I Love Lucy (film)
Encyclopedia
I Love Lucy, aka I Love Lucy: The Movie is a 1953 American feature film
spin-off
of the sitcom I Love Lucy
. Except for one test screening
in Bakersfield, California
, the film was never theatrically released and was shelved
.
and Lucille Ball
decided to cash in on their show's popularity by compiling several episodes of the first season of the series into a movie.
A test screening
in Bakersfield, California
went very well and Desilu (through distributor United Artists
) prepared to release the film. But Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
demanded the film be shelved
because they felt it would diminish interest in the upcoming MGM film, The Long, Long Trailer
, which Lucy and Desi co-starred in, and were contractually bound to promote. The I Love Lucy movie was ultimately forgotten.
and actor Benny Baker) attending the filming of an episode of I Love Lucy. After an opening sequence of Ann Doran and Benny Baker's characters arriving at the studio, there is a brief introduction by the show's announcer, Roy Rowan, as he introduces Desi Arnaz
, who speaks to the studio audience and introduces the cast (something Arnaz would do throughout the run of the series).
in Burbank, California
.
The disc received a separate release on April 27, 2010.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the sitcom I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
. Except for one test screening
Test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release in order to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population, and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or provide feedback in some form. Harold...
in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, the film was never theatrically released and was shelved
Shelved
In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....
.
Plot
The film plays out, with three first-season episodes edited together into a single story: "The Benefit", "Breaking the Lease", and "The Ballet", with new footage included between episodes to help transition the episodes into one coherent storyline. As the series routinely took the format of filming scenes in chronological order, this adds to the "show within a show within a show" format of the film, as viewers watch the cast perform the episodes live. The film itself ends with a "curtain call", as the cast comes out and Arnaz thanks the audience for their support.Cast
- Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
as Lucille Esmeralda "Lucy" McGillicuddy RicardoLucy McGillicuddy RicardoLucille "Lucy" Esmeralda McGillicuddy Ricardo is a fictional character from the American television series I Love Lucy, played by Lucille Ball. She is known for her red hair and for always getting into trouble...
/ Herself - Desi ArnazDesi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
as Enrique Alberto Fernando "Ricky" Ricardo y de Acha IIIRicky RicardoEnrique Alberto Fernando Ricardo y de Acha, III, a.k.a. Ricky Ricardo is a main character in the television show I Love Lucy, played by Desi Arnaz...
/ Himself - Vivian VanceVivian VanceVivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
as Ethel May Mertz (née Potter)Ethel MertzEthel Roberta Louise Mae Mertz is one of the four main fictional characters in the highly popular 1950s and 1960s American television sitcom I Love Lucy, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel is the main character Lucy's middle-aged landlady - supposed to have been born about 1905, and raised in New Mexico...
/ Herself - William FrawleyWilliam FrawleyWilliam Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
as Frederick Hobart Edie "Fred" MertzFred MertzFrederick Hobart Mertz, born in 1887 is a fictional character in the 1950s American sitcom I Love Lucy, originally from Indianapolis before his relocation to New York City. He is a World War I veteran and often talks about his times in the war. He is married to Ethel Mae Potter Mertz , and they...
/ Himself - Ann DoranAnn DoranAnn Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
as Audience member - Mary WickesMary WickesMary Wickes was an American film and television actress.-Career:Wickes was born as Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser in St. Louis, Missouri, of German Irish Protestant extraction. She graduated at the age of eighteen with a degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis, where she...
(archive footage) as Madame Lemand - Barbara Pepper (archive footage) as Party guest
Development
Shortly after the end of the first season of I Love Lucy, Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
and Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
decided to cash in on their show's popularity by compiling several episodes of the first season of the series into a movie.
A test screening
Test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release in order to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population, and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or provide feedback in some form. Harold...
in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
went very well and Desilu (through distributor United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
) prepared to release the film. But Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
demanded the film be shelved
Shelved
In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....
because they felt it would diminish interest in the upcoming MGM film, The Long, Long Trailer
The Long, Long Trailer
The Long, Long Trailer is a novel by Clinton Twiss from the 1950s, about a couple who buy a new travel trailer home and spend a year traveling across the United States....
, which Lucy and Desi co-starred in, and were contractually bound to promote. The I Love Lucy movie was ultimately forgotten.
Format and framing sequence
Unlike most movies of existing media properties, I Love Lucy: The Movie is framed within the meta-context of a "show within a show within a show". The film is framed around a plot involving a young married couple (played by actress Ann DoranAnn Doran
Ann Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
and actor Benny Baker) attending the filming of an episode of I Love Lucy. After an opening sequence of Ann Doran and Benny Baker's characters arriving at the studio, there is a brief introduction by the show's announcer, Roy Rowan, as he introduces Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
, who speaks to the studio audience and introduces the cast (something Arnaz would do throughout the run of the series).
Lost and found
After plans for a theatrical release were scuttled by MGM, the film was largely forgotten and the twelve minutes of new footage shot for the film were considered to be lost forever. However, in 2001, the film was found and clips of it were featured in I Love Lucy's 50th Anniversary Special. A screening was held in August 2001 at the fifth Loving Lucy fan conventionFan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
.
DVD releases
The film was released on DVD on October 23, 2007 as one of the features on a bonus disc in The "I Love Lucy" Complete Series boxset.The disc received a separate release on April 27, 2010.