I'm not surprised. I was watching it at 1:00 a.m. At that hour it seemed pretty good (Maybe like "Rocky Horror" it can only be appreciated after midnight?)
To me, the most Lucy Ricardo-esque film she did was LONG LONG TRAILER, which is not part of this set.
Her 'Lucy' character wasn't in evidence too often in her films....rather than slapstick and comic timing, she often plays a haughty, wisecracking types.
But there are moments in DUBARRY, BEST FOOT FORWARD, and especially the Macy's scene in MAME that a Lucy fan would like.
Also, in MAME, the way she fouls up Beatrice Arthur's musical is very Lucy Ricardo-ish. Missing her cue, falling off the moon, getting stuck to Vera, taking the bow ... it has to remind you of the old Lucy.
...That was simply how the film was shot. Unkind critics at the time of "Mame's" release made fun of the use of filters and soft focus on Lucille Ball's close-ups.
Well, that's nothing new- Lucy was into her 60s when the film was made. There's a great anecdote about Lucy being photographed by veteran Hollywood still photographer John Engstead in the 1960s and she didn't like the resulting photos, saying that Mr. Engstead was using 'old cameras'. Of course, it wasn't the equipment that was aging! Supposedly this soft-focus techinque was done on Joan Crawford and some on her contemporaries, and has gone down to cetrtain TV stars as well. Currently there's a video system the networks use for news broadcasts and late-night talk shows that allegedly takes off the years as well. Think of that the next time you watch The View or The Late Show with David Letterman!
The anecdote Charles related reminds me of the anecdote Robert Osborne has told on TCM:
Seems Marlene Dietrich worked with the same cameraman on 'Destry Rides Again', and then - almost twenty years later - on 'Rancho Notorious'.
During 'Rancho Notorious', Marlene supposedly upbraided the cameraman, because he was unable to make her look as young as she had looked in 'Destry Rides Again'.
The cameraman is supposed to have said: "but I'm twenty years older now".
-Seven Days Leave (her last film for RKO before she went to MGM) -Meet the People -Two Smart People -You Can't Fool Your Wife -A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob