ECP 316: Kukla, Fran, and Ollie – “Election Day” (November 7, 1950)
In which we learn that dragons can vote
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. "Oliver Dragon, Interior Decorator" was directed by Lewis Gomavitz and aired on Tuesday, November 7, 1950 at 7:00 PM on NBC. Video is available on the official KFO YouTube channel.
What happened: Kukla and Fran are setting up the stage for the show, but keep running into each other, leading to Fran singing “Passing By.” Kukla is inspired to sing his own song about how lucky he is to know her. They’re just friends, guys.
Ollie comes along, and is less happy. He had a violent encounter with a voting booth, and ended up with his tooth split. The voting machines aren’t made for dragons, you see. Fran wants him to take a rest, but he insists on soldiering on. Ollie’s tooth flops forward while he’s messing around, and he thinks it’s gone until Fran finds him a mirror. She notes that “those political machines will cause trouble every time.” Well, this is Chicago.
Dolores pops up, and Ollie adds her to the story. She apparently was also in the voting booth, and her ribbon got caught in the machine’s lever, contributing all kinds of difficulty. After a little more talk, Dolores mutters “Fran”, her first word. Everyone appropriately freaks out, including Kukla. She makes a croak, which is interpreted as another word, and Dolores joins in the celebration, before getting a little too rambunctious.
Beulah’s here to handle today’s Sealtest plug, including the Kukla and Ollie ice cream spoons. She also has a campaign button, announcing she’s running for NBC vice president. An unconventional running mate, but I trust David Sarnoff. Fletcher pops ups to give us a report on his efforts at gardening. He tries pulling up a carrot from a windowside pot he planted it in, but has some struggles with it. Eventually he pulls out a very leafy carrot.
The Kuklapolitans then plug their upcoming trip to Detroit. They sing their traditional “Going Away” song, with some added references to Michigan. After the credits, Burr thanks “the little gardener” Fletcher for the carrot.
What I thought: The 1950 US midterm elections saw the Democrats lose 5 seats in the Senate, including that of Senate majority leader Scott Lucas, and a seat in California that was won by Richard Nixon. The Republicans also won 28 seats in Congress. The Democrats under Harry Truman maintained a majority in both bodies, but the party’s stagnation after twenty years of Presidential rule was evident. The election returns would have been reported on TV news and specials, although I haven’t found any direct footage.
None of this has a whole lot to do with this episode of Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, which is only partially about the election. In what’s becoming a signature move for the show, it swerves away from the obvious topic to include segments about Dolores’ first word, Fletcher’s efforts to grow a carrot, and preparations for the group’s upcoming Detroit show.
The content actually about the election mostly has to do with Ollie’s pratfall-filled trip to the polls. I wasn’t exactly expecting some incisive jokes about Truman’s Korean War policy, but the main message kids would get from this is that voting is a pain in the ass. But I’m sure that they were also exposed to plenty of pro-civics propaganda growing up, so a jokey take like this would be a relief.
Coming up next: It’s finally time to put The Cisco Kid into quarantine.