Lucy Goes to Sun Valley
Next up in the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hours that I've watched (for the first time in decades).
First, a recap of the what I've watched thus far. As is (fairly) noted, "The Celebrity Next
Door" (ep #2) is a genuine classic, with laughs galore, thanks to our four talented stalwarts,
as well as the truly unique, brilliant, and bizarre (c'mon, let's be fair) Tallulah Bankhead. This
script was originally conceived for Bette Davis (one of Lucy's old acting school chums), but
it's hard to see how even Ms. Davis could've topped Bankhead's bewildered comic timing.
That said, I ripped apart the series' opener, "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana" because it is
a 70 minute bore. Arnaz's ego is all over the place, with three - count 'em - THREE "guest
stars" (two playing characters, the third - an aging and corny Rudy Vallee - playing "himself").
A bloated, unfunny mess, from start to agonizing finish.
The third installment, "Lucy Hunts Uranium" is better than I remembered, and while it gets
tiresome fairly quickly, it's such a huge improvement on the debut ep. "Lucy Wins a
Racehorse" I've already covered in another thread. So...the latest is an extremely
forgettable - yet fairly engaging - offering called "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley."
Aired in late spring, '58 (just a year after ILL ended), this ep takes a fairly adult look at
the staleness of marriage after 18 years. Extremely well-acted by Ball, Arnaz and Vance,
it is basically a rehash of Lucy asking a movie stair to make Ricky jealous (think Charles
Boyer). Ball has a few, surprisingly funny moments (remember, I haven't seen some of
these since I was a kid, when a local station aired them on Saturday nights). And it's
cute watching Fred sing "Melancholy Baby."
Unfortunately, the script is bogged down by an entirely FORGOTTEN "star", Fernando Lamas,
a Latin heartthrob of the '50's. In his defense, he is given very little to do, although he and
Lucy share some funny moments skiing.
Worst moment: The show ends with a couple of black eyes, which no longer plays funny
(didn't Ball and Arnaz get that their second-season ILL ep, "The Black Eye" was bad enough??).
On balance, I feel this offering is a curio, worthy of one viewing. And there's an eerie
aspect to be sure: In 1972, Ball would make headlines for breaking her leg skiing, not
unlike a mishap in this episode.