The Royal Flush
Written by Peter Meyerson and Robert Schlitt
Directed by James Frawley
Produced by Robert Rafelson and Bert Schneider
Songs: "This Doesn't Seem To Be My Day" by Tommy Boyce& Bobby Hart
"Take a Giant Step" by Gerry Goffin& Carole King
Guest Appearances
Bettina Katherine Walsh
Otto Theodore Marcuse
Sigmund Vincent Beck
Hotel Maid Ceil Cabot
Premiered September 12, 1966
Summary
On the beach, Davy rescues a girl from drowning when her raft burst. Then the girl’s uncle, Archduke Otto arrives with his chauffer Sigmund and thanks Davy for saving his niece Princess Bettina, the Duchess of Harmonica. Just before departing with the princess, the Archduke tells Davy of a saying in his country: "Ol lampka kimba coonba coom de berto seema" translation: "Those who save a drowning person risks drowning themselves" and Davy is convinced that the princess' uncle is trying to kill her.
Later at the Monkee’s pad, Davy tries unsuccessfully to contact the princess by phone, while Mike complains about no food in the cupboard and being out of work for a month. Davy explains to his friends that the princess's uncle plans to kill her and after reading in the newspaper that the princess and her uncle are staying at the Ritz Swank Hotel, he manages to persuade the others to go with him and warn her. In a fantasy, the Monkees are all dressed in combat army uniforms with helmets and war paint with Micky giving the others an army briefing using a chart for a strategy in how to get into the hotel. Arriving at the hotel, they check into a room next to the Royal Suite where Mike masquerades as a rich building inspector W.H. Woolhat and the others as his aides and manages to fool the maid. Mike tells the maid to work hard, play hard and get plenty of roughage in her diet and someday she may own the hotel and just for before she leaves, he gives her a tip: buy International Steel for 28 ½.
The group then gets to work and using tape recorder and a stethoscope to listen in next door, they manage record Archduke Otto telling his henchman Sigmund of his plans to poison the princess. Then Micky calls the Archduke on the phone, claiming to be a throne salesman and manages to convince him come over to their suite in order to sell him a throne and some royal supplies. Just before Archduke Otto and Sigmund arrive, the band disguises an ordinary chair into a throne in about a few seconds. While Mike, Micky and Peter distract the Archduke and his henchman, Davy sneaks out unseen and goes to the princess's suite trying to convince her of her uncle’s deadly plans. When she's not convinced he plays the tape they recorded of his admission, while, the others continue to stall Otto and Sigmund. Davy suggests she call the police but Princess Bettina explains that her uncle can't get arrested because he has diplomatic immunity. Also as region, he controls everything until her eighteenth birthday the next day and there's a birthday ball that night to honor her succession to the throne. Davy tells her that she just has to stay out of sight until midnight. Then he sneaks her out of the room just as Otto and Sigmund who are losing their patience with the other three exit their suite but Davy and Bettina manage to sneak away unseen along with the others. Otto and Sigmund enter their suite and when they realize the princess is gone, the Archduke becomes suspicious, since she wouldn’t leave on her own and that somebody had to have known he wouldn’t be in when remembers those throne merchants. He sends Sigmund after them who then crashes through the suite doors at which Otto shouts out, “Sigmund, I’ve told you several times, only when they’re locked!”
Later while walking along the beach, Bettina chats with Davy about her reluctance of becoming a queen because of the many responsibilities she will have to her people and her country. She offers to invite him for a visit to her country for the coronation but he refuses, claiming what he has to do is right here with the guys and their music. They continue their romance on the beach to the song of “This Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day” while Sigmund chases Micky all over the beach until he falls into a deep hole dug by Peter. Davy takes the princess back to band’s apartment while Sigmund, hiding in the bushes phones up his boss and he replies as a code: “The streetcar is going up the hill,” getting the wrong number at first before contacting Otto to tell him the princess’s whereabouts. Inside the apartment, the Monkees have fastened a safe to a rope suspended in air over an X marked on the floor to be dropped on the villains when they stand on the X. When Otto and Sigmund knock on the door, Peter begins cutting the rope but can’t cut it through and has to stop when they let the two in. Bettina tells her uncle she’s aware of his plans to kill her which he admits to and orders Sigmund to seize her. Before he can, Davy informs them that they have sent a letter to her embassy in a sealed envelope revealing his deadly plans and it’s to be opened if she isn’t at her birthday ball. The Archduke postpones his plans temporarily and decides to attend the ball with his niece as planned, but to make sure she doesn’t talk he leaves Sigmund with the Monkees as hostages.
After the Archduke and the princess depart, the rope continues to slowly break and the group tries to help jar it further by jumping up and down along with Sigmund who thinks it’s a game but it’s no use. Next, Davy is reading to Sigmund “Snow White” while the others sneak up behind him and tie him up in a chair. However, he’s able to free himself easily and as they head for the door he pops up in front of them (literally) and stepping on the X he’s prepared to attack them, when the rope finally breaks and the safe comes crashing down on Sigmund’s head knocking him out. The Monkees then depart for the ball. Later at the ball, the Archduke spots all four of the musicians in every corner of the ballroom and then he grabs Bettina and tries to escape. Davy blocks his exit, and after he releases his niece, he grabs a sword to attack him. Micky throws Davy a sword and they begin to sword fight to the song, “Take a Giant Step,” dressed in 18th century clothing. In the middle of the duel, Sigmund arrives but Mike and Micky soon take care of him by luring him into a brick wall behind some curtains and he gets knocked out again. Davy ends up losing his sword and the Archduke is just about to slay him when, thanks to Peter, they all learn it’s midnight at which time Bettina, the queen, orders her uncle to be arrested. Archduke Otto is then taking away as the crowd boos him.
Back at their hotel suite, the Monkees are about to leave when the maid, now dressed in a suit arrives to throw them out since she’s now the owner of the hotel she bought on the money she made on that tip Mike gave her.
The episode ends with an interview of The Monkees with Producer Bob Rafelson about their feelings on the show since it ended one minute short.
Click here____ for transcripts of their interview.
Trivia Notes:
Although this was the first episode aired, it wasn’t the pilot episode.
In fact this was the third episode filmed.
Actor Vincent Beck appeared in two other Monkees episodes “Son of a Gypsy”
and “The Card Carrying Red Shoes” both playing a villain.
Director James Frawley was the voice on the telephone.
He went on to direct numerous TV shows including
"The Practice", "Law & Order", " Melrose Place" and
"Judging Amy" to name a few.
An alternate ending has the maid forcing Mike and
Micky to clean up the ball room.
In the May 7, 1967 re-runs songs “This Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day” and
“Take a Giant Step” were both replaced with “You Told Me” and “The
Girl I Knew Somewhere” both by Mike Nesmith to promote their third album.
These songs were also used during the 1986 reruns on the cable channel Nic-
kelodeon.
