In the 1950s, CBS's "I Love Lucy" was one of the most watched television show in the United States, so it was no surprised that a movie studio like MGM would try to capitalize on comedian duo Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz's fame. 1954's 'The Long, Long Trailer' was one of those vehicles. Without spoiling the film directed by Vincent Minnelli too much, this motion picture was the second of their movies that Ball & Arnaz star together in, but first in which they both played the titular roles. While, the performers did play their characters were a little too similar to their television show counterparts. At least, they were acting. It beats the original plan of them phoning it in, by compiling several episodes of the first season into a movie. Thank goodness that was never theatrically released. Instead, we got a comedy story by screenwriters Albert Hackett & Frances Goodrich that both were able to put some effect into. Based on the 1951 novel of the same name written by Clinton Twiss, the film tells the story about a newlywed couple, Nicolas (Desi Arnaz) & Tacy Collini (Lucille Ball), having their marriage tested, when they buy a trailer home, while travelling across America. Just like the show, the pair had great chemistry in it, even if Lucy is a bit annoying. The acting from the two main performers was still top notch. There is no better example of that, then their facial expression while going up the steep dangerous Sierra Nevada mountain path and Nicky finding out their marriage is on the rocks. It was both hilarious and tense. Not only that, but both had some really good comical timing during the physical slapstick parts. Even if some of the gags like making dinner sequence seem like a rip off of 1938's "Mickey's Trailer". They were still amply of lot of slap happy fun. However, I did hate the lack of supporting characters. Kennan Wynn, Marjorie Main & Howard McNear are barely on screen to stand out. Honestly, if they really wanted to capitalize on 'I Love Lucy' fame. They should had gotten William Frawley and Vivian Vance to star in this film as well as different characters. Regardless, while the movie was made in the 1950s, most of the jokes were not dated. There is humor, modern audience members can related to, such as getting stuck in the traffic in the highways or worst yet stuck in the mud in some rural backroad. Perhaps, the most relatable struggle in the film has to be trying to back up and park, a big vehicle in an urban center or drive ways. The trailer that was used in the film was a 1953 New Moon. It was truly a real life item, people could buy. However, I doubt anybody did, after seeing this movie. The film is really against that trailer, showing all the flaws and little of its charm. The company Redman Homes probably regards leasing it out for this motion picture as product placement. That item must have token a big dive in sales during the first few months after this film released. Neverthless, there must had been a big enough market for other recreational travelling trailers products, because Redman Homes is still around as of this writing under a division of Champion Enterprise Holdings LLC. I guess the film didn't hurt sales too much. Anyways, another thing that works in this film is the cinematography. The movie was beautiful shot in color on multiply locations, especially during the hairpin turns. They really do offer scenic views of the Owens Valley below. There is another extraordinary sequence where the audience get a good eye of Yosemite Park, which is equally as impressive. On the other hand, the editing could had been better. The funniest unintentional laugh I got out from this movie is how their 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible suddenly turns into a larger but similar appearing Lincoln Capri model between shots. What an odd noticeable movie mistake. Even the pacing is a little off. I really don't think, the film need to show the pre-planning the wedding & then the couple getting hitch. It really felt like filler. To add onto that, the whole "Breezin' Along with Breeze" musical number felt really out of place, as there is barely any music besides this sequence. Furthermore, it had an entirely different backing track orchestration than the first cut. So the original vocal overdubs didn't really match well with new orchestral number. It was truly jarring. No wonder why the film was references in the song 'Everything Right is Wrong Again' from the band, 'They Might Be Giants'. Parts of the film was indeed broken. Nevertheless, a remake was planned in 1994 with Roseanne Barr & Tom Arnold in the titular roles, but due to the couple's divorce, the project never got off the ground. Thank God for that. In the end, while, I truly did love Lucy. Overall: I just love this movie even more. It's one of the best comedies from the 1950s. Hands down.
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