Warner Brothers has wisely decided to package together the three films that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made together - Too Many Girls, The Long, Long Trailer, and Forever Darling. Too Many Girls is exclusive to this set, but the others are available separately.
Too Many Girls (1940) is about Consuelo “Connie” Casey (Lucille Ball) and her decision to go to Pottawattomie College in Stopgap, New Mexico. Her concerned father hires four football players (Desi Arnaz, Richard Carlson, Eddie Bracken, and Hal LeRoy) as bodyguards to keep her out of trouble. They all have an “anti-romantic clause” and hands off condition in their contracts with Mr. Casey.
Desi and Lucy don’t share much screen time, Carlson not Desi is Lucy’s love interest in the movie, but this feature would mark the first time that they met and they married not long after. The movie is based on a Broadway play, and Arnaz and Bracken reprise their Broadway roles. Ann Miller and Frances Langford also have parts. Look fast for Van Johnson in his film debut. Desi and Ann Miller strut their stuff in the big finale.
Too Many Girls is presented in fullscreen. Special features include a 9 minute musical short “Francis Carroll and the Coquettes,” 8 minute Merrie Melodies cartoon “Shop, Look and Listen” starring Blabbermouse, and the feature’s theatrical trailer.
The Long, Long Trailer (1954) is the story of new newlyweds Nicky (Desi Arnaz) and Tacy (Lucille Ball). Tacy decides that since Nicky’s job requires him to travel often that a trailer home would be the perfect home for them. Nicky knows they’re in trouble from the beginning when the costs go way beyond what their budget was supposed to be. Not to mention that Nicky is afraid of driving the monstrous trailer around (Trailer brakes first!!).
Don't cook in a moving trailer from the Long Long Trailer
There’s also some fine comedy support from Keenan Wynn and Marjorie Main (of Ma Kettle fame). Look for Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber from the Andy Griffith Show). Some comedy highlights are Nicky’s first attempt at taking a shower in the trailer, Nicky’s first attempt at backing up the trailer, Tacy’s attempt at making a meal in the moving trailer, and a trip on a mountain road.
The Long, Long Trailer is presented in fullscreen. Special features include a vintage 8 minute short “Ain’t it Aggravatin?” Dixieland Droopy cartoon (7 minutes), and the feature’s theatrical trailer.
Forever Darling (1956) starts with the marriage of Susan (Lucille Ball) and Lorenzo (Desi Arnaz). Susan gets advice from her father (Louis Calhern) while snooty Millie Opdyke (Natalie Schafer, Mrs. Howell of Gilligan’s Island) looks on. We see them at two months, two years, and five years later, each time they grow more and more apart. Also look for Nancy Kulp (Miss Jane Hathaway of the Beverly Hillbillies) as the maid. Lorenzo announces, at dinner with the Opdykes, that they’re going away for two years to test a new pesticide that he’s working on. This causes a big fight and it appear that the marriage is on the rocks.
That’s when James Mason appears (well a guardian angel that looks like James Mason) to sort out Susan and Lorenzo’s marriage. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t have the laugh out loud moments that Trailer has - only the camping trip to test out Lorenzo’s new pesticide comes close to the comedic magic of Trailer.
Forever Darling is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.77:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a 4 minute excerpt from the MGM Parade TV show that promotes Forever Darling and the feature’s theatrical trailer.
Since there were only three movies that Lucy and Desi starred together in, it was a wise decision to put them in a box set together. Long, Long Trailer is the funniest of the bunch, Too Many Girls is a typical 1940s musical extravaganza, but Forever Darling is a step below Trailer.
In Too Many Girls, it’s nice to see Lucy in a semi-serious portrayal before I Love Lucy cemented her persona. Trailer and Forever have the goofy Lucy of the television show. Sadly, all the special features are of the vintage variety (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but at least one commentary by a Lucy & Desi expert (or the Arnaz kids) would’ve been nice.
Desi's first look at Lucy in Too Many Girls
Fans of the couple will definitely want to buy this set since Too Many Girls is exclusive to this set. Long, Long Trailer and Forever Darling can be purchased separately so fans of those films don’t have to buy the set. However the set is a better value if you’re set on buying Trailer and Forever since the set can be found online for what you’d pay for both of those.
The Lucy & Desi Collection is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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