Episode 328: Kukla, Fran and Ollie - Dragon Prep Football (November 13, 1950)
Ollie relives his college days as a jock
What I watched: An episode of the early children's show Kukla, Fran and Ollie. The series starred the titular Fran Allison, with all other roles being played by series creator and puppeteer Burr Tilstrom. "Dragon Prep Football" was directed by Lewis Gomavitz and aired on Monday, November 13, 1950 at 7:00 PM on NBC. Video is available on the official KFO YouTube channel.
What happened: Cecil Bill has come back from New York, where he worked as a stage-hand on a TV show over the weekend. Kukla helps him into a kind of cloak or poncho that he brought back, and calls out Dolores, who hides behind the curtain and bites him. The outfit is actually a gift for her from Louise Aschenberg (sp?), but she resists putting it on. Fran tries to get Dolores to say “thank you, but she instead squeaks out “you’re welcome.”
Fran sings a lullaby to calm down Dolores. After she’s lulled to sleep, Ollie pops up. The business of the day is a play about football. Ollie was a starter for Dragon Prep, but isn’t interested in doing a play about it. However, his interest is piqued when Kukla explains that he has a love interest in the story. Kukla has come up with the scenario but asks for the lines to be improvised.
Ollie is the star of the show as a hard-working halfback at Dragon Prep, while Kukla is a nerdy student wearing glasses. Kukla sings about the girl of his dreams. Ollie comes around and is friendly but condescending to the waterboy. Fran is Ollie’s girlfriend (hmm) and a cheerleader and he asks her to go to the soda fountain, which leads into the requisite plug for RCA records (perfect for jukeboxes!) Lynwood plays a song for “Mr. Touchdown USA.” (Mark Angelosetti?)
Kukla appears and awkwardly tries conversing with Fran, but doesn’t get far. Fran and Ollie go over the Dragon Prep football songs and get psyched for their upcoming game against an unbeaten team. Fran compliments a nervous Kukla over some of the music he wrote. Fran then goes off to cheer practice, with the other cheerleaders of course being Beulah and Madame Oglepuss. They also sing the Dragon Prep song.
However, complications arise when Colonel Crackle proclaims that Ollie’s grades aren’t good enough to participate in football. Must have forgot to sign up for Rocks for Jocks. Ollie the actor is legit upset about it, feeling that the part doesn’t reflect well on him. Kukla explains that he’s added something to the script, including an ending where his character plays in place of Ollie’s and wins the big game. Ollie is nonplussed by this and decides to just end the show. That doesn’t work for him, brother.
What I thought: I’ve probably discussed this before, but football in 1950 had a very different image from the colossus of Americana it is today. The pro game lagged in popularity behind both baseball and college football, and the top college sides included schools like Princeton and Army. Like its English cousin rugby, football was a brutal sport that nonetheless had a genteel, upper-class player base.
So naturally, when Kukla, Fran and Ollie does a football episode, it’s set at Ollie’s fancy school Dragon Prep, complete with pep rallies and fight songs. But despite the different image of football, it seems like the jock and nerd stereotypes are already present. Ollie and Kukla’s natural dynamics fit well with the storyline of the not malicious but over-imposing football player and the sheepish, envious academic. The only question that emerges is who gets to win at the end.
The dispute of the ending is a nice bit of meta-commentary at the end (as well as a convenient way to end the show as the 30-minute cutoff approached). Kukla’s suggestion is obviously self-serving, but in a sense it’s how the underdog sports story has to end, with the lowly nerd triumphing in the end. But it’s also too good to be true, and leaves the Ollies of the world in the dust. Similarly, the implied love triangle between the central trio can never really be resolved within the playful world of Kukla, Fran, and Ollie. Thank God for RCA Victor ads that can solve every problem.
Coming up next: We’re going to go even further back for another Howdy Doody episode, and then return to the Kuklapolitans for “A Quiet Day.”