The Fuller Brush Girl in Bloomington, MN

Hot on the heels of such Red Skelton slapstick comedies as
The Fuller Brush Man
and
The Yellow Cab Man
came
The Fuller Brush Girl
, starring Lucille Ball in a fascinating dry run for her wacky "Lucy Ricardo" TV character. Unable to hold a job because of her tendency to get into trouble, Sally Elliot (Ball) hires on at the Fuller Brush company as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman. After several misadventures involving obnoxious children and snooty matrons, Sally finds herself in the middle of a murder scheme. With reluctant boyfriend Humphrey (Eddie Albert) in tow, Sally gets mixed up in one hilariously life-threatening situation after another, culminating in a prolonged chase sequence on board a tramp steamer. Highlights include Ball's outrageous striptease scene (to the tune of Rita Hayworth's "Put the Blame on Mame") and a choice cameo by Red Skelton as an all-too-cooperative customer. Most of the sight gags in
Fuller Brush Girl
were cooked up by former cartoon director Frank Tashlin, who'd also contributed to
Fuller Brush Man
.