This is a great episode and a wry observation about quite a range of topics.. Broadway plays,censorship,
'morality'(real,phony and imagined),empty moral posturing,the news media playing both ends against the middle,extremism on both sides,nosy people,privacy and the value of it,the power of rumors,fame...
You name it,there is a lot of ground covered in this short show. The acting is excellent,the script and plot are very funny,and it gives you something to think about. This was a very good episode of a very good show. 9/10.
4 Reviews
one of the best episodes
grizzledgeezer14 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I loved "You'll Never Get Rich", which gave us a permanent record of Phil Silvers' classic fast-talking conniver. Without it, he would be pretty much forgotten.
"Car 54", Nat Hiken's following series, wasn't as funny, and I never fully appreciated it. Watching it again, I can see how brisk and unforced the humor is. It might not be the classic "Rich" was and remains, but it //is// genuinely funny.
This episode indulges in satire. When Toody & Muldoon's precinct buys 142 tickets to an utter bomb of a play -- "Little Miss Pioneer" -- people start thinking it's being investigated by the police -- probably because it's obscene. Naturally, the show becomes a hit.
We see the final scene of this wretched drama, in which the manly guide pulls off his wig to reveal he's actually... Little Miss Pioneer!
This sort of gender crossing -- in which women pretended to be men in order to secure work (or because they were psychologically cross-gendered) was not that uncommon. * What seemed innocuous 60 years ago, would not seem so harmless to modern ultra-conservative whackos, who might view the play as promoting lesbianism, gender reassignment, etc.
Nat Hiken was unknowingly prescient.
* One member of the 7th Cavalry was married to the woman who did the laundry. When she suddenly dropped dead, it was discovered she was really a man. The soldier was subjected to so much ridicule that he committed suicide.
"Car 54", Nat Hiken's following series, wasn't as funny, and I never fully appreciated it. Watching it again, I can see how brisk and unforced the humor is. It might not be the classic "Rich" was and remains, but it //is// genuinely funny.
This episode indulges in satire. When Toody & Muldoon's precinct buys 142 tickets to an utter bomb of a play -- "Little Miss Pioneer" -- people start thinking it's being investigated by the police -- probably because it's obscene. Naturally, the show becomes a hit.
We see the final scene of this wretched drama, in which the manly guide pulls off his wig to reveal he's actually... Little Miss Pioneer!
This sort of gender crossing -- in which women pretended to be men in order to secure work (or because they were psychologically cross-gendered) was not that uncommon. * What seemed innocuous 60 years ago, would not seem so harmless to modern ultra-conservative whackos, who might view the play as promoting lesbianism, gender reassignment, etc.
Nat Hiken was unknowingly prescient.
* One member of the 7th Cavalry was married to the woman who did the laundry. When she suddenly dropped dead, it was discovered she was really a man. The soldier was subjected to so much ridicule that he committed suicide.
Funny satire, especially for its time
sdwriter264 November 2012
"Car 54" salutes Broadway while also taking a poke at people's fascination with "dirty" plays, movies, books and other media. The cops and their wives want to do something for an outing, and they choose to go to a play -- if they can get 142 tickets. They find that is difficult, unless they are willing to lower their standards -- and real Broadway classics are featured -- and accept a play that no one wants to see. But when a reporter gets the idea that the boys in blue are raiding the show, well, that's another matter entirely. It's a nice change of pace for the show, and some excellent comedy blended in by the players. This kind of sharp, funny script would have no chance in today's bland, stupid TV world.
A Comment About The Culture
ccthemovieman-13 January 2012
This isn't one of the better episodes, although it's not terrible. A lot of it is arguing among the precinct's "Brotherhood Committee" and their wives and where to spend their annual get-together.
They finally decide on a Broadway but can't into any of them as they all sold out well in advance......except for one stink in which about three people attend each night. "Little Miss Pioneer" is a "wholesome" play with no sex, violence, innuendos, half-naked women, etc., and - according to writers a play nobody wants to see, the message being that sex sells.
Some of the comments by "Sylvia Schnauser" (Charlotte Rae) are funny, but that's about it.
They finally decide on a Broadway but can't into any of them as they all sold out well in advance......except for one stink in which about three people attend each night. "Little Miss Pioneer" is a "wholesome" play with no sex, violence, innuendos, half-naked women, etc., and - according to writers a play nobody wants to see, the message being that sex sells.
Some of the comments by "Sylvia Schnauser" (Charlotte Rae) are funny, but that's about it.
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