The Long, Long Trailer

• Directed by Vincente Minnell
• February 18, 1954
• Based on the 1951 novel The Long, Long Trailer by Clinton Twiss

A newlywed couple buy a new travel trailer and spend the year crossing the United States.

First off I think this will appeal more to the I Love Lucy fan than the general moviegoer. At least for the modern viewer. The plot of The Long, Long Trailer has been replicated in any number of lesser films. The plot is very much an expanded plot of what one would find in the show. Not a bad thing. This movie was like a warm hug. It was an old friend. I had a warm fuzzy feeling after watching this. It’s silly and stupid and exaggerates all the things that could go wrong.

Desi Arnaz plays Nicholas Carlos ‘Nicky’ Collini (the old joke of the long Latino name) who gets a civil engineering job which requires travel. At the behest of his new wife Tacy (Lucille Ball) they buy a travel trailer because Tacy wants to make a home rather than living out of suitcases in hotels and renting places for short periods of time. Her thinking is a trailer will provide some roots and allow them a place that is theirs. The humor of the story is derived from how neither are prepared for the realities of the life they have chosen.

I’m amazed at how times have changed. One of the pleasures of watching old movies is to see how different the world was or what people were okay with in their entertainment. It looks like Tacy’s whole goal in life was simply to marry a man and making a good home for her man. You cannot do that today in a movie!

This movie can be best described as cute. It’s Desi and Lucy being Desi and Lucy in a different scenario making the movie comforting fluff. It is sweet and silly. I think it needed more slapstick or just silly scenarios. Someone like director Frank Tashlin (Son of Paleface) would have been my choice due to his experience with and use of cartoon logic. Just someone with more overt sensibilities concerning the use of humor.

The Long, Long Trailer was Ball’s triumphant return to MGM having felt underused as a contract player during the 40’s. MGM did not think anybody would pay to see the couple when they could see the two for free on TV. The movie made a $3 million dollar profit in 1954 money putting it around $34 million dollars today. Nice revenge if I did all that right. Even off it is still cool.

The movie features the song “Breezin’ Along With the Breeze” performed by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Ball does respectfully but Arnez could really belt out a tune. Then again he did equally well on I Love Lucy when performing. When the film really works is when the two are paired together either singing a song or simply in character dealing with the situation. There’s a certain magic to the chemistry of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.

I can see The Long, Long Trailer not appealing to the general movie fan but if you love I Love Lucy then you’ll like this. It is sweet and enjoyable.