Petticoat Junction (1963–1970): Season 1, Episode 27 - The Ladybugs - full transcript
Beatlemania has hit Hooterville by storm, Uncle Joe has recruited Billy, Bobbie, and Betty Joe along with their friend Sally Ragsdale to form their own band called the Ladybugs. An agent is coming to Hooterville to see the girls in action; however Kate will not allow it. It is now up to the girls to turn their Mother less "square" as they put it.
February 9, 1964.
That was the night
an English quartet
called The Beatles made
their American TV debut
on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It was the historic opening shot
in the British Invasion...
A musical revolution
whose infectious beat
was felt all over the country,
including Hooterville.
Ever the promoter,
Uncle Joe put together
a female answer to this
new singing sensation
called The Ladybugs.
Consisting of the
three Bradley girls
and Sheriff Ragsdale's
daughter, played by Sheila James,
best remembered for
her role as Zelda Gilroy
on The Many
Loves of Dobie Gillis.
And by the way, our
foursome did actually appear
on The Ed Sullivan
Show in character.
That was so much fun. Yes.
This episode was directed
by MGM musical
star Donald O'Connor.
As broadcast March 24, 1964,
here's Hooterville's answer
to Liverpool... "The Ladybugs."
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah. ♪
Oh, gosh, that was
such a fun show.
We had a ball.
(train whistle blows twice)
♪ Come ride the little train ♪
♪ That is rollin' down the
tracks to the Junction ♪
(bell clanging)
♪ Forget about your cares ♪
♪ It is time to relax
at the Junction ♪
(whistle blows twice)
♪ Lots of curves, you bet ♪
♪ And even more when you get ♪
♪ To the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
(snare drum plays train rhythm)
♪ There's a little hotel called
the Shady Rest at the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
♪ It is run by Kate, come and
be her guest at the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
♪ And that's Uncle Joe,
he's a-movin' kinda slow ♪
♪ At the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction! ♪
(train whistle blows twice)
Please, Mr. Carson,
be careful with the drum.
My dad doesn't even
know we borrowed it.
Don't worry, Sally.
Now, you lovely
little moneymakers
run upstairs and get changed.
Gee, Uncle Joe, I sure
hope Mom goes for this.
You leave your mother to me.
Just be ready to make your
entrance when I announce you.
Mr. Carson, how about my mother?
One at a time, Sally.
We'll cross your mother
when we get to her.
Give me that mop, Kate.
Your scrubbing days are over.
Oh, thank goodness.
I thought you'd never get back.
Where you been all day?
Pixley.
Yeah, it didn't
take you that long
to make the payment at the bank.
Well, the girls done
some shopping.
Kate... Hmm?
Your dish washing days are over.
(chuckles): Oh.
Well, thank you.
I was just... What
was that again?
I said your dish
washing days are over.
No, uh, ba...
Up ahead... something
about the girls shopping.
Uh, Kate, take off your
apron and sit down.
How could the girls
do any shopping?
You just had enough money to
make the payment at the bank.
Sit down, Kate. Uncle Joe, you
did make the payment at the bank?
We're not gonna lose the hotel?
Lose the hotel?
(laughs)
Someday, you're gonna
laugh at that question.
Right now, I'll
settle for not crying.
Did you make the payment?
(calling out): Hurry
up, girls, we're ready.
Uncle Joe, look me in the eye.
Which one?
BILLIE JO: Uncle
Joe, we're ready.
They're ready, Kate.
Ready for what?
Er, sit down.
I don't want to sit down.
What are they ready for?
They're ready to show you what
happens when a man thinks big.
They're ready to show you
how we're all gonna
become millionaires.
All right, girls, you can
make your entrance.
Wait!
Wait till I sit down.
Introducing the new
international singing sensation,
the Ladybugs!
(rock music playing)
(screams)
I don't believe it!
(music stops)
Wait till you hear
them sing, Kate.
Hit it, Ladybugs.
(rock music playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks)
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Will be my beetle ♪
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks)
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Whoo! Will be my beetle. ♪
(song ends)
Hold it, hold it, hold it!
I'm gonna faint.
I know it, I'm gonna
faint dead away.
See, girls?
I told you people would swoon.
I said "faint" not "swoon."
Uncle Joe, what have you done
with my four
beautiful daughters?
Just a minute.
Four?
Who are you?
She's Ringo.
I'm Ringo.
You're all Ringo.
And you are the biggest
Ringo of the bunch.
Kate, the Ladybugs is
gonna sweep the country.
They're gonna sweep this
hotel from attic to basement.
And they're gonna
do it with these!
Sally Ragsdale.
Hi, Mrs. Bradley.
I want to thank you and
your daughters and Uncle Joe
for letting me become
a millionaire with you.
Is that where the bank
payment money went,
for these crazy wigs
and those bug shirts?
But, Mom, like Uncle Joe
says, you got to start thinking big!
I am thinking big.
I am thinking of the biggest
thing I can lay my hands on
to break over his head.
Kate, we've been out
of touch with the world.
Gee, Ma, being stuck
out here in the country,
we don't know what's going on.
Especially on television.
When we got into
Pixley this morning,
the whole town was
talking about the Beatles.
The beetles?
They came over from England.
They're the biggest
things in the country.
Well, don't just stand there,
take off those crazy wigs and
help me get up the screens!
Mom... Hold it, Mom.
Kate, the Beatles was brought
over here by Ed Sullivan.
I saw them on his
television show.
They're wonderful. They sing
and play musical instruments.
Beetles?
I started their Pixley fan club.
They sent me a picture.
No wonder they call
themselves the Beatles.
Those are four of the
homeliest girls I ever saw.
Oh, Mom.
Uh, Mrs. Bradley, they're boys.
Holy smoke, don't they
have barbers in England?
Mom, that's part of their charm.
Isn't Ringo a doll?
(girls giggling) Oh, stop that!
Kate, the girls always do
that when they see the Beatles.
They're the biggest
things in show business.
Until the Ladybugs come along.
Kate, go get yourself
all spruced up.
A big booking agent's coming
from over by Springfield
to ogle the act.
To what?
That's showbiz talk.
He means he's coming
to watch us perform.
It's an audition, and
we're gonna sing.
Oh!
Well, help me
clean up the kitchen,
and then change
into some nice clothes
and start rehearsing
some pretty songs.
Mom, these are the
clothes we're gonna wear.
And you heard the
song we're gonna sing.
That was a song?
And these are clothes?
Do you think we'll get hired?
You're lucky if you
don't get sprayed.
Mom, it's all the rage!
It's the new sound.
You mean instead of music?
Don't knock it, Kate.
It's gonna make us all rich.
Right, rich! Millionaires!
(girls all chattering excitedly)
(chuckling)
Oh, I get it.
(all chuckling)
(laughing): Now I get it!
Stupid me, I should've known.
Oh, Ladybugs and Beatles.
You really had me
going there for a while!
Aw, this is the funniest
April fool joke you ever pulled.
But no wonder I bit.
You're a week early.
Well, joke's over.
Uncle Joe, put the
bank receipt in the safe.
And, girls, you get
your clothes changed;
we have a lot of work
to do before supper.
And, Sally, you're invited
to join us for supper, too.
(laughing)
Yeah, Uncle Joe,
this is an April
fool gag, right?
Oh, girls, give us another
sample of that Ladybug beat.
(rock music playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks) ♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
Why, darned if I didn't
almost fall for it again.
Uncle Joe, you got a
wonderful sense of humor!
Oh! It's a great gag!
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks) ♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Whoo! Will be my beetle. ♪
Boy, we sure bombed
with your mother.
She thinks we're a gag.
Well, Sally, Mom isn't
exactly what you'd call hip.
Yeah, her idea of a real
swinging group is Guy Lombardo.
Well, Mom doesn't have
much chance to sharpen up.
There's no television here,
she doesn't have any boyfriend
to take her to shows and things.
How's she supposed to get cool?
Well, we've got a TV set
and my mom's still square.
When she saw those
dreamy Beatles on Ed Sullivan,
she just sat there.
She didn't scream
or yell or anything?
Oh, yeah, she screamed
and yelled at me
to turn the volume down.
She couldn't wait for
the Beatles to finish
so she could see
Ed Sullivan again.
Wow.
To my mother, Ed
Sullivan is Cary Grant.
(chuckles): I can't believe it.
You haven't seen my father.
How did he like the Beatles?
He thought they were a gag
till he saw all the girls
squealing and swooning.
Hey, maybe that
will convince Mom.
Well, I doubt if any
girls would swoon at us.
But fellas might.
If we could get a bunch
of good-looking fellas
to come here when we
audition for that agent.
Yeah!
And that'd convince
that agent, too.
What do you think, Sally?
I didn't hear anything after
"a bunch of
good-looking fellas."
How we gonna get a
bunch of fellas out here?
We can ride into town
on the Cannonball.
Hey, are Charley
and Floyd still here?
BETTY JO: Yeah, they've
loaded up with wood.
Now they're taking on water.
Well, let's hurry up and change.
Oh, wait a minute.
We can't all go into town
and, uh, look for boys.
Somebody has to stay
here and help Mom.
BETTY JO: Who'd
like to volunteer?
I will.
Oh, that's great,
Billie. That's wonderful.
Glad to do it.
I'll be back by the time
you finish the supper dishes.
Wait a minute. I meant who'd
volunteer to stay, not go into town.
Somebody better hurry up and go.
So long, girls.
Don't work too hard.
Aren't you two ashamed?
You lazy bones still
in that April fool getup.
Were you gonna let
your sister do all the work?
Go easy on them,
Mom, they're just kids.
Oh, thank you, sweetie.
You go on down.
Okay, Mom, I will.
So long, lazy bones.
Why can't you two have
that kind of get up and go?
'Cause she got
up and went first.
Don't you be flip, young lady.
Bug.
(chuckles)
Oh, come on, you two.
Now, get changed
and down to the kitchen,
both of you... scoot!
I hope those two haven't been
a bad influence on you, Sally.
No, no, not at
all, Mrs. Bradley.
Billie Jo has her faults.
Goodness knows she's boy crazy.
But there is a girl who's going
someplace. (train whistle blowing)
Yep, there she goes.
(bell clanging)
What you looking at, dear?
The Cannon-Billie.
Um, the Cannonball.
Well, I better
change these clothes.
I know how they... bug you.
(mock laughing)
Well, Mr. Sullivan,
you've seen the Ladybugs.
What am I offered?
$10,000, huh?
I'll take it.
Now, uh, how much
for the Ladybugs?
KATE: Uncle Joe...
would you please tell me
what's going on around here.
I just found every single
light turned on upstairs.
It...
Why you wearing
this crazy getup?
You got a sore throat?
No, Kate.
These are showbiz clothes.
You didn't turn them
lights out up there, did you?
Well, of course I
turned them out.
There wasn't a single
soul in any of those rooms.
Well, I had them
on so that big agent
could find his way here
from the county road.
It's dark out.
I think that this gag
has gone far enough.
Work's all finished, Mom.
Hurry upstairs and change
into your Ladybug outfits.
And turn them lights
back on up there.
Don't you dare.
And where's Billie Jo?
Well, if you ask
me, she's with a boy.
You ask me, she's
with a bunch of boys.
If you ask me, I
hope it's a big bunch.
Uncle Joe, what are
they talking about?
Don't try to understand this
younger generation, Kate.
We've gone off and left you.
We? Yeah.
I've kept up with the kids.
I'm what they call cold.
That's "cool."
And you're what
they call "nuts."
What are you doing now?
I'm getting ready
for a very important phone call.
That phone isn't connected.
It never has been connected.
What in the world...
Kate, don't try to understand.
Oh, that's the last
thing I'd try to do.
Now what?
Gotta go signal
that booking agent.
He's stumbling around
somewhere out there
in the woods looking
for the Ladybugs.
I'm...
Say, uh, is this the
Shady Rest Hotel?
Yeah, you Partridge,
the booking agent?
Colonel Partridge
of Springfield.
Joe Carson, Hollywood,
Chicago, New York.
Say, uh, what in blue
blazes are you doing
out here in the
middle of nowhere?
Hiding from them crazy
teenage Ladybug fans.
Why, if they found this
place, they'd mob us.
(laughs) I know what you mean.
You know, I was at the airport
when those Beatles landed,
and I want to tell you,
I was knocked down
and purty near
saddle-shoed to death.
I tell you, I'd sure like
to get ten percent
of that Beatle action.
Don't worry,
Colonel, my Ladybugs
are gonna make them
Beatles look like chiggers.
Four of the most beautiful,
talented girls you ever saw.
Well, trot them on out.
I'm a busy man...
I ain't got all night.
Say, uh, is she one of them?
Oh, no, she runs the place.
I pay her to hide them.
Oh, Uncle Joe, I want...
See that I'm not disturbed.
It's too late.
You're about as
disturbed as they come.
Who's he?
Colonel Partridge, ma'am.
I come all the way
from Springfield
to see the sensational
new singing act
Mr. Carson here told
me about: the Ladybugs.
Oh, no.
It's all right, Mrs. Bradley.
I've cleared him, he's okay.
Yes, ma'am, I am the biggest
booking agent in these parts.
And he's the biggest liar.
Hey, uh, what's going on here?
Just the necessary
security measures.
Good work, Mrs. Bradley,
don't trust anybody.
Mrs. Bradley? Not anybody.
Why, he could've been
Ed Sullivan in disguise.
Please, Kate. (train
whistle blowing)
There's the
Cannonball... Billie's back.
What do you mean, Billie's back?
Where has she been?
Uh, never mind, Kate.
Just give me ten
minutes to make you rich.
That's all I'm asking,
just ten minutes.
All right, then minutes.
And then I'm throwing
a net over you.
(ringing)
That's my New York phone call.
That's our ring: one long.
Yes? Hello.
Ed Sullivan?
Why, you old bird
dog, how'd you find me?
Now, wait a minute.
You said I was gonna
handle the Ladybugs.
No direct booking, you said.
Okay, okay.
Uh, hello, Ed.
Uh, Colonel Partridge is here,
and he's signing
the Ladybugs tonight.
Yeah, he'll call you the
first thing in the morning.
Wait a minute, why wait?
I'll talk to him now.
Ed is an old friend of mine.
(laughing)
Hello, Eddie, listen!
Hey, this is the Colonel, buddy.
He-hello?
He-hello there.
You there, boy?
Eddie, talk to me! Huh?
Hello?
Hello, Ed! He-hello there!
You and Ed are
good friends, huh?
Why'd he hang up on you?
Maybe he didn't hang up.
Maybe that wasn't
Ed Sullivan at all.
Maybe you, uh, lying
to the Colonel, huh?
Now, wait a minute, nobody talks
to Joe Carson that way.
Oh, they don't, huh?
You purty near ruined my cigar.
Now, you listen to
me, chubby man.
I come a long way down here
to this broken-down hotel,
and I'm gonna give
you to the count of three
to bring on those Ladybugs,
and they better be good
or your head is gonna
look just like that cigar.
One... BOYS: We
want the Ladybugs!
We want the Ladybugs!
Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait! (chanting continues)
Wait, wait!
Wait! I'll get
them, I'll get them.
I'll get them... now,
control yourselves!
Doggone it, the
teenagers found us.
Yeah!
(chanting): We
want the Ladybugs!
(chanting continues)
(joining in): We want the
Ladybugs! We want the Ladybugs!
(all chanting)
One, two, three, four!
(intro to the Beatles' "I Saw
Her Standing There" playing)
♪ Well, he was just 17 ♪
♪ You know what I mean ♪
♪ And the way he looked
was way beyond compare ♪
♪ So how could I
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
♪ Well, he looked at me ♪
♪ And I, I could see ♪
♪ That before too long
I'd fall in love with him ♪
(whooping)
♪ He wouldn't
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
♪ Well, my heart went boom ♪
♪ Ow! When I crossed that room ♪
♪ And I held his hand ♪
♪ In mine... ♪
♪ Well, we danced
through the night ♪
♪ And we held each other tight ♪
♪ And before too long ♪
♪ I fell in love with him ♪
♪ Now I'll never
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
(screaming, whooping)
Look at them, Kate.
It's driving them kids crazy.
I don't think I can
stand much more, either.
(guitar solo playing)
(crowd screaming)
(screaming)
♪ Well, my heart went boom ♪
♪ When I crossed that room ♪
♪ And I held his hand ♪
♪ In mine... ♪
♪ Well, we danced
through the night ♪
♪ And we held each other tight ♪
♪ And before too long ♪
♪ I fell in love with him ♪
♪ Now I'll never
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
Ah-ha-ha!
♪ Oh, since I saw
him standing there ♪
♪ Well, since I saw
him standing there. ♪
(song ends)
(cheering, applause)
Oh, Henderson, stop
acting like an idiot.
Mrs. Bradley, I don't
think he's acting.
Oh, well, take him
out in the fresh air.
I'll go get some water.
Well, Colonel, what'd
you think of the Ladybugs?
Why, that's the worst
music I ever heard.
What do you mean?
Oh, they're out of tune,
the harmony is all wrong.
They're too loud.
That monotonous beat's
gonna drive the people
stark-staring crazy.
You mean you ain't
gonna book them?
Of course I'm gonna book them.
They're gonna make us a fortune.
We'll take them to
Springfield tonight.
That's my booking headquarters.
Oh, Colonel, I'm so sorry
that Uncle Joe dragged
you all the way out here
to listen to that
terrible racket.
Kate. And I apologize
for the girls, too,
and their little friend. Kate.
And I just hope
you're not too angry.
Kate, he's going to
take the Ladybugs
back to Springfield to
headquarters and book them.
What?!
Now, see here,
what the girls did
might have been bad music,
but it's nothing
to get arrested for.
(laughing)
No, no, little lady,
you've got it all wrong.
I'm gonna book them in
theaters and on the TV.
Personal appearances
all over the country.
And then, we're
gonna start robbing...
uh, rocking the
rest of the world.
Is he serious?
You can start counting
your money, Kate.
I'll go tell the girls.
Mr. Partridge...
Uh, Colonel, ma'am.
Colonel... (coughs)
I-I-I just don't think my girls
should be going
all around the world.
They're not ready
for that sort of thing.
Well, now, little lady,
as their manager,
I think they are.
As their mother, I don't.
Mother?
Uh, begging your
pardon, ma'am, but I...
I find that kind
of hard to believe.
What do you mean?
Well, now, you look like hardly
more than a teenager
yourself. Oh...
And you're very pretty, too.
You should be in the movies.
(giggling)
You know something, Colonel?
What's that, little lady?
You're nuttier than Uncle Joe.
Here, drink this and sniff this,
and maybe it'll
bring you around.
Colonel, Colonel,
I'm afraid there's
going to be a little delay
before I can deliver
the Ladybugs.
What do you mean?
Well, Sally's
father is out there.
He doesn't want
her to be a Ladybug.
He wants her to
finish high school.
Yeah, how square can you get?
Ah, you leave your
papa to me, little lady.
I'll set him straight.
(laughing)
Uh, Mr. Ragsdale?
That's, uh, Sheriff Ragsdale.
What's on your mind?
Uh, well, I was... I
was just saying that, uh,
that you're absolutely
right about your daughter.
Her education comes first.
Fine.
You run upstairs, Sally, and
put on some decent clothes.
That's right, child,
you listen to your papa.
Run along.
That's a nice little girl
you got there, Sheriff,
a mighty smart girl.
Where's Kate?
Uh, she went thataway.
Well, there goes
a bundle of money.
Not yet, Colonel.
I promised you the Ladybugs.
When Joe Carson makes
a promise, he delivers.
(upbeat rock 'n'
roll song playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you... ♪
♪ Ow, if only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you will
be my beetle ♪
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you... ♪
Ow!
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Ow, will be my beetle. ♪
(song ends)
♪ Petticoat Junction. ♪
This has been a
Filmways Presentation.
That was the night
an English quartet
called The Beatles made
their American TV debut
on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It was the historic opening shot
in the British Invasion...
A musical revolution
whose infectious beat
was felt all over the country,
including Hooterville.
Ever the promoter,
Uncle Joe put together
a female answer to this
new singing sensation
called The Ladybugs.
Consisting of the
three Bradley girls
and Sheriff Ragsdale's
daughter, played by Sheila James,
best remembered for
her role as Zelda Gilroy
on The Many
Loves of Dobie Gillis.
And by the way, our
foursome did actually appear
on The Ed Sullivan
Show in character.
That was so much fun. Yes.
This episode was directed
by MGM musical
star Donald O'Connor.
As broadcast March 24, 1964,
here's Hooterville's answer
to Liverpool... "The Ladybugs."
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah. ♪
Oh, gosh, that was
such a fun show.
We had a ball.
(train whistle blows twice)
♪ Come ride the little train ♪
♪ That is rollin' down the
tracks to the Junction ♪
(bell clanging)
♪ Forget about your cares ♪
♪ It is time to relax
at the Junction ♪
(whistle blows twice)
♪ Lots of curves, you bet ♪
♪ And even more when you get ♪
♪ To the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
(snare drum plays train rhythm)
♪ There's a little hotel called
the Shady Rest at the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
♪ It is run by Kate, come and
be her guest at the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction ♪
♪ And that's Uncle Joe,
he's a-movin' kinda slow ♪
♪ At the Junction ♪
♪ Petticoat Junction! ♪
(train whistle blows twice)
Please, Mr. Carson,
be careful with the drum.
My dad doesn't even
know we borrowed it.
Don't worry, Sally.
Now, you lovely
little moneymakers
run upstairs and get changed.
Gee, Uncle Joe, I sure
hope Mom goes for this.
You leave your mother to me.
Just be ready to make your
entrance when I announce you.
Mr. Carson, how about my mother?
One at a time, Sally.
We'll cross your mother
when we get to her.
Give me that mop, Kate.
Your scrubbing days are over.
Oh, thank goodness.
I thought you'd never get back.
Where you been all day?
Pixley.
Yeah, it didn't
take you that long
to make the payment at the bank.
Well, the girls done
some shopping.
Kate... Hmm?
Your dish washing days are over.
(chuckles): Oh.
Well, thank you.
I was just... What
was that again?
I said your dish
washing days are over.
No, uh, ba...
Up ahead... something
about the girls shopping.
Uh, Kate, take off your
apron and sit down.
How could the girls
do any shopping?
You just had enough money to
make the payment at the bank.
Sit down, Kate. Uncle Joe, you
did make the payment at the bank?
We're not gonna lose the hotel?
Lose the hotel?
(laughs)
Someday, you're gonna
laugh at that question.
Right now, I'll
settle for not crying.
Did you make the payment?
(calling out): Hurry
up, girls, we're ready.
Uncle Joe, look me in the eye.
Which one?
BILLIE JO: Uncle
Joe, we're ready.
They're ready, Kate.
Ready for what?
Er, sit down.
I don't want to sit down.
What are they ready for?
They're ready to show you what
happens when a man thinks big.
They're ready to show you
how we're all gonna
become millionaires.
All right, girls, you can
make your entrance.
Wait!
Wait till I sit down.
Introducing the new
international singing sensation,
the Ladybugs!
(rock music playing)
(screams)
I don't believe it!
(music stops)
Wait till you hear
them sing, Kate.
Hit it, Ladybugs.
(rock music playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks)
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Will be my beetle ♪
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks)
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Whoo! Will be my beetle. ♪
(song ends)
Hold it, hold it, hold it!
I'm gonna faint.
I know it, I'm gonna
faint dead away.
See, girls?
I told you people would swoon.
I said "faint" not "swoon."
Uncle Joe, what have you done
with my four
beautiful daughters?
Just a minute.
Four?
Who are you?
She's Ringo.
I'm Ringo.
You're all Ringo.
And you are the biggest
Ringo of the bunch.
Kate, the Ladybugs is
gonna sweep the country.
They're gonna sweep this
hotel from attic to basement.
And they're gonna
do it with these!
Sally Ragsdale.
Hi, Mrs. Bradley.
I want to thank you and
your daughters and Uncle Joe
for letting me become
a millionaire with you.
Is that where the bank
payment money went,
for these crazy wigs
and those bug shirts?
But, Mom, like Uncle Joe
says, you got to start thinking big!
I am thinking big.
I am thinking of the biggest
thing I can lay my hands on
to break over his head.
Kate, we've been out
of touch with the world.
Gee, Ma, being stuck
out here in the country,
we don't know what's going on.
Especially on television.
When we got into
Pixley this morning,
the whole town was
talking about the Beatles.
The beetles?
They came over from England.
They're the biggest
things in the country.
Well, don't just stand there,
take off those crazy wigs and
help me get up the screens!
Mom... Hold it, Mom.
Kate, the Beatles was brought
over here by Ed Sullivan.
I saw them on his
television show.
They're wonderful. They sing
and play musical instruments.
Beetles?
I started their Pixley fan club.
They sent me a picture.
No wonder they call
themselves the Beatles.
Those are four of the
homeliest girls I ever saw.
Oh, Mom.
Uh, Mrs. Bradley, they're boys.
Holy smoke, don't they
have barbers in England?
Mom, that's part of their charm.
Isn't Ringo a doll?
(girls giggling) Oh, stop that!
Kate, the girls always do
that when they see the Beatles.
They're the biggest
things in show business.
Until the Ladybugs come along.
Kate, go get yourself
all spruced up.
A big booking agent's coming
from over by Springfield
to ogle the act.
To what?
That's showbiz talk.
He means he's coming
to watch us perform.
It's an audition, and
we're gonna sing.
Oh!
Well, help me
clean up the kitchen,
and then change
into some nice clothes
and start rehearsing
some pretty songs.
Mom, these are the
clothes we're gonna wear.
And you heard the
song we're gonna sing.
That was a song?
And these are clothes?
Do you think we'll get hired?
You're lucky if you
don't get sprayed.
Mom, it's all the rage!
It's the new sound.
You mean instead of music?
Don't knock it, Kate.
It's gonna make us all rich.
Right, rich! Millionaires!
(girls all chattering excitedly)
(chuckling)
Oh, I get it.
(all chuckling)
(laughing): Now I get it!
Stupid me, I should've known.
Oh, Ladybugs and Beatles.
You really had me
going there for a while!
Aw, this is the funniest
April fool joke you ever pulled.
But no wonder I bit.
You're a week early.
Well, joke's over.
Uncle Joe, put the
bank receipt in the safe.
And, girls, you get
your clothes changed;
we have a lot of work
to do before supper.
And, Sally, you're invited
to join us for supper, too.
(laughing)
Yeah, Uncle Joe,
this is an April
fool gag, right?
Oh, girls, give us another
sample of that Ladybug beat.
(rock music playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks) ♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
Why, darned if I didn't
almost fall for it again.
Uncle Joe, you got a
wonderful sense of humor!
Oh! It's a great gag!
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you ♪
(shrieks) ♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Whoo! Will be my beetle. ♪
Boy, we sure bombed
with your mother.
She thinks we're a gag.
Well, Sally, Mom isn't
exactly what you'd call hip.
Yeah, her idea of a real
swinging group is Guy Lombardo.
Well, Mom doesn't have
much chance to sharpen up.
There's no television here,
she doesn't have any boyfriend
to take her to shows and things.
How's she supposed to get cool?
Well, we've got a TV set
and my mom's still square.
When she saw those
dreamy Beatles on Ed Sullivan,
she just sat there.
She didn't scream
or yell or anything?
Oh, yeah, she screamed
and yelled at me
to turn the volume down.
She couldn't wait for
the Beatles to finish
so she could see
Ed Sullivan again.
Wow.
To my mother, Ed
Sullivan is Cary Grant.
(chuckles): I can't believe it.
You haven't seen my father.
How did he like the Beatles?
He thought they were a gag
till he saw all the girls
squealing and swooning.
Hey, maybe that
will convince Mom.
Well, I doubt if any
girls would swoon at us.
But fellas might.
If we could get a bunch
of good-looking fellas
to come here when we
audition for that agent.
Yeah!
And that'd convince
that agent, too.
What do you think, Sally?
I didn't hear anything after
"a bunch of
good-looking fellas."
How we gonna get a
bunch of fellas out here?
We can ride into town
on the Cannonball.
Hey, are Charley
and Floyd still here?
BETTY JO: Yeah, they've
loaded up with wood.
Now they're taking on water.
Well, let's hurry up and change.
Oh, wait a minute.
We can't all go into town
and, uh, look for boys.
Somebody has to stay
here and help Mom.
BETTY JO: Who'd
like to volunteer?
I will.
Oh, that's great,
Billie. That's wonderful.
Glad to do it.
I'll be back by the time
you finish the supper dishes.
Wait a minute. I meant who'd
volunteer to stay, not go into town.
Somebody better hurry up and go.
So long, girls.
Don't work too hard.
Aren't you two ashamed?
You lazy bones still
in that April fool getup.
Were you gonna let
your sister do all the work?
Go easy on them,
Mom, they're just kids.
Oh, thank you, sweetie.
You go on down.
Okay, Mom, I will.
So long, lazy bones.
Why can't you two have
that kind of get up and go?
'Cause she got
up and went first.
Don't you be flip, young lady.
Bug.
(chuckles)
Oh, come on, you two.
Now, get changed
and down to the kitchen,
both of you... scoot!
I hope those two haven't been
a bad influence on you, Sally.
No, no, not at
all, Mrs. Bradley.
Billie Jo has her faults.
Goodness knows she's boy crazy.
But there is a girl who's going
someplace. (train whistle blowing)
Yep, there she goes.
(bell clanging)
What you looking at, dear?
The Cannon-Billie.
Um, the Cannonball.
Well, I better
change these clothes.
I know how they... bug you.
(mock laughing)
Well, Mr. Sullivan,
you've seen the Ladybugs.
What am I offered?
$10,000, huh?
I'll take it.
Now, uh, how much
for the Ladybugs?
KATE: Uncle Joe...
would you please tell me
what's going on around here.
I just found every single
light turned on upstairs.
It...
Why you wearing
this crazy getup?
You got a sore throat?
No, Kate.
These are showbiz clothes.
You didn't turn them
lights out up there, did you?
Well, of course I
turned them out.
There wasn't a single
soul in any of those rooms.
Well, I had them
on so that big agent
could find his way here
from the county road.
It's dark out.
I think that this gag
has gone far enough.
Work's all finished, Mom.
Hurry upstairs and change
into your Ladybug outfits.
And turn them lights
back on up there.
Don't you dare.
And where's Billie Jo?
Well, if you ask
me, she's with a boy.
You ask me, she's
with a bunch of boys.
If you ask me, I
hope it's a big bunch.
Uncle Joe, what are
they talking about?
Don't try to understand this
younger generation, Kate.
We've gone off and left you.
We? Yeah.
I've kept up with the kids.
I'm what they call cold.
That's "cool."
And you're what
they call "nuts."
What are you doing now?
I'm getting ready
for a very important phone call.
That phone isn't connected.
It never has been connected.
What in the world...
Kate, don't try to understand.
Oh, that's the last
thing I'd try to do.
Now what?
Gotta go signal
that booking agent.
He's stumbling around
somewhere out there
in the woods looking
for the Ladybugs.
I'm...
Say, uh, is this the
Shady Rest Hotel?
Yeah, you Partridge,
the booking agent?
Colonel Partridge
of Springfield.
Joe Carson, Hollywood,
Chicago, New York.
Say, uh, what in blue
blazes are you doing
out here in the
middle of nowhere?
Hiding from them crazy
teenage Ladybug fans.
Why, if they found this
place, they'd mob us.
(laughs) I know what you mean.
You know, I was at the airport
when those Beatles landed,
and I want to tell you,
I was knocked down
and purty near
saddle-shoed to death.
I tell you, I'd sure like
to get ten percent
of that Beatle action.
Don't worry,
Colonel, my Ladybugs
are gonna make them
Beatles look like chiggers.
Four of the most beautiful,
talented girls you ever saw.
Well, trot them on out.
I'm a busy man...
I ain't got all night.
Say, uh, is she one of them?
Oh, no, she runs the place.
I pay her to hide them.
Oh, Uncle Joe, I want...
See that I'm not disturbed.
It's too late.
You're about as
disturbed as they come.
Who's he?
Colonel Partridge, ma'am.
I come all the way
from Springfield
to see the sensational
new singing act
Mr. Carson here told
me about: the Ladybugs.
Oh, no.
It's all right, Mrs. Bradley.
I've cleared him, he's okay.
Yes, ma'am, I am the biggest
booking agent in these parts.
And he's the biggest liar.
Hey, uh, what's going on here?
Just the necessary
security measures.
Good work, Mrs. Bradley,
don't trust anybody.
Mrs. Bradley? Not anybody.
Why, he could've been
Ed Sullivan in disguise.
Please, Kate. (train
whistle blowing)
There's the
Cannonball... Billie's back.
What do you mean, Billie's back?
Where has she been?
Uh, never mind, Kate.
Just give me ten
minutes to make you rich.
That's all I'm asking,
just ten minutes.
All right, then minutes.
And then I'm throwing
a net over you.
(ringing)
That's my New York phone call.
That's our ring: one long.
Yes? Hello.
Ed Sullivan?
Why, you old bird
dog, how'd you find me?
Now, wait a minute.
You said I was gonna
handle the Ladybugs.
No direct booking, you said.
Okay, okay.
Uh, hello, Ed.
Uh, Colonel Partridge is here,
and he's signing
the Ladybugs tonight.
Yeah, he'll call you the
first thing in the morning.
Wait a minute, why wait?
I'll talk to him now.
Ed is an old friend of mine.
(laughing)
Hello, Eddie, listen!
Hey, this is the Colonel, buddy.
He-hello?
He-hello there.
You there, boy?
Eddie, talk to me! Huh?
Hello?
Hello, Ed! He-hello there!
You and Ed are
good friends, huh?
Why'd he hang up on you?
Maybe he didn't hang up.
Maybe that wasn't
Ed Sullivan at all.
Maybe you, uh, lying
to the Colonel, huh?
Now, wait a minute, nobody talks
to Joe Carson that way.
Oh, they don't, huh?
You purty near ruined my cigar.
Now, you listen to
me, chubby man.
I come a long way down here
to this broken-down hotel,
and I'm gonna give
you to the count of three
to bring on those Ladybugs,
and they better be good
or your head is gonna
look just like that cigar.
One... BOYS: We
want the Ladybugs!
We want the Ladybugs!
Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait! (chanting continues)
Wait, wait!
Wait! I'll get
them, I'll get them.
I'll get them... now,
control yourselves!
Doggone it, the
teenagers found us.
Yeah!
(chanting): We
want the Ladybugs!
(chanting continues)
(joining in): We want the
Ladybugs! We want the Ladybugs!
(all chanting)
One, two, three, four!
(intro to the Beatles' "I Saw
Her Standing There" playing)
♪ Well, he was just 17 ♪
♪ You know what I mean ♪
♪ And the way he looked
was way beyond compare ♪
♪ So how could I
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
♪ Well, he looked at me ♪
♪ And I, I could see ♪
♪ That before too long
I'd fall in love with him ♪
(whooping)
♪ He wouldn't
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
♪ Well, my heart went boom ♪
♪ Ow! When I crossed that room ♪
♪ And I held his hand ♪
♪ In mine... ♪
♪ Well, we danced
through the night ♪
♪ And we held each other tight ♪
♪ And before too long ♪
♪ I fell in love with him ♪
♪ Now I'll never
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
(screaming, whooping)
Look at them, Kate.
It's driving them kids crazy.
I don't think I can
stand much more, either.
(guitar solo playing)
(crowd screaming)
(screaming)
♪ Well, my heart went boom ♪
♪ When I crossed that room ♪
♪ And I held his hand ♪
♪ In mine... ♪
♪ Well, we danced
through the night ♪
♪ And we held each other tight ♪
♪ And before too long ♪
♪ I fell in love with him ♪
♪ Now I'll never
dance with another ♪
♪ Whoo! ♪
♪ When I saw him
standing there ♪
Ah-ha-ha!
♪ Oh, since I saw
him standing there ♪
♪ Well, since I saw
him standing there. ♪
(song ends)
(cheering, applause)
Oh, Henderson, stop
acting like an idiot.
Mrs. Bradley, I don't
think he's acting.
Oh, well, take him
out in the fresh air.
I'll go get some water.
Well, Colonel, what'd
you think of the Ladybugs?
Why, that's the worst
music I ever heard.
What do you mean?
Oh, they're out of tune,
the harmony is all wrong.
They're too loud.
That monotonous beat's
gonna drive the people
stark-staring crazy.
You mean you ain't
gonna book them?
Of course I'm gonna book them.
They're gonna make us a fortune.
We'll take them to
Springfield tonight.
That's my booking headquarters.
Oh, Colonel, I'm so sorry
that Uncle Joe dragged
you all the way out here
to listen to that
terrible racket.
Kate. And I apologize
for the girls, too,
and their little friend. Kate.
And I just hope
you're not too angry.
Kate, he's going to
take the Ladybugs
back to Springfield to
headquarters and book them.
What?!
Now, see here,
what the girls did
might have been bad music,
but it's nothing
to get arrested for.
(laughing)
No, no, little lady,
you've got it all wrong.
I'm gonna book them in
theaters and on the TV.
Personal appearances
all over the country.
And then, we're
gonna start robbing...
uh, rocking the
rest of the world.
Is he serious?
You can start counting
your money, Kate.
I'll go tell the girls.
Mr. Partridge...
Uh, Colonel, ma'am.
Colonel... (coughs)
I-I-I just don't think my girls
should be going
all around the world.
They're not ready
for that sort of thing.
Well, now, little lady,
as their manager,
I think they are.
As their mother, I don't.
Mother?
Uh, begging your
pardon, ma'am, but I...
I find that kind
of hard to believe.
What do you mean?
Well, now, you look like hardly
more than a teenager
yourself. Oh...
And you're very pretty, too.
You should be in the movies.
(giggling)
You know something, Colonel?
What's that, little lady?
You're nuttier than Uncle Joe.
Here, drink this and sniff this,
and maybe it'll
bring you around.
Colonel, Colonel,
I'm afraid there's
going to be a little delay
before I can deliver
the Ladybugs.
What do you mean?
Well, Sally's
father is out there.
He doesn't want
her to be a Ladybug.
He wants her to
finish high school.
Yeah, how square can you get?
Ah, you leave your
papa to me, little lady.
I'll set him straight.
(laughing)
Uh, Mr. Ragsdale?
That's, uh, Sheriff Ragsdale.
What's on your mind?
Uh, well, I was... I
was just saying that, uh,
that you're absolutely
right about your daughter.
Her education comes first.
Fine.
You run upstairs, Sally, and
put on some decent clothes.
That's right, child,
you listen to your papa.
Run along.
That's a nice little girl
you got there, Sheriff,
a mighty smart girl.
Where's Kate?
Uh, she went thataway.
Well, there goes
a bundle of money.
Not yet, Colonel.
I promised you the Ladybugs.
When Joe Carson makes
a promise, he delivers.
(upbeat rock 'n'
roll song playing)
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you... ♪
♪ Ow, if only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you will
be my beetle ♪
♪ Oh, I'll be your ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your lady ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll be your ladybug ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ I'll fly with you... ♪
Ow!
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ If only you ♪
♪ Ow, will be my beetle. ♪
(song ends)
♪ Petticoat Junction. ♪
This has been a
Filmways Presentation.