''The Long, Long Trailer'' is a 1954 American

Ansco Ansco was the brand name of a photographic company based in Binghamton, New York, which produced photographic films, papers and cameras from the mid-19th century until the 1980s. In the late 1880s, ANSCO's predecessor, Anthony and Scovill, bo ...

color

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based on a novel of the same name written by Clinton Twiss in 1951 about a couple who buy a new

travel trailer A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down trailer tents). It provides the ...

home and spend a year traveling across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' film review; January 6, 1954, page 52. The film stars

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

. It also features

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and ...

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

Bert Freed Bert Freed (November 3, 1919 – August 2, 1994) was an American character actor, voice-over actor, and the first actor to portray Detective Columbo. Life and career Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Freed began acting while attending P ...

Moroni Olsen Moroni Olsen (June 27, 1889November 22, 1954) was an American actor. Life and career Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Latter-day Saint parents Edward Arenholt Olsen and Martha ( Hoverholst) Olsen, who named him after the Moroni found in the ...

, Gladys Hurlbut,

Madge Blake Madge Blake (née Cummings; May 31, 1899 – February 19, 1969) was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Larry Mondello's mother, Margaret Mondello, on the CBS/ ABC sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', as Flora MacMichael on ...

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

, and

Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio, into a theat ...

. The film was directed by

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...

, working from a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

Albert Hackett Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich. Early years Hackett was born in New York City, the s ...

and

Frances Goodrich Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her hus ...

Plot

As Nicholas Collini takes a new job as a civil engineer, his new bride Tacy comes up with an idea to buy a trailer to travel around the USA to various work projects on which Nicky is employed, as well as to save money that would otherwise be spent on a house. Tacy also hopes to haul the trailer themselves to Nicky's new place of work in Colorado, as part of their honeymoon trip to the

Sierra Nevada mountains The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Cars ...

. But the honeymoon trip, as well as happenings leading up to it, rapidly becomes a series of disasters. Shortly after arriving at the trailer show, Tacy and Nicky come across a large trailer home, which Tacy instantly falls in love with. To tow the trailer, the Collinis end up buying a new car and trailer hitch, and the money spent starts to mount up. Early in the trip, after being swamped by friendly trailer park neighbors their first night, Tacy decides to camp back in the woods the next night. But after turning on an old logging road, the trailer falls on its side into the mud during a rainstorm, which Nicky tries to level. The next day, the Collinis go to visit Tacy's relatives. But upon arriving at the home of her aunt and uncle, with other relatives and neighbors who are gathered watching, Nicky accidentally backs the trailer into their hosts' carport, partly destroying it as well as a prized rose bush. As Tacy and Nicky continue traveling, Tacy is determined to make their trailer into a home, collecting fruits and vegetables to can for winter, as well as rocks to decorate their front patio when they arrive at their ultimate destination in Colorado. Soon Tacy wants to learn how to drive the car, but after being constantly criticized by Nicky about her driving skills, Tacy gets out and jumps in the back, furious. After having another fight that evening over who was sleeping where for the night, they make up again. The following afternoon, Tacy attempts to cook dinner while Nicky drives, hoping to have dinner ready once he parks the trailer at their next stop. It goes awry, as the trailer moves and rocks, causing the dinner to be ruined and Tacy getting severely bruised. Afterwards, Nicky decides to take an offer on the trailer, hoping he and Tacy can move into an actual house. But Tacy is still determined to keep the trailer, and refuses to sell it. That evening, Nicky orders Tacy to get rid of all the rocks and canned foods she has collected before they make a cliffhanging ride on a narrow road through the mountains. But Tacy feels they are throwing away precious memories of their honeymoon, and decides to keep them hidden, so Nicky won't find them. But as Nicky and Tacy drive up and down the mountain, everything Tacy has hidden rolls around inside the trailer, causing a big mess. Finally, when they reach the top of the mountain, the trailer falls over again, weighed down by all of the possessions. In a rage, Nicky takes everything Tacy has collected and throws it off the mountain. Tacy later storms off in a huff. As their marriage deteriorates, Nicky meets up with Tacy as she prepares to sell the trailer and move back home. Nicky attempts to apologize, but doesn't know where to start and instead leaves. As Nicky starts driving off in the pouring rain, Tacy runs to catch up with him. The two finally forgive each other, and tearfully reconcile.

Cast

as Tacy Bolton-Collini *

as Nicholas 'Nicky' Collini *

as Mrs. Hittaway *

as Policeman * Gladys Hurlbut as Mrs. Bolton *

as Mr. Tewitt *

as Foreman *

as Aunt Anastacia *

as Uncle Edgar

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

has a small, uncredited role as a policeman.

Production

The trailer used in the film is the 1953 36-foot Redman New Moon model, which sold for . The new car used to tow the trailer is a 1953

Mercury Monterey The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the upscale version of the Mercury Cus ...

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

with a 125 HP flathead

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

. Opening scenes were shot on

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

's Stage 12, the same location at which Arnaz played his first film scene in ''

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

'', eleven years before. The dangerous mountain highway featured is Whitney Portal Road, which leads up to

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...

in the Sierra Nevada mountains in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

offers scenic views of the

Owens Valley Owens Valley (Numic Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Pl ...

. During the scenes of Nicky and Tacy pulling their trailer in the mountains, their 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible is replaced with a larger but similar appearing 1953

Lincoln Capri The Lincoln Capri is an automobile that was sold by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1952 until 1959. A full-size luxury car, the Lincoln Capri derives its name from an Italian island in the Gulf of Naples. Introduced as a premi ...

convertible. The distinct Lincoln grille is clearly evident in a shot as the car rounds a curve. The more powerful Lincoln (which is equipped with a 205 HP OHV Y-block V8 engine) was needed to pull the heavy New Moon trailer up and over the steep grades of the Sierra Nevada where the scenes were filmed. Other scenes were shot on the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway (State Route 74) in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

. The residence of Tacy's aunt and uncle (where the porch and rosebush are destroyed by the trailer) is the ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' John Truett house on the MGM Backlot, next door to the Smith Family house. The house where the trailer was parked and being chaotically packed with housewares by Tacy's friends appears to be Lucy and Desi's actual home on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills. The closing credits thank the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

for permission to film in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. There is one memorable scene where the car and trailer emerge from a tunnel to a view of Yosemite Valley, complete with a panorama of

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

Half Dome Half Dome is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth ...

, and

Bridalveil Fall Bridalveil Fall is one of the most prominent waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley in California. The waterfall is in height and flows year round. Geology The glaciers that carved Yosemite Valley left many hanging valleys that spawned the waterfa ...

as the stars sing a duet. Later, there is a view of a full-flowing

Yosemite Falls Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, dropping a total of from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall. Located in the Sierra Nevada of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in ...

Reception

According to

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

' host,

Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...

, the studio was not sure if this film would be a success because it was thought people would not pay money to see Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in a movie when they could watch the couple on television for free (''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

''). Arnaz made a $25,000 bet with the studio that the movie would make more money than the current highest-grossing comedy at that time (''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'', starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

and also directed by

). Arnaz won the bet. The film gave audiences an opportunity to see Arnaz and Ball in color when ''I Love Lucy'' was in black and white. According to MGM records the film earned $3,978,000 in the US and Canada and $1,007,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $3,550,000.

Home media

"The Long, Long Trailer" was released on VHS in 1982, and again in 1990 by

MGM/UA Home Video MGM/UA may refer to: *Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American film and television production and distribution company **United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital p ...

and

Turner Entertainment Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...

. It was released on DVD in 2006, this time by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

in Region 1 coding for the U.S. and Canada. It was released as a single disc and as a part of a 3-DVD set featuring two other Ball/Arnaz movies, ''

Forever, Darling ''Forever, Darling'' is a 1956 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, written by Helen Deutsch, and starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason. In the film, Ball stars as a wife who tries to save her struggling ...

'' and '' Too Many Girls''. The film was also released in Region 4 coding for Australia.

In popular culture

The film is referenced in the

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

song "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" which contains the lyrics "Everything right is wrong again / Just like in The Long, Long Trailer / All the dishes got broken / The car kept driving / And nobody would stop to save her".

References

External links

* * * * *
''The Long, Long Trailer''
at Trailerite.com
Full-text of the Twiss novel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Long Trailer, The 1954 films 1954 comedy films 1950s comedy road movies American comedy road movies Films based on American novels Films shot in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films produced by Pandro S. Berman Films scored by Adolph Deutsch 1950s English-language films 1950s American films