REVIEW: The Long Long Trailer (1953)

Title: The Long Long Trailer
Release Year: 1953
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast:  Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball
Plot: Nicky and Tacy, upon getting married, decide on buying a trailer instead of a house because Nicky's job requires him to travel all the time and this is their only hope in having somewhere they can call home. But, is their relationship strong enough to withstand the trailer adventures?
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ＿

Review: Anything this couple made had to be funny, so Rasha and I decided to search for Lucy and Desi films. We found that they had been in three films together. Two in the 1950s and one in the 1940s where they first met.
The two fifties film characters were sort of like a sample of the Ricardos, so any fans of the "I Love Lucy" show, would appreciate it. Anyway, we started with the fifties films first and "The Long Long Trailer" was second on our list.

At first I thought the film was about a film trailer that never ends hehehe but it turns out it's about a long trailer...idiot! Actually the story was based on a best-selling book, with the same title, written by Clinton Twiss, who unfortunately died before the film came out.

The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and it's definitely one of his best. I didn't expect it be this good. I simply adore it and it's one of my favourites now. I think it is the best of the three films they had done together, in my opinion.

It was released on 31st December, 1953 but on all the posters etc it says 1954. I don't know why they couldn't just release it after NewYears. It really confused me for sometime hehe

I loved the narrating part very much. It was especially funny since Desi Arnaz had an accent.

Lucille Ball's wardrobe was great, much better and much more refined than the one she had in the "I Love Lucy" series. Unfortunately though, she kept the hairstyle. I guess in those days, one had to stick with his/her best known character, in personality as well as in appearance.

Like in "Forever Darling", 1956, I just saw Lucy and Ricky, eventhough their personalities were different here.
The characters' names were Nicky and Tacy because they sounded like Ricky and Lucy. That must've confused some of the actors in the film, including Lucille, because there were occasions where they called Desi, Ricky instead of Nicky.

Tacy was sweet and although nearly killed them, was very selfless and romantic. Nicky, on the other hand, was a real man. He was always worried about everything but never showed any romantic side.

 

I felt a little sorry for Tacy when she expressed her love for Nicky but got no reaction on his part and at the very end, I hated that Nicky wasn't the first to apologise when he had the chance to. I guess it was part of his stubborn personality.

I loved the song they sang while driving, "Breezin' Along With The Breeze". It was actually written by the talented trio, Gillespie, Simons and Whiting in the 1920s. The song has become one of my favourite songs. Just give it a listen:

I also found other great versions of the song, that I'll probably post about at a later date.

Favourite Scenes:
There were many hilarious moments, so it's quite difficult to pick a few and not the whole film, but I'll try anyway.

One funny scene was when Nicky kept remembering the mechanic shouting "Trailer Break OOOH" hahhaa I really felt for him. I've never driven a trailer but I always wondered how people could, without being terrified all the while.

Another favourite scene was the intense mountain climb. It was like watching a cartoon. The way they tried so hard to distract one another was hilarious. I also loved that they mentioned Elizabeth Taylor hehe

Another intense and embarrassing scene was when Nicky had to park the car. I loved how the parking incident changed the inlaws' feelings towards them hahha

Tacy: "Get that check back. I was going to get us a deepfreeze"

Nicky: [gesturing to the inlaws staring coldly at them] "You're getting a deepfreeze right now"

I actually loved that visit but didn't like that they kept saying poor (forgot her name) when ever they saw her, because she was mentally disabled. I didn't find it funny.

One more scene that cracked me up was when Tacy fell into the mud and Nicky's reaction to it:

Worst Scene:
There was only one thing I disliked about the film and it's the scene where Tacy fell on the food while the trailer was moving. The idea of using food and stepping on it or throwing it, is not funny to me. Food is a blessing and shouldn't be wasted for cheap laughs.

That scene is the reason why the film got only 4/5 stars from me but I still highly recommend you watch it. It really should be better known!


DISTURBING NOTE: I just read that in the 1990s Roseanne Barr and her then husband, were supposedly going to do a remake of this film, but thankfully didn't go through with it because of their divorce.
I don't think it would've been anything near this good, plus Roseanne can never be as funny as Lucy. Actually, she cannot be funny full stop.