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
.