LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "Bob Falls in Love" (1955 Laurel-McCadden Productions/CBS-TV) Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary DeCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Lola Albright as Kay Michaels, King Donovan as Harvey Helm, Yvette Duguay as Linda, Minerva Urecal as Mother-in-Law. Written by Paul Henning and Bill Manhoff. Directed by Rod Amateau.
Series overview of LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW is at this link.
"Oh, you don't know me. I'm the Bob Collins no one knows. I'm home loving, I'd like to settle down, raise a family. I'm the Bob Collins he pretends doesn't exist."
In this continuation of a story arc (third installment) started with Bob Meets Fonda's Sister we are introduced to Bob's "other self", who bemoans all that wasted time going out with a different model every night. Other Bob sees Kay Michaels as our best and possibly last shot at domestic bliss and foils our playboy's dalliances better than Margaret or Schultzy ever could.
"It's harder for Cupid to hit a moving target."
As you'd expect, after all, Other Bob is our shutterbug's subconscious. Just a few slips of the tongue (calling Linda "Kay" at inopportune moments) sends our loverboy out of Linda's apartment and, presumably, into his own cold shower at home. As you'd expect, Other Bob has company there in trying to get our hero to the altar: sister Margaret recognizes her brother's hiccups as a telltale family sign that's he's in love, and Harvey Helm is also overjoyed at the thought of his Air Force buddy finally walking down the aisle.
"So it's finally happened to Bobby!"
Well, we're led to believe it finally would have, but fortunately Bob's better half had a helper who couldn't get out of his own way--not the first time, nor the last time that would happen. Our flesh and blood introduction to Ruth Helm wouldn't arrive until The Sergeant Wore Skirts, but we're given the essential gist of Harvey Helm's happy life via a one-sided phone call to her that Bob Newhart would be proud of.
"The first thing in the morning I'm going to get her the biggest diamond in this town."
That's the line that spurs the 1 A.M. call, which itself inspires plenty of sleep-deprived profanity from Harv's beloved. The thought of Bob getting hitched gets her laughing, at least, but Harvey pushes back for once when he realizes his mother-in-law is staying with them. The latter will be especially unfathomable in the future once we meet Ruthie (Mary Lawrence) in the flesh, but henpecked Harv is a little braver with the distance provided by a phone.
"Bobby, can I spend the night with you please?"
Simultaneously both a quintessential LOVE THAT BOB episode and an anomaly, Bob Falls in Love is one sterling example of Henning's ability to have his cake and eat it too--much like his lead character. Traditionalists can take the side of Inner Bob and point to the Playboy's potential to change, but much like a coach making halftime adjustments, the Wolf wins out in Act Two, soundly reasserting the subversive status quo while nevertheless giving the marriage minded a late episode fantasy of Beta Bob. (Yeah, that show would have lasted about a month.) Incidentally, Bob's many little cameoing Collins' are played by the real life Cummings children.
"Mother, please don't yell at Bob like that! You'll wake the children!"
Unfortunately for everyone but Bob's "worse" half, high strung Harv blows the nuptials with his very early morning eagerness. The ensuing phone call triggers an avalanche of red flags: Ruthie managing all finances, Harv walking the floor with the baby, working nights instead of clubbing, and a lunch allowance for the hard working husband. It all culminates in a dream sequence that cures Bob of any notion of wedded bliss--terrorized by a mother-in-law (a hilarious Minerva Urecal) just like Harvey's!
"You would have seen me if you hadn't been asleep on the job, you miserable worm!"
By making Kay Michaels' mother the primary villain of Bob's hallucination, Henning and friends wisely keep her desirable, and we're not quite done with Lola Albright just yet. Scared away from the alter, he's nevertheless jealous enough to block Jack Carson (as himself) when he tries to cut in the following week (Hawaii Calls). Albright's five episode second season arc concluded with Wedding, Wedding, Who's Having a Wedding? but she returned for a terrific two parter in the show's third season.
"oh, Kay" "uh, that kiss, it was OK!"
Lola Albright takes center stage, and no one came closer to actually sealing the deal with Collins during the show's five year run. But a little love needs to be shown to unsung (these days) Yvette Duguay, child actress of the 1940's who graced many a western throughout the 1950's as an adult, notably in this most serious of all MAVERICK segments. Returning to LOVE THAT BOB after the first season's The Eyes of Texas, Duguay was praised by director Arthur Lubin (FRANCIS COVERS THE BIG TOWN) as "a rare actress with a bottomless well of emotion". That well remains largely untapped in this episode, and Duguay unfortunately didn't appear after the show's second season. Her career ended in 1960, and her life was sadly short as well--she passed away in 1986, only 53.
WHO WAS BLOCKING?
Bob was blocking himself for once, though the usual suspects were certainly with his alter ego in spirit.
DID BOB SCORE?
Couldn't get out of his own way with Linda during this installment, but maybe he mended that fence after the fadeout when he was cured. He had four children already in his dreams with Kay, so he certainly didn't see a scoreless marriage in his crystal ball.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Downright brilliant flirtation with the conventions LOVE THAT BOB always flouts, with our boy literally fighting himself in addition to his usual obstacles. Albright and Dugay hold interest at least as well as Lansing and Gaye would in the show's middle years, and while many shows joked about the limitations of marriage, this show always gave added bite to those barbs. This would only sharpen when Ruth Helm started appearing in the flesh, but even without her physical presence Bob Falls in Love is still one of the show's best subversions. (**** out of four)
If you'd like to check out this one for yourself, courtesy YouTube:
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