Stage vs. Screen, Car vs. Tuxedo
- Don and Cosmo hit the road for R.F.'s party. When Cosmo gets a flat, Don gets mobbed by fans who demand autographs and literally tear off some of his clothes.
- Cosmo's no help, so Don escapes into traffic, scaling cars—and cable cars—before finally jumping into Kathy's car. She screams and tells him to get out. We feel you, Kathy. A random dude falling out of the sky and into your convertible is terrifying, even if he is wearing a shredded tuxedo and looks like Gene Kelly.
- Kathy says she recognizes Don's face and that he must be a famous criminal. She pulls over to a cop on the side of the road.
- The cop is stoked to see the famous movie star Don Lockwood and tells Kathy she's "a lucky little lady." Thanks, Officer Misogynist.
- Suddenly, Kathy's tone changes, and she agrees to give Don a lift home so he can change clothes.
- Don hits on her, and lays it on pretty thick. Movie stars may be glamorous, but they're so lonely, blah blah blah.
- Kathy doesn't take the bait. In fact, she goes on at length about how she's not very familiar with Don's body of work and how movies—and especially movie actors—don't impress her much. She's like the proto-Shania Twain.
- Although it's not clear to Don, it seems pretty clear to us that Kathy's messing with him. At least a little bit. By the time they pull up to Don's house, Don's not so interested in Kathy anymore. In fact, he's downright offended.
- He asks Kathy where she gets off throwing shade at his line of work, and she replies that she's an actress. A stage actress, that is—you know, a real actress.
- Don asks her what play she's in right now, and she says she's not in one, but she's moving to New York, and—
- Don doesn't want to hear it. He mocks her, gets all up in her grill, and then gets out of the car.
- Kathy gets the last laugh, though. As Don trots away, still mocking Kathy and sarcastically calling her Ethel Barrymore (a popular stage actress of the day; also Drew Barrymore's great-aunt), his coat gets stuck in the car door and rips. This cracks Kathy up.
- Don, meanwhile, looks stern, and looks directly into the camera as he walks toward it, away from Kathy and presumably into his house and some new clothes.