The Long, Long Trailer

A comedy about a couple who honeymoon in a trailer. Before the wedding Tacy sees a trailer and sets her mind on it: instead of buying a house they will live in it. Nicky is persuaded. Then he sees how big it actually is. Everything goes wrong on the road: parking, turning, getting stuck in mud, the weight increasing because of the rocks she collects, and climbing a mountain road. The comedy is entirely physical and built on the trailer itself. The best-known passage is on that mountain road: the car barely making the climb while a woman tries to cook inside the trailer. The casting is the best-known pair of the period. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were then leading a major television series, and the film uses that popularity directly. Vincente Minnelli directed; the colour photography and the wide landscapes are the second material. It was a large commercial success. An enjoyable choice for anyone who likes classical Hollywood comedy and physical humour. For a viewer looking for a modern perspective, the film is bound to the period's idea of marriage and some of the jokes look dated now.