Episode 4: The Un-Underground Movie

 

Hello again!  Thank you for joining me this week as we review “The Un-Underground Movie.”  It originally aired on October 16th, 1970.  It’s light on drama and conflict and just a fun episode about the Bradys producing a movie with Greg in the director’s chair.  It’s one of those episodes that would have made kids wish they lived at the Brady house with such fun things going on.  The effort the family expends on a movie for a class project also gives a fine example that level of crazy that made the Bradys so memorable.  Let us get started on reviewing “The Un-Underground Movie”!

The episode opens in the backyard.  Bobby and Cindy are swinging while Carol looks on and Mike records them on an old 8MM home movie camera.  Greg arrives home from school with news of a groovy history teacher and far-out assignment.  The teacher wants the students to study colonial times and present what they learned via visual presentation.  One kid is producing a play, another building a model and Greg has decided to shoot a movie.  That is, if Mike will allow him use of the movie camera.  Mike agrees under the condition that he be careful with it.  At this point, a new viewer might think the episode was going a totally different direction.  This could have been the setup for a plot about a broken camera and Greg’s attempts at replacing it.  Greg is a responsible boy though and it turns out be an episode about making a movie.  Greg hopes the movie will get him an A on the assignment.  Bobby asks if an A movie is one kids can see without their parents.

The next scene has Mike and Carol retiring for the night discussing their delight at how the assignment has sparked Greg’s interest in history.  What follows is a scene very similar to the one in “The Dropout”.  Mike is all ready falling asleep when Carol hears a noise downstairs.  Upon going down to investigate, it is found to be Greg.  This time he is not lifting weights, but typing his screenplay.   At first Mike sends him to bed, but then realizes he can contribute to Greg’s writing efforts and takes a seat at the typewriter.  Carol begins adding her own critique of the work and contributes.  Seconds later, Alice, previously unnoticed, peers through the shutters with her own script idea.  With the adults having taken over his writing project, an irritated Greg retires for the night.

It is a new day and the backyard is abuzz with activity.  Set building has commenced and everybody is busy converting the backyard into cardboard Plymouth colony.  Let’s hope there is no rain in the forecast, because one good rainstorm would undo all their hard work.  Greg has borrowed a set of stocks from his school to add to the realism of the production. Carol comments on how great everything looks and Bobby questions if that is what things were like during her childhood.  She says the colonial times were well before her youth, leading  Bobby to question if Alice lived among the early settlers.  Alice stops his query.

The next scene is one I never recall seeing before.  It’s reduced video quality leads me to believe it was cut in syndication.  The family is sitting down to dinner and Mike notices Bobby is missing.  In a classic sitcom gag, Peter is told to summon Bobby and simply yells loudly without exerting any effort.  Peter is chided for actions and then Bobby’s location revealed.  He has somehow locked himself in the stocks on the movie set.  When questioned about how he was able to get himself into such a predicament, he is unaware and states if he knew, he would have been able to get himself out of it.

Costuming continues Greg’s directorial woes.  After the adults took over his script, Carol has now taken over artistic direction.   Cindy is being outfitted in a colorful pilgrim dress.  Greg reminds Carol that the Pilgrim’s puritanical ways saw them wearing only black and white.

Mike doesn’t believe Charlton Heston really wrestled with those apes.

Carol won’t hear of it as it would be a shame to adorn the cast in such simple colors when using color film.  Mike enters and comments on how nice Cindy’s costume looks.  Greg again voices his objection to the colors, stating the attire should be black and white.  Carol says the pilgrim color scheme must have been the origin of basic black.  In a too big for his britches moment, Greg says, “Yeah, let’s keep it that way” and leers at Carol.  Surprisingly, she only leers back and neither she nor Mike admonish Greg.  Mike simply says some creative license is allowed and supports this by stating he doesn’t believe everything Charlton Heston does.  This line coming from Robert Reed gave me a chuckle as he was known for his stickler ways when it came to scripts and believability.

 

 

While Jan and Cindy work a jigsaw puzzle and Marcia studies, Greg arrives with the assignment of roles for his sisters.  Where script and costumes was taken over by the adults, casting has been by his siblings.  All three Brady girls covet the role of Priscilla.  Marcia threatens to bow out of the entire production if she is not given the prized role.  Jan threatens the same, followed by Cindy.  Greg shoots daggers at Jan and Marcia for their insolence.  In a funny moment, Cindy yells for Greg to look at her too!  Greg experiences similar difficulties with Peter and Bobby who act like crazed Indians and want only to play that role.

In the kitchen, the movie is again the topic of conversation.  Carol can’t wait to tell the teacher what a great idea it was to have Greg learn about the pilgrims this way.  Mike says she will be shocked as teachers were used to getting only “knocks” at that time.  In this scene, we see Wakey Flakies and Bran Shreddies again.  We last saw them in “The Possible Dream”.  Greg enters and is again bombarded with ideas about how HIS movie should be made.  He shares his woes with Mike, Carol and Alice who share their disagreement with his way of wanting to do things.  This is the final straw.  Greg reminds them it is his project, grade and movie and if it isn’t going to be done his way, it’s not going to be done.  This episode gives him the opportunity to exit the room angrily.

Upstairs, Mike and Carol pay Greg a visit.  He apologizes for popping off.  Mike says it was okay to pop off this time, even at his pop.  He is assured that going forward, the production will follow his lead.  This begins a montage of movie preparations that sees the cardboard roof going up, Cindy in a more conservative, but still not black and white powder blue, the boys being costumed accordingly, the girls studying over shoes and the boys adorning cardboard pilgrim hats.

Filming finally begins in the backyard.  Greg is in full charge of the production, or so it seems.  Peter begins delivering his lines at an absurdly loud volume.  This doesn’t make much since as the camera Greg is using does not record sound.  Mike begins interrupting the production, much to Greg and his cast members’ chagrin.  Mike says this change will be done his way or there will be no movie!  Greg agrees and learns Mike’s mandatory change is that Greg film without the lens cover in place.  This garners a laugh from the rest of the family and has Cindy call Greg a “dum-dum”.

The next scene filmed has Alice playing John Carver.  She walks among her fellow pilgrims and meets the Indians played by Peter and Bobby.  They were insistent on the role earlier and Greg was insistent they play pilgrims.  It seems they were going to be Indians all along.  She quickly leaves the scene and returns as a pilgrim woman, but in a classic “production within a real television production” goof, forgets to remove her mustache from playing the previous role.   Peter will do something similar when he plays the part of Benedict Arnold.

The next scene filmed is the one most fans of the show will recall from Greg’s movie.  Greg is filming the death and despair the Pilgrims encountered at Plymouth.  This is done via snow made out of corn flakes painted white and potato flakes.  Mike declares this one pricey prop and Alice adds it’s also fattening.  When the snow begins to fall, it is obvious that it is neither cereal or instant potatoes, but foam packing peanuts.  Peter’s function for the scene is to shake the box containing the faux snow.  After several false cues to initiate the snow fall, when it comes time to actually send it falling down, it is “stuck”.  How such a thing could be stuck in a box is a mystery left to time.  Actually, anybody who takes a second look at the box will notice it is obvious solid white spots have taken the place of the holes where the fake snow previously exited.  With the fake snow stuck in the box, Peter simply tips the entire contents over onto the cast.

The movie is complete as the next scene begins.  A viewing party is being held in the living room.  Alice has made popcorn for the occasion.  Greg has titled the film “Our Pilgrim Fathers” or “Through Hardship to Freedom.” The film opens with a plastic model in a tub of clear water.  Mike says it looks good and Carol adds, “that looks real.”  Carol, we understand you wanting to encourage Greg, but don’t stroke his ego with a lie like that!  The viewing includes the previously seen snowstorm scene, excludes Peter talking to Jan and Alice as a Pilgrim lady and includes the previously unseen Thanksgiving scene.  It concludes with Mike playing Captain Jones and then the Pilgrims dancing around.

The final scene before the epilogue has Greg arriving home with good news of a good grade.  Has anybody else noticed how often Mike seems to be home when the kids arrive home from school?  Either he got off early quite often or the school day in 1970 ended much later than it does today.  Greg earned an A for his film and said it did a fine job of showing the suffering the Pilgrims endured.

The epilogue takes place in the family room.  Greg is excited about his class studying the American Revolution and all ready has ideas about another historic film.  Carol supposes a film about the American Revolution could be filmed there.  Mike laments the next term when Greg wants to use the family home to film the entire Civil War!

“The Un-Underground” movie is a fun episode, but is surprisingly short on laughs.  For the subject matter and potential comedic mishap opportunities the story offers, there just wasn’t much humor.  The entire story is within the believability scale.  The only thing I really questioned was the cost that would have been involved with all the costuming that took place.   This film was but for one grade during a high school history class.  The amount of effort and cost seems a bit excessive.  Next week, we review “Going, Going…Steady”.  Will Marcia win the affections of Harvey Klinger?  Tune in and find out!