Original Mickey Mouse Club - Lost Episodes 8

Lost Episodes 8: Selected "Fun with Music Day" Shows

"Lost Episodes" is an irregular series highlighting shows from the Mickey Mouse Club's first two seasons that for one reason or another are not readily available for viewing today. The shows are not truly lost, as the 35mm film masters are presumably archived by Disney. However, photos and information about the shows are so rare as to render them "lost" to general knowledge.

This page contains storylines and production details for rare first season Fun with Music Day shows. They are not available on YouTube, Disney official DVD releases, nor are they circulated among private collectors. Most of the content here comes courtesy of Randall Nakashima. Due to the rarity of these shows, few photos are available to illustrate them. Song recordings where present are from Mickey Mouse Club records, not from the original episodes.

Be Sure You're Right

Prod No: 8206-008

Filmed: June 1955

Broadcast: December 19, 1955

Intro: Billie

Lead: Jimmie & Judy (duet); Lonnie (as Davey Crockett)

With: Mary Espinosa, Billie, Nancy, Dallas

Song: Be Sure You're Right (Parker/Ebsen)

Synopsis: A song about Davey Crocket and his maxim to have the confidence to go ahead without fear when you know you're right. Jimmie and Judy sing a duet while the other Mouseketeers play Davey Crockett and the obstacles he faced.

Storyline: The scene opens with Jimmie, dressed in the buckskin jacket and leather pants he wore in Old Betsy. Judy wears a long dress with a large bow in her hair. (The bow doesn't appear in the photo). The pair walk side-by-side from the camera to a bench in front of a log cabin as Jimmie plucks his banjo.

Jimmie: You know Judy, a long time ago a great man named Davey Crocket said a wonderful thing.

Judy: What's that Jimmie?

Jimmie: He said he had a little voice deep down inside of him that always told him when he was right and when he was wrong. And then he said something else: whenever he was sure he was right, he went right ahead. And you know what, Judy? That same little voice that was inside of Davey Crocket is inside of you and me and everybody else! So always remember:

(Plays his banjo and sings)
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
It's up to you, to do
What Davey Crocket said

Davey Crocket met a B'ar
He got a great big hug
Davey Crocket met a B'ar
He got a great big hug
'Fore they got one round
Davey grinned him down
And now he's a B'ar skin rug!

Lonnie, dressed as Davey Crockett with rifle and cap, encounters a Mouseketeer in a bear costume (the same one that Lonnie wore in the Circus Day Roll Call), who proceeds to put a bear hug on him. Lonnie pulls a set of grinning teeth (on a stick) out of his pocket, causing the bear to go into a spiral and fall in a heap.

Jimmie (continuing):

Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead

Judy (singing):

It's up to you, to do
What Davey Crocket said

Jimmie:

Davey Crocket was in the forest-
He met an Injun chief
Davey Crocket was in the forest-
He met an Injun chief
Well the battle grew
And the feathers flew
'Til the Injun cried for relief

Lonnie is scouting the scene, looking stage left. Mary, dressed in a war bonnet and holding a tomahawk, runs up behind him. They begin to struggle over the rifle when Lonnie pulls off the war bonnet, causing Mary to leap up in fright. Mary runs off while Lonnie casually plucks the feathers out of the headdress one by one.

Jimmie:

Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead

Judy:

Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead

Lonnie and Mary Espinosa

Jimmie:

It's up to you-

Judy:

To do-

Together:

What Davey Crocket said

Jimmie:

Davey Crocket had to plow
He had a stubborn mule
Davey Crocket had to plow
He had a stubborn mule
Well around the town
All the folks turned out
To see where Davey
Drug that fool!

Lonnie stands opposite a Mouseketeer wearing a mule/donkey outfit (the one Nancy wore in the Anything Can Happen Day Roll Call), pulling on the mule's rope with no success. He then goes around to the back of the mule and pushes, again with no success. He then goes to the front and starts pulling again when the mule pulls back and throws Lonnie stage right, out of the picture.

(Judy and Jimmie Together)
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
It's up to you, to do
What Davey Crocket said

Jimmie:

Davey Crocket met a gator-
Hungry, mean and strong!
Davey Crocket met a gator-
Hungry, mean and strong!
But he made one slip
Fell in Davey's grip
Now the gator is a grip
And goes along

A Mouseketeer in an alligator suit (the one Lonnie wore in the Anything Can Happen Day roll call) approaches Lonnie who defends himself by sticking his rifle in the alligator's mouth. Their struggle over the rifle takes them behind some scenery bushes. Lonnie emerges victorious and exits left, carrying an alligator bag. Lonnie walks jauntily past Judy and Jimmie sitting in front of the cabin as the duo continue to sing:

(Judy and Jimmie Together)
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
Be sure, you're right
And then go ahead
It's up to you-
To do-
What Davey Crocket said

(Repeating)
It's up to you-
To do-
What Davey Crocket said (harmonizing)

(Both face the camera and point)
BE SURE YOU'RE RIGHT!!

Notes

This was done by the same team that did Old Betsy, which I believe was the Blue Team (per Bonni).
Who are the Mice in costume? Nancy wore the donkey/mule outfit in the Anything Can Happen Day Introduction, so I'm guessing the costume was already sized for her. The bear is a bit shorter than the others, so I'm betting it was Dallas. The alligator has thin legs, so I'm betting it was Billie. Just my educated guess.
Thematically, there was no difference between this number and Old Betsy, with the major exception that it gave Judy a chance to display her singing talent. Judy is very polished and interacts well with Jimmie, always keeping eye contact and spot on with her timing.
Jimmie is wearing buckskin and carrying a banjo. Could Judy, dressed in a Gingham dress, have guessed it was a song about Davey Crockett? At least Jimmie eschewed the coonskin cap.
Billie gives the standard Mouseketune Special introduction. Probably to no one's surprise, she is smiling, and it is nice to hear her speak for a change. Her introduction cuts off somewhat abruptly and you can almost feel a giggle coming on.

Roy Roy Quick on the Draw

Prod No: 8206-0??

Filmed: July 1955

Broadcast: December 26, 1955

Intro: Bronson

Lead: Roy Williams, Jimmie Dodd

With: Mary Sartori, Tim, Bonni, Dennis, Bronson, Lonnie

Song: Roy, Roy, Quick on the Draw (Amsberry/Marcellino)

Synopsis: Roy's Drawing Lesson meets What Am I? meets The Friendly Farmers in a western-themed Fun with Music number. Jimmie is the local sheriff, Roy is an "unwanted" bad man/artist, and the Mice lend their faces for Roy's artwork.

Storyline: Jimmie, dressed in western garb and sporting a badge, nails an "unwanted poster" to the wall of the pokey with the butt of his pistol. The poster features a caricature of Roy, reading: "Unwanted: Roy Roy, $5000 Reward if NOT caught."

The music begins and Jimmie sings:

When I was way out west
Where the cowboys are the best,
I met a man the whole west will agree
He's the fastest on the draw you will ever see

They call him Roy Roy,
Quick on the draw
That's my boy Roy,
Quick on the draw

He's a rooty-toot-toot-in'
Six-gun shootin'
He's the fastest drawer
You ever saw

The camera focuses on the "Unwanted" poster (see photo), which fades into the not-so-dissimilar original, with Roy jutting out his lower lip. Roy paces back gunslinger fashion with both guns drawn, then turns and takes aim at the wooden fence behind him. He fires six shots, and with each shot the face of a Mouseketeer appears in the fence, courtesy of sliding doors covering six oval holes in the fence.

Jimmie (off-camera) continues singing as the camera focuses on Mary at the far right of the fence as Roy draws around her face:

(Jimmie)
A very funny fellow is a clown
He makes you smile
And takes away the frown
For he knows what to do
To make a laugh come through
(Mary sings)
I'm a funny little, happy little,
gay little clown

Roy moves to his left and begins drawing a gnu around Tim.

(Jimmie)
Did you ever see a baby gnu?
A baby gnu is not a baby new,
He looks a little like a cow
There he is right now
(Tim sings)
I'm a funny little, happy little,
Baby gnu

Roy again moves to his left and begins drawing a goat around Bonni.

(Jimmie)
A nanny goat is happy on a farm
Even though he's seldom in a barn,
A goat gives milk to you
That makes you healthy too,
(Bonni sings)
I'm a funny little, happy little,
Goat on a farm

Roy again moves to his left and begins drawing a chimpanzee around Dennis.

(Jimmie)
A smart little fellow is the chim-pan-zee
He makes you smile and giggle and laugh with glee
He can turn a summersault
And never make a fault
(Dennis sings)
I'm a funny little, happy little,
Chim-pan-zee

Roy again moves to his left and begins drawing a racoon around Bronson.

(Jimmie)
How about a chubby fat raccoon?
He never ever eats with a spoon
He washes his hands clean,
The cleanest I have ever seen,
(Bronson sings)
I'm a dainty little, funny little
Gay raccoon

Roy continues to move left and begins drawing Mickey Mouse around Lonnie.

(Jimmie)
The greatest mouse is a mouse that's known as Mickey,
He does a lot of things that are mighty tricky
He welcomes you each day
For a lot of fun and play,
(Lonnie with over-dubbed Mickey Mouse voice)
I'm the best little, funny little
Mickey Mouse

Jimmie suddenly appears at the right side of the fence by Mary, gun drawn, facing down Roy at the left side of the fence by Lonnie. They approach each other in gunfighter fashion, step by step while the Mouseketeers watch, wide-eyed. The music heightens as both men lift their guns and fire, producing two flags that read "Bang!" (Fadeout)

Notes

My guesstimate is that Roy did the caricature of himself. However, if he didn't, there were probably dozens of people in the Animation Department who would be only too happy to provide a caricature of "Moose Williams."
Perhaps a gunfight is not suitable for a children's show, but this was back in the days when Marshall Dillon shot the same guy on a weekly basis at the beginning of Gunsmoke.
Bronson gives the standard Mouseketune Special Introduction. This is in addition to Village Blacksmith, Mickey Mouse Mambo, and everything she did in top hat and tails. Although I'm not big on cute, she never seems to lose her appeal.
One wonders what a gnu and a chimpanzee are doing in the wild west, or how a goat referred to as "he" is supposed to give milk. Of course, there was no video-recording in 1955, and no one expected the plot to bear analysis sixty years later.
Many of the Mouseketeers had specialties such as Sharon's tapping, Cubby's drumming or Darlene's singing. This number featured Tim Rooney's specialty of putting his head through a hole (See The Friendly Farmers). The fact that everyone else could do it too, may explain his short tenure on the show.
Lonnie's dubbed-over Mickey Mouse voice does not sound quite right for a show coming from the Disney Studio. Although we may never know if Jimmy McDonald (Mickey's voice at the time) did the voice, it is unlikely anyone suggested they call Walt to dub for Lonnie.

The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show

Be Sure You're Right

Roy Roy Quick on the Draw