Barnes & Noble

Newlyweds Nicky and Tacy Collini embark on the road of life together in a gargantuan mobile home, and it's all downhill from there in this star vehicle for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Director Vincente Minnelli keeps this freewheeling comedy rolling along. Scenes of broad slapstick -- Nicky demolishing a relative's garden with the trailer, Tacy attempting to cook dinner during a herky-jerky drive -- merge with more intimately observed scenes of the couple getting to know each other. Lucy and Desi, their palpable chemistry honed both in life and on their beloved TV series, handle comedic and dramatic moments with equal aplomb. Seen all too briefly are Keenan Wynn as an aggravated traffic cop and Marjorie Main (Ma and Pa Kettle) and Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show) as fellow "trailerites." One of the most popular comedies of its time, The Long, Long Trailer comes to DVD packed with extra features that replicate an old-fashioned night at the movies, including a classic Tex Avery cartoon ("Dixieland Droopy") and a vintage comedy short (Pete Smith's "Ain't It Aggrivatin' "). Even non-Lucy fans will enjoy this ride. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

At the height of their TV fame, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were contracted by MGM to make two theatrical films. The first of these, The Long, Long Trailer, stars Lucy and Desi as an upwardly mobile couple who decide to buy a trailer so they can live together while his job takes him around the country. Thanks to their naivete in such matters, they end up with a huge, bulky RV that costs five times what they planned. Their "seeing America" trip turns out to be a slapstick disaster, topped by Lucy's foolish decision to hide a heavy rock collection in the trailer; as Desi tries to maneuver a treacherous mountain road, the weighted-down home-on-wheels nearly loses its balance and almost tumbles off a cliff. The story is told in flashback, as Desi 'splains the breakup of his marriage to a motel court manager. Happily, Lucy shows up, goes "Waaaaah" a little, and all is forgiven. Despite the fact that audiences were getting Ball and Arnaz for free each week on television, The Long, Long Trailer was a big hit at the box-office. The film was adapted by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich from a novel by Clinton Twiss, with uncredited assistance from the I Love Lucy writing staff. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 012569679757
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:36:00
• Sales Rank: 2,602

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• The Lucy & Desi Movie Collection
• Comedy - TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection