Notes on Fashion: Lucille Ball in The Long, Long Trailer (1953)

One of my goals for 2013 (which I will post more about soon!) is to watch at least one movie that was made before 1980 every week. I’m pleasantly surprised to have discovered that watching one a week has lead to, well, watching more than one movie a week. I recently cancelled my Netflix subscription so I could instead either borrow movies or rediscover ones I already own, and most importantly, to support my local independent video store Video Wave, which I have already visited more times this month than all of last year. I love that place!

Today I wanted to shed a little blog light on kind of a kooky film that I actually watched when I was at home for the holidays via Roku (I think it was streaming for free on Amazon with my sister’s Amazon Prime membership) — The Long, Long Trailer (1953). My mom loves everything Lucille Ball, so she talked me into watching this silly comedy about Tacy and Nicky (ahem, Lucy and Ricky, essentially), who decide that instead of buying a traditional home it would be more cost effective to purchase an oh-so-chic trailer. Hilarity ensues.

My takeaway from this film: 1.) I forgot how much I love Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s dynamic. They have undeniable comedic chemistry and the movie is really funny. 2.) I WANT ALL OF TACY’S OUTFITS! Credit goes to costume designer Helen Rose who was also responsible for costuming memorable films such as On the Town (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), and Silk Stockings (1957) (amongst many, many more) and won two Oscars for her costume work.

I threw this last photo in for fun. Isn’t Lucille Ball just an absolute beauty?

Photo Sources: thelucyartblog.tumblr.com | acertaincinema.pemomo.com | Google Images