Summary[]
After Otis slips in the courthouse, a lawyer convinces him to sue the county.
Plot[]
After his usual weekly visit for drunkenness, Otis falls and injures his knee as he exits the cell. Floyd had come in to arrange a haircut and shave for Otis later in the day, and Barney is in the back room, but neither see Otis fall, and Otis is too hungover to remember how he fell. Barney notices Otis limping afterwards and makes Otis fill out an Accidental Injury on County Property form, though Otis insists it's nothing as he's always had trouble with that particular knee ever since he injured it playing football with his wife. Barney further irritates Otis by demanding he go to Mount Pilot to get the form notarized. Otis finds shady Neil Bentley, who is a lawyer as well as a notary public. Bentley convinces Otis he should sue the county for $5,000 dollars, so the county will be forced to upgrade the jail. Thinking Andy and Barney will be happy, Otis agrees to the negligence suit.
Needless to say, Andy and Barney are upset at Otis' apparent "betrayal". Andy questions Floyd, but Floyd cannot give any details as to why Otis fell and is more interested in Bentley's expensive suit. Bentley tries to settle out of court with Andy, revealing he just wants the money. Andy, in turn, calls the county, but finds out that with so little evidence to prove that the floor wasn't dangerous or slippery, but the obvious evidence of Otis' sore knee, the county may lose the suit. Bentley prevents Otis from talking to Andy and Barney, though when Otis arrives drunk on the weekend Barney tries to worm the truth out of him. However, Otis refuses to talk until Barney takes a drink with him. Barney soon is too inebriated to care about the interrogation, much to Andy's chagrin.
Mr. Roberts, the County Legal Department's head attorney, arrives to get at the truth. Bentley tries to keep Otis from talking to him, but Mr. Roberts rebuffs the lawyer. Otis is asked to reenact what happened, and in doing so suddenly jogs his memory that he tripped over his own coat. Andy orders Mr. Bentley to leave, and Otis willingly drops the suit, explaining what Bentley talked him into. When Barney rebuffs him for being gullible, Otis angrily blames Barney for starting the mess with his forms and papers.
Later, Andy and Barney go to Floyd's shop to let him know the outcome of the case, and mention that Bentley likely will be disbarred for his actions. Floyd, however, is still more interested in talking about Bentley's suit.
Notes/Trivia[]
- In this episode, filmed following Howard McNear's recovering from a stroke, sound-effect footsteps are used to cover Floyd's entrance into the courthouse.
- Barney sends Otis to the Mayberry Bank to have his accident report notarized. The notary public at the bank is named Mary Pleasant.
- Otis has to go to Mt. Pilot to get the accident report notarized because Mary Pleasant is on vacation. Mary Pleasant and Dixie Belle Edwards went to Great Dismal Swamp to hunt black bears. Great Dismal Swamp is an actual swamp located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
- $5000 in 1964 is equivalent to approximately $38,000 today.
- This is the second time that Jay Novello has played a less than favorable character, the first time was in the second season episode, Guest of Honor, as Sheldon Davis.
- This episode has a rare interaction between Otis and Floyd.
- If you look at Floyd´s calendar inside his barber shop, this episode was filmed in June 1964.
- In the last scene, Floyd is seen combing Andy´s hair, which is the first time we´ve seen him standing up since the actor has a stroke. Also note that the left side of his body stays immobile during the entire scene.
- This is one of several times Barney becomes accidentally drunk on the show, the other incidents being Alcohol and Old Lace, (unwittingly eating berry preserves that had fermented), The Darling Baby (after drinking Briscoe Darling's special brew), Up in Barney's Room (accidentally drinking cider that had gone hard), Barney and the Governor, (after Otis spiked the water cooler), and The Keeper of the Flame,(drinking whiskey out of what he thought was a water dipper).
Goofs[]
Music[]
- The song that the drunken Otis and Barney sing on tape is Sweet Adeline (You're the Flower of my Heart), a popular barbershop ballad.