Social Climbers

Social Climbers
Details
Show	The Flintstones
Season	2
Episode number	38
Production number	P-38
Original airdate	November 17, 1961 (ABC)
Recording Date	May 10, 1961
Crew
Animated by	Credited: Don Patterson Uncredited: Preston Blair
Written by	Warren Foster
Chronology
Previous	"The Little White Lie"
Next	"The Beauty Contest"

"Social Climbers" is the tenth episode of the second season and the thirty-eighth overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on November 17, 1961.

Synopsis

Wilma and Betty wrangle tickets to the upper-crust Ambassador's Reception and convince their husbands to go with them, sending Fred and Barney to charm school to prepare for the event.

Plot

Fred and Barney are the proud recipients of two tickets to a Saturday night romp, Joe Rockhead's Volunteer Fire Department ball, what they consider to be "the biggest social event of the year". For the riffraff, this may be so, but the "upper crust" of Bedrock society is going to an Ambassador's Reception on the same night, and they naturally believe their "swank affair" to be the ultimate annual occasion.

While browsing a Bedrock shopping center's high-class garments, Wilma and Betty encounter a friend from their school days, Emmy Glutzrock, who married a wealthy industrialist and is now insufferably pretentious. Therefore, Wilma and Betty lie about their spouses being construction and top-secret information magnates and are granted by Emmy invitations to the Ambassador's Reception. Hence begins a process of convincing the husbands to forgo the Volunteer Fire Department night of merriment and accompany Wilma and Betty to the Ambassador's Reception- and to oblige the men to go to the Bedrock Charm School to learn the etiquette befitting the hoity-toity elite.

Fred and Barney become chair-holding, door-opening gentlemen but at the Reception are nevertheless out-of-place with their propensity to joke about statements by businessmen being "in oil" and "in ladies' corsets". Wilma and Betty are quickly alienated by the pomposity surrounding them and suggest to Fred and Barney that the "dead" party be "livened up" with some brisk piano-and-strings music, performed by Fred and Barney and danced-to by Wilma and Betty.

Before the not-amused snobs can act to remove the lower-class purveyors of "raucous racket", two crooks, named Spike and Rocky, disguised as "waiters" attempt to steal the Reception folks' money and jewels. With fists and fury, Fred and Barney foil the scheme of the crooked pair and are honored as heroes by the affluent crowd, who condescend to join the Flintstones and the Rubbles for a truly fun night at the Volunteer Fire Department Ball.

Characters

• Fred Flintstone
• Wilma Flintstone
• Barney Rubble
• Betty Rubble

Other Characters

• Emmy Glutzrock (only appearance)
• Mr. Glutzrock (only mentioned)
• Miss Shadrock (only appearance)
• Shale Hardrock (only appearance)
• Spike and Rocky (only appearance)
• Toulouse (only mentioned)
• Sir Larry (only mentioned)
• Mary (only mentioned)
• Peter (only mentioned)
• Ambassador (only appearance)

Locations

Bedrock

• Flintstone home
• Slate Rock and Gravel Company
• Bedrock Shopping Center (only appearance)
• Charm School (only appearance)
• Bedrock Country Club
• Bedrock Firehouse
• Riveria (only mentioned)

Objects

• Charge-A-Plate (only appearance)
• Invitations (only appearance)
• News-slab
• Tickets
• Rock Bell Phones
• Stoneway Piano

Food

• Pterodactyl Drumstick

Animals

• Brontosaurus (as a Bronto-Crane and a Bronto-Escalator)
• Pterodactyl (as a Pterodactyl drumstick)

Vehicles

• Flintmobile

Cast

Alan Reed	Fred Flintstone Cop #1
Jean Vander Pyl	Wilma Flintstone Right Dame "C" Woman
Mel Blanc	Barney Rubble Rocky 2nd Man Cop #2
Bea Benaderet	Betty Rubble Newsboy Left Dame "B" Woman
John Stephenson	Spike Butler Man 1st Man Cop #3
Hal Smith	Shale Hardrock Ambassador Fireman Man 3rd Man
Paula Winslowe	Emmy Glutzrock Miss Shadrock Dame

Notes/Trivia

• Wilma's society friend is Emmy Glutzrock. Wilma seems to know a lot of rich friends (a theme which was picked up on in the 2000 prequel film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas).
• Wilma mentions her Charge-A-Plate, the real name of one of the first credit cards.
• The clothing designers mentioned are Granitelli (Donatelli Versace), Jackie Kennelrock (Jackie Kennedy wore designer clothing), and the House of Crushing Door (Christian Dior).
• One of the "mannequins" in the Department Store represents the First Lady at the time, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

Errors

• Barney says that at the charm school he learned to open the door of the car to the ladies and he opens it to Betty, but the car doesn't have any doors.
• In the piano scene of the society gathering, Barney is seen in his normal brown suit at some times when he should be in his tuxedo.
• During the Reception and before Spike and Rocky were arrested for the attempted robbery, Betty's dress was mistakenly colored golden yellow instead of blue, except for the golden yellow bow and layer skirt with black spots.