I Love Lucy: The Movie and Other Great Rarities (2011) Review

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(More customer reviews)I received the "I Love Lucy" complete boxed set for a birthday present, and this "I Love Lucy" movie was included, along with the "lost" pilot, several promos and commentaries, and a colorized version of "Lucy Goes to Scotland". What this is, (and I'm sitting here watching it right now)is three episodes of "I Love Lucy",-- "The Benefit" "Breaking the Lease", and "The Ballet"-- filmed totally separate ( and that you've already seen 1,000 times), "bridged" together with "tag" scenes, filmed at a later date, with the actors doing exposition, such as "remember the time when..." and so forth. For instance: one of the "tag" scenes has "Ethel" sitting at a table in her living room with "Fred", totaling up how much money their Woman's Club made after putting on one of their shows. Ethel wants to give Ricky an "appreciation tea" to thank him for helping them, and she discovers that this severely depletes the profits- which leads her to remember another time she and Lucy needed money.
The highlight of this "movie", to me, is that we actually get to SEE what an "I Love Lucy" audience looks like, as the movie opens with the ticket-holders to the show standing on-line outside, waiting to enter the "Desilu Playhouse." An (obvious) actor couple are ushered in, marveling at the sights. The announcer intros Desi Arnaz, who is as gracious and charming as ever. Desi, in smoking jacket, explains the technical stuff to the audience,cracks a few jokes to put them at their ease, then introduces the cast, ending with his favorite Red-head, (or "Rett- Hett", ala Desi) Lucy. You see the cast take their places, and wait to hear "action!", which, to my recollection, is the only filmed occasion where the actors broke character and acknowledged the audience.
I should add that this "movie" was made before Lucy had "Little Ricky", so all of it takes place during the first season. It's also interesting to see the sets from the audience's point of view. This film WAS intended for nationwide release, but, as the Arnazes were about to sign the contracts for the film "The Long,Long Trailer" (not released until 1954, AFTER Lucy had the baby), Desi Arnaz decided that they would only be competing with themselves at the box office, so this movie was shelved.
If you're a "Lucy" fan, it's a must see if only because it's lost footage of Lucy doing "Lucy". I don't know if I'd have purchased this independently, had it not been included with my boxed set, but it IS an unearthed treasure in the archeological dig for fossils of great pop culture....

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In 1953, three classic first season I Love Lucy episodes ("The Benefit," "Breaking the Lease," and "The Ballet") were edited together with newly-filmed connecting scenes to create this never-before-released feature-length film. The film had only a single "test" screening in 1953 at a small theatre in Bakersfield, attended by the Arnazes. But Lucy and Desi had just signed a deal with M-G-M to do "The Long, Long Trailer", and M-G-M, fearing competition, insisted that they shelve the film. And that's literally what happened. I Love Lucy: The Movie was put back on a shelf, in a mislabeled can, and was lost for nearly half a century, until it was discovered in the Paramount vault by Dann Cahn in 2001.

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Happiness Is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown Review

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(More customer reviews)Happiness Is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown was highly anticipated, and it does not disappoint. If you're looking for a light, fun animated Peanuts special in line with all of the holiday classics, Happiness Is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown is NOT it. It is, however, perhaps the most true reproduction of Schulz' Peanuts comic strip I've seen in animation.
Cartoonist Stephan Pastis' (Pearls Before Swine) writing is very much felt in the darker more melancholy mood of some of the scenes in this film. This reflects the darker tones present in the Peanuts comic strip in a very honest way that hasn't been done in any of the previous Peanuts animation.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of this film is the painstaking efforts to harken back to Peanuts golden age, effectively freezing the characters as they looked and sounded in 1964. The beautiful way in which this was accomplished almost makes this film a period piece.
One hopes that there will be many other new Peanuts animated productions of this caliber from the Craig Schulz/Stephan Pastis production team.


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Linus is pushed to his limits when he learns grandma is coming to visit and plans on ridding him of his childish security blanket. As grandma's arrival looms closer the Peanuts gang tries to help Linus learn to cope without his fuzzy crutch. Lucy is particular eager to cure Linus' dependency using her own psychiatric techniques, and while Charlie Brown tries to help he just doesn't have the heart to see Linus suffer. All the while Snoopy is constantly agitating matters because he wants the blanket for himself. In the end, insightful Linus points out that everyone has their own type of 'security blanket" and in life a little security is a valuable thing.

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I Love Lucy - The Complete Seasons 7-9 (1951) Review

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(More customer reviews)UPDATE: March-22-07
(The "I Love lucy Movie" not to be included in the set! from what I have read Paramount is going to be bringing us a seperate set with the "I Love Lucy" movie and a lost scenes/shows set with bonuses. Look for this set in the near future, this is probably another way for Paramount to make money.) Also in the show "The Celebrity Next Door" this episode is cut because it does no explain how Talula is allergic to strawberries, when originally aired Talula said that she got hives whenever she ate strawberries but on this set it does not explain that. All of the other episodes are perfect and funnier than I remembered them!
Update: May-14-2007
A DVD set was just released called "Lucy's Really Lost Moments' and it will include many lost I Love Lucy scenes and tons of other bonuses including Desi and Lucy appearing on a game show and much more. It is available online through Amazon and other websites and you may be able to purchase it in some video stores also! The average price this set costs online is $10 to $13 and is a GREAT value, I just reserved my copy and can't wait to watch it!!!
I am so exited about "I Love Lucy" season 7-9 coming to dvd and I just can't wait to get it at my door. This set was originally aired on television as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour and the name of this set has been changed to "I Love Lucy," as that is what it is and should have been called in the first place. The only difference in this set than in Season 1-6 of "I Love Lucy" is that these shows were one hour long episodes instead of half hour episodes, and it continues where Season 6 left off in Connecticut when the gang moved to the country.These seasons have not aired on cable television as much as the other "I Love Lucy" shows, and it is such a disappointment because there are GREAT shows on here. Why do they not air much??? This dvd box set includes 13 classic episodes at each being an hour long and so you get over 13 hours of fun with this set, not mentioning the many bonuses. There will even be some scenes from "I love Lucy" to be set in color and deleted scenes and flubs and fun commercials as well. You will also receive the "I Love Lucy" movie!! It is 3 shows with a continuing story line and has never been shown before, EVER. They were suppose to air it back in the 1950's but it was cancelled due to the Release of "The Long Long Trailer" and it has been lost and forgotten for over 50 years and now we all can own this. They figured that since "The Long Long Trailer was being aired that there was no need for this movie and decided not to air it.One of my favorite shows on this set is "Lucy Takes A Cruise To Havana," in this episode there will be a flash back of how Lucy first met Ricky on her cruise to Havana. This episode was first originally aired as 75 minutes long but 15 minutes had to be cut out and Paramount is including the 75 minute long episode with this set, which hasn't been seen since It's original broadcast. Desi Arnaz did not want anything cut on this episode and he talked CBS in to keeping the added minutes. It took the full 75 minutes to make the episode perfect and Desi wanted everything, he would not settle for edited content. When this show was first originally aired back in the 50's it was the full 75 minutes with commercials but every since than it has appeared on cable edited. Desi Arnaz would be very proud to know that the full content is being released!Here is the episode List: 1.) Lucy Takes A Cruise To Havana
2.) The Celebrity Next Door
3.) Lucy Hunts Uranium
4.) Lucy Wins A Racehorse
5.) Lucy Goes To Sun Valley
6.) Lucy Goes To Mexico
7.) Lucy Makes Room For Danny
8.) Lucy Goes To Alaska
9.) Lucy Wants A Career
10.) Lucy's Summer Vacation
11.) Milton Berle Hides Out At The Ricardos
12.) The Ricardos Go To Japan
13.) Lucy Meets The Moustache

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The I Love Lucy Hour Shows is a series of hour-long specials that aired from 1957-1960 that continued the I Love Lucy saga. Housewife Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) lives in Westport Connecticut, with her bandleader husband, Ricky ( real-life husband Desi Arnaz,) and their son, Ricky Jr. (Keith Theibodeaux.) Always nearby are the couple's best friends Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance.) Ricky's job as an entertainer requires him to travel a lot. As a result, he often takes Lucy, little Ricky, and the Mertzes with him to such far-off places as Japan and Mexico. Ricky's career also allows him to meet many famous celebrities, from Betty Grable to Ida Lupino. Of course, when Lucy meets up with these celebrities, chaos naturally ensues.

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Too Many Girls - Authentic Region 1 from Warner Brothers with Lucille Ball Review

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(More customer reviews)Too Many Girls is a charming, light-weight and vapid college musical based on the Broadway show by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. What it has going for it is a fine Rodgers & Hart score, enthusiastic and talented actors (several of whom, such as Eddie Bracken, Desi Arnaz, Hal LeRoy and Van Johnson, were re-creating their Broadway roles), a couple of first-rate production numbers and a nostalgic look at a long-ago time when co-eds wore beanies and college football was played just for the fun of it.
Connie Casey (Lucille Ball), the head-strong daughter of a rich industrialist who has been trying to keep her out of trouble, decides she wants to go to Pottawatomie University, her father's alma mater, in Stop Gap, New Mexico. Dad agrees, but secretly hires four college football stars as bodyguards. "Kelly," he says to one of them, "would you like a job? Good pay, long hours, hard work. You're not afraid of that, I suppose?" "Oh, no, sir," Clint says. "Good pay never frightened me any."
Connie, unknown to her Dad, has fallen for a famous British author who has a ranch near Stop Gap. The four new bodyguards are Clint Kelly (Richard Carlson), Jojo Jordan (Eddie Bracken), Al Terwilliger (Hal LeRoy) and Manuelito Lynch (Desi Arnaz). Once everyone is enrolled, things do not go smoothly. There are lovely co-eds to distract our bodyguards (the ratio of male to female at Pottawatomie is 1 to 10). There is the football team that desperately needs help if it is ever to win a game. There are all those creaking jokes. When Jojo is surrounded by cute and adoring Pottawatomie co-eds one day, he's asked if he'd ever dated any of those eastern girls. "Oh, I went with a senior at Wellesley," Jojo tells them. "They're all air-conditioned." "What do you mean, air-conditioned?" "Forty degrees cooler in the house than on the street."
Mainly, there is Connie to be kept from her paramour, which is both made easier and more difficult when Clint falls for her, Connie reciprocates and then finds out he was sent to keep an eye on her. Well, Connie is hurt and angry. She decides to leave Pottawatomie on the night train going back east...and her football-playing bodyguards must go with her. But wait. There's a crucial game the next day. Without Clint, Jojo, Al and Manuelito there's no hope that Pottawatomie can win. Only if Connie realizes how much she loves Clint and relents can our boys play. I know you're in suspense over what Connie decides, but I don't believe in spoilers. You'll have to watch the movie.
The primary reason to see the movie is the Rodgers & Hart score. This was the only film version of a Thirties Rodgers & Hart production that even remotely resembled the Broadway original. The score has one classic, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," and one near classic written specifically for the movie, "You're Nearer." Since this is a college movie, Rodgers & Hart came up with some real rousers; pep songs before a game and victory songs after: "'Cause We Got Cake," "Spic and Spanish" and "Look Out." The climax is a near hallucinogenic production number that features a bonfire, pulsing rhythm, flickering shadows and Desi Arnaz sweating and beating a bongo drum while he struts amidst the cheering throng. Rodgers & Hart also came up with a lovely, gentle gem of a song that demonstrates why Hart was one of the best in the business:
Love never went to college.
Ignorant boy, that,
But think of the joy that he starts.
His work requires no knowledge
So he can do it
By using intuitive arts.
He just says, "You two kids
Start falling in love
I ain't got brains
But I reigns over all these parts."
Love never went to college.
Never had teaching
But yet he keeps reaching our hearts!
The lyric is conversational, but note the clever, interior rhymes. The phrase, "I ain't got brains but I reigns over all these parts" is pure Hart...something that seems just amusing at first hearing and then seems perfect at the second, especially when matched with Rodgers lovely melody. It's like a little extra drop of vinegar that makes an already fine dressing superb.
Lucille Ball is a knock-out. Richard Carlson is stalwart and a bit wooden. This was Eddie Bracken's first movie and he's great...especially when he sings his version of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." Hal LeRoy, like Bracken, is around to provide comic relief. He was a gifted and distinctive dancer. He has one tap segment in the Spic and Spanish number which is extraordinary. He's not only fast, but his knees seem to be double-jointed. Desi Arnaz makes a funny and endearing impression as the guy who is always ready for a game or a dame. Frances Langford, long forgotten by most nowadays, was a pop singer of style and great popularity during the Forties. She does a fine job as the student body president. She does an even finer job singing some of the songs. Ann Miller is there to do her machine-gun taps and precision twirls. And although Van Johnson is unbilled (he's listed on IMDb as Chorus Boy Nr. 41), his one line is vital to Pottawatomie and to the movie. "We won the game, so help me!"
The movie is part of the Lucy & Desi Collection, a three-movie DVD pack. Too Many Girls can be bought separately, easily and legitimately from any number of dealers who have broken the pack down. The DVD transfer is a little soft, but otherwise looks fine. There are a couple of small extras. The first is a short subject featuring an all-woman orchestra, Frances Carroll and the Cocquettes. The second is a Merrie Melodies cartoon that Warner Brothers now thinks requires a warning statement disavowing the ethnic and racial sterotypes the cartoon displays.
For those who enjoy Rodgers & Hart, you might want to find two CDs. The first is "Too Many Girls," the full score of the Broadway show, re-created by Ben Bagley in 1989 and featuring Estelle Parsons, Anthony Perkins, Johnny Desmond and Nancy Alexander. The cast may seem a little eccentric, but they do a superb job capturing the spirit of the show. The second CD is "Fly With Me", a re-creation of a Columbia University varsity show Rodgers, when he was 17, wrote with Hart. Rodgers, among his many talents, could write a powerful college pep song. On this CD, look for "A College on Broadway." It'll have you marching around your house.

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Long Long Trailer (Ff) Review

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(More customer reviews)Directed by Vincent Minelli, this comedy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, was filmed at the height of the popularity of their television show, "I Love Lucy". In this film, Lucy was never funnier, and Desi was never better as her comedic foil.
The plot is surprisingly simple. Tacy Collins (Lucille Ball) and Nicholas Carlos Collini (Desi Arnez) are about to be married. Tacy persuades him that having a trailer home would be ideal, since he has the type of job that takes him away so often. This way, she could always be there to take care of him no matter where he is working, as their home would always go with him, wherever he may be. Nicky buys into her logic, and the rest is history.
They purchase a top of the line trailer home, a new car to tow it, and get married. Tacy and Nicky then hit the road and have a number of very funny adventures. They will have you belly laughing, as the personas of their film characters do not differ greatly from that of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, the characters of their television show. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
Keenan Wynn has a small role as a traffic control cop whose path briefly crosses theirs. Don't blink, or you may miss him. Some of the footage is shot in gorgeous Yosemite National Park and the cinematography is a treat, with beautiful scenic vistas replete with mountain views.
Not only was this film a hit for MGM in 1954 and the best grossing comedy of the year, but it was also their best grossing comedy to date, beating MGM's previous record holder, "Father of the Bride". If you are a fan of Lucy and Desi, or if you simply want a film that would be fun for the whole family, you cannot go wrong in choosing this one.

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TCM Greatest Classic Legends Film Collection: Lucille Ball (The Long, Long Trailer / Forever Darling / Room Service / Du Barry Was a Lady) Review

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(More customer reviews)This will no doubt be one of the big sellers in TCM's "Greatest Classic Films Collection", a series designed to bring classic movies to the masses in budget-friendly double disc sets. However it's a bit of a shame that this Lucille Ball-themed collection doubles up on films already covered in the series.
THE LONG, LONG TRAILER is in the TCM Comedy set, and ROOM SERVICE can also be found in the Marx Brothers set. LONG, LONG TRAILER is undoubtedly Lucy's best film comedy, and operates almost like a feature-length "I Love Lucy" episode (it was filmed at the height of "Lucy" mania). ROOM SERVICE is a Marx Brothers film first and foremost, with young Lucy in one of her first major supporting roles.
Of the two remaining films, FOREVER DARLING is one of Lucy's most disappointing, downright dreary comedies (and her co-star James Mason always regarded it as one of his worst films). The story sees Lucy and Desi Arnaz playing a married couple on the verge of a messy divorce, until a Guardian Angel - played by James Mason - intervenes. DU BARRY WAS A LADY is a big splashy Technicolor musical, based on the hit Broadway show, in which Ball shares the screen with an up-and-coming Gene Kelly, and Red Skelton.
Why TCM has decided to recycle ROOM SERVICE is anybody's guess (though I can rationalise why LONG, LONG TRAILER is here once more). Instead of ROOM SERVICE, I would have preferred perhaps "The Big Street" (one of Lucy's best dramatic performances); or maybe even the delicious "Dance, Girl, Dance".

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The Lucy & Desi Collection (Too Many Girls / The Long Long Trailer / Forever, Darling) (1956) Review

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(More customer reviews)At last! Aside from the fact that I do, along with the rest of the world, love Lucy...to have these three films finally arrive on DVD is a dream come true.
THE LONG, LONG TRAILER is truly one of the great screen comedies of all time, and although Lucy & Desi play characters named "Tacy and Nicky", they run pretty close to the Ricardos in many ways. The film gives both beloved performers many chances for their signature slapstick, but being based on a best-selling book, there are also touching moments that remain poignant. Deftly directed by Vincente Minnelli, it's no wonder, TRAILER was a box office smash.
FOREVER DARLING is a delightful collection with a bit of a twist, and the added bonus of James Mason as Lucy & Desi's guardian angel.....Last, but certainly not least, we get something special. TOO MANY GIRLS is the movie where Lucy met Desi and the pair fell in love. They don't have many scenes together, but it's a superb screen version of the Rodgers & Hart Broadway show that made Desi Arnaz a star, and Lucy, Ann Miller, Eddie Bracken and the rest of the cast make this a must-have for fans of classic film.
Cheers to Warner Brothers for bringing out this great collection of the only 3 movies our Lucy & Desi made together, and at such a low price, you can't pass it up!

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LUCY AND DESI COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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The Long, Long Trailer (1954) Review

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(More customer reviews)Watching the Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz film "The Long, Long Trailer" some 50+ years after it was made, is a rather surreal experience. By 1953, The "Baby Boom" was indeed booming, tract housing was all over the place like crab grass, trailer parks multiplied like jackrabbits, and Americans were inundated with the wonders of "space age" technology. Big, flashy-looking cars, refrigerators, TV sets, "streamlined" furniture, and snazzy clothes were the things that everyone wanted to have. It was as if America wanted to wipe away its gritty, unglamourous past and face the space age all polished and waxed and Simonized. To see Eisenhower's America as depicted by MGM in better-than-real-life Technicolor and filmed largely on MGM's backlot (interspersed with location photography of Yosemite Park,etc) I feel like I'm watching home movies that were shot in a suburb of a distant planet! "The Long, Long Trailer" was made to capitalize on the overwhelming popularity of TV's "I Love Lucy", which finally made a star of 40ish Lucille Ball, who had never really achieved "big stardom" in the 20 years she had been in showbiz. So, if you REALLY loved Lucy, you could go and spend money to sit in a theater and watch Lucy and Desi on a big screen in an "Air-Cooled" theater in COLOR, and with no commericials! This film has always been a favorite of mine, ever since I first watched it with my sister on our parents' blonde wood console black-and-white TV back in the mid 1960s. See Lucy fall in the mud (I have to admit I get a rather sadistic pleasure out of watching this bit over and over again). See Lucy try to prepare a gourmet dinner while in a moving trailer, with disastrous results (God, the things they did to this lady!) See Desi perform a medley of songs while driving a huge convertible, pulling an even MORE huge trailer, all in stunning Technicolor. How could you NOT like this film? I must have seen this film at least 50 times when I was growing up! Detractors call this film one long "I Love Lucy" episode which, of course it is, but it certainly isn't dull, and Lucy and Desi were very talented, hardworking people. Who cares about their less-than-happy personal life? The supporting cast is great, filled with many characters actors who had long, long careers, such as Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Moroni Olson, Madge Blake, and Bert Freed. The picture quality on the DVD is beautiful, with crisp imagery and breathtaking color. One can really understand why Lucille Ball was dubbed "Technicolor Tessie". She looks great. The location photography is picture-postcard lovely, and all of the pathologcally "Fifties" trappings, such as the Helen Rose clothes and humongous cars, remind us of a VERY different time. This film is a real time piece, it brings back very fond memories of a time that really seems "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." Where's my TV dinner?

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Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz live slaphappily ever after as newlyweds honeymooning in The Long, Long Trailer, breezily directed by Vincente Minnelli. They quickly find that the interior of a moving trailer is ideal for tossing a Caesar salad - and everything else. That backing up their 40-foot, three-ton home is only a little more difficult than threading a needle wearing boxing gloves. And that trailer-park folks are neighborly sorts who turn the lovebirds' rig into the wrong, wrong trailer by crashing the wedding night. Co-starring comedy pros Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn (Ball's frequent co-star in her MGM days), this smash was filmed at the height of the I Love Lucy craze and is packed with the inventive sight gags and physical humor that made the series a TV landmark. If you like the Trailer, you're going to love the movie!

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