"Wilma's Vanishing Money" is the nineteenth episode of the second season and the forty-seventh overall episode of the original series, The Flintstones. It aired on January 26, 1962.
Synopsis[]
Fred accidentally discovers Wilma's secret savings and decides to teach her a lesson by spending all her money on a bowling ball for himself.
Plot[]
One morning, Wilma and Betty are en route to a store to buy some clothes, and Wilma declares her intent to be thrifty on this occasion because she is saving dollars to buy a magnificent, new bowling ball for Fred's birthday.
Meanwhile, Fred decides to attempt to fix a stubborn toaster with use of one of Wilma's hairpins, and while searching Wilma's dresser-drawer for a hairpin, he discovers the sum of money that Wilma has been accumulating, believes Wilma guilty of hoarding the cash for selfish reasons, and decides to teach a lesson to Wilma by using the roll of money "big enough to choke a brontosaurus" to himself purchase the desired bowling ball, with a money-back guarantee, from a pompous, irreverent clerk at a sporting goods store. Fred and companion Barney return from the bowling ball acquisition to find Wilma at home and conferring with a police officer about the presumed robbed money.
Arnold is also present at the "scene of the crime" and discovers a clue as to the culprit, a goat skin thread with coffee and scrambled egg stains from Fred's breakfast. Fred contends that the suspicious piece of clothing indicates nothing, claims that the bowling ball that he is holding in its bag is pumpernickel, and shows complete surprise at Wilma's woe after she says that the missing money was intended for a bowling ball gift to Fred. Wilma's avowed wish that the thief be punished to the fullest extent of the law and Arnold's amateur gumshoe skills leave Fred with no alternative but to return the bowling ball to the sporting goods store for a full refund and to somehow return the dollars to where Wilma ensconced them.
He pays a bona fide robber $10 to enter the Flintstone home by stealth, while Flintstones and Rubbles are at a movie theatre, and put the money into Wilma's dresser-drawer, along with a soppy note apologizing for having stolen it to fund his poverty-stricken family's meals. However, Arnold captures Fred's hire and ties and gags him to be found by Fred and Wilma in their bedroom! Fred improvises by reading the "burglar's" scrawling and affirming his household's duty of helping the needy by not prosecuting the wretched petty criminal. He is too successful, for Wilma insists that the poor man have all of the money!
Characters[]
- Fred Flintstone
- Wilma Flintstone
- Barney Rubble
- Betty Rubble
- Arnold
- Clerk (only appearance)
- Silky (only appearance)
Locations[]
Bedrock[]
- Flintstone home
- Bedrock Sporting Goods Department (only appearance)
- Bedrock Bowl
Objects[]
- Wilma's money (only appearance)
- Black bowling ball (only appearance)
- Brown bowling ball (only appearance)
- Fred's bowling bag
- Barney's bowling bag
Animals[]
- Crocosaurus (as scissors)
- Stegosaurus (as a Stego-mower)
- Goatasaurus (as Fred's clothes)
Vehicles[]
Media[]
- The Rock Rough Private Eye Show (TV show)
Cast[]
| Alan Reed | Fred Flintstone |
|---|---|
| Jean Vander Pyl | Wilma Flintstone |
| Mel Blanc | Barney Rubble Policeman |
| Bea Benaderet | Betty Rubble |
| Don Messick | Arnold |
| Frank Nelson | Clerk |
| Herschel Bernardi | Silky |
Notes/Trivia[]
- The salesperson is the same as the guy from the episode of the first season, "The Hot Piano".
- Yet another birthday episode for Fred! Wilma states, "Next week's your birthday!"
Allusions[]
- Barney can be heard humming the Dragnet theme song.
Errors[]
- Fred's bowling ball gets smashed to pieces while he and Barney are in the bowling alley, but when the two of them are walking through the parking lot afterwards, Fred is carrying a bowling ball.
- Wilma said Fred and Barney changed all four tires on the car, but it only has two long wheels.
- The cop said he wrote the report down in ink, however, it was etched in stone, literally!
- In a window, it is daytime, but when you look out the door, you see the night sky.
| 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" |