Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in The Long, Long Trailer (1953)

Lobby card set image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director Vincente Minnelli and MGM delivered The Long, Long Trailer to movie theaters in 1953. I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz play newlyweds, with Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn and Gladys Hurlbut also along for the hilarious ride.

Clinton Twiss’ The Long, Long Trailer Book

The Long, Long Trailer is based on the 1951 travelogue book of the same name by Clinton Twiss. In the late 1940s, Clinton and Merle Twiss sold most of their possessions and hit the road for a year, traveling the United States and Canada with their long, long trailer in tow.

Vincente Minnelli Directs The Long, Long Trailer

Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich wrote the screenplay for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. Vincente Minnelli (Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris) directed. Adolph Deutsch created the original music score, with the carefree “Breezin’ Along With the Breeze” serving as the movie’s title song.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Head Cast

Lucille Ball (Tacy Bolton Collini) and Desi Arnaz (Nicholas “Nicky” Collini) head the cast. Other players include Marjorie Main (Mrs. Hittaway), Keenan Wynn (Policeman), Gladys Hurlbut (Mrs. Bolton), Moroni Olsen (Mr. Tewitt), Bert Freed (Foreman), Madge Blake (Aunt Anastacia), Walter Baldwin (Uncle Edgar), Oliver Blake (Mr. Ludlow), Perry Sheehan (Bridesmaid), John Call (Shorty), Karl Lukas (Inspector), Howard McNear (Joe Hittaway) and Charles Herbert (Little Boy).

Filmed in California

The Long, Long Trailer was filmed in California at Yosemite National Park, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Lone Pine and Palos Verdes Estates.

The movie’s principal prop was a 1953 New Moon trailer made the Redman Trailer Company of Alma, Michigan. Also used was a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible and a 1953 Lincoln Capri convertible, both of which housed powerful V8 engines with adequate trailer-pulling capabilities.

The Long, Long Trailer Movie

Civil engineer Nicky Collini and fiancee Tacy Bolton plan to wed. Tacy insists that their new home be a New Moon trailer, which carries a price tag of over $5,000. Despite Nicky’s reluctance, the couple buy their dream home on wheels and depart for the Sierra Nevada Mountains for their honeymoon.

The trailer trip proves to be a series of misadventures. Cooking in the New Moon is almost impossible, and the trek through the steep, winding mountains turns out to be anything but pleasurable.

The trailer places enormous strains on the newlyweds, eventually driving them apart. But love conquers all, with Nicky and Tacy reunited by movie’s end.

Release, Reviews

The Long, Long Trailer opened in New York City on December 31, 1953.

“A light comedy with a number of slapstick gags, this film works thanks to the stars’ chemistry and Ball’s timing,” reports TV Guide.

Film Analysis: I Love Lucy on Wheels

By 1953, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were the hottest thing on television thanks to I Love Lucy, TV’s highest-rate show at the time. In order to further capitalize on that popularity, real-life husband and wife Desi and Lucy boarded The Long, Long Trailer, a movie sitcom based on wheels.

Desi Arnaz, a gambler with both his money and his ideas, thought The Long, Long Trailer would go over well. MGM executives weren’t so sure, citing the fact that audiences could watch Lucy and Desi for free on television. Desi then made a wager with the studio, betting $25,000 that The Long, Long Trailer would gross more at the box office than Father of the Bride (1950), the then current champion in the comedy film genre. Desi won the bet.

I Love Lucy fans will treasure this movie, as “Ricky” becomes “Nicky” and “Lucy” becomes “Tacy.” Both television stars look good up on the big screen, with Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn lending excellent comic support. Add to that some stunning scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and The Long, Long Trailer becomes a charming travelogue/romantic comedy.

The Long, Long Trailer DVD, Movie Memorabilia

• The Long, Long Trailer is available on DVD (Warner, 2006).
• Auction results for original movie memorabilia from The Long, Long Trailer, courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, Texas: one sheet poster ($276), three sheet poster ($262.90), set of eight lobby cards ($239).

“You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say ‘turn right here left,’” Tacy tells a confused Nicky.

Sounds like Tacy has some “splainin’” to do…