Blu-ray Review The Long, Long Trailer Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

After conquering television with I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz decided to use the hiatus between seasons of their hit show to parlay their newfound popularity into a hit movie, and they found it in Vincente Minnelli’s The Long, Long Trailer.



The Long, Long Trailer (1954)



Released: 19 Feb 1954
Rated: Approved
Runtime: 96 min




Director: Vincente Minnelli
Genre: Comedy, Romance



Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main
Writer(s): Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Clinton Twiss



Plot: Nicky and Tacy are going to be married. Nicky wants to save up money for a house, but Tacy dreams of starting off with their own home on wheels--a trailer.



IMDB rating: 6.9
MetaScore: N/A





Disc Information



Studio: MGM...

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[Ethan Riley]

This blu has a appropriate vintage look, quite pleasing to the eye.

 

[Will Krupp]

Great review, Matt, thank you!!

Later, Tacy attempts to cook a lovely dinner while Nicky drives them along a bumpy road allowing Lucille Ball’s Tacy the kind of slapstick free-for-all that had made her the Emmy-winning toast of American television.

I've always felt that what makes this sequence such a standout is the fact that she, in character, attempts to control the situation for as long as she does. After every new bump and jostle, you can see her character saying to herself, "I've got this, I can work with this" until she absolutely can't and the reality of the situation hits her (literally!) She reacts exactly as a "real" person would and just thinking of it makes me smile.

Lucy didn't think she was a naturally "funny" person because she didn't "think" funny, but her acting prowess certainly meant she knew what funny looked like. The only moment that, for me, rings false, is when she overdoes it by spilling the salad over her own head. I have to assume she was following direction because it's the only time she reacts as someone worrying about the look of the comedy block rather than how a real person would behave.

Other than that, I think it's a master class in comedy boiled down into a few minutes of screen time. I love it.

 

[uncledougie]

Great observations, Will. It’s perhaps the light Minnelli touch that keeps the frothy action merrily moving along, of course with the married couple’s deft chemistry and timing helping. It’s too bad the supporting cast wasn’t given a little more to do (it seems an original cut of 103 minutes not released commercially suggests some, including Marjorie Main, did have slightly expanded roles). But as is, the movie rollicks right along and never crosses the line of being too broad to retain some believability. The characters’ interplay trying to accommodate each other is, in fact, rather touching. The two nephews I shared it with were definitely very amused. Splendid transfer!

 

[Will Krupp]

The characters’ interplay trying to accommodate each other is, in fact, rather touching.

Spot on, sir!

 

[dstrong]

Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Spot on! I remember watching it when I was a child and wondering why Ricky and Lucy were calling each other "Nicky and Tacy".