Wow, "The Beverly Hillbillies" were a lot Bawdier than I Remember

[kenobi_65]

@Darren_Garrison

I think I have brought this up here before, but aren’t Jethro and Ellie supposed to still be in their teens, despite the age of the actors portraying them? If there had been “correctly aged” actors, their being pursued by adults would have looked pretty creepy.

I don’t know that their ages were explicitly given often (though I seem to recall Granny worrying about Elly Mae being an “old maid,” since she hadn’t gotten married as a teenager). However, as childlike naivete was a hallmark of both characters, I can definitely see how that impression could be there.

[Darren_Garrison]

@kenobi_65

I don’t know that their ages were explicitly given often (though I seem to recall Granny worrying about Elly Mae being an “old maid,” since she hadn’t gotten married as a teenager).

After some googling I’ve finally found an explicit mention of age–in Season 8, episode 1 Granny is worried about Ellie May being an old maid at 20. Of course there is no way that her character was 12 at the beginning of the series, and I don’t know how many years passed on the show “in universe” or if everyone was perpetually frozen at the same age à la The Simpsons.

[Orwell]

@Alley_Dweller

Yeah, I loved that. I remember, also with great amusement, Granny’s expression when someone finally whispers in her ear what a topless restaurant is.

And then there was the scene when Elly Mae comes walking down the stairs wearing a low-cut evening gown. Jed or Granny tell her she must have it on backwards and she turns and walks up the stairs to change, revealing the fact that the gown is backless.

Yep. I vividly remember both scenes and both episodes. What a terrific show.

[ftg]

@Alley_Dweller

And then there was the scene when Elly Mae comes walking down the stairs wearing a low-cut evening gown. Jed or Granny tell her she must have it on backwards and she turns and walks up the stairs to change, revealing the fact that the gown is backless.

My memory is that the scene took place next to the cement pond and she was wearing a typical one piece swimsuit. Granny was upset about it being on backwards and insisted she go and put in on right. When she turned around Jed told her to never mind.

[kenobi_65]

@ftg

My memory is that the scene took place next to the cement pond and she was wearing a typical one piece swimsuit. Granny was upset about it being on backwards and insisted she go and put in on right. When she turned around Jed told her to never mind.

In fact, the Youtube link which pkbites embedded in post #13 is that exact scene. And, yes, your recollection of it is pretty accurate (though, it is a dress, not a swimsuit).

[Sam_Stone]

The dirty little secret of many of those ‘wholesome’ shows in the 60’s is that they were full of thinly veiled excuses to get pretty young women in tight and revealing clothes, and sexual innuendo was everywhere. I Dream of Genie, Bewitched, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, Hee-Haw… All full of pretty young girls wearing the most revealing clothes you could get away with then, and packed with as much sexual innuendo you could get away with.

The T&A just became more overt in the 70’s, and women on prime time TV in that era showed a lot more skin than they do today. Three’s Company, Charlie’s Angels, Love Boat, Dukes of Hazzard, etc.

[notfrommensa]

I love that Jethro/Jed scene!

Here is a scene where Ricky spanks Lucy. (I think there were several like that in I LOVE LUCY)

[pkbites]

@notfrommensa

I love that Jethro/Jed scene!

Here is a scene where Ricky spanks Lucy. (I think there were several like that in I LOVE LUCY)

How about the dirty joke on the Flintstones?

[ftg]

@kenobi_65

In fact, the Youtube link which pkbites embedded in post #13 is that exact scene. And, yes, your recollection of it is pretty accurate (though, it is a dress, not a swimsuit).

~Same joke, but not the actual same one. It was definitely a swimsuit and Granny had walked away or turned her back so only Jed saw the reverse of the suit and commented.

BH reused a lot of material. Not a surprise.

[Find_Friends]

@RealityChuck

People tend to think that anything before the sexual revolution in the 60s was straitlaced and with no sex at all. And while sex itself was never portrayed and barely hinted out, there is still a long history of double entendre and situations that today we’d recognize as being sexually charged. In some case, that’s because we’ve learned to look for sex in everything, even things meant to be innocent, but some of the time it was deliberate. Hinting at sex – especially in a comic context – had a long history and as long as children didn’t understand the innuendo, the censors let it go by.

So the “topless restaurant” mentioned above passed muster because a child would not understand the joke…

Quite. When the original “Laugh-In” show debuted it was early 1968. Very explicit sexual references could still have caused a commotion on TV. Two things kept the show safe from mothers marching in the streets. Most of the “off-color” humor elements (and there was even a couple of hints at the word FUCK) were very subtly done. Also, it was a very fast-paced show. Even if little Tommy or Sally asked a parent what “something meant” the show had gone on to something else. Most parents would probably just say they missed what the question was about.

Approximate Quote by Goldie Hawn >> It’s really very simple. Some movies were made for children and some were made for adultery! <<