d-96042 Seen this many times. I had a long RV trailer and thought about Ricky's experience. Desi and Lucy really are the greatest!

SimonJack 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.

tavm Just watched this on the DailyMotion site. I wouldn't recommend watching it there as there were off-sync scenes after about 15 minutes which never went back to the right sync. Despite that, I managed to enjoy some of the slapstick scenes once I managed to put them together in my head like both times Lucy tried to fix something on the stove. And hearing her and Desi singing "Breezin' Along with the Breeze" was a treat to listen to. I also liked that scene with Ms. Ball and Majorie Main concerning the former's foot. And all those scenic views as they travel the road were awe-inspiring even on the computer screen. So in summary, I probably would give a higher rating to The Long, Long Trailer if I had watched it more proper-like than what I just described at the beginning of this review but I did enjoy it just the same.

moonspinner55 Newlyweds sink all their money into a home on wheels; it almost sinks their marriage. One can sense that Clinton Twiss' book was re-conceived with stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in mind--it feels tailored to them both as a real-life couple and as their "I Love Lucy" counterparts the Ricardos. However, their characters here--Tacy and Nicky Collini--aren't as interesting or as dimensional as either the Arnazs or the Ricardos, and director Vincente Minnelli sets up laughs which never come. Some of the slapstick is indeed colorful or visually amusing, but these bickering sweethearts are awfully selfish, and no one they meet on their journey is able to lighten the load. Bits and pieces of it are sprightly, but this comedy about marital discord is far too prickly (and truthful) to yield big success as a rollicking romance on the open road. ** from ****