The Monkees Second Season - Episode No. 41:

“THE CARD-CARRYING RED SHOES”

Peter becomes the target of a romantic prima ballerina—and a dastardly
plot in espionage choreographed by the rest of the ballet company.

Technical & Telecast Info:

Production No.4766
Filmed At:Screen Gems Studios, Hollywood, CA and Fred Niles Film Studios, Chicago, IL.
Filming Dates:September 26-29, 1967 (this episode); August 2, 1967 (“She Hangs Out” musical number).
Piano Cues Recorded:October 20, 1967 in RCA Studio A, Hollywood (from 9:30 AM-12:30 PM)
Original Air Date:November 6, 1967
Ratings:16.4 rating/26.2 share (9,180,000 viewers)
© Raybert Productions; 11-6-67; LP37682
Sponsor This Week:
Kellogg’s™
Rerun Dates:May 6, 1968 (NBC); November 21, 1970, May 8 and August 21, 1971, April 29, 1972 (CBS); January 27, 1973 (ABC)

Production Credits:

Written byLee Sanford.
Directed byJames Frawley.
Produced byRobert Rafelson & Bert Schneider.
Story Editor: Neil Burstyn.
Associate Producer:Gerald S. Shepard.
Production Executive:Ward Sylvester.
Background Music Composed and Conducted by Stu Phillips.
“She Hangs Out”:Written by Jeff Barry; Produced by Chip Douglas.
Guest cast:

Ivan...................................................... Vincent Beck
Natasha................................................ Ondine Vaughn
Nyetovich............................................. Robert Cornthwaite
Dancer.................................................. Gene Otis Shane
Blindfolded Man................................... Jerry Stevenson
Leon Askin as Nicolai

Releases On Home Video:

  • The Monkees: The Collector's Edition - VHS Tape #13 (Columbia House #13690, May 22, 1995)
  • The Monkees Deluxe Limited Edition Boxed Set - VHS Tape #8 (Rhino R3 2960, October 17, 1995)
  • The Monkees - Volume 10 (Rhino VHS R3 2244, September 17, 1996)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 2 (Rhino RetroVision DVD R2 970128, November 18, 2003)
  • The Monkees - Season 2 DVD Boxed Set - Disc 2 (Eagle Rock Entertainment DVD EM351369, September 27, 2011)
  • The Monkees - The Complete Series - Blu-Ray Disc 5 (Rhino BD2-552705, July 8, 2016)

Synopsis:

Ballet is the medium; international intrigue is the message. At the theatre, David, Micky and Peter are hired to perform music for the Druvanian National Ballet using really weird native instruments (a lyre, a lute, and a hornpipe, respectively). Meanwhile, Ballerina Natasha Pavlova bickers with her dancing partner Ivan that she can’t stand rehearing 24 hours a day while Ivan checks her shoes in which he slips in a secret microfilm in the toe of her slippers which he informs to the Ballet Master, Nicolai. Soon as they rehearse, Nicolai instructs The Monkees to play and they perform very badly as Natasha bumps into Peter after being twirled around by Ivan. A fed up Natasha storms off but before complimenting Peter’s face and then hides in the Monkees’ trunk. Ivan blames the mistakes on The Monkees’ incompetence and they are fired and kicked out of the theater. The guys leave with their trunk with Natasha still inside. Ivan declares Natasha and the microfilm gone, but Nicolai insists Druvania will get it back at all costs, even at the expense of human life.

Meanwhile, the threesome drag their trunk back to their pad where Natasha pops out and threatens David and Micky at gunpoint, while she falls in love with Peter because of his beautiful face. Micky in a moving speech manages to convince Natasha to hand over the gun and then holds the gun on Natasha and Peter doing a gangster impersonation. Soon Natasha starts bawling since this was her final chance to stay in America but she’ll be forced to return to Druvania. Peter offers to protect her but David warns that since she’s a big star, it could lead to an international incident, possibly war, and the destruction of the world, which Peter willingly takes responsibility! Then Micky and David head to The Druvanian Embassy where they speak to Nyetovich, the Ambassador about a ballerina. However, the Ambassador denies of hearing of Natasha and has them thrown out---and alerts Ivan by phone. Back at the pad, Natasha is chasing Peter all over the place as Peter tries to fend off her maniacal advances, but is interrupted by Ivan and Nicolai knocking on the door. Peter sends Natasha to hide in the trunk and opens the door as the two villains slam into him in an attempt to break the door down. Peter his knocked out from hitting his head; with no sign of Natasha, the two take unconscious Peter instead back to the thater for questioning.

Natasha warns to David and Micky that Peter will be tortured and forced to talk. Micky replies, “Talk?! Never. They can torture him, beat him, drug him; he’ll never talk! There’s only one torture he can’t withstand, oh, I pray they don’t use that…The Direct Question!” She manages to persuade them to overcome the risks of going on home territory and go to Peter’s rescue. There at the theater, David and Micky, in the guise of detectives, declare to Nyetovich that they are from The BVD and investigating the disappearance of Natasha Pavlova, only to find that Nyetovich’s assignment coincides with theirs. Meanwhile, in a room Ivan and Nicolai are interrogating Peter who claims to know nothing; Nicolai suggests they brainwash Peter, who advises that they use a good detergent (“New Reebersober’s Brain Detergent doesn’t fade, bleach, or shrink your brains!”); later, disguised as Cossacks, Micky and David, approach a group of ballet dancers rehearsing about Peter's whereabouts who’s probably tied up blind folded and facing a firing squad. The dancer and asks outside where a bound, blindfolded guy who's actually facing a fire squad if he’s Peter Tork just before his execution! To evade an approaching Ivan, Micky and David get in line and are involved in a wild Russian dancing rehearsal, pretending to be replacements. However, Ivan orders them to do Russian dancing on the spot to prove their dancers to which Micky and David give a lousy Russian dance as they dance away, barely eluding Ivan. Recognizing who they really are, he sends an ultimatum saying Peter Tork will die unless Natasha is returned for the night’s premiere, sending Natasha, Micky and David to the rescue.

Natasha returns to the theatre insisting to Ivan that they let Peter go which they’ll do after the tour ends (in 6 months). Later, Micky puts a glass to the wall to listen in the next room where the villains are (he saw it in a movie once) only to hear an operator first! The three discover that Nyetovich has recovered the film and is preparing to do away with Peter at the end of Natasha’s solo. Ivan will leap into the air and a cymbal crash will be heard as soon as he lands, at which time Peter will be shot! Natasha prepares to don her chicken costume and mask for her “Dance of The Chicken” when she suddenly sprains her ankle, forcing Micky to take her place. Soon Micky is dragged off by Ivan as Davy and Natasha hide. Soon, as the music plays, three different romps commence: David jumps into the orchestra pit and does all he can to prevent the cymbalist from crashing his cymbals; Peter escapes Nicolai and takes on all comers, including Nyetovich, and a girl wrapped in a bathtowel, with swords, chalk, and a butterfly net; and Micky gives a hilarious performance onstage with Ivan, whom he prevents from taking that final leap into the air. The romps end with Nyetovich tied up and Ivan and Nicolai knocked unconscious and a frustrated conductor who whips off his white wig!

Back at the pad, David informs Natasha that the government has decided to let her stay and Peter is thrilled since they can continue see more of each other. However, Natasha decides that they’re too different, since there’s more to love than just a beautiful face and true love requires mutual understanding and a common background. She tells him that she’s found a new love and when she introduces her new beau, a Russian named Alexei, they discover that he looks exactly like Peter! Michael joins the trio as they end the show with a rendition of “She Hangs Out”.

Production Notes:

The version of “She Hangs Out” used in this segment is alternate to that which was used on the soon-to-be-released Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd., as it featured no horn arrangement.

Collector's Note: An analogous pre-brass mix of “She Hangs Out” has turned up in the form of a full-length alternate stereo version as a bonus selection on Disc 1 of Rhino's July 10, 2007 2-CD Deluxe Edition reissue of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (R2 77767).

This is the last filmed Monkees episode which sees The Monkees dressed in their beloved 8-button shirts.

The classical piece heard during the chase sequence was from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 - Finale: Allegro con fuoco (1878). A brief snippet from this piece can also be heard during the submain titles for “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes.” Tchaikovsky's greatest piece, War Of 1812 Overture, will be heard in Episode No. 54, "The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show"); another of his pieces, Romeo and Juliet (1869, rev. 1870, 1880), appears in No. 55, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor". This is the only Monkees episode to boast a Monkee romp not set to Monkees music. 

Though Michael Nesmith skipped out on “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes”, the episode's original Screen Gems Storyline featured a scripted part for him, telling Natasha she can stay in the U.S.; it also finds The Monkees grabbed a trunk for protection, and not stating that it was their trunk for their instruments!

Another first on the series eminates in this episode: The Monkees wait until after the show to sing a song from thier latest album. Others episodes to featured delayed Monkee musical numbers are No. 47, "The Monkees Christmas Show" (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story"), No. 48, "Fairy Tale", No. 53, "The Monkees Race Again" (a.k.a. "And Leave The Driving To Us"), and No. 55, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor".

Pianist Pearl Kaufman provides several piano cues heard in “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes”.

For the first time this season, the submain title credits (writer[s] and director) are superimposed in front of the boys' faces against the yellow background. “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes” was one of only 10 second-season Monkees installments to run in this vein; others are Episode No. 44, "Hitting The High Seas", No. 45, "The Monkees In Texas", No. 46, "The Monkees On The Wheel", No. 47, "The Monkees Christmas Show" (a.k.a. "The Christmas Story"), No. 51, "The Monkee's Paw", No. 53, "The Monkees Race Again" (a.k.a. "And Leave The Driving To Us"), No. 55, "The Monkees Mind Their Manor", No. 57, "The Monkees Blow Their Minds", and No. 58, "Mijacogeo" (a.k.a. "The Frodis Caper")

Treva Silverman actually wrote the teleplay for “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes”; it was her sixth and final Monkees script, aside from it being her only other contribution to The Monkees' second season (besides Episode No. 33, "It's A Nice Place To Visit..." [a.k.a. "The Monkees In Mexico"]). She disliked how script editors Dee Caruso and Gerald Gardner rewrote it, so she chose to be credited under an androgynous pseudonym: Lee Sanford.

Trivia Notes:

The title of the episode “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes” was inspired from the Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale “The Red Shoes”. It is the story of a girl who became obsessed with owning a pair of red dancing shoes with long silk ribbons. Her grandmother refuses to buy them, claiming they are not practical. Yet she thinks of nothing else and saves up all her money until she can buy them herself. However, the girl soon finds out the consequences of owning the red shoes. The ending of the story has changes in versions for younger viewers, but the original version had the girl amputate her feet to get the shoes off!

This is a rare occurrence on The Monkees TV show wherein a girl woos a Monkee other than David—Peter!—in the series' attempt to break its tried-and-true traditon of David's forever imperiling his mates due to his infatuation to girls! As we recall, Peter had a previous bout with girl trouble in Episode No. 13, “One Man Shy” (a.k.a. "Peter And The Debutante"); April Conquest (Julie Newmar) briefly woos Peter near the conclusion of No. 29, “The Monkees Get Out More Dirt” (prior to her dropping the bomb on him about her being engaged!); and at the end of No. 35, "Everywhere A Sheik Sheik", Colette (Donna Loren) chooses Peter after David tells her she might find someone else she likes better than him to marry. 

The chicken suit worn by Micky was previously employed for use in the November 6, 1965 episode of Get Smart, "The Day Smart Turned Chicken." (Ironically, it aired a full 2 years before “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes”!) 

Natasha mentions Paul Revere and George Washington when she lectures David and Micky on taking risks. Michael and Peter made satirical jabs at Washington and David and Micky, Revere in separate fantasy sequences seen in Episode No. 24, “The Monkees A La Mode”

At one point, Micky, selected by David to double for an injured Natasha Pavlova (Ondine Vaughn), shouts into his listening glass, "Ward, I don't wanna be a chicken!" It's in reference, of course, to associate producer/production executive/producer of The Monkees, Ward Sylvester.

In the romp during the “Dance of The Chicken” sequence, Micky (substituting for injured Natasha Pavlova [Ondine Vaughn]) renews his ballet-dancing prowess, something which he first displayed in Episode No. 29, “The Monkees Get Out More Dirt”, while showing off for April Conquest (Julie Newmar).

“The Card-Carrying Red Shoes” is the 4th and final episode of The Monkees to deal with espionage. Previous spy-themed segments were Episode No. 5, "The Spy Who Came In Fom The Cool," No. 17, “The Case Of The Missing Monkee”, and No. 26, “Monkee Chow Mein” (all Gerald Gardner-Dee Caruso-written teleplays). The beginning of the teaser sequence of Episode No. 54, "The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show"), finds The Monkees about to commence filming another segment dealing with spies - until they call a halt to the proceedings.

For the second time on the show secret microfilm is used as a "MacGuffin" (the object enemy spies are after), following "The Spy Who Came In Fom The Cool." In “The Case Of The Missing Monkee”, the MacGuffin is a nuclear scientist, Prof. Milo Schnitzler (Norbert Schiller), and in “Monkee Chow Mein”, it is a virus (The Doomsday Bug). 

This is the first of 2 Monkees episodes wherein a Monkees romp is set to classical music; the other is No. 54, "The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show").

In the scene where David and Micky attempt to infiltrate The DNB in the guise of Russian dancers, they wear 2 of the Russian Cossack shirts which The Monkees wore in the “I’ll Be Back Up On My Feet” number of Episode No. 14, “Dance, Monkee, Dance”; Davis wears his red shirt, Micky wears Michael's blue-green shirt.

When Natasha constantly puts the moves on Peter in The Monkees beach pad, he employs a little bit of quick-change artistry and becomes a lion tamer, using a chair and a whip to keep her at bay. This is the third time a Monkee masquerades as a lion tamer on The Monkees; Micky previously appeard as one twice: in Episode No. 3, “Monkee Versus Machine”, and No. 22, “The Monkees At The Circus”.

The scene where Natasha pops out of the trunk in The Monkees' pad probably parallels an incident during The Monkees' summer tour, which found a young lady popping out of a crate in which she mailed herself to the group and surprising them! The Monkees discuss this topic in the tag interview segment of Episode No. 35, "Everywhere A Sheik Sheik".

Yardley Of London™ gets brief promotion in “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes.” Actress Ondine Vaughn, in her role as Natasha, appears to be wearing Yardley Glimmerick Eye Paint. 7 episodes later, in No. 48, "Fairy Tale", Diane Shalet, as The Fairy Of The Locket, also appears to be wearing Yardley Glimmerick as well.

A full year after “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes” aired first-run on NBC, The Monkees' feature film HEAD premiered in Manhattan.

Once again, Micky is picked to be the decoy in hopes of duping the villains, just like in “The Case Of The Missing Monkee” and No. 25, “Alias Micky Dolenz”

Guest Cast Notes:

Ondine Vaughn (Natasha) later on appeared in 2 third-season episodes of The Partridge Family (ABC, 1970-74): "The Mod Father" (October 27, 1972) and "Bedknobs And Drunsticks" (February 9, 1973).

The late Robert Cornthwaite (Nyetovich) is best remembered for his roles as Professor Windish in Get Smart (NBC/CBS, 1965-70), Hives in Cheers (NBC, 1982-93) and Howard Buss in Picket Fences (CBS, 1992-96). He also appeared with Monkee guest Doodles Weaver (“The Monkees In Manhattan” [a.k.a “The Monkees Manhattan Style”]) in the September 7-8, 1966 episode of Batman (ABC, 1966-68), "Shoot A Crooked Arrow/Walk The Straight And Narrow" (#9705), which was the series' second-season debut and written by Monkee writer Stanley Ralph Ross ("The Monkees Marooned" and "The Wild Monkees"); with Arch Johnson (“The Chaperone”), Conrthwaite previously guested in a February 2, 1962 episode of The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959-64), "Showdown With Rance McGrew." He died in July 2006 at age 89.

Making the last of 3 appearances on The Monkees is the late character actor Vincent Beck; his other performances include Sigmund in the series premiere, "The Royal Flush," and Marco, the head Grumchek Gypsy in Episode No. 16, "The Son Of A Gypsy," both of which (like “The Card-Carrying Red Shoes”) were directed by Jim Frawley. Beck also had a turn in a February 12, 1971 episode of Mission: Impossible (CBS, 1966-73), "Double Dead," with Monkee guest alum Lou Antonio ("Hillbilly Honeymoon" [a.k.a. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding"]); with Abraham Sofaer (HEAD), he previously participated in a September 20, 1966 episode of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1966-67): "The Prisoner Of Zalamar Affair" (#8611). Beck's theatrical career went back as far as 1946 when he appeared in "A Flag is Born" on Broadway. He also had roles in "Peter Pan", "Oliver" and "Irma LaDouce" and was seen in TV commercials before making his bow in syndicated TV shows. He started on screen in the lamentable Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Embassy, 1964) which may have taken him some time to live down. Thereafter, he was most comfortable playing the heavy in a prolific film and television acting career. A year before his death he became president of the New York section of the Screen Actors Guild.

The late Leon Askin (Nicolai) portrayed the rakish General Albert Burkhalter on Hogan's Heroes (CBS, 1965-71), which also featured Monkee guests Noam Pitlik ("Everywhere A Sheik Sheik", "Hitting The High Seas"), Arlene Martel (“The Spy Who Came In From The Cool”, "The Monstrous Monkee Mash"), Walter Janowitz (“Monkee Versus Machine”), Ben Wright (“The Success Story”), and Bernard Fox ("The Monkees Mind Their Manor") in assorted guest roles. Askin passed away in June 2005 at age 97.

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