improvement, sir.
Despite this, Reggie is trying to convince Red that he needs a hobby. Thinking that he’s sick, Reggie tries to get Red to stick out his tongue.
Reggie the Butler convinces Red to go the the Do It Yourself Show downtown, and find a hobby.
Do It Yourself Show
Soon, Red arrives at the Do It Yourself Show, and rubs several young women the wrong way. One of them tries to interest him in photography … This leads to a funny routine, that will have to be explained to younger viewers. At the time, a camera’s flash was provided by flash bulbs. These were one-time use light bulbs that would create a bright flash, and then be burnt out — and useless. Red accidentally drops a box, and checks them, one at a time, to see if they’re still good. Ruining them in the process, and flashing himself in the eye!
$895 do it yourself trailer kit
Next, Red stumbles into a young lady (Mary McCarty), who literally ties him up to listen to her sales pitch. Her high-pressure sales pitch. She has Red sign a sales order, with a pen in his mouth! But it’s okay … the instructions are very easy! And to make things even easier, he can put it up at Sadie Murphy’s trailer Park … And she’s Sadie Murphy!
Sadie Murphy’s Trailer Park
At Sadie Murphy’s trailer park, Red Skelton is putting the finishing touches on his new trailer. With a little bit of clown slapstick from Mary McCarty, of course. It’s a bit of a topsy-turvy house, where turning on the radio starts the sink spewing water … To actually play music on the radio? Put bread in the toaster, of course!
There’s some prop comedy, as Red shows off his zany trailer home. With a sideways door for a bed, a cramped breakfast nook … And Red makes the mistake of standing up to get a straw! With a sneak peak at his sponsor, Pet Milk. And then, Sadie makes her intentions clear … She’s on the hunt for a husband!
Sadie Murphy: I wanna talk to you about marriage.
Red Skelton: About marriage?
Sadie Murphy: Yeah!
Red Skelton: Let’s talk about something pleasant, like the weather.
Sadie Murphy: All right. It’s good weather for getting married, isn’t it?
Sadie then begins singing “All of You” to Red. It’s a very funny, slapstick love song … That’s interrupted by a knock on the door. It’s Reggie the butler, bringing the goodies for the trailer warming! And Mary almost starts chasing him instead …
Sadie leaves to make herself look pretty, while everyone else at the trailer park comes in for the food … and the party! Then, Police Officer Danny O’Roarke comes in … Nobody’s in trouble, but there’s a bear on the loose!
The good news is, Sadie Murphy is quite pretty when she’s cleaned up … And, she knows the police officer! Soon, they’re hugging, and all ends well. And, the bear has a new friend!
Cast of characters
- Red Skelton … Self – Host
- Jack Boyle … Supporting Player
- Tex Brodus … Supporting Player
- David Rose and His Orchestra … Themselves
- Reginald Denny (Cat Ballou) … Reggie the Butler
- James Flavin … Police Officer Danny O’Roarke
- Art Gilmore … Announcer
- James Gonzalez … Supporting Player
- Ray Kellogg … Salesman
- Karolee Kelly … Saleswoman – Photography Equipment
- Perk Lazelle … Supporting Player
- Mary McCarty (Babes in Toyland) … Sadie Murphy
- William Meader … Supporting Player
- The Redettes … Themselves
- Gus Schilling … Supporting Player
Trivia
- The title comes from the Gospel of Matthew: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”
- Also known as Sadie Murphy’s Trailer Park
- In real life, Reginald Denny actually built model airplanes as a hobby.
- Red references the song, Baby It’s Cold Outside. He performed it with Betty Garrett in Neptune’s Daughter.