Season 1, Episode 6: “Swamp Molly”–Originally Aired 3-9-1979

In which the Dukes get an ice cream truck, and the mystery of the house’s plumbing is solved…

Before we get going properly, I’d like to point out that this is the episode where filming moved from on location rural Georgia to Burbank, California. From now on, it will be perpetually summer, and always daytime.

Bo and Luke are practicing archery by shooting at the outhouse door, which lends credence to my whole “they don’t have indoor plumbing” theory. Bo accidentally fires a live dynamite arrow, blowing up the outhouse. Luke throws a fit about Bo destroying his car magazines, and is interrupted by the arrival of Swamp Molly, an old friend of Uncle Jesse’s.

Luke says she only comes around when she wants something, and Jesse tells him to shut it, as Molly saved him from the Feds some 43 years prior. Molly’s cousin, Alice, has also arrived, and starts making advances toward Bo, which he narrowly avoids. Molly offers up a green tomato pie to Jesse, and he tells her that Bo and Luke are on probation, and so she can back the fuck off whatever scheme she has in mind. She tells him “Fine, asshole, I’ll just take my pie back, then!” Only when faced with the loss of pie does Jesse decide that the boys’ risking probation is perfectly acceptable, and lets them stay.

Meanwhile, Rosco and Enos are staking out the Duke farm, as they are keen to stop Swamp Molly before she really gets going, as apparently she was quite the scofflaw in her time. Boss Hogg is busy learning disco dance steps at the behest of his wife, Lulu. Rosco has even bought some ridiculous Army-surplus walkie talkies. He uses them throughout the episode, despite everyone nearly always near a CB radio.


Molly spins a sob story to the Dukes and plays her “Saved Jesse from the Feds” card. Jesse goes along with it, and she explains that she wants to make one last run, delivering prime moonshine. She wants the boys to go get the truck that it’s going to be in, and drive it to the rendezvous point.  Jesse doesn’t really put up much of an argument.

At the Boar’s Nest, Daisy makes the very sensible suggestion that she be the one to get the truck, as she’s not on probation. Luke says Jesse would never allow it. Daisy asks why they don’t transfer it to another truck, and they tell her Molly has the truck locked up so they can’t. Luke suggests they take the truck to Cooter and have him paint it up, so they can make the run in front of the cops. Bo and Luke take the truck to Cooter to have him paint it, and he gets super excited about the opportunity. Apparently Cooter harbors some artistic notions.

Enos trails the Dukes,and sees nothing out of the ordinary. However, Bo and Daisy are running a blind so Luke can drive the truck to the swamp, which is now painted like an ice cream truck.

Back at the farm, Molly sends Cousin Alice to gather some crawfish so she can make Jesse some of her famous crawfish stew. Alice asks what happens if someone tries to assault her virtue, and Jesse gives this weird look like “Yeah right, like that’ll happen,” but suggests he  accompany her, which leads to the first appearance of Jesse’s  trademark red hat! Molly signals to Alice to keep Jesse occupied until 4’oclock, and they depart. 

Luke comes up upon a roadblock that Rosco has had built, and Enos attempts to order some ice cream. At least I think it’s ice cream. He refers to it as “double peanut dooley,” which is not an ice cream I’ve ever heard of; maybe it’s a Southern thing? According to a quick Google search, there’s no such thing. I suppose he could be ordering “double peanut doody” which is pretty disgusting.

Anyway, Enos sees that the ice cream guy is Luke, and alerts Rosco. Bo blows up the roadblock with a dynamite arrow, and drives through, Luke trailing him. A ways up the road, Rosco pulls them over and cuts the chain on the truck door,  revealing not moonshine, but guns. Guns AND ammo!

The boys are as  shocked as Rosco, but he doesn’t believe them, and why should he? He makes to arrest them, when Daisy drives by, throwing firecrackers, and Enos gives chase. She pulls her “drive around in a circle for several minutes” stunt that she did in the pilot, but this time, she spills oil out of the back of the truck she’s driving for some reason. It really doesn’t help her or hinder Enos in any way. I’m gonna have to send Iron Eyes and Woodsy after her.

Rosco tells Boss about the gun situation, and mentions he’s alerted the FBI. Boss throws a fit, as he could make a tidy profit selling all those guns on the black market. He tells Rosco to send the FBI packing. He very easily convinces them that he was hallucinating, makes some references to seeing a UFO, and they leave. I’m not sure why this part was even in the episode, it’s nothing more than five minutes of filler.

In the swamp, Jesse and Cousin Alice catch some crawfish, and Alice tries to stall Jesse, as it’s not four o’clock yet. Bo and Luke meet with Molly to ask what the fuck the deal was with the guns, and that they’re not going to deliver the goods, what with Rosco trying to arrest them and all. She tells them that if they don’t cooperate, they’ll never see Jesse again, as she has him at her house in the swamp, which is impenetrable.

Jesse, who is perfectly unaware, continues fishing with Alice, and to stall him further, she throws the outboard motor off the boat into the lake.

They eventually paddle to land and head back, meeting with everyone on the road (again, phony kidnapping plot came and went in five minutes. God, so much filler). Bo and Luke have retrieved the truck, thinking that’s what they have to do to get Uncle Jesse back. Guess not!

Jesse comes up with the idea of sinking the truck in a lake, one that has quicksand at the bottom, so no one would ever be able to get it(?) thus getting the boys off scot-free. Everyone helps push it into the lake, as Luke had shot out the tire with a dud dynamite arrow. Rosco arrives and hits the truck, causing it to fly into the lake. Bo swims to shore, and Rosco tries to arrest him, but the truck is sinking, so everyone gets to go home, because this is the last five minutes of the episode.

Everyone goes back to the farm, where Molly and Alice cook the Dukes a feast by way of an apology. Jesse asks Bo and Luke about rebuilding the outhouse, and Bo asks why they have to do it at all, as they only use it for target practice. Luke pipes up and says they’ve had indoor plumbing for twenty years. TWENTY. Jesse says that there’s something to be said about preserving the family heritage. This does not explain why the revenuer had to take a bath in their kitchen, however. I  leave this mystery to better crime solvers than me.