The Long, Long Trailer is a
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Clinton Twiss from the 1950s. It is about a couple who buy a new
travel trailerA travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation , without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
home and spend a year traveling across the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The novel was made into a movie in 1954 starring
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
,
Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, actor and television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra...
,
Marjorie MainMarjorie Main was an Academy Award-nominated American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
,
Keenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
,
Bert FreedRobert "Bert" Freed was the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.Freed was a prolific American character actor who appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985...
,
Moroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents who named him after the prophet Moroni. After having worked on Broadway he made his film debut in a 1935 adaptation of The Three Musketeers...
, Gladys Hurlbut,
Madge BlakeMadge Blake was an American character actress most famous for her role as Aunt Harriet Cooper on ABC's Batman TV series of the 1960s.-Early life:...
, and
Walter BaldwinWalter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
. It was directed by
Vincente MinnelliVincente Minnelli was a Hollywood director and stage director. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of American film musicals...
working from a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
by
Albert HackettAlbert Maurice Hackett was an American dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.-Early years:Hackett was born to actors Arthur V...
and
Frances GoodrichFrances Goodrich was an American dramatist andscreenwriter, best-known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett.-Biography:...
.
Nicky Collini and his fiancée Tacy, buy (despite Nicky's extreme reluctance and dire predictions), a large trailer home (a 32-foot (9.8m) 1953 New Moon, which cost $5,345 at the time), so that they can save money that would otherwise be spent on a house, and also be able to travel around the USA to civil engineering projects that Nicky is employed on.
They have to buy a more powerful car to tow the trailer, a 1953
Mercury MontereyFor the Monterey minivan, produced from 2004-2007, see Ford Freestar.The Mercury Monterey is a full-size near-luxury car introduced by the Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company in 1950. It would later share the same body style with the slightly more upscale Marquis, and the Park Lane and...
convertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form....
with a
125 HPHorsepower is the name of several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other...
flatheadThe Flathead was the first independently designed and built V8 engine produced by the Ford Motor Company for mass production and ranks as one of the company's most important developments. Before the 1932 introduction of this engine , almost all production cars aimed at the average consumer used...
V8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, and the money spent starts to mount up.
The Long, Long Trailer is a
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Clinton Twiss from the 1950s. It is about a couple who buy a new
travel trailerA travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation , without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
home and spend a year traveling across the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The novel was made into a movie in 1954 starring
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
,
Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, actor and television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra...
,
Marjorie MainMarjorie Main was an Academy Award-nominated American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
,
Keenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
,
Bert FreedRobert "Bert" Freed was the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.Freed was a prolific American character actor who appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985...
,
Moroni OlsenMoroni Olsen was an American actor.Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents who named him after the prophet Moroni. After having worked on Broadway he made his film debut in a 1935 adaptation of The Three Musketeers...
, Gladys Hurlbut,
Madge BlakeMadge Blake was an American character actress most famous for her role as Aunt Harriet Cooper on ABC's Batman TV series of the 1960s.-Early life:...
, and
Walter BaldwinWalter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
. It was directed by
Vincente MinnelliVincente Minnelli was a Hollywood director and stage director. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of American film musicals...
working from a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
by
Albert HackettAlbert Maurice Hackett was an American dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.-Early years:Hackett was born to actors Arthur V...
and
Frances GoodrichFrances Goodrich was an American dramatist andscreenwriter, best-known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett.-Biography:...
.
Plot
Nicky Collini and his fiancée Tacy, buy (despite Nicky's extreme reluctance and dire predictions), a large trailer home (a 32-foot (9.8m) 1953 New Moon, which cost $5,345 at the time), so that they can save money that would otherwise be spent on a house, and also be able to travel around the USA to civil engineering projects that Nicky is employed on.
They have to buy a more powerful car to tow the trailer, a 1953
Mercury MontereyFor the Monterey minivan, produced from 2004-2007, see Ford Freestar.The Mercury Monterey is a full-size near-luxury car introduced by the Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company in 1950. It would later share the same body style with the slightly more upscale Marquis, and the Park Lane and...
convertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form....
with a
125 HPHorsepower is the name of several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other...
flatheadThe Flathead was the first independently designed and built V8 engine produced by the Ford Motor Company for mass production and ranks as one of the company's most important developments. Before the 1932 introduction of this engine , almost all production cars aimed at the average consumer used...
V8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, and the money spent starts to mount up. The honeymoon trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains rapidly becomes a catalogue of disasters. These include Tacy's attempts to cook dinner in a moving trailer, and a cliffhanging ride on a narrow road through the mountains.
Relations deteriorate between the couple and finally Tacy storms off in a huff. But by the film's end, they are tearfully reunited.
Production notes
The dangerous mountain road featured in the movie is Whitney Portal Road, which leads up to
Mount WhitneyMount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just west of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...
in the Sierra Nevada mountains in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. The
hairpin turnA hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...
featured in the film offers scenic views of the
Owens ValleyOwens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. The valley is approximately long, trending north-south, and is bounded by the Inyo Mountains on the east, on the southeast by the Coso Range, on the south by Rose Valley, on the west by the Sierra...
.
The film's closing credits thank the
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
for permission to film in
Yosemite National ParkYosemite National Park is a national park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. 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 CapitanEl Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers....
,
Half DomeHalf Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar sight. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor.-Geology:...
, and the
Yosemite FallsYosemite Falls is the highest measured waterfall in North America. Located in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak....
.
Reception
According to
Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a cable television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
' host,
Robert OsborneRobert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the host of the Turner Classic Movies network since its inception in 1994...
, the studio was not sure if this film would be a success because they thought that people would not pay money to see Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in a movie when they could watch the couple on television for free (
I Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to April 1, 1960 on CBS...
). Arnaz made a $25,000 bet with the studio that the movie would make more money than the current highest grossing comedy at that time (
Father of the Bride starring
Spencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 74 films from 1930 to 1967. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Tracy among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 9th on the list...
and
Elizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
and also directed by
Vincente MinnelliVincente Minnelli was a Hollywood director and stage director. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of American film musicals...
). Arnaz won the bet.
Principal cast
- Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy...
... Tacy Bolton - Collini
- Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, actor and television producer. He gained international renown for leading a Latino music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra...
... Nicholas 'Nicky' Collini
- Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main was an Academy Award-nominated American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
... Mrs. Hittaway
- Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
... Policeman
- Gladys Hurlbut ... Mrs. Bolton
- Moroni Olsen
Moroni Olsen was an American actor.Olsen was born in Ogden, Utah to Mormon parents who named him after the prophet Moroni. After having worked on Broadway he made his film debut in a 1935 adaptation of The Three Musketeers...
... Mr. Tewitt
- Bert Freed
Robert "Bert" Freed was the first actor to portray "Detective Columbo" on television.Freed was a prolific American character actor who appeared in the Broadway musical The Day Before Spring in 1945 and dozens of television shows between 1947 and 1985...
... Foreman
- Madge Blake
Madge Blake was an American character actress most famous for her role as Aunt Harriet Cooper on ABC's Batman TV series of the 1960s.-Early life:...
... Aunt Anastacia
- Walter Baldwin
Walter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
... Uncle Edgar
- Oliver Blake
Oliver Blake was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He was a Liberal member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1873....
... Mr. Ludlow
- Perry Sheehan ... Bridesmaid
DVD release
The Long, Long Trailer was released on DVD on May 2, 2006 by
Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . It was re-named Warner Home Video in 1980...
in Region 1 coding for the U.S. and Canada. It was released as a single disc and as a part of a 3-DVD set featuring two other Ball/Arnaz movies,
Forever, DarlingForever, Darling is a American romantic comedy film with fantasy overtones, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason, and directed by Alexander Hall...
and
Too Many GirlsToo Many Girls may refer to:*Too Many Girls , a 1939 Broadway musical comedy and a 1940 film version*Two Many Girls , 1967 episode of TV show The Monkees...
.
External links