I think this is the episode. A lot of the videos online have the wrong episode even though they’re labeled episode 3. This episode is not 52 minutes, I think the second half is just extraneous stuff. If anybody can find the right episode in a cleaner manner, post it here. The episode ends at 26:13 in this video.
Episode number three, JAIL is upon us. This time, the opening stage banter between Bud and Lou is much briefer than the previous two episodes. We get a short and sweet a greenhouse is also a white house wordplay followed by setting up the plot to the episode. One thing I want to say is I notice how Seinfeld was really influenced by THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW. One way is the opening. Bud and Lou always start on stage, as does Jerry Seinfeld with his stand up routines. In my opinion, much stronger openings with Bud and Lou, as the stand up routines in SEINFELD are the weakest part of an otherwise funny show. But nonetheless, one way I can see Bud and Lou’s influence.
After the brief stage banter, we get back to back confrontations involving Lou and various townspeople. First we get a nice pastry bit with the immortal Mr. Bacciagalupe then ends with a lemon pie being thrown in Lou’s face - except it misses Lou and hits Mike the Cop. Then right away, we get a woman on the street who accuses Lou of being too personal when he offers a greeting only to offer all her vital information during her rant. This is directly followed by a woman mistakes Lou for her husband talking to another woman. All of these confrontations are fast paced, one after the other and feel like water boiling with the lid falling off by the end. Wonderful comedy.
After all this, we get Lou with Hillary. Hillary is wearing a sun suit and wants Lou to put oil on her back and shoulders. To quote Frank Zappa, “Great Googly Moogly.” As Lou is living the dream, it’s a chance for him to be awkward and jittery around Hillary, another funny aspect of his character. He then accidentally sprays Hillary with water and Hillary gets mad at Lou. This leads to her getting a watery revenge, which then also spreads to Lou’s neighbor and once again - Mike the Cop. Poor Mike, always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After some funny business with Lou and gardening, him and Bud get into a confrontation with their neighbor over the property rights over oranges and a ruined pail. All Lou has to do is pay 79 cents to settle, but prideful Bud refuses for him and this gets exaggerated into a court case.
After Sid Fields plays a sleazy lawyer who is anything but in Lou’s side, we get some nice court action. Sid and Bud continue to be stubborn about Lou settling and we get a nice familiar routine. Curly and Buster weren’t the only ones to take the stand or take off their hat according to a judge’s command. A nice play on the gag here as when the judge asks the defendant to take off his hat, Lou asks whoever is in the audience to take off their hat. He’s too stupid to know he’s the defendant! We also get the sanity clause/santy claus pun from NIGHT AT THE OPERA from The Marx Brothers.
Lou of course winds up in jail, because the title doesn’t lie. Again, all because Bud refuses for him to pay the 79 cents! Sid Fields gets a dual role and we get Niagara Falls! This gag was also done in LOST IN A HAREM. Having just watched the Stooge version recently, I notice this version is much more drawn out. Nice bit where Lou asks Sid about the kid he’s describing and Lou determines he must be the son. When Curly gets hit, there’s very much a Stooge like rhythm involved, like all their slapstick. In this case, that rhythm is gone and Sid just mauls Lou, giving Lou a chance to do his great screams. Both versions compliment their respective comedians well.
Another fun episode that catalogs a lot of great gags without the excess of the features. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is Lou’s only version of the take the stand/take off your hat gag - or am I forgetting something?