Nearing the end of the second week but so much fun even though it is time consuming..oh well:) I say to head on over to the A to Z Challenge to find out who else joined and what they chose as their challenge.
THE LONG, LONG TRAILER-1953
DIRECTOR: Vincent Minnelli
STARS: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
PLOT: Young newlyweds decide to buy a long trailer and drive cross country for their honeymoon. Things don't go as planned:)
LOVE: When they need to climb up the mountain and Lucy has to get rid of her rocks
TRIVIA: Back in 1975, my ex travelled with his parents in a 5th wheel which was 35ft long. Along their travels, mom(not my mom) collected rocks as memories. When they got to the Rockies and had to climb a very steep mountain pass, Lil was told by Moe( dad in law) that she had to get rid of her rocks. Mom didn't want to so, she hid her rocks all over the trailer. Half way up the mountain pass, dad did not understand why it was so difficult so he pulled over and opened the door to the trailer. Many of the rocks fell out....mom tried to hide as dad yelled out, " LILY!!" No, they did not see this movie:)
LUCILLE BALL- August 6, 1911-April 26, 1989
OCCUPATION: Actress, Studio Head
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: She suffered severe rheumatoid arthritis when she was 21 and it took 2 years to relearn how to walk again. RKO was a famous studio producing King Kong and the Astaire/Rogers musicals for example. When RKO suffered bankruptcy, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball bought the failing studio and renamed it Desilu Productions. When Desi sold his share to Lucy in the early 1960's, Lucille Ball became the head of a major TV studio. She is the one who greenlighted Star Trek!
I saw that movie in the drive-in when it came out. I remember going with my parents. As a kid I enjoyed it. Years later I saw it again and it was like watching a brand new movie. I loved Lucy when I was growing up. She was a household staple. Now, that song 'Just Breezin along with the Breeze' will be going through my head all day.
ReplyDeleteLucy actually sang this with Desi...her daughter stated this later on.
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever watched this Lucy and Desi flick. (You should have posted the Long Long Trailer trailer :) However, during the 70s, the TV station at which I started my career acquired and aired the film as part of a syndicated movie package. It was accompanied by a set of full color lobby cards and 8X10 black and white glossy production stills. I inherited all that memorabilia one day when I discovered it in the trash dumpster at work. Over the years I assembled a large collection of rare movie and TV pictures by combing through that dumpster. You wouldn't believe all the great stuff stations threw out due to lack of storage space. I also salvaged rare films, videotapes and vinyl records in this manner!
Thanks to their enormously popular hit TV series, which I am sure runs every minute of every day somewhere in the world, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz seem to be with us in the present even though they both died during the 1980s.
Have a great weekend, dear friend BB!
This is so cool that you were able to grab these posters and such. It sounds like you had a pretty cool job actually. It is weird that they both died in the 80's and actually so close when one thinks about it
DeleteShe greenlighted Star Trek? Wait until I tell my hubby!
ReplyDeleteAt night I fall asleep to TVLAND at night so when I turn the TV on in the morning, she's the one on TV to greet me with her laughter. She's a classic.
Yup she did green light it! I love the TV show
DeleteNever knew that about Star Trek. haha too funny with the rocks.
ReplyDeleteYup Star Trek was due to her being on the air
DeleteLike most everyone else, I love Lucy. My uncle in Los Angeles worked for Desilu as a camera operator back in the early days. I saw this movie years ago and thought it was funny. Even funnier that your former in-laws had a similar experience. Interesting trivia bit about Lucy and Star Trek. I wish the A to Z would pause for the long weekend! I'm so far behind, it's ridiculous. :P Have a good one, Birgit.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite behind as well. That's pretty cool about your Uncle
DeleteThe original studio for the I Love Lucy show is now the studio for the Nerdist and @Midnight. That's the only Lucy trivia I can contribute.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Nerdist but still pretty cool.
DeleteThe scene I remember is when she stepped out of the trailer into the mud. Didn't know she ended up owning Desilu on her own. Glad she greenlighted Star Trek
ReplyDeleteThat was a funny scene and I wonder how she must have felt being under that
DeleteBecause of this movie, which I loved as a kid, I'll never ever tow a trailer. And I'll never collect rocks!
ReplyDeleteMy in laws towed a 35 ft 5th wheel!
DeleteWhen Robert Stack was star of The Untouchables, he steadfastly refused to spoof his Eliot Ness character... except on I Love Lucy. That's because Desilu produced his show, so he couldn't refuse the boss!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right!
DeleteHow interesting with Lucille Ball and rheumatoid arthritis. I didn't know that about her.
ReplyDeleteToo funny your story about your then relatives and the rocks; I can see myself doing something like that :)
Never heard of this movie :)
betty
This movie is just so funny.
DeleteDon't know the movie but happy childhood memories of I Love Lucy.
ReplyDeleteLove the movie and the TV show
DeleteI guess I really just know the series, I Love Lucy. Didn't even know there was a Dezi and Lucy movie! So much to learn! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThey made 2 movies, this one and Move Over Darling.
DeleteI did not know RKO became Desilu. Wow. I did know that Lucille Ball was in an Astaire/Rogers film (Follow the Fleet).
ReplyDeleteYes, she was and was an original Goldwyn Girl
DeleteI Love the Long Trailer. I can't believe they took that thing over the mountain passes they filmed in the movie.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I didn't know she greenlighted Star Trek. I love those TV shows and the movies.
R
They did and she did!
DeleteWow, I am impressed and inspired by Lucille Ball's learning to walk again. She moved so elegantly and gracefully. I wonder if she took dance or model lessons to help her move so.
ReplyDeleteFunny you say this because she was a model before she became a Goldwyn Girl and she could dance
DeleteLucy was born in Jamestown, New York, about 220 miles from where I live. I went through there in 2013 and passed her birthplace. There is a Lucy museum in downtown Jamestown. I have a picture of a Jamestown sewer hole cover painted red with a white heart in the middle. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteMy best friend and I went to her hometown( and Jimmy Stewart's) in 2014 and we visited the museum and her birth home and the home she grew up in.
DeleteI never realized she's been dead almost my whole life
ReplyDeleteOh wow....I grew up with her being on many tv shows especially with Bob Hope
DeleteLove the rock story. Of course, the I Love Lucy show was a staple television show to watch back, back in the day! Years later, it was difficult to reconcile the business mogul with the pea-brain that always had some 'splaining to do.
ReplyDeleteShe was very savvy and her children said everything was calculated and the true comedian was their dad. Desi was keen on business as well and made sure they owned the rights to their show and made sure it was filmed like a movie
DeleteI love Lucy! Even had the nickname in the 80s in college when the show was on TV. I love that story about your "mom" How hilarious that must have been! And what a nice coincidence that Lucy's birthday is in April! Hugs Birgit!
ReplyDeleteActually Lucille Ball's birthday is in August...now I have to look up and check it
DeleteOne of Lucy's funniest performances. Those rocks still make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteVery funny especially since my in laws had a very similar experience
DeleteI was an avid watcher of their show and her subsequent series, but I' haven't seen this film. I put her at the top of my list of my all time favorite funny ladies. Visiting from
ReplyDeleteIf I Only Had A Time Machine
Hope you see this movie because it's a classic.
DeleteHaven't seen this from start to finish, but I've watched parts and seen the ending. Classic for sure. Can't say I'm the biggest Lucy fan, but, really, who doesn't love Lucy?
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out: It's About Time
Haven't heard of this one, but it sounds fun!
ReplyDeleteA few months back, I saw a made-for-tv movie about Lucy and Desi. They had a tumultuous marriage and relationship, at least if the film was correct. I knew she took over the studio, which she thought was rightfully hers to begin with (since she was the REAL star, not Desi), but I had NO idea she was responsible for greenlighting Star Trek. Good for her. Never saw this movie, though.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, there was something magical about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I believe we saw this flick eons ago but I can't swear to it. We may have it on DVD. I guess it's always possible we saw it on Netflix but my brain is so fuzzy. It's too early and I'm playing catch up. lol Great film! Thanks for visiting on Friday for Art Sketching Through the Alphabet "L" (lighthouse & laughing cat)!
ReplyDelete