"The Long, Long Trailer",1954

CLASSIC REVISITED

"THE LONG LONG TRAILER",1954

"The Long, Long Trailer",1954,is a road comedy film based on a novel of the same name written by Clinton Twiss in 1951 about a couple who buy a new travel trailer home and spend a year traveling across the United States.

The film stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It also features Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Bert Freed, Moroni Olsen, Gladys Hurlbut, Madge Blake, Howard McNear, and Walter Baldwin. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, working from a screenplay by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.

Nicky and Tacy are going to be married. Nicky wants to save up money for a house, but Tacy dreams of starting off with their own home on wheels--a trailer. After the two are hitched, they hitch up their trailer and begin their honeymoon. The humor comes from several disastrous adventures the couple has while traveling including Tacy's awkward attempt to cook dinner in a moving trailer, and a cliffhanging ride through the mountains that nearly destroys their marriage.

Lucy and Desi are in the middle of their I Love Lucy run and at the height of their comedic power. The husband wife dynamics remain the same. Desi is doing more of the physical humor although Lucy gets plenty muddy. A flaky Lucy is funnier than a flustered Desi. She should be less level-headed for the comedy. Her cooking in a moving trailer is probably the highlight. There is natural beauty and they do a little singing. Overall, there is general mayhem and some fun.

The dangerous mountain highway featured is Whitney Portal Road, which leads up to Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The hairpin turn offers scenic views of the Owens Valley. 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 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.

The closing credits thank the National Park Service for permission to film in Yosemite National Park. 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, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall as the stars sing a duet. Later, there is a view of a full-flowing Yosemite Falls.