Episode 351: Kukla, Fran and Ollie - "Frannie's Speech" (November 28, 1950)
Frannie practices her oratory, with some help from her friends.
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. "Frannie’s Speech" was directed by Lewis Gomavitz and aired on Tuesday, November 28, 1950 at 7:00 PM on NBC. Video is available on the official KFO YouTube channel.
What happened: Kukla is playing tennis with an offscreen opponent. Frannie is preparing for a speech, and is trying to figure out what gender-neutral address to use. I’m guessing it won’t involve the phrase “non-binary pals.” She’s presenting before a literary society and is nervous about it. Kukla tries to comfort her by talking about the food at the event. A man after my own heart. Kukla sings a romantic-sounding song about seeing the stars in her eyes.
Kukla sets out to write a speech for Fran. The topic is “television, Chicago style.” Ollie comes along and is very happy that anyone is going to be giving a speech. Kukla assigns Ollie some research, but tells him to keep it hush-hush. Fran reunites the trio, and they get in a singing plug for Sealtest ice cream. Madame Oglepuss joins in to add an operatic aria.
Beulah Witch adds her own notes to the speech script while Kukla is away, as does Fletcher Rabbit. Fran finally practices reading the speech off the sheet. She’s not as charismatic as when she’s talking extemporaneously, but few are. Things start on strong, but get derailed by the gobledygook that the puppets have added, including strange words and a self-written paean to Beulah. She concludes that Chicago-style television is the best, and everyone seems happy as the show ends.
What I thought: As much as I like the supporting cast of KFO (well, some of them more than others), it’s nice to have an episode where most of the conversation takes place just among the three characters that are in the title. We get a little bit of the others in the second half of “Frannie’s Speech”, but the first fifteen minutes are more or less dedicated to the series’ core dynamic. The characters are introduced in the appropriate order: Fran’s earnest decency, Kukla’s somewhat clueless attempts to help, and Ollie’s vain chaos. It’s a comedic trio dynamic that countless shows would use in the future.
The plot of the episode is exceedingly simple, with Fran seeking reassurance for her speech-writing task, and getting various less-than-helpful assistance from her puppet friends. The simplicity, however, means that they’re actually able to finish the story in half an hour, with all the usual songs, ad spots, and other digressions required by Kukla, Fran and Ollie. It’s also something that any kid nervous about a presentation could relate to.
The content of Fran’s speech is also relevant here. There’s a clear sense of pride in the show’s status as a product of Chicago, and something that represented Chicago to the rest of the country. I think I’ve written about here, but Kukla, Fran and Ollie was part of the small but fairly significant Chicago television industry, which also included Dave Garroway and Uncle Mistletoe.
In 1950 it was possible to imagine a TV industry that included big live shows from New York, filmed spectacles from Hollywood, and the best of regional productions from all around the country, using the Chicago model. In the end, we didn’t get that future but Kukla, Fran and Ollie makes the case that it’s a shame we didn’t.
Coming up next: Our Western heroes try to break up a marriage in a rather poor The Cisco Kid.