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Short summary

Lucy inadvertently ends up marrying a Navajo Indian Chief who gives her the state of Utah as a wedding gift.

The episode integrates location footage with studio process shots for the driving scenes.

Standing on the edge of Lake Powell, Lucy recites a verse from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 poem "The Song of Hiawatha." This is the same portion of the poem she recited on "I Love Lucy."

The Guide guesses Sitting Buffalo is 85 years old. Fix was actually 68 at the time.

The men and women at the reservation are played by actual Navajo tribe members.

This episode is the third of a four-part on-location story arc created with the cooperation of the Navajo Nation Council and the state of Arizona. It was the first and only situation comedy filmed on Navajo land using actual tribe members.

When Desilu set construction recreated a Navajo hogan (hut), tribe members involved in the shooting refused to enter it because the door was facing the wrong direction. The crew rotated the hogan to face east (to greet the rising sun) and comply with tradition. The Nation Council approved of the reversal of the direction of a sacred ceremonial dance, but only after Lucille Ball convinced them that it would not bring bad luck and would look better on television.

Unlike studio filming, only one camera was used on location, although Lucille Ball was insistent on her studio lighting instruments, despite their weight and bulk.

This is not the first time Lucille Ball has used Native Americans as the source for story lines. In "The Indian Show" Ricky's act was built around an Indian theme. In "Lucy and the Scout Trip" Lucy Carmichael dresses as a Native American to give her son an authentic scouting experience. In "Lucy, the Rain Goddess", Mrs. Carmichael trails Mr. Mooney to a dude ranch adjacent to a reservation, where she is hailed as a rain goddess due to her resemblance to a totem pole.

The Carters travel in a Travco motor home. The company's RV's were originally built on Dodge chassis. Travco was in business from 1964 until the late 1980s.

Fleeing the reservation, Lucy utters Jackie Gleason's famous line "And away we go" as well as his hitch-shouldered exit pose.


Episode cast overview:
Lucille Ball Lucille Ball - Lucy Carter
Gale Gordon Gale Gordon - Harrison Otis 'Harry' Carter
Lucie Arnaz Lucie Arnaz - Kim Carter
Desi Arnaz Jr. Desi Arnaz Jr. - Craig Carter
Paul Fix Paul Fix - Indian Chief
Mickey Manners Mickey Manners - Indian Guide
Iron Eyes Cody Iron Eyes Cody - Medicine Man
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