"Latin Lover" is the thirty-first episode of the second season and the fifty-ninth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on April 20, 1962.
Synopsis[]
Annoyed that Wilma has a crush on Italian actor Roberto Rockalini, Fred tries to win her back by growing a mustache, wearing an ascot, and being charming--and it may be working; now Wilma's getting jealous.
Plot[]
Yet another one of those days on which Fred arrives home after a long day of work, expecting a greeting kiss and a hearty meal from his wife and being frustrated by Wilma's preoccupation with something else, in this episode a television movie starring debonair Casanova Roberto Rockalini. While Roberto with his curly hair, white teeth, filtered cigarette, and adorable mustache nibbles the ears of his feminine conquests, Fred must gobble flowers as substitute for brontosaurus fricassee.
Wilma is so captivated by the suavity of her Latin-lover idol that she fantasizes Fred with a mustache and mannerisms identical to those of Rockalini. Showering Fred with flattery about how his romantic appeal would be enhanced by Rockalini-like facial hair and refined Latin vocabulary, Wilma succeeds in convincing Fred to change his look and behavior to emulate the ravishing Roberto. Fred grows a mustache, grooms his hair into sophisticated waves and curls, dons an ascot and a carnation, smokes filtered cigarettes, and walks the walk and talks the talk of Wilma's heartthrob, and Wilma is for awhile pleased with her "make-over" of her spouse- until Betty wonders aloud to Wilma if Fred may have become irresistibly attractive to other women.
A female representative of Caveman Cosmetics is at the Flintstones' door when Dino darts past her so invisibly fast that she spins around like a top and faints into Fred's arms. Wilma sees only the sales-lady's tumble into the tender hold of Romeo Fred and believes that it was Fred's sex appeal that induced the fainting.
Later, while Fred is at a bus stop with three ladies and must run to meet the bus at another juncture, he leads the procession of female public-transit customers in the rush to reach the speedy bus, and Wilma sees this and believes that Fred is being amorously pursued by the ladies. She dreams that Fred is in Italy in a gondola with one of his admirers of the opposite sex and desired and pursued by three more vivacious females on a "lolo brigeda" and on the following day misunderstands Fred's telephoned assignment by Mr. Slate to transport Mrs. Slate to Bedrock Airport for an "aeroplane" flight to Rockapulco to be a tryst-excursion with a woman for whom Fred is abandoning her (Wilma).
Wilma intercepts Fred and Mrs. Slate at the airport and is informed of her mistake by Fred and by Slate, who arrives at the airport after important company business to join his wife on the "aeroplane" flight to Mexirock. Fred decides to abandon his pretentious airs and be his plain self again.
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Dino
- Mr. Slate
- Mrs. Slate
- Roberto Rockalini (Mario) (only appearance)
- Anna (only appearance)
- H.I. Pebble (only mentioned)
- Ralph Pebble (only mentioned)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Slate Rock and Gravel Company
- Bedrock Airport
- Rocky Mountains (only mentioned)
- Cloudy Mountains (only mentioned)
- Cave-in Cosmetics (only mentioned)
Overseas[]
- Rockapulco
- Italy (only appearance in Fred's dream)
- Armentières, France (only appearance)
Objects[]
- Instant coffee machine (only appearance)
- Radio
- Rock Bell Phone
- News-slab
- Ice Age Box
Food[]
- Ice cube
- Watermelon
Animals[]
- Snorkasaurus
- Brontosaurus (as Bronto-Fricassee and stairs)
- Penguinsaurus (as an ice maker from an Ice Age Box)
- Turtlesaurus
- Dragonsaurus (as an instant coffee machine)
- Pterodactyl (as a Pterodactyl Airlines airplane)
Vehicles[]
Media[]
- Breakfast News (radio news broadcast)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone Signora #3 |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Dino Penguin Bird #1 Bird #2 |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble Signora #2 |
| Jerry Mann | Roberto Rockalini (Mario) Policeman |
| John Stephenson | Mr. Slate Announcer Airport Announcer |
| Paula Winslowe | Mrs. Slate Saleslady Anna Signora Signora #1 |
Notes/Trivia[]
- Roberto Rockalini is a spoof of famed Italian film director and filmmaker, Roberto Rossellini.
- "Lola Bridgida," the name of the bridge, is another joke about Gina Lollabrigida.
- The company this time is Slate Rock & Gravel Co.
- Mr. Slate again wears gray, not blue. His first name is known this time as Harry.
- Because of it's mild jokes about spousal abuse, this episode is no longer politically correct and isn't in circulation anymore.
Errors[]
- None known.
| Season 2 of The Flintstones |
|---|
| "The Hit Songwriters" • "Droop-Along Flintstone" • "The Missing Bus" • "Alvin Brickrock Presents" • "Fred Flintstone Woos Again" • "The Rock Quarry Story" • "The Soft Touchables" • "Flintstone of Prinstone" • "The Little White Lie" • "Social Climbers" • "The Beauty Contest" • "The Masquerade Ball" • "The Picnic" • "The House Guest" • "The X-Ray Story" • "The Gambler" • "A Star is Almost Born" • "The Entertainer" • "Wilma's Vanishing Money" • "Feudin' and Fussin'" • "Impractical Joker" • "Operation Barney" • "The Happy Household" • "Fred Strikes Out" • "This is Your Lifesaver" • "Trouble-in-Law" • "The Mailman Cometh" • "The Rock Vegas Story" • "Divided We Sail" • "Kleptomaniac Caper" • "Latin Lover" • "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" |