I love Lucy

[nurdlinger]

I never liked *I Love Lucy* very much

and I hated the later shows with Lucy and Gale Gordon. So I read this thread with some interest, finding out so many posters liked Lucy so much. The other night, Turner Classic cable channel showed a 1947 movie called "Lured" starring Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, plus others I like such as Cedric Hardwicke. Because of reading this thread, I watched the film and enjoyed it very much. Lucy played the part straight, none of the overacting as seen on the TV shows. She was very good in her part. I will have to make a point to see more films, and reevaluate my opinion regarding Lucille Ball.

 

[danemodsandy]

Guest Stars on "The Lucy Show"

I agree that some of the Lucy Show episodes could get pretty silly, but they did have some great guest stars, often very late in their careers, when you didn't see them that often. The Lucy episode with Joan Crawford is an example; Joan's appearances were getting rarer at that point (1968, I believe). Joan is said to have been hitting the sauce that day, and it's claimed that Lucy came very close to replacing her, but Crawford pulled it together and the filming went fine.

The Crawford ep is on YouTube. I also like the Liz Taylor/Richard Burton ep, co-starring The Diamond. Silly plot and corny comedy, true, but it's not every day you see the Burtons at the height of their passion for each other.

 

[westingman123]

"Lucy had nobody to play against, really..."

I must disagree! Lucy "played against" many co-stars, notably Ann Sothern and Jack Benny, in several episodes. And her chemistry with Gale Gordon was a delight. I think what people feel missing from that later shows was the underlying romance that comes through in "I Love Lucy." You always knew no matter what mess Lucy created, Ricky adored her.

Lucille Ball was a complicated, talented lady. I highly recommend her radio show, "My Favorite Husband", if you REALLY want to see (hear?) her timing in action.

 

[JerseyMike]

"Unless there was a flood recently, it shows up just fine on Yahoo! satellite maps (see link)."

There are five Boroughs that make up New York City. Manhattan (New York County), Brooklyn (Kings County) Queens (Queens County), Staten Island (Richmond County), and the Bronx (Bronx County). The Yahoo! satellite map takes you to 623 East 68TH Street in Brooklyn, NY. (Ralph Ave and Utica Avenue gives it away. Both streets are in Brooklyn.) The Ricardos lived in Manhattan.

In Manhattan, East 68th Street and York Avenue is about as far east as you can get without being in the river. According to google maps (see link below), one of the many hospitals on the East Side is located at 525 East 68th Street. The addresses increase as you move east from Fifth Avenue. 623 East 68th Street would be east of the FDR Drive, which would put it in the middle of the East River.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.google.com

 

[sudsmaster]

Hmmm. Lucy may have played against other actors later on, but it seems to me that it was never the same as with Ricky, because Lucy always had the upper hand when it came to guest stars. With Ricky it was different - it was more a battle of equals, with all the inherent tension and release that invoked. With her other co-stars, the play always seemed to fall a little flat - as if everyone knew that Lucy was The Boss. Which she was.

I'm probably not explaining it very well, but I think the proof was in the results.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

I L ove Lucy and Lucy Loves Me

It was not as good without Ricky. No doubt. The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy did have some memorable episodes and they were quite watchable but they could not light a candle to I Love Lucy. They just couldn't.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

I Love Lucy and Lucy Loves Me

It was not as good without Ricky. No doubt. The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy did have some memorable episodes and they were quite watchable but they could not light a candle to I Love Lucy. They just couldn't.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

I Love Lucy and Lucy Loves Me

It was not as good without Ricky. No doubt. The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy did have some memorable episodes and they were quite watchable but they could not light a candle to I Love Lucy. They just couldn't.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The first season of The Lucy Show is pretty good, but then Desi walked away and it went down hill. Then Viv left, and if it wasn't for the guest stars, it would hardly be worth watching

I suppose it's much like Lennon/McCartney, the Desi/Lucy sum was greater than the parts.

Desi's "The Mothers In Law" was pretty good.

What happened in the late 50s? I find the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour almost unwatchable, even worse than the Connecticut episodes of I Love Lucy.

Ken D.

 

[rll70sman]

Wash machine in "Never Do Business with Friends"

I've always wondered what kind of portable wash machine it was that the Ricardos and Mertzs pushed over the balcony when they were fighting. Was it even a real machine or just a prop?

 

[whirlcool]

And does anyone remember "Life With Lucy"? I think it ran about 5 or 6 episodes when it was pulled. I think the main reason for its cancellation so early was that Lucy was too old to play the part.

 

[nanook]

...and Please Don't Forget the Writers

There's been much said in these posts about how the talent splayed-out on I Love Lucy, but I didn't see anyone mention the great writing from Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh (Davis) & Bob Carroll, Jr. Lucy said many times how the show would be nothing without the writing of these talented individuals. ILL, as with all sitcoms is heavily dependent on quality writing; but without a talented cast, all that writing may as well be flushed down the toilet, and vice versa.

Suffice it to say that as with just about every TV show or film, it's a team effort, and I Love Lucy had quite a team, indeed, which didn't stop with the writers.

And if anyone doubts Lucille Ball's innate comedic talents, I strongly suggest viewing "Stage Door", 1937. Her brilliant comedy timing and body language was already well developed and it's easy to see even then that she had the makings to be the great comedienne which she ultimately became.

 

[appliguy]

Look again Nanook I DID mention them one of my posts

I said how she insisted they do the same duties on I Love Lucy for her as they did on My Favorite Husband becasue she trusted their writing and how she liked working with people she knew she could trust.

 

[nanook]

Whoops...

Appliguy you are so right. I was reading through these posts at lightning speed, I'm afraid I failed to notice the obvious. There are a number of little errors throughout the posts, so when I got to that particular post of yours, I had other things on my mind. Fer instance: Yes, Desi hired the writers, chose (along with others) the 3-camera film process and hired Karl Freund as cinematographer, etc. But... the 3-camera 35mm film process was already in use for The Amos 'n' Andy Show and Beulah, among others. And as far as the ILL shooting schedule, it was typical of what all TV shows have adopted (other than the fact back in the 1950's 39 shows was the norm): approx mid-September thru May of the following year - although there were exceptions. That allowed for an extended time-off from shooting, but a six-month hiatus, however, was not in the cards.

 

[appliguy]

Desi hired Jess, Madilyn, and Bob at Lucy's insistance

and yes Amos and Andy was filmed but I Love Lucy was the first to be filmed IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE......and the reason they filmed it was becasue the coast to coast tv hook up was not ready until a couple of months after the debut of I Love Lucy. If it had been in place at the time of the shows debut they would have done the show live from LA. Originally Desi and Lucy planned to do the show live in LA with a kinescope copy for viewing in the east but the head of Phillip Morris wanted the show done from New York because the East was where 80% of the tv viewing audience was before the coast to coast hook up was available. He said he was not going to buy a show that 20& of the viewing audience could see just fine while 80% saw it through cheese cloth (referring to the horrible quality of the kinescope process). Well Desi and Lucy refused to leave their home in Ca. so that is when Desi came up with the idea of filming the show. But then CBS said that Lucy worked better in front of an audience. Desi said fine we will film it in front of an audience and then he set out to tackle the problem which he did. Then CBS discovered it would cost about $5000 dollars more per episode to do the show on film and they said who is gonna pay the extra $5000 because we're not. Phillip Morris then said well neither are we. So Desi said that he and Lucy would pick up the tab under the condition that Desilu would own the film. CBS said fine with us you can have the film storage nightmare. 5 years later Desi sold the films back to CBS for around 4 million and used the money to expand the Desilu Empire by buying Motion Picture Center.

 

[nanook]

Yes, You've Got It Right Appliguy

I know the story backwards and forwards. And I don't wish to take away any of the brilliant choices in creating I Love Lucy made on Desi's and/or Lucy's part, but merely to point out that the 3-camera process was already established. Now - how it all worked properly with a live audience present - was something that started and was perfected here...