Dick Van Dyke is known for his physical humor—falling over chairs, tumbling, suddenly allowing all his bones to turn into rubber, et cetera. In this episode, we get a more subtle version of his physical genius.
The plot involves Laura telling Rob it would be foolish to go out golfing early in the morning because they have a big party that evening and he might catch a cold or be otherwise too exhaused to be a good host.
He does, and he does. I mean, he goes golfing and he catches the flu. But he's too proud to admit that he was wrong, so he tries to tough it out.
The clip below sets the stage for his great challenge: Playing Charades while ill while pretending to be completely healthy. We then join a round already in progress (that's where the Shakespeare is), and then Rob gets his turn. The bookends to the Shakespeare part aren't strictly necessary, but they're remarkable for their physicality.
Links: The Episode at IMDB.
We catch the other players trying to guess what turns out to be "To be or not to be" with some interesting (if not unique) cluing. It may not be an earth-shaking revelation, but it indicates that the phrase would likely be known to a high precentage of those attending the party. Perhaps The Canterbury Tales is a bit less so.
As a final note, you may recognize the actor playing Uncle Harold. It's Willard Waterman, who was The Great Gildersleeve in the television version of the radio show.
Links: The Episode at IMDB.
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(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
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