Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "It's Later Than You Think" (1955)

LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "It's Later Than You Think" (1955 NBC-TV/Laurel-McCadden Productions)  Original Air Date: January 16, 1955.  Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary deCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, King Donovan as Harvey Helm, Lee Millar as Sid, Suzanne Alexander as Louise, Diane Jergens as Francine.  Written by Paul Henning and Bill Manhoff.  Directed by Rod Amateau.

Series overview for THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW at this link.

In the midst of shooting a lipstick commercial, Bob offers a little method acting assistance for his model to show that "just been kissed" look.  It's merely a preview for after work plans:  Bob's three Air Force buddies from WW2 are coming to Los Angeles for a pilot's reunion, and our playboy has lined up dates for his old comrades.  Before leaving work, Lt. Harvey Helm informs Bob he'll need one fewer: he's happily married to wife Ruthie (three kids!) and sad that his old flyboy friend is missing out on wedded bliss. 

"If man has fine record collection, why play same tune every day?"

Harv isn't alone in being unable to fathom a man their age avoiding domestication: he, Sid and Keith have definitely been grounded since The Big One.  Bob finds himself silently caught in the crossfire of wallets filled with baby pictures and pediatrician debates.  It's enough to send our shutterbug home early (for once).  Back at the house, Bob sees nephew Chuck getting serious about Francine as a life-long partner and quoting the titular Chinese proverb, and a full-blown panic of a wife search is on!

"USAF now stands for Uninteresting, Settled, Adoring Fathers!"

Man, talk about peer pressure.  The full proverb is "enjoy yourself--it's later than you think!" but our matrimony minded meddlers remove the first two words (which would definitely make it fit Bob's lifestyle choice, not theirs) and turn it into an ominous reminder that the good times can't last forever.  

This third ever episode of LOVE THAT BOB is the show's first real classic.  Helm isn't yet the henpecked, harried Harv we will see once we actually meet Ruthie (in The Sergeant Wore Skirts); he's dotingly baby talking to his wife and daughter via phone at night-night time and genuinely feeling sorry for "Bobby boy" rather than envious.  Young Chuck is ready for married adulthood (which wasn't out of step for Silent teens of 1955) but within a month would be emulating Uncle Bob's roving eye and pickup lines--even when "steady" with Francine or (later) Carol.

"I'd hate to see Chuck married and you still running around, a white-haired Playboy!"

Nevertheless, while we are still in the show's embryonic stage we see the foundation taking shape.  Grandpa Collins won't appear in the flesh for another three months, but the picture Margaret paints triggers a hilarious dream sequence that gives us Grandpa's voice, look, and general mannerisms as Bob sees his potential future.  This initial look at a doddering Bob isn't nearly as robust as the octogenarian Collins will prove to be, though.  For two examples, Grandpa won't require a cane and won't exhibit the shaky signs of Parkinson's (which would sadly claim both Cummings and Hickman many decades later).  But otherwise, the dream sequence shows the look and voice of the character firmly in place, ready to debut (which would come in Bob to the Rescue).

But this being LOVE THAT BOB, the status quo that remains king turns everything else on television on its head in 1955. Other shows would have our lead tempted by a "bad girl" only to wind up back with his steady by episode's end--BOB CUMMINGS was showing us a different path right away, and an edge that even BILKO would hint at but not quite fully embrace when it premiered a half season later.  Schultzy's domestic efforts only serve to make Bob realize that he needn't be desperate for domesticity, thus easing his anxiety about aging.  Bob readies himself for another night of play after work with Louise, and Schultzy resigns herself to try, try again.  

 

While she's stuck in the friend zone, Schultzy will outlast Louise: after several appearances during the first season, Suzanne Alexander only appeared once after.  Alexander, who died way too young at 44, was another of those 1950's starlets who almost landed that career-defining role.  She and fellow LOVE THAT BOB alum Marla English (The Dominant Sex) were finalists for the role of Aouda in AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS, but Shirley MacLaine won the part over both.

DID BOB SCORE?

Louise was really angry when she thought he'd broken their date, but really quick to come back around and accept that cashable raincheck, so our boy was well on his way at the fade-out (if he hadn't scored with her already).

THE BOTTOM LINE:

While not the lightning paced BOB CUMMINGS SHOW that would develop by the dawn of season two, this early look indicates that Henning, Manhoff and Amateau are all firmly headed there.  One of the first of many, many rebukes to the 1950's status quo in both television and everyday life, It's Later Than You Think ends with Bob having his cake while eating it too.  As was the norm for this show, conformity would beckon, tempt mightily...but end up foiled again as our slippery subversive stayed footloose and fancy free at episode's end.  With the journey back to this show's status quo having a healthy number of laughs, always.  Great fun that holds up seventy years later.  (***1/2 out of four)

If you'd like to check out It's Later Than You Think, you're in luck!  Below is a two episode BOB CUMMINGS SHOW Collector's Source; it's the second of two episodes below, starting at 26:28.  The first episode is the aforementioned The Sergeant Wore Skirts! 

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Bob Falls in Love" (1955)

 

LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "Bob Falls in Love" (1955 Laurel-McCadden Productions/CBS-TV) Original Air Date: October 20, 1955.  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:

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Bob and the Ballerina" (1959)

LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "Bob and the Ballerina" (NBC-TV/Laurel-McCadden Productions 1959) Original Air Date: May 5, 1959.  Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary deCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Sylvia Lewis as Natasha, Lawrence Dobkin as Maestro Bert Prival, Elvia Allman as Sylvia Montague, Marjorie Bennett as Betsy Niemeyer, Larri Thomas as Daphne, Jean Willes as Evelyn Engel, Tammy Marihugh as Tammy Johnson.  Written by Paul Henning and Dick Wesson.  Directed by Bob Cummings. 

Introduction to the LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW episode guide is at this link.

Missing out on a beach vacation because her ladies' club is hosting a ballet, Margaret is dismayed to learn the the production of Swan Lake is troubled despite the secured services of director Prival and star Natasha.  The source of the trouble?  Here's a hint: after calling in with a "charley horse" for today's rehearsal, Natasha was observed leaving her apartment with a bearded gentleman.

"If you ask me, the horse is a wolf!"

Yes, the only one making any progress with the temperamental star is Margaret's brother Bob.  Prival bemoans that Natasha has missed multiple rehearsals, and is too pooped to pirouette when she does show.  Prival is ready to resign, but the ladies beg for patience: in a last ditch effort to save the production, they've set a trap to catch the couple and move practices to a top secret location away from El Lobo.

"Stay quiet as mice and we'll catch a rat!"

The second half of Bob and the Ballet, Bob and the Ballerina continues that installment's effort to get back to the show's basics and steer away from the Tammy Marihugh Experiment.  Over a decade before THE BRADY BUNCH crashed and burned with Cousin Oliver, THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW attempted to introduce a youngster to idolize Bob with the pending departure of Dwayne Hickman to headline DOBIE GILLIS.  The eight episode Tammy arc accelerated the show's diminishing returns both creatively (we were past 150 episodes at this point) and in the all important Nielsens, so Tammy and her aunt are jettisoned to a beach vacation in the first thirty seconds so Bob can get back to horndog mode. And as Tammy exits, nephew Chuck returns--for Act One, anyway.

Finally, after several episodes trying to woo Tammy's widow aunt Evelyn, Bob is back to being our Playboy, sweeping the ballerine leader right off her feet.  "The King" is back in top form: Natasha is miserable when she's missing practices, but her interest level trumps all and Bob's organ is beating Bert's organizing, so to speak.  Since Margaret's culture committee needs its star, Maestro Prival has a lot of backing in his efforts to reclaim Swan Lake's star attraction. 

Womanizing is back on the front burner, Chuck's back at home, Bob is in full lothario mode (just can't wait until the show is over to woo her, can he?) and facing many obstacles to his latest conquest.  What's not to like?  The problems that preceded ersatz domestication remain: creative exhaustion with over 160 episodes in the can and a reduced writing team.  In LOVE THAT BOB's prime years we had a trio or quartet of scripters but Henning and Wesson had to handle the entire 38 episodes for 1958-59 themselves.  The strain shows: while this plot is faithful to the original premise, the execution isn't as crisp as before despite Cummings' disciplined direction.  

Bob and the Ballerina isn't overly reliant on slapstick like a few other fifth season entries, but isn't quite as inspired as the show at its peak either.  Natasha remains "tired, temperamental and uncooperative" when rehearsal is moved, so Bob seems more like a scapegoat instead of the root of the problem.  The denouement seems to open up more problems for Prival--how cooperative will jealous Natasha be working with Daphne now that she thinks the latter has been trying to steal her man?  Bob's comeuppance is based on wrongful accusation; it was always funnier when he crashed and burned under his own hubris.  

NATASHA: These are legs of a prima ballerina!

PRIVAL: Those are legs of Primo Carnera!

Still, there are some terrific lines and sight gags here, and Dobkin is inspired as Prival.  The real Bert Prival started dancing in the 1920's with the Metropolitan Opera and kept his durable L.A. dance studio until 1981.  Dobkin's fictional version is meticulous, enjoying telling off his fickle star when he thinks he has a replacement, and hilariously obsequious once he realizes he doesn't.  He isn't a romantic rival for Natasha, but he sure looks envious at Bob's mastery of her moods.  

The great Sylvia Lewis is still with us at 93, and makes her sixth series appearance after playing an eponymous model during the first two seasons.  Her lifelong friend and fellow dancer Larri Thomas passed through for the only time with this two parter; a shame, she'd have fit right in as one of the many models in Bob's studio and has a funny scene throwing herself at him (Bert's idea).

The retro approach makes this one of the best episodes in the final stretch for BOB CUMMINGS; with only nine episodes to go, we had the return of Tammy (thankfully, no longer a focus) and more "name" stars playing fictionalized versions of themselves (Ken Murray, Harry Von Zell) yet to come in efforts to freshen the humor.  But what worked best for LOVE THAT BOB was simple trust in its original premise, and Bob and the Ballerina offers solid proof of that despite falling short of top tier status. 

WHO WAS BLOCKING?

Outside of Chuck, who isn't given security clearance for the top secret rehearsal location, everyone is trying to stop our boy this time.  

Go away, boy, you bother me!

DID BOB SCORE?

Seems likely from the comments at this episode's outset that he already has with Natasha....see next section:

MOST SUGGESTIVE LINE:

"You can dance one length in your sleep...and a couple more nights like last night and you will!"  

See what I mean?  The mob is successful in stopping Bobby Boy from any repeat performances during this one, albeit through wrongful accusation. For once he isn't two timing!  It also seems like this comeuppance is unlikely to stick for long, Natasha's mood changes early and often. 

THE BOTTOM LINE:

It is great to see LOVE THAT BOB returning to its roots after flirting way too much with domestic conventionality for two months of shows, and Bob's carnal pursuits conflicting with his sister's charitable venture is always a winner.  All that said, inspired scripts like Bob Gives S.R.O. Performance have put up a high bar to clear in that latter area, and while Bob and the Ballerina is a decent, slightly above average effort, Cummings and friends aren't quite all the way back to top form here.  At least LOVE THAT BOB is looking like an adult sitcom again instead of coming painfully close to becoming what it spent four years lampooning.  (*** out of four)

Courtesy of Vern's 16 MM Showcase on Youtube, here's a terrific 16 MM print with original Winston commericals of Bob and the Ballerina for your viewing pleasure.  Yes, it is disabled on this site, so you'll have to click on the link to watch it there:

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Bob's Economy Wave" (1957)

 

LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "Bob's Economy Wave" (1957 NBC-TV/ Laurel-McCadden Productions) Original Air Date: April 18, 1957.  Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary deCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Lyle Talbot as Paul Fonda, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Lisa Gaye as Collette Dubois, Maxine Gates as Maxine, Ralph Dumke as Leo the Butcher, General Clarence Shoop as Himself.  Written by Paul Henning, Shirl Gordon, Phil Shuken and Dick Wesson.  Directed by Bob Cummings.

Introduction to the LOVE THAT BOB/BOB CUMMINGS SHOW episode guide at this link.

Bob's Economy Wave is an annual occurrence after income taxes are paid each year (note the air date), so let the cost cutting begin.  Challenged to do a better job with the food budget than Margaret is already doing, Bob baffles the family by bringing home what appears to be $100 worth of meat after exiting with a double sawbuck.

Well, $94.50 worth of meat to be exact; a phone call from Leo the Butcher reveals that Bob bartered his studio time ($100 value) photographing Leo's daughter Maxine in exchange for months of prime beef.  Not wanting to give up on his original belt-tightening point, Bob enters into an agreement (overseen by Schultzy) that he will join the rest of them in sticking to a set "allowance"--a contract that may not make it 24 hours once Collette reminds him of their big date that evening.  And speaking of big dates, Maxine arrives for her studio time and proves to be a literal eyeful.

Bobby boy is in full fledged stinker mode from fade-in to fade-out in Bob's Economy Wave.  After the attempted subterfuge on his fair exchange fails he schemes to: fake Margaret out of their agreement with a phony phone call; paint the town rouge with Collette on Fonda's dime; and finally, shift that date with her to steak Chez Moi (by faking a cold).  

"The man of iron is about to be melted, how you say, down?"

Each new ruse blows up in his face, and the faked call creates a bigger misunderstanding by giving Bob a second date that evening--one he'd never set up for himself knowingly.  Bob succeeds surprisingly often during this episode guide--when he does crash and burn it is usually due to his own hubris (Bob Batches It) which often brings the same height of humor we got when BILKO overplayed a hand.  The new wrinkle in Bob's Economy Wave is that our boy never knowingly two times Collette--it really is a misunderstanding.  Bob's deadly sin this time is pride in his thrift.

"Did you photograph her?"

"With a wide angle lens..."

And, boy, is this a collapse worthy of the 21st century Miami Dolphins in December.  When the music stops Margaret is dressed up and going out with Paul Fonda, but Collette's date for the evening is the very married General Shoop (his real life wife Julie Bishop is name dropped, so no hanky panky Shoopy!), and despite her fuming once she learns of Bob's (inadvertent, this time!) "two timing" she is thrilled to learn that Clarence is fluent in her native language.  Bob?  His date for the evening is the very eager Maxine, who keeps turning the lights out on him when they're alone and looking at "shy" Collins like he's one of those steaks on the stove. 

"When Bob says he'll get a girl like that (snaps fingers) he means like that!"

Bob's Economy Wave may not offer many love lessons, but it does offer a historical lesson on the barter system.  One could use it as Bob does here to fly under the I.R.S.' radar in the Eisenhower Era.  It took another 25 years before Uncle Sam really got wise to it, with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 taking this loophole away.  It seems like everyone wins financially: Leo the Butcher is ecstatic with his side of the deal.  Hey, if daughter's happy, momma must be happy too.  Bob's ultimate victory is open to debate, but at least he has yet to cave on his three way family contest at fade-out.

Ease up there Shoopy, Julie Bishop is waiting when you get home

"Parlez vous Francais?"

"Well, not enough!" 

Bob may not be having much mirth onscreen when all is said and done, but the star obviously enjoyed directing this door slammer.  Particularly the second act, which only leaves the maison for two calls.  Suffice to say that the phone was consistently our playboy's undoing, whether the calls were incoming or not.   I guess saving money by getting rid of it is out of the question though.

Maxine Gates was likely best known for her trio of Three Stooges shorts and brought her comedic timing back to LOVE THAT BOB in similar fashion for Bob, the Matchmaker.  This was Ralph Dumke's only appearance here, but he was familiar to McCadden Productions as Mr. MacAfee in a quartet of BURNS AND ALLEN episodes.  In its ninety-third episode overall, LOVE THAT BOB is past its halfway point but solidly in its prime, with its best team of writers (IMO) and director on a roll.

WHO WAS BLOCKING?

Bob blocked himself with his zeal to prove his superior management of the family purse strings in the view of yours truly.  However, the final blow is delivered by "that wolf" Paul Fonda himself, who gleefully informs Collette of Bob's "other date".  The end result was a definite downgrade in his evening's plans.  To be fair, we all know Collette will be back and resuming her rivalry with Shirley Swanson in the future, but as for the present.....

DID BOB SCORE?

With Collette, an emphatic Hell no, and I'll bet old Shoopy could have if not happily married from the looks of things.  But home plate is still available to Bobby Boy if he desires.  He has the house to himself with his consolation prize, and from the looks of things he's going to need that steak dinner, since he'll be calorically depleted from running or being caught.  Possibly both.

Lisa Gaye fresh out of the bubble bath.  You're welcome.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

After viewing this episode and the riotous Bob and Automation it feels safe to say that Mr. Collins should just lay off the austerity plans for his fam.  In that instance the end result was a swing and a miss with Millie Davis; here, it costs him what seems to be a certain score with Collette DuBois.  Those draconian income tax rates from days of yore would be mined at deadline time a year later in Bob Retrenches, but this episode has higher stakes (Lisa Gaye, gents!) and with them higher comedic peaks, outdated fat shaming be damned.  (***1/2 out of four) 

Bob's Economy Wave was originally viewed on another YouTube account; while my original source for this episode is gone, there is this colorized version still up on YouTube so you can check the episode out for yourself:

Television Review: LOVE THAT BOB: "Bob Digs Rock n' Roll" (1958)

LOVE THAT BOB a.k.a. THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW: "Bob Digs Rock n' Roll" (1958 NBC-TV/Laurel-McCadden Productions) Original Air Date: May 27, 1958.  Starring Bob Cummings as Bob Collins, Rosemary deCamp as Margaret MacDonald, Ann B. Davis as Schultzy, Dwayne Hickman as Chuck MacDonald, Olive Sturgess as Carol Henning.  Guest Stars Ingrid Goude as herself, Dan Tobin as Wallace Seawell, Stanley Stenner as himself, El Brendel as Ole Svensen.  Written by Paul Henning, Dick Wesson and Shirl Gordon.  Directed by Bob Cummings.

Introduction to the LOVE THAT BOB/THE BOB CUMMINGS SHOW episode guide is at this link.

Trouble in the McDonald/Collins household--Chuck has lost Carol to rock n' roller Stenner.  Wishing to step up his game, Chuck wants $20 down payment on a guitar to compete with the singing sensation.  Bob's reaction?  Well, he explains it better than I can:

"A girl goes for the same thing she went for 2,000 years ago--a man!  And you don't need an overgrown ukulele around your neck to get her!"

Chuck remains unconvinced, and determined to cut a deal at the pawn shop to compete with Stanley on a level playing field.  Even learning that Stenner went to Bob's arch rival Wallace Seawell for his promotional poster doesn't commit our Playboy to his nephew's cause, since Bob has a girl of his own to win: the unattainable Goude.  

"Uncle Bob, you don't know what makes the girls go ape!"

"Are you kiddin'?  I've been monkeyin' around since I was twelve."

Miss Sweden is modeling for the day's bathing suit ad, giving Bob one more opportunity to close the language gap (and the deal) with the nubile beauty.  Having tried almost everything else, Bunko Bob produces a medal proclaiming him Sweden's Greatest Hero.  (Our playboy has made some pawn shop swaps of his own!) It looks like the big bad wolf might finally make some headway with the Scandinavian supermodel until Schultzy switches Bob's medal with janitor Ole's lookalike 'award'.  All the while, Seawell's portrait of Stenner keeps getting redeveloped--to no avail as each new poster eventually receives darts from the rivals of both the singer and his ace shutterbug.

In a show loaded with in-jokes, Bob's unfriendly rivalry with Wally Seawell was explored in a handful of episodes sprinkled throughout the first four seasons.  In real life, Seawell was the show's technical advisor: in reel life, he's played by Dan Tobin, returning to the role after Bob Enters a Photography Contest and Bob Sails for Hawaii.  Collins definitely comes across as the least mature of the shutterbugs here, joining Chuck in throwing darts at his rival's work.  Which is fine, 'cause its a lot funnier that way.  No one wants to see our Playboy lose his youthful edge--something the ratings would prove in 1959 when Tammy Johnson arrived.  The mustachioed Tobin took over the Seawell role in 1957 from John Hubbard (The Petticoat Derby).

The first of a two parter, Bob Digs Rock n' Roll gives seventeen year old Stanley Stenner a push towards rock n' roll stardom.  Who's he, you ask?  The son of Cummings' valet who was also a protege of Mary Martin after being cast as Curly in PETER PAN on Broadway at age 14.   Stenner had a lot of star power behind him, and demonstrates a solid voice, but neither acting nor music worked out as a long term career for him.   This one is an admirable effort to put Stenner over worthy of any wrestling jobber.  To be fair he's a much better candidate for rock n' roll stardom than Hickman ever was, something Hickman would freely admit in FOREVER DOBIE.   

Bob Digs Rock n' Roll is the last of seven episodes for unattainable Ingrid Goude, and Bob gets no further here than before.  It's later than you think, Bob--that rock n' roll that you so casually dismiss appeals to the ladies in your desired age group!  (Once Bob realizes this, he sort of lives up to the episode's title--once he thinks it'll help him score that is.)

But lest you think Bob is just too old for Ingrid, she is dancing with Ole to Stenner's strumming, and in real life Goude was finally landed by apparel mogul Jerome K. Ohrbach in 1962 (54 to her 25 at the time).  So much for that coming youth revolution!  Speaking of, that would be explored much more fully when the story continued the next week (sans Goude) in Colonel Goldbrick.  Chuck's relationship woes continued into that installment as well.

WHO WAS BLOCKING?

Schultzy took these "honors" more often than anyone, so it isn't surprising that she does it again here by switching the medals.  I'd still say Bob's chances were mighty slim even with the real one, though...

DID BOB SCORE?

No, but it's a noble stab at glory--secluded beach shoot, war hero story complete with artifact, and even his own attempt at rock n' roll.  Too bad none of it worked in what would prove to be his final attempt with Miss Sweden.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Director Cummings worked his magic with countless inexperienced actors in his two and a half seasons at the helm while also maintaining top notch work from his pros.  Bob Digs Rock n' Roll pokes fun at our hero’s age, but not as pointedly as the better half of this two parter, Colonel Goldbrick.  Part one is still up to the overall high standard from the show's last great season.  (*** out of four)

Don't want to take my word for it?  Want to see Bob Digs Rock n' Roll for yourself?  Here ya go: