The Great Gildersleeve – "Serviceman For Thanksgiving"

Podcast: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Air date: 1941-11-16 (Original episode), Re-broadcast: November 27, 2025
Episode Summary by Harold’s Old Time Radio

Overview of the Episode

This classic episode from The Great Gildersleeve centers on the warmth, camaraderie, and comedic chaos of Thanksgiving in small-town America during WWII. As Thanksgiving approaches, Gildersleeve and his household decide to invite servicemen from the local army encampment to share their holiday dinner, leading to a cascade of misunderstandings, community involvement, and playful rivalry, all peppered with the show's hallmark wit and good-natured humor.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Progression

1. Birdie’s Lodge Event & Patriotic Planning

• Birdie asks for the evening off to attend a lodge (“Daughters of Cleopatra”) fish fry honoring local soldiers, underlining the patriotic spirit of the times (03:06).
  • Birdie: “I’m now the exhausted ruler of the pyramid. I’ve been promoted.” [03:08]
• Gildersleeve and family discuss the influx of soldiers expected in Summerfield and the USO’s request for citizens to host them at Thanksgiving (04:49).
  • Leroy: "Can we have a soldier for our Thanksgiving dinner, Uncle Mort?" [05:01]
  • Gildersleeve (joking): "Leroy, you sound like a cannibal." [05:01]

2. Opening Homes for the Holiday

• Family decides to host one or more soldiers (“Why not? When I think of all those boys, many of them so far away from home, it takes me back to the lonesome Thanksgiving I spent in the Army hospital back in 1918.” – Gildersleeve, 05:12)
• Gildersleeve reminisces about his own Army days, exaggerating his heroism, comic tales of buying mules for the army, and getting kicked (“I got 9,000 of them before one got me.” [06:07]).

3. Escalating Plans and Comic Banter

• Marjorie proposes a grander celebration for multiple soldiers and invites her “lovely friends” (07:32).
• Leroy objects to including girls, quipping, “Don’t you think those soldiers are doing enough for their country as it is without wasting their day off with a bunch of silly girls?” [07:58]

4. Gildersleeve’s Radio Campaign & Its Fallout

• Gildersleeve rehearses a radio speech urging the town to open doors to servicemen. As a result, the town is abuzz, and almost every family in Summerfield is now seeking a soldier for dinner (08:17, 14:03).
  • Judge Hooker (later, ironically): "People at the USO headquarters tell me that there would have been plenty of them if this radio speaker hadn’t really correct all their plans by urging everybody in town to come down after a soldier.” [25:00]

5. Chasing Down a Soldier

• Thanksgiving Day arrives, and chaos ensues as Gildersleeve and Leroy find that all the soldiers have already been invited elsewhere due to his broadcast (18:46).
• They compete with Judge Hooker and others in a frantic, comic hunt to find a single, available soldier.
  • Gildersleeve (to a sergeant): “We have three turkeys and almost a dozen beautiful girls at our house just waiting to entertain some soldiers…” [20:13]
• The rivalry between Gildersleeve and Judge Hooker escalates as they both vie for the attention of a uniformed young man, attempting to entice him with promises of food, entertainment, and dancing (26:24–28:04).
  • Judge Hooker (to Gildersleeve): “You hypocritical hippopotamus!” [25:36]
  • Gildersleeve (to Hooker): “Now see here, Hooker, you point a pinky at me and I'll beat the daylights out of you and back in again.” [27:59]

6. The Final Reveal – A Thanksgiving Twist

• After an elaborate effort, Gildersleeve returns triumphant with “Private Jerry Arnold”—only to discover the young guest isn’t a soldier at all, but a Boy Scout in uniform (29:27–29:37).
  • Boy Scout (sheepishly): “Why, no sir. I’m a Boy Scout.” [29:37]
• The comedic twist is classic Gildersleeve, highlighting both the good intentions and the gentle chaos of community spirit.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Birdie’s Hierarchical Title:
  “I’m now the exhausted ruler of the pyramid.” (Birdie, 03:08)

• Gildersleeve’s Army Humor:
  "That mule kicked me so high they gave me a pilot’s license. You know, I spent three weeks in bed flat on my stomach. In those days I had a flat stomach. But remember, kiddies, never mention a word of this to anybody. It's still a painful subject. Even now I twitch when I pass a mule." (Gildersleeve, 05:32)

• Leroy on Girls:
  “Jeepers, don’t you think those soldiers are doing enough for their country as it is without wasting their day off with a bunch of silly girls?” (Leroy, 07:58)

• Birdie Asserting Kitchen Control:
  “No, sir. I ain’t gonna subdivide none of them birds before the zero hour. And when I serves them, they gonna be intact. A thing of beauty and a joy for about two minutes.” (Birdie, 13:31)

• Judge Hooker’s Flustered Praise:
  “That’s Peter. There’s a man. The way he told every citizen to do his duty by our new army was stirring and inspirational.” (Judge Hooker, 24:38)

• Comic Reveal:
  “Why, no sir. I’m a Boy Scout.” (Jerry Arnold, 29:37)

Important Timestamps

• Birdie describes the Daughters of Cleopatra: 03:06–03:49
• Leroy reads about soldiers in the paper: 04:49
• Gildersleeve’s Army hospital story: 05:12–05:32
• Invitation plans escalate: 07:32–07:58
• Gildersleeve on the radio: 08:17–09:07
• Thanksgiving morning chaos & kitchen banter: 13:18–14:09
• Hunt for a soldier at Bacon Square: 18:30–20:48
• Gildersleeve and Hooker’s rivalry: 26:24–28:04
• The Boy Scout twist: 29:27–29:37

Episode Tone & Style

The tone is cheerful, fast-paced, and filled with dry wit and family banter. Gildersleeve’s blend of pomposity and earnestness sets a jovial mood, with recurring jabs between characters (especially with Judge Hooker). The dialogue relishes wordplay, puns, and comic misunderstandings, true to Golden Age radio sitcom classics.

For New Listeners

If you haven’t heard this episode, you’ll find a heartwarming (and hilarious) slice of wartime Americana where intentions are noble, plans go awry, and laughter (plus turkey) abounds. The story affectionately lampoons its characters’ foibles while celebrating the spirit of gratitude and generosity at Thanksgiving.