MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Fave and Least Fave Hollywood Episodes

Fave and Least Fave Hollywood Episodes

posted 7 years ago by [email protected] (5495)
4 replies | jump to latest

The Bill Holden "pie in the face" was a classic. I love the two parter with John Wayne although it's not a favorite for everyone.

I've always loved the Don Loper episode just to see all the dresses and Lucy getting into the fashion show. Years later I liked the episode for a different reason. I read Sheila MacRae's autobiography and the charity in the episode, Share Incorporated, was a real charity. It was her foundation and celebrities donated their time to help children.
The Arnazes and the MacRaes were good friends.

Lucy "going over the wall" at Richard Widmark's home was another favorite. And as a bonus, we saw the front of Lucy's real home.

Lucy pretending to be Ricky's agent was another hilarious episode.

I loved watching Lucy dance with Van Johnson. "I vanced with Dan." lol

My least favorite "star" episode was the one with Rock Hudson. He was totally wasted in it. The beginning, with the cranky foursome getting on each other's nerves was funny. But later in Palm Springs, Lucy was so out of character. She knew Rock Hudson was staying in a nearby bungalow, but she made no move to meet him. She just moped around the hotel room.

Lucy did a lot of crazy things but she didn't mope. She was too passive in this episode. She went to crazy lengths to meet Cornell Wilde, but this time, nothing.

The episode when they gave Ricky a party to celebrate the end of his picture was a downer. Fred complaining about how much the caviar cost him! Really! You just got a free vacation, stop being such a tightwad for once. I always felt that the episode left something out, namely, the title of the film that Ricky finally made! Were the writers afraid that the audience would think it was a real picture and start looking for it in theaters?

The whole buildup to Hollywood was great, but then it just fizzled out.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

I pretty much enjoy them all, but i absolutely love "Ricky Needs an Agent" the most. And it's not a "classic", per se. I far
prefer it over "Harpo Marx." I'm not a super fan of this, because the writers never bother to explain why Carolyn is
suddenly "blind" without her glasses. Huh??? All they had to do was write in a line that Carolyn always wore contact
lenses, and when she lost them on the plane, she got some glasses in the meantime. I also hate the Harpo Marx
"mirror" bit with Lucy, because I don't see Harpo and Lucy Ricardo, I see Harpo and Lucille Ball. Rarely watch this
episode.

I'm also not fond of the Van Johnson one, or the Hedda Hopper ep. I do like "The Tour", and I LOVE the one
where Ricky forgets the tickets for the Mertze's and Fred and Ethel are decked out in LEATHER on an old
morotcycle (!). Possibly the single, funniest Fred and Ethel moment.

[–] [email protected] (5495) 7 years ago

While I love the Van Johnson episode, you hit on the one thing that bugged me. All of a sudden Carolyn needs glasses!
I could accept the premise about her wearing contact lenses. Or even that she started to need glasses. It's not unusual for an adult to need them. I remember a friend of mine, in her thirties who was always squinting. She finally gave in and had an eye exam. She needed glasses. But Carolyn never wore those glasses again.

The Hedda Hopper one has at least one scene that makes me laugh. Lucy tells her mother that Ricky might become the next Rudolph Valentino, Mrs. MacGillicuddy's idol. Every time she looks at Ricky she bursts out laughing.

Just thought of another favorite, Lucy getting a role as a showgirl and careening down the staircase in that heavy headdress, driving the director nuts.
"Wouldn't you like to see me die?"

"Don't tempt me Mrs. Ricardo."

"Fred and Ethel all decked out in LEATHER." Now those are words that you don't see in the same sentence very often. LOL

Very funny, but did tightwad Fred think that would be cheaper than buying train or bus tickets? They'd have to pay to ship their luggage home. He'd have to pay for gas and meals. They'd have to stop at least a few times to get a motel room to sleep. But knowing Fred, he'd take the back roads so they could sleep in the woods and forage for nuts and berries! ha

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

Yes, the actress (can't think of her name now) who played Lucy's mother was exceptionally funny. It wasn't until
DECADES after I'd started watching the show that I realized she's the same actress who plays "Minnie Finch", that
old, low-brow bag, who gets the card from Ricky (actually, Jerry) in "Fan Magazine Interview." She is the highlight
of that offering, using her lower register, rather than the high-pitched, daffy one for Lucy's mom. She has that
one great line:

"Saaaaay...you're name ain't Kinsey, is it?"

[–] [email protected] (5495) 7 years ago

Katherine Card, yeah she was funny! I love her other line too about the birthday cake and Ricky giving her a kiss.

Five years later she gets a card from him. "When I kiss 'em, they stay kissed."