May Festival Play

Originally Aired: May 7, 1940

Fibber McGee & Molly #247, "May Festival Play,"

Fibber McGee has written, directed, and produced a medieval play for the Women's Club titled "When Knighthood Was the Stuff." As Sir Lancelot in a full suit of armor, Fibber performs opposite Molly as the fair Elaine, delivering stilted medieval dialogue filled with McGee's trademark mangled phrases. The plot reaches its climax when Fibber must battle the Black Knight, played by Gildersleeve, for Elaine's hand in marriage. Things get out of hand when Fibber enthusiastically wallops Gildersleeve with his sword during the fight scene, leaving a sizable dent in his helmet and knocking him cold.

After the performance, Mrs. Uppington reveals the play has increased the Women's Club deficit to a whopping 950 dollars, and an angry Gildersleeve demands satisfaction for being clobbered onstage. Fibber agrees to fight him man-to-man, but there's one problem: he can't figure out how to remove his armor. As Gildersleeve waits impatiently and various unhooking methods fail, Fibber realizes he may need to find a blacksmith while Molly holds a sword over his head as a makeshift lightning rod.