The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Great Film overall

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

It probably isn't too much of a stretch to imagine that a new bride in the early 1950s would consider living in a mobile home so that she could be with her husband who otherwise would be away from home many days because of his job. Indeed, there were many families in the early 20th century who lived in trailers to follow work in oil drilling, dam building, and other construction. In "The Long, Long Trailer," Desi Arnaz plays a civil engineer, Nicky Collini, and Lucille Ball plays his fiancé then wife, Tacy. Before their marriage, the couple discusses setting up their home. Nicky says, "We'll have a home, darling." Tacy, "What kind of a home, when your work takes you to all those places – Colorado, Montana, Idaho?" Nicky, "All right. All right. I won't go to Colorado. I'll get another job." Tacy, "Oh, no. I didn't mean that. This is a wonderful chance for you. Anyway, it'll always be something like that. If it isn't a tunnel in Colorado, it'll be a bridge in Alaska or a dam across the Pacific." So, Tacy convinces Nicky that they should set up their house on wheels when they get married. From there on, Tacy an Nicky give us one very funny and sometimes hair-raising escapade after another. This movie was based on a 1951 novel of the same name by Clinton Twiss. In it, his couple buy a new trailer home and spend a year driving across the United States. I know half a dozen couples who sold their homes after retiring around the turn of the 21st century. They bought RV-mobile homes and now travel across the U.S. They might stay a couple of weeks in one place, and a few months in another. Every couple of years they try to rendezvous somewhere around the country. Anyone who has lived in a mobile home – who has moved from place to place, knows the travails of driving and handling a trailer. One thing that can be said about it is that one doesn't wind up saving lots of things and collecting stacks of mementos. When things are no longer of use, one gets rid of them. The simple lack of space dictates thriftiness, neatness, and practicality. Well, that is, until Tacy Collini decided to take up trailer travel and living. The humor in the early part of the film is in watching Nicky – the expressions on his face – as Tacy pulls him into one step after another toward buying a new trailer home. Then they need a new car that is capable of pulling the longest trailer on the market. And, then her friends help move her trousseau into their new home. I don't know how long a time span the film covered, but after their wedding Tacy and Nicky head from California to Denver. At one point we see them at the beach along the coast, then we see them driving through forests and in the mountains. I think the latter was supposed to be the Rockies in Colorado, but the film was all made in California. The scenic shots in the Sierra Nevadas were quite beautiful – lending to Tacy's claim about an advantage being their seeing the beauty of the country. One of the funniest scenes was Tacy's trying to prepare dinner in the trailer while Nicky is driving. Again, anyone with background knows it's not been legal for people to ride in a mobile home. Tacy learned the hard way why her idea wouldn't work – all to the viewer's delight, of course. Another scene I found very funny wasn't at all humorous to the bystanders. The couple stopped to visit and stay a few days with Tacy's aunt and uncle – somewhere in California. In backing the trailer into their driveway, Nicky runs over the aunt's favorite rose bush, then rips out and destroys a beautiful arboretum arch over the driveway. The relatives look on in shock as the trailer tears up their property. The next day Tacy and Nicky leave – apparently already having overstayed their welcome. Of course, with Tacy's wedding trousseau, the trailer is quite packed. But now they add a couple cases of home-canned goodies from an aunt. After a few stops, the trailer takes on more goods in the large rocks that Tacy has decided to collect – one from each of their stops. These will make a nice ring around their front entrance when they set up home near Denver. The Mayhem continues throughout this film. The couple weathers storms, steep mountain roads and more travel mishaps. The question is, will their marriage survive all this? You'll just have to watch "The Long, Long Trailer" to find out.

My 4 kids grew up knowing I was a huge I Love Lucy fan, watching it whenever it was on. So when I found a copy of this movie in a video store about 20 years ago, my youngest remarked, "What are Lucy & Ricky doing in color?" Well, that's the reason they agreed to do this movie, because it would be filmed in color. Lucy & Desi are just as good in this hilarious comedy as they were on TV. They play a pair of newlyweds, Stacy & Nicky, who buy a long, long trailer. Nicky is hesitant, but Stacy talks him into it. Once they purchase the trailer, it becomes "one long nightmare," almost breaking up their marriage (while on their honeymoon). I don't know why this movie was hardly ever shown on TV because is's very entertaining. I had to order it on Netflix & will probably end up buying the DVD on Amazon.com. Plus it's nice to see Lucy & Desi in color!

There's probably a reason the film makers didn't go for the Lucy/Ricky format for this picture but I'm not aware of it. Just like their 1956 film "Forever, Darling", an opportunity was probably missed by the players not using their well regarded TV show identities. And to be honest, even though this is considered a comedy, I didn't find much humor in the story other than an infrequent lapse into Lucy's TV character as was seen in the trailer trying to prepare a meal while her husband was driving.Another impression I got from the movie was what the reaction might have been at the time from the trailer industry (they weren't recreational vehicles back then). Not for anything, but the film portrayed owning and driving one in such a bad light that it almost felt like an anti-trailer commercial for it's run of nearly two hours. Granted, this was made a long time ago, but you have to wonder if some trailer executives sitting around their desks might have wrung their hands over the way their product was being presented.The thing that really blew me away though was the way Nicky (Desi Arnaz) had to juggle his finances to make the whole project affordable. The trailer and a new car to haul it set him back a whole seven and a half grand!!! and later on, when he had to have the trailer towed away from the muddy trail they got stuck in, the towing, labor and wash set him back a whole forty six dollars! I'm starting to get nostalgic for the good old days again.Well I know Lucille Ball fans who cherished "I Love Lucy" will hold this picture in high regard as evidenced by other reviews here, but take the principal players out of the cast and I think it becomes an entirely different picture. I enjoyed the TV series myself, which makes it almost painful to tread on critical ground for this film, but I prefer to remember Lucy and Ricky as the much more entertaining Ricardos. You can pass that piccalilli now.

i found this gem starring the husband and wife team of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz quite enjoyable there are a lot of funny moments here here,most of them of the laugh out loud,belly laugh variety.from start to finish,this is one immensely entertaining film.but then,with these two comedic geniuses at the helm,how could it not be.that one scene where they are climbing up the mountain road is something else.although the film is 103 minutes,it moves at a very quick pace,and is over before you know it.if you're a fan of classic movies and you're feeling down,throw this film in,it's guaranteed to pick you up.for me,The Long, Long Trailer is an 8/10