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 Tillstrom. This episode aired on December 28, 1949 at 7:00 PM on NBC. Video is available on DVD.
What happened: The show opens with an introduction by theatre producer Engelbert Humperdink, who has a somewhat incongruous Southern accent. He announces that tonight we’re seeing the opening of the Kuklapolitan “light opera” season, with a production of “Hansel and Gretel” based on the “Grum Brothers” fairytale. He also provides us with some “backstory”, that Beulah was originally recruited for the Kuklapolitans based off a performance in the same play, and brought Fletcher Rabbit along with her.
There’s some confusion as the camera opens, as Fran, Beulah and Madame Oglepuss all think that they’re playing the role of Gretel. They’re each all wearing operatic blonde wigs for the part. Beulah says that she’s tired of playing the witch. They fight about this, and all sing Gretel’s opening number. They head off, leaving Ollie to attempt to play both the mother and father’s parts. Seeing him in distress, Fran finally agrees to take on the role of the mother.
Of course, Kukla is in the role of Hansel, but finds himself without a Gretel due to all the chaos. An angry Fran now refuses to play the part. As Hansel looks for his sister, Fletcher keeps popping up, having now decided that he’s going to be the angel. Ollie puts on the braided wig and decides to play the role of Gretel, but Fran changes her mind, and together they sing a song about how to walk or something.
This is followed by an in-character plug for a RCA record player. Back in the play, Ollie is back to playing Gretel, and Kukla tells him that “You’re reading the lines very well, but it’s very stupid.” He then sings an operatic lullaby to the freezing “Gretel.” They arrive at the Gingerbread house, with a reluctant Fran playing the role of the witch. (She mostly seems to be doing a Beulah impression.)
However, Fran decides to rewrite the script at the last moment, saying that she’s an estranged cousin. Apparently she was cut off from the family because she disapproved of Hansel’s mother’s marriage. Ollie-Gretel attempts to enter the house, but ends up destroying it. Buster finally shows up, but the play is already over. Fran swears that she’s out of the acting business. Happily ever after?
What happened: Compared to the last few episodes of Kukla, Fran and Ollie I’ve watched, this one has a positively pulsating plot, beginning with a strong statement of purpose and then proceeding to a rather self-referential and frequently distracted telling of a familiar story. Of course, the plot sort of collapses in the telling and has to be rushed to a conclusion with five minutes remaining, but hey, that’s improv.
It would be easy for a kid’s show to do a straightforward fairytale adaptation, using the public domain to fill in during a dry week as so many programs have done before. Certainly the temptation would be there working a daily schedule. But instead, KFO instead tells a meta-story that draws on its own characters’ traits and foibles. The series puts a certain faith in the audience to already be familiar with the story it’s dealing with, and know where it goes off the rails. (Maybe too much faith — I had completely forgotten that there was an angel in Hansel and Gretel.)
The bickering and competition for roles in this episode might be a sardonic comment on the real world of showbusiness, but it also helps to flesh out the characters of the Kuklapolitan gang. In particular, Fran emerges as an actual character instead of just the human assistant to the more colourful puppets. Here we get to see her be superficial, petulant, and just a little vain. That may not sound like a good thing, but it’s the kind of foibles that make characters on kids’ shows work.
At the same time it’s hard not to notice the gendered nature of this characterization. It’s not just that Fran is fixated on playing the starring role here — all the female characters are. There’s a definite divide between the male characters, who are all fairly humble and determined to stick to their roles, and the diva-like women. This is the same kind of narrative that has diminished female stars for decades. So while it’s good to see Fran get some distinguishing characteristics, it’s too bad they have misogynist connotations.
I was a little interested in the play being described as part of a “light opera” season. The term describes the kind of comedic and approachable opera popularized by Gilbert and Sullivan, a phenomenon which suggests how much more mainstream “high culture” was in this period. Would kids have been familiar with these works, or was this another nod to the grown-ups in the audience? There are definitely a few more episodes of this nature on the KFO DVD sets, including what appears to be a parody of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, so I guess I’ll get my answer soon. Well, soon-ish.
Coming up next: One more stop before we get into 1949’s undated material, as the Lone Ranger confronts Cannonball McKay, who I think is a jazz musician.
The Eternal Couch Potato 