Squire Theatrical Agent

Originally Aired: March 4, 1938

Lum #3, "Squire Theatrical Agent," Lum abandons the Jot 'Em Down Store to focus on his new Pine Ridge Motion Picture Company, frantically making arrangements before the camera arrives the next day. While Grandpappy Spears and Abner discuss Lum's increasingly erratic behavior at the store, they worry that he's "going Hollywood" and barely takes time to eat anymore. Lum has changed his plans from an expensive war picture with camels and elephants to a love story where he'll play the hero saving Cedric's sister, Catherine Hortense Brockway. However, he can't locate his secretary Cedric, who has the appointment book, leaving Lum unsure when he's supposed to do anything, including eat lunch.

The situation grows more complicated when Lum discovers that Squire Skimp has signed up everyone in town as their theatrical agent, meaning Lum must hire all actors through Squire. As Lum brainstorms increasingly absurd rescue scenarios—from tying Catherine to railroad tracks to saving her from a ten-story burning building—he eventually considers making himself a scientist who invents a world-destroying substance, only to be talked out of using it by his leading lady.