Episode
Petticoat Junction: War of the Hotels
Overview
The Shady Rest is full with guests, while the Pixley Hotel is just about empty. The Pixley Hotel's unscrupulous owner, Murdock Sneep, suggests to Kate that they merge their businesses. Kate declines as she knows how empty the Pixley Hotel is. An angry Sneep threatens to ruin Kate. He starts with an aggressive advertising campaign. Sneep and Kate then both try to one up the other. But soon both realize this no-holds-barred "hotel war" is costing each of them money and someone else is capitalizing on their feud.
Details
- Series
- Petticoat Junction
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 25
- Air date
- 1966-03-08
- Runtime
- 25 min
Episode context
War of the Hotels is Episode 25 in Season 3 of Petticoat Junction. It aired on 1966-03-08. The runtime is 25 min.
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Episode 24: It's Not the Principle, It's the Money
Kate hopes to have a convention take place at the hotel. But, they are in competition with the Pixley Hotel, which has more modern conveniences. Kate decides to do a face lift of the hotel's rooms, with Uncle Joe doing most of the work. Meanwhile, Kate gets a letter telling her of a property tax increase of $6. She is relieved but Uncle Joe is livid. Joe sends a scathing letter to J.C. Albright, of the tax review board, demanding the taxes be lowered. Albright decides to go to the Shady Rest to handle the problem personally. Uncle Joe makes the hotel look as shabby and run-down as possible to justify the tax decrease. Mr. Forbes, the convention organizer, arrives and Joe mistakes him for J.C. Albright. Mr. Forbes decides against the Shady Rest for the convention. After fixing the hotel up again, J.C. Albright arrives and Joe thinks he's the convention organizer. Despite losing the convention, they do get a refund on their taxes.
Episode 26: The Windfall
The hotel is empty and bills piling up. In order to get some money, Kate suggests Uncle Joe find a paying job. Joe appears to be looking for a job, but he does his best not to get one. Joe takes a break in an empty lot in Pixley with Dog. While there, Dog digs up a tin can full of money. Uncle Joe doesn't tell Kate about the money, but Dog makes him feel guilty. Joe secretly pays off all of Kate's bills. Even though she doesn't know who to thank, Kate is surprised and happy. Uncle Joe learns that the money was probably stolen from the Crabwell Corners Bank. Joe takes what moneys left and returns it to the can. He then finds out that the stolen money was found somewhere else. But before he can get the money back, he hears that someone else's dog dug it up
More episodes from this season
Episode 23: The Invisible Mr. Dobble
Kate receives a letter from a Mr. Donald Dobble requesting a reservation for two rooms for him and a friend. Mr. Dobble's friend, David Benton, arrives and acts as though Dobble were with him. But Kate sees no one but Mr. Benton. Mr. Benton seems crazy as he sees and talks to an invisible man. Kate believes that Mr. Benton is probably overworked. When no one else seems concerned that they haven't seen Dobble, Kate starts to feel that she is the one going crazy. Kate continually tries to sneak a peak at or speak directly to Mr. Dobble to no avail. The girls start to worry about Kate, especially when they see her talking to no one. Kate asks Benton and Dobble to leave and to not worry about paying their bill. A Mr. Robinson comes by looking for Benton. It seems Benton defrauds hotels into getting free room and board with his invisible man scheme.
Episode 27: Second Honeymoon
Uncle Joe is excited by a letter from Jeff and Nancy Anderson. They honeymooned at the hotel and are planning on returning for their tenth wedding anniversary. This gives Joe the idea to market the hotel as a second honeymoon haven for past honeymooning guests. The girls suggest they hold a gala reunion. They send out invitations and all the invitees have to do is fill in the dates they will be staying. The plan doesn't work as every single couple turns them down. The Andersons arrive and are looking forward to a quiet second honeymoon. But Joe's constant attention and picture taking is starting to bother them. Kate promises the couple she'll get Joe to stop taking pictures. Joe manages to get the happy couple arguing. He then finds a way to get them together again.
Episode 22: Jury at the Shady Rest
An accident at the county courthouse has blown off the roof of the building. Uncle Joe gets the jury of the current case sequestered at the Shady Rest. But things don't run as smoothly as Joe figured. They have to figure out sleeping assignments for the shortage of rooms. It also seems as though the gluttonous jurors refuse to reach a verdict because they like Kate Bradley's food so much. Then a baby in the hotel complicates things further. Some of the jurors animals invade the hotel. With the Judges help, Kate finds a way to have the jurors leave.
Episode 28: Kate Sells the Hotel
Carter Deming is a writer and the only current guest at the hotel. He tells Kate that he gets ten times more work done at the hotel than he does in his own home in New York. Uncle Joe lets Kate know that the bank turned down Kate's latest loan request. Kate realizes that she has never been able to make a go of the hotel. Mr. Deming offers to buy the hotel from Kate. Not knowing about the possible deal, the girls imply that they'd love to live in New York City. When Mr. Deming offers Kate much more than the hotel is really worth, Kate reluctantly accepts his offer. Kate tells the girls that the hotel is sold and they are upset. Despite what they said, they don't want to move from the Shady Rest and Hooterville. The problem is that Kate verbally promised Mr. Deming that she wouldn't back out of the deal. Joe tries to figure out a way to have Mr. Deming want to back out, but nothing works. Mr. Deming actually comes up with a reason to not buy the hotel.
Episode 21: The County Fair
The annual county fair is coming soon. Betty Jo picks Everett the pig for Hooterville High's cutest livestock contest. Bobbie Jo will be singing in the talent contest. Uncle Joe hopes to win all the prizes at the baseball throwing booth. Although she wasn't going to enter the cake baking contest again, Kate reconsiders. It seems that Everett only perks up when Bobbie Jo is singing. At the fair, they learn that the livestock contest and the talent contest will be at the same time. Betty Jo figures out how Bobbie Jo can be in two places at the same time. Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo both win their contests, but Uncle Joe manages to ruin it for Kate.
Episode 29: Kate Bradley, Peacemaker
The cheap refrigerator that Uncle Joe bought isn't working, so Kate sends him into Pixley to get some ice for the icebox. Floyd and Charley are having a fight over who is the boss of the Cannonball and then they have a fight over a missing apple. Because of this, Joe can't get to Pixley and Kate's food will spoil. Kate gets the two to patch things up, but then Joe says something and they start fighting again. Kate has Betty Jo bring in the analytical mind of Mr. Douglas to assist in convincing the two to make up, but that doesn't work. Joe uses the hand car to get some ice, while the Cannonball strike continues. Floyd and Charley make up, but once again Joe does something to break them up again. Kate finally comes up with a way to get the two to be friends again.
Episode 20: Only Boy in the Class
It's the start of the new semester at Hooterville High and there are seven new girls and one new boy enrolled. Bobbie Jo takes pity on the new boy, Walter Thorp, as he is the only boy in her home economics class. Bobbie Jo is attracted to the athletic Walter, and wants to make him feel welcome. She and Betty Jo try and get someone to switch classes with Walter, but they have no luck. There is an upcoming home ec class exam, which is to prepare a full dinner for one's imaginary spouse's imaginary boss in twenty minutes. Kate comes up with a way to help Walter get a passing grade.
Episode 30: Whatever Happened to Betty Jo?
Kate is cleaning out the storage closet. She wants the family members to go through their belongings to see what can be thrown away. Uncle Joe thinks they should start an antiques business with the junk. Everyone is around to help except Betty Jo, who should have been on the afternoon Cannonball run from school. Floyd and Charlie tell Kate that they saw Betty Jo that morning. She was all made up and had a suitcase. It looked like she was about to run away to elope. Kate and the girls look for clues in Betty Jo's room. They find a notebook that leads them to believe that Betty Jo might be thinking of eloping with the new boy in town, Peter Latimer. Betty Jo is actually just coaching baseball to Peter were no one can see them. Kate visits Mrs. Latimer to tell her that their children have eloped. When Betty Jo and Peter come home, everyone finds out that they were worrying over nothing.
Episode 19: Yogurt, Anyone?
High-schooler Betty Jo is on the verge of breaking up with her latest boyfriend Edward. He believes Betty Jo is intellectually immature. The problem is that she now has no date for Saturday night's basketball game. Betty Jo meets an older college boy named Chuck, who is visiting relatives in Hooterville. Chuck believes Betty Jo is an intellectual Emily Dickinson College girl, which she doesn't correct. In an effort to impress Chuck on their upcoming date, Betty Jo tries to be what she believes a college girl should be. But in the end, she finds she's better off with Edward. Meanwhile, Uncle Joe is collecting loose pieces of string to roll into one really big ball.
Episode 31: Every Bachelor Should Have a Family
Kate's widowed friend Vera Wilson has been dating Ronnie Beckman, a bookkeeper who moved to the valley five years ago. Kate wants to know when they're getting married, but Vera says the relationship is going very slowly and she doesn't want to seem pushy. Kate runs into Ronnie on the Cannonball. He tells her that he's not sure about marriage as he has always been alone. Floyd thinks that Kate and Ronnie are sweet on each other. Ronnie wants to stay at the hotel to see how happy real family life can be. When they arrive, the sisters are fighting. Kate tells them they have to look like a happy family in front of Ronnie. Uncle Joe thinks Ronnie wants to marry Kate for her money, so he talks down family life. Kate tells Ronnie that they were putting up a front and that they often fight. Ronnie is glad, as it wouldn't be natural to be that nice all the time.