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Snicker if you will, but Kung Fu was one of the most influential TV series of the 1970s, one that managed to inject a note of both spirituality and Eastern religion into the standard Western formula and make it seem new. This was the pilot, an intriguing and scene-setting TV movie in which David Carradine starred as the mysterious Caine--half-white, half-Chinese, reared in a Shaolin monastery in China by blind master Po (Keye Luke), then exiled to America, on the run for killing the men who killed his master. The pilot mixes flashbacks to Caine's youth with a story set in the Old West of Caine battling intolerance as he begins the search for his father. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Hope they put the whole series on DVD
I have loved this series for years. I just love the little thought provoking things that Caine, the main character says. I've watched it since I was a little kid, and when I was in my twenties, it came on at 4 am on a channel once a week so I'd stay awake just to see it. I really hope they put the whole series on DVD. I'd buy it in a minute.

I love the quiet demeanor of Caine. I enjoy his humility and his respectfulness. The Caine character proves that you don't have to be "bad" to be cool. The pilot movie is definitely worth watching.

Unique Western flick.
This is certainly by no means an all-time favorite movie of mine, but it's an excellent little flick nevertheless -- especially considering that it was made-for-TV, the pilot for the "Kung Fu" TV series. My wife and I just saw it tonight and quite enjoyed it. At a mere 74 minutes, it's short and sweet, kinda the way I wish more movies would be! It's definitely a Western, as it takes place out West in the late 19th century, but it's unique for this genre in that it incorporates Eastern philosophy/wisdom and martial arts -- sorry, no quick-draw shootouts here.

A great scene appears near the beginning wherein Caine walks into a saloon after walking (!!) across a desert to get some water. Naturally some redneck dork wants to start a fight with him 'cause he's one of them "slant-eyes." Three times the guy attempts to attack Caine and three times Caine swiftly and decisively repels the attacks. The guy wisely decides not to attack again as Caine finishes his water and humbly walks out of the saloon leaving the saloon patrons in astonishment.

There's more martial arts action toward the end, but, it should be noted, this is by no means a standard martial arts flick. The movie teaches humility and respect for elders & all fellow human beings.

Despite the fact that they have very little dialogue, Caine develops a close father/son relationship with blind Master Po.

Some scenes have such a reverent and touching quality to them that they actually brought tears to my eyes .

In Brian Garfield's "Western Films" guide he criticized this film as "Juvenile tripe." With all due respect for the brilliant Mr. Garfield, this film is neither juvenile or tripe! As far as Westerns go, it's quite mature and original. Good Eastern-style music too.

Kung Fu: The Movie of Respect
KUNG FU is one of the few movies I have ever seen that has respect for a foundation. It is unfortunate that the martial arts are what viewers most often think of when they remember either the movie or the long running television show. Yet, a respect for tradition and a veneration for one's elders form the philosophical underpinning for both. The young Kwai Chang Caine, played modestly by Rademas Pera, portrays Caine as the height of worshipful respect. Having grown up as an orphan, we see in flashbacks, that he and the other village orphans, were invited to visit the local Shaolin monastery. He waits patiently in the rain for days until he is admitted. Once he is, he and a group of ragamuffins sit down at a table laden with food. The other orphans gorge themselves. Young Caine does not. Because he had the manners to wait, he is invited to stay by Master Po. During his years in the monastery, there are many scenes of interaction between him and his Shaolin instructors. It is these vignettes of the Wise Sages instructing the Eager Youth that lend the movie its charm. Caine, played now by David Carradine, grows to adulthood and leaves the temple to wander China. He is forced to kill the Emperor's nephew and must flee to America. These scnes of exposition are required for the movie to make sense. Caine's rise to maturity forms the basis for his encounter with villainous engineers and a renegade monk.
One subtle scene of respect occurs midway in the film when the adult Caine is working on a desert railroad somewhere in the western region of the United States. A heavily loaded wagon threatens to tip over, and Caine rushes over to prop it up with his surprisingly strong skinny arms. As he raises his arms, the Chinese crowd sees the tatoo of a dragon on his arms, and they bow in reverent silence. Later at the end, Caine must fight an outlaw monk whom he kills, but takes no joy in his victory. Even in defeat, a beaten enemy commands respect.
KUNG FU is the movie that attempts to make some sort of sense out of a violent unpredictable life. Caine seems to say that respect for all may make that possible. Perhaps he is right.

Good Script Makes Up For Bad History...Grasshopper!
Much has been written about the philosophical & moral lessons that can be learned from watching the old "King-Fu" tv series. However, one lesson that can be learned from this show has not been mentioned...a good script & solid acting performances can make up for very bad history done in an American western!

Alright, David Carradine does do a solid acting job as the peaceful, philosophical Buddhist monk roaming the American west. (Yup, like that other early 1970's martial-arts hero "Billy Jack", Carradine's "Caine" preaches "peace" & "brotherhood", until he's harrassed by "rednecks", then he tosses out all of that philosophy & kicks...! This show isn't really a martial-arts showcase. It's a hippie's wish-dream!) The surrogate father/son relationship between Carradine & Keye Luke as the blind master "Po" is solid, & let's face it, the bad guys racial slurs of "Chinaman" & "slanty-man" are delightfully repulsive! (I'm an Asian-american, & I enjoy watching Carradine, who's really a white actor in "yellow-face", kick the stuffings out of the bad-guys after they insult him!) And this tv pilot does have solid social commentary, with the background of the Chinese-american railroad workers as symbolic of American racial-exploitation.

Okay, so what's off about this show? Actually, you can't harp on the lack of martial-arts flash in the fight-scenes, since Hong-Kong movies made about this time (the Shaw Brother's "Duel of The Iron Fist", "Street-Gangs of Hong-Kong", "Seven Blows of The Dragon", etc.) also have sloppy fight scenes! You might harp on the practice of casting a white actor in a Chinese role, but then prior to the 1980's, most well meaning films with an Asian as a central character usually were cast with white actors. (Remember "Dragon Seed?" It was a pro-China World War Two propaganda film, with the Chinese, who were our allies against Japan, as the heroes. Katherine Hepburn was the heroine! Yet, you certainly can't call that movie "anti-Chinese.") I don't even think you can harp on passing up Bruce Lee for the lead role, because the central character has to have an inner-peace to him, & Bruce, well....watch "Fist of Fury/Chinese Connection" to understand why I don't think his personality would fit the role (though physically, because of his expertise in martial-arts, he would have been great...in the fight scenes.) You certainly can't fault the writing & acting, which we already said was solid.

Nope. It's the "Chinese" history & culture presented here that strains the believability for a learned viewer. For one thing, Chinese martial-artists (& Chinese Buddhist monks for that matter) DON'T go around barefoot! (They wear shoes! It's the Japanese & Okinawans who don't wear shoes during practice!) The look of the Shaolin robes are off & the bald monks are lacking in incense burnings on the tops of their heads. (They look like dots when you see them.) Not only that, but going by strict Chinese history of the 19th Century, I don't think "the emperor" would have been able to send anyone after "Caine." He (or actually the Empress Dowager) would have been too busy fending off the Taiping Rebels, the British, the French, & the various secret societies that were tearing up China at that time! (Of course, if you go by strict Chinese historical events, "Caine" wouldn't have had to leave China! He, like various other real-life monks, could have joined up with the various rebel secret societies that were plaguing the Manchu government at that time & besides, China is huge! If David Jansenn's "Doctor Kimble" from "The Fugitive" tv show didn't have to leave America after being accused of killing his wife, why should "Caine" have to leave a huge, easily to disappear in country like China?)

However, when I watch "Kung-Fu", I'm not convinced that those are real Shaolin monks or that that was China! It's like watching a medieval knight with a six-shooter!

Rent this video if you can, but only buy it if you can't rent it!

Kung Fu - A Martial Arts Classic
This will go down in martial artis history as a classic.

The fact that Bruce Lee was denied the lead role because of his being "too Chinese-looking" caused it to lose some of its luster, but it is still a must-see. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Ida Lupino, Howard Duff and the Ricardos share a cabin
"Lucy's Summer Vacation" (Aired June 8, 1959) was the tenth of fourteen hour-long specials that the "I Love Lucy" cast did after abandoning the half-hour situation comedy format. These periodic specials started off trying to take the Ricardos and Mertzes to exotic locales, but eventually they became more about the guest stars. With this one it is Ida Lupino and Howard Duff, playing themselves, who basically take over for the Mertzes for most of the show.

The premise is that the Ricardo's accept an invitation from their friend Harry Bailey to spend the week at his mountain lodge in Vermont. The only problem is that Bailey also invited Lupino and Duff for the same weekend. This sets up an extended sequence in which the two couples take forever to discover they are not the only people at the hunting lodge. Once the truth is discovered Ricky and Howard go off fishing, leaving their wives to have fun cleaning the fish they catch. Instead, Lucy and Ida dress up in their evening dresses (which, it should be pointed out, they brought to a remote mountain lodge in Vermont), and try to get their husbands interested in a romantic evening. When this fails Lucy decides to drill holes in the bottom of the rowboat to keep the boys closer to shore. Of course, that is when the guilt ridden husbands decide to take their wives and their fancy dresses out on the lake for a romantic moonlight boat ride.

Actually the fun part of "Lucy's Summer Vacation" is watching Lupino and Duff do the comedy. I would swear that they were enjoying taking the roles usually played by Fred and Ethel. By the same token, watching Lucy get dressed up to compete with Ida Lupino is a rare treat as well. Again another average special in this series, but that is more than acceptable when talking Lucille Ball.

The Best Episode Of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour!
A few years ago I watched some episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour on Nick At Nite or TV Land and I personally think this is the best episode of that show. Lucy wants to go on a vacation without The Mertzes so she can have a romantic getaway with Ricky so when a friend of Ricky's gives them use of his lakeside cabin Lucy is happy that she will get to be alone with Ricky but her plans are interrupted when Ida Lupino and Howard Duff (playing themselves) show up at the cabin, the same friend also said they could use the cabin but forgot to tell everyone, Ida wanted to have a romantic getaway with Howard and when he and Ricky just want to fish all day Lucy and Ida get annoyed and try to get the guys to spend time with them. I really enjoyed this episode and thought Ida Lupino was very good, I have thought about buying this video but I would really rather have it on DVD.

One of the Best Episodes of The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour!
One of the best episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour the show that they made after they took the 30 minute I Love Lucy off the air, I thought it was a very good episode and everyone was great including Ida Lupino and Howard Duff! This episode reminds me of the time when I was a little girl and we spent our vacation in a cabin by a lake. This episode is very good and it is just so under-rated!

Worst thing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz did
This edition of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" just plain stinks. The Mertzes are written out after the first scene, and don't come back until the very end, removing two enjoyable characters. Lucy and Ricky are given the same cabin as Howard Duff and Ida Lupino, only it takes at least 25 painful minutes of unfunny comedy for each couple to realize this. Ida Lupino is written like an idiot and she should have refused to do this. As a huge fan of "I Love Lucy," this was especially difficult to watch. Most scripts, even the weakest, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz seem to be able to save. For some reason, this one isn't one of them. Poor character development, an unrealistic portrayal of the guest stars, and it really comes out to be a one-joke show anyway. Get this only to complete a collection. This episode just plain stinks.

I THOUGH THIS FILM WAS WONDERFUL!
I think that I would recommend this film to absolutely anyone who feels like laughing. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Lucy and Desi take on the legendary Tallulah Bankehad
Originally written for Bette Davis, "The Celebrity Next Door" is infamous for Lucy and Desi's encounter with Tallulah Bankhead OFF screen, but it is also a very funny hour of television comedy. The story has the temperamental actress moving in next door to the Ricardos, so Lucy and Ethel begin spying on her through binoculars. When Tallulah comes over to use the phone, Lucy embarrasses herself and ends up inviting the star to a disastrous dinner where Fred and Ethel pretend to be the butler and maid. Things then get progressively worse, and funnier: Lucy accidentally sprays paint all over Tallulah who then gets Lucy to sit in a painted chair as the war escalates.

"The Celebrity Next Door" is far and way the funniest of the five Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show specials that constitute the seventh season of the "I Love Lucy" format. The episode is rather infamous because Tallulah Bankhead spent the week either drunk or acting up (or both) throughout rehearsals, terrifying Lucy and Desi, who babied their guest star the entire week and then were stunned when the actress was letter perfect during the taping. Apparently, Bankhead usually did this when she was up against another major actress as she was with the Queen of Comedy. Actually, the funniest woman in this show ended up being Vivian Vance, who steals her scenes as "Ethel Mae" the Ricardos' maid.

THE BEST OF THE LUCY-DESI HOUR SHOWS
This is a very funny hour. Lucy was terribly concerned about Bankhead's performance, as she was "taking nips" during rehearsals.(Bankhead purposely threw her co-stars off during rehearsal rather ingeniously): when the cameras rolled, she was letter perfect and brilliant in her timing and delivery. You can actually sense Lucy is a little nervous and her performance is a bit uneasy. Vivian comes off best as Ethel Mae - she's terrific and she actually looks younger than Lucy does. Desi looks tired and his performance is strained; the Arnaz marriage was really over by this time and there is some evidence of this in the performances - they seem a little tired and forced. Vivian has great chemistry with Bankhead (when she enthusiastically praises Bankhead and her plays), Lucy remarks "Ethel Mae, you are boring Miss Bankhead"! - to which Tallulah retorts "When Miss Bankhead is BORED, Miss Bankhead will let you KNOW!!"

Lucy And Tallulah a perfect match
I watch this video over and over as it is hilarious! Tallulah Bankhead shows remarkable comedy timing as well as a willingness to sacrifice her own dignity for the good of the story. I'm not sure what video the other reviewer was watching but the crucial scene with Ethel serving Tallulah is included in my video. I, too, would be upset if this had been edited. The writing is so superb (usually) that any missing pieces can certainly ruin the comedic payoff at the end.

Wonderful show...bad editing
This is my favorite Lucy-Desi outing, but a very poor editing job ruins it. The whole premise of Lucy's revenge on Tallulah is making her eat strawberry pie...which Tallulah is allergic to. However, the scene that sets this up in the original version (Ethel trying to serve it to Tallulah during a dinner party, only to have it ruined) is cut out from this video. This is also the version they show on Nick-At-Nite, and it is a shame such a hack got his hands on it.

Hilarious!
This is one of the best episodes of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour. Tallulah Bankhead is the perfect diva and her rivalry with Lucy is full of the classic comedy that makes you love Lucy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Williams family takes on the Ricardos and Mertzes
Do you remember what television show inherited the "I Love Lucy" timeslot on Monday nights at 9:00 EST? It was "Make Room for Daddy" starring Danny Thomas, who never guest starred on "I Love Lucy" because the two shows were sponsored by rival cigarette commercials (remember, until the Quiz Show scandal television shows had a single sponsor). It was not until December 1, 1958 that Danny Thomas and the rest of the "Make Room for Daddy" cast were worked into the seventh special of "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" (which was called "The Luci & Desi Show" when these specials were aired on CBS as summer series from 1962-1967). Most of these specials (which aired several times throughout the year) featured the Ricardos and Mertzes at exotic locations, but for this one the fun stays close to home.

Danny Willaims (Thomas) and his wife Kathy (Marjorie Lord) want to give their children Rusty (Rusty Hamer) and Linda (Angela Cartwright), a couple of months enjoying the fresh country air so they rent the Ricardos' Connecticut home while Lucy and Ricky are going to be off in Hollywood making a movie. Of course, when the Williams family arrives they discover that Ricky's picture deal fell through. However, Danny refuses to move out which forces the Ricardos to stay with the Mertzes. This proves to be too much for Lucy, who simply cannot stand the idea that strange people are living in her home doing who knows what. Actually, Lucy has a good idea of what the Williams are doing because she pops in every couple of minutes to check on her plants and whatnot. The episode ends with a snowball fight and a day in court for the six (supposed) adults in front of a judge played by Gale Gordon.

"Make Room for Danny" is a solid hour-long "Lucy" episode which bonus points simply for putting Danny Thomas and Lucille Ball in so many scenes together. Their chemistry is pretty good and you have to wonder if the simple play on the title of Thomas's show inspired the relatively simple premise of this episode. It is certainly enjoyable to see Thomas doing some physical humor as well as going toe-to-toe with Lucy in the comic timing department. Not quite as funny as the second episode in the series with Tallulah Bankhead, but overall much more enjoyable given the presence of Thomas and his television family.

Hilarious! Hilarious! Hilarious!
This is one of the best Lucy-Desi specials ever! There is definantly chemistry between Lucy and Danny. Trouble begins when Ricky loans out the house to Danny for several months, while he is making a movie. All is well, until the movie is canceled. Of course, this leads to many disasters, which could only happen to Lucy. Loads of fun for the whole family! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Mr. Television and Lucy: what more do you need to know?
For the eleventh hour-long special in the "Lucy & Desi" series the "I Love Lucy" cast got Mr. Television himself, Milton Berle. The result is a rare chance to see the two biggest stars of the first decade of network television together. The set up is that Lucy is trying to get Berle to emcee a benefit show for the local PTA, but the big television star does not have time because he has a whole lot of other headaches, including a big deadline for finishing his book. So Lucy offers Berle the use of the Ricardo Connecticut home where he can work on his book without interruption and get it finished on schedule, at which point he will gladly appear before the PTA. Surprisingly enough it is not Lucy who makes this plan go wrong, but Fred who tells Ricky all about the stranger who has been in his house all day while he is gone. Ricky hurries home and Berle tries to escape--wait for it--in drag, dressed up as "Mildred."

However, this does not go well and now Lucy has to come up with some way of persuading Berle to reconsider. This involves her trying to get into Berle's apartment in a New York City high rise. Of course, using the elevator would be too easy, and the Redhead decides to go in through the window using a construction crane. So you get Berle in a dress and Lucy doing physical comedy, which means all is right with the world in terms of the Fifties television icons. The grand finale involves a Western spoof for the PTA show singing the song "Them Thar Days." The two stars are better than their material, but, to be fair, how could they not be? Berle and Ball would work again on "The Lucy Show" (or "Lucy" or "Here's Lucy," or whatever it was called), but "Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos" (Aired September 25, 1959) is much closer to the glory days of these comedy giants. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

All you need to know: Lucille Ball and Red Skelton
Recommending the 8th special in "The Lucy & Desi Show" series is really easy because it has both Red and the Redhead, being Red Skelton and Lucille Ball respectively. Even better, Lucy joins Red in a Freddie the Freeloader skit. Not since Harpo Marx showed up on "I Love Lucy" have we had such a great opportunity to smile at the anticipation of how delightful any scene putting these two comic geniuses together would have to be, and in this regard we are not at all disappointed.

The premise is that Ricky is taking the band to Nome, Alaska, to appear on a Red Skelton television special celebrating the admission of Alaska as the 49th state. The Ricardos and Mertzes head north together, and Ricky and Fred are excited about some land they have purchased, sight unseen. Of course, it looks exactly like a frozen wasteland, but the really bad news is that the hotel accommodations force the two couples to share one room, where they draw lots for the one small bed, an army cot, a sleeping bad, and a hammock. If you do not know which one of those four Lucy gets, then you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Meanwhile, the actress who was supposed to appear with Red in his sketch cannot make it to Alaska and Lucy volunteers to take her place. However, before we can get to the best part of the episode, Lucy has to drag Red out to see Ricky and Fred's property so the two can be stuck flying a small airplane by themselves.

The Freddie the Freeloader sketch is enough to justify picking up this show, which first aired on February 9, 1959, but there are a couple of other above-average bits as well. The idea of these hour-long episodes was that the Ricardos and Mertzes would travel to exotic locations, but obviously what made these work was who was the guest star, and having Red Skelton is a biggie. Pay attention to the two Eskimos, because one of them is played by Iron Eye Cody, who would become a major pop culture footnote as the crying Native American in those memorable anti-pollution public service ads.

The only Lucy episode that made me laugh out loud
This is a very clever episode of I Love Lucy. She can actually sing in this one. I loved the hammock scene, but the "dinner" scene, where everything is being mimed, is the best part. It deserves every star I gave it.

The best Lucy episode ever!
I think that Lucy goes to Alaska is truly the funniest episode. Lucy travels to Alaska only to find problems after problems; like always, Lucy always finds a way to make every situation funny. Wait till you get to the hammock scene! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

IT'S LUCY! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?
This is truly a classic. It seems funny that Lucy Ricardo has two good friends that look like Ann Sothern. In this show Lucy shares a cruise with her good friend Suzie McNamara, {11/6/57} played by Ann Sothern, and meets her later to be husband Ricky... and meets Fred and Ethel Mertz for the first time. Fred with hair is truly the moment in history that true tv classic lovers dream of. Later, on the the Ann Sothern show, {10/5/59}, Lucy Ricardo visits Katie O'Connor, {played again by Ann}, on "The Ann Sothern Show", one of my favorites. The only thing I'm saying is...when it comes to great fun, true classics, wholesome entertainment, a great feeling of the 50's and 60's television... get this show, watch it again and again...and remember, for those who were lucky to live in those days...remember when tv itself was young and worth watching....

It Could Have Been Better!
Like anyone else I love I Love Lucy but this is not one of the best episodes of the 1 hour episodes they briefly made when they stopped making the 30 minute episodes of the classic show and considering this is about how Lucy and Ricky first met I thought it could have been better, really the only part I thought was funny was when Lucy and the character played by Ann Sothern accidently got drunk from the water that had been spiked with booze.

At long last, the story of how Lucy and Ricky met
The seventh season of the "I Love Lucy" format consisted of five longer programs called "The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show." For the first episode (November 6, 1957), gossip columnist Hedda Hopper interviews the Ricardos and Mertzes in Connecticut as they tell the story of how Lucy and Ricky first met. It seems young Lucy McGillicuddy and her friend Suzy McNamara (Ann Sothern playing the character from her TV series "Private Secretary") were on a cruise to Havana on the same boat as young Ricky Ricardo and his friend Carlos (Cesar Romero), the Mertzes and singer Rudy Vallee. The episode sounds better than it really is, mainly because Vallee is such a boring guest star and the writers are having such trouble, although certainly an effort is made to increase production values and make this something special. In fact, this first show ended up being 75 minutes long and Desi Arnaz ended up asking "The U.S. Steel Hour" to cut its show to 45 minutes.

Very funny, as usual
Of course you know Lucille Ball would never let you down. This video is hilarious, with Lucy getting into all sorts of trouble, and meeting Ricky. I'd recommend this to anyone.

This is one video worth the money!
"Lucy takes a cruise to Havana" is great. And while Lucy finds herself in all kinds of trouble in her middle 30's, this episode takes you back when Lucy meets Ricky. In fact it takes you back so far, Fred Mertz even has hair! It's a great video. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Crossing the border is never easy with Lucy Ricardo
In "Lucy Goes to Mexico" (Aired: October 6, 1958), the sixth episode of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," The Ricardos and the Mertzes are in San Diego, where Ricky is rehearsing with Maurice Chevalier (you can never have too many foreign accents) for a show they will be doing for the Navy on the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. "Yorktown." Meanwhile, Lucy and Ethel head for Tijuana, bent on finding bargains and souvenirs galore, with Fred tagging along to try and head off disaster. Surprisingly things go okay, until they try crossing the border back to the U.S. and the Customs officer (Charles Lane) discovers a young Mexican boy (Alan Costello) in the trunk of the car: he wants to see the aircraft carrier Senora Ricardo has told him about. The good news is that Ricky and Chevalier show up to bail everybody out of jail. The bad news is that since Chevalier is a French citizen, he cannot get back into the United States (pretend this makes sense and remember the comic value of people speaking English, Spanish and French at high speed at the same time). Obviously, since the U.S. Customs can spot a grown man in a trunk as easily as a small boy, there is only one solution to this problem, and that is for Lucy to end up fighting a bull in a bull ring as Max the matador.

Given that the bull fighting bit is less than inspired, the best part of "Lucy Goes to Mexico" turns out to be the singing, with Arnaz and Chevalier (together and separately) singing "Something's Gotta Give," "Louise," "La Cucaracha," "Valentine," "Mimi," "Yankee Doodle Dandy." "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" was not so much a television series as a series of full-hour specials. After the 1956-57 season of "I Love Lucy" the cast decided they wanted to experiment with the hour-long format. The idea was that the Ricardos and the Mertzes would travel to different locations and be involved with various guest stars. Actually, the episodes originally ran under the title of "The Lucille Ball-Desir Arnaz Shows," and the abbreviated title was used when these specials were aired on CBS as summer series for five years (1962-67). This particular endeavor is just not that special.

Worst episode of the LUCY DESI-COMEDY HOUR!
By the time this episode aired in 1958, "Lucy-mania" was at a fever pitch and scripts were being tailored to accompany the slew of celebrity guest stars as opposed to the well crafted character driven stories from earlier seasons. This episode is such an example of how scripts were rushed out with no thought given to any semblance of reality-based storytelling. The episode begins with the Ricardos and the Mertzes in San Diego as part of a U.S.O. tour with celebrity guest star Maurice Chevalier. Lucy and the Mertzes go shopping in Mexico and wind up in trouble with U.S. Customs after a little Mexican boy stows away in the trunk of their car. They are bailed out of trouble by Ricky, only to have the same thing happen again on another shopping venture, but with Maurice Chevalier in the trunk this time. They are soon put in jail, where Lucy makes a daring jail break thanks to the help of the little boy. She then dresses up like a matador to elude the Mexican Police, only to end up in an arena fighting a bull that she falsely assumes is a friendly bull that she's nicknamed "Max".
Suffice it to say, this episode comes off as a precursor to all of those 1980's "Ernest" movies as Lucy is put in one silly situation after another, each one more contrived and forced than the last. Lucy's hijinks, which are usually funny and believable, are increasingly annoying and out of character here. While the "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" lacked the magic of the "I Love Lucy" episodes (probably due to the different writers), most of them were funny in their own right. This particular one just happened to be the bottom of the barrel. If you are a huge Lucy fan and just has to have every episode, then this is fine. If you're more of a casual fan, I highly recommend skipping this one and trying some of the other "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" episodes.

VERY funny
this show is very funny. Lucy has trouble with the officials in Mexico, when she goes there shopping. They're accused as smugglers!!! See how she tries to get back to the United States. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The "I Love Lucy" cast sort of makes it to Las Vegas
After six seasons of "I Love Lucy," Lucy and Desi decide to stop doing the classic sitcom but to continue the format in hour-long specials on CBS sponsored by Ford. In this third of the five specials, Ricky is booked at the Sands hotel in Las Vegas, so the Ricardos and Mertzes head east on the train, where they encounter movie star Fred MacMurray. It seems MacMurray is worried about telling his wife, actress June Haver, that he has lost money gambling. Fred Mertz had bought Little Ricky a gag newspaper with a fake headline, so Lucy decides they can do the same thing to help MacMurray out of his jam and come up with one about hunting for uranium. Of course the paper causes a mad stampede for the desert by everyone who wants to find the radioactive mineral.

"Lucy Hunts Uranium" was inspired by the scene in the classic film "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" where Bogart and Holt are so suspicious of one another. The episode suffers from no comic chemistry whatsoever between Ball and MacMurray, which defeats the whole purpose of having a guest star. Besides, the episode spends most of the time on the train and in the desert and not in Las Vegas. However, it is nice to see Bobby Jellison again back playing a bellboy like he did in the California episodes of "I Love Lucy." All in all, a disappointing episode and it is hard to stop thinking of what would happen to the gang if they really found the uranium and got radioactive poisoning.

ONE OF THE BEST LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOURS
This episode is really a breath of fresh air and very funny; a lot of it was filmed outdoors on location and it's a great change of pace for the usually set-bound quartet we all love. Fred MacMurray plays himself and he's likeable if not hilarious {although he and Lucy have hardly any chemistry together). The desert scene where greed and suspicion take hold is a clever parody of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". Vivian Vance is notably vivacious in this; it's hard to believe she could be the same mousey Ethel in episodes past;she looked amazingly younger as the series progressed - much to Lucy's dismay (she once told make-up artist Hal King "You're making her look too good!!"

Very Very Funny
This is one of the funniest videos in the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour series. After seeing the episode on Nick at Night, I had to buy it. Anyone who loves The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour and I Love Lucy will love this!

One of the funniest episodes ever!
This episode is so funny, I didn't stop laughing throughout the whole time! Here's what happens: Lucy wants to go Uranium hunting, but Ricky says no. Naturally, Lucy comes up with one of her brilliant schemes. She and Ethel get a fake newspaper made with a fake headline that says that Uramium has been found where they are. So then Ricky gets excited when he sees it and runs to Lucy and tell hr that Uranium has been found, only Lucy thinks it's for real. So they go Uranium hunting w/ the Mertzes. No luck. When they finally give up, they find out it was all a scheme, and Lucy has landed herself in hot water once again. Hilarious! If you love Lucy as much as me, watch this movie! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lucy gets a job on Paul Douglas's "Early Bird" TV show
After the 1956-67 season of "I Love Lucy" the cast decided they wanted to try their hand at a hour-long program, which ended up being a series of specials produced periodically over the next couple of years. "The Lucy & Desi Comedy Hour" was actually the title of this "show" when the specials were aired as a summer series by CBS during the Sixties. In this 9th installment (Aired April 13, 1959), "Lucy Wants a Career" that will get her out of the house. So she hires Ethel to watch Little Ricky and heads out into the world to seek gainful employment. The twist in this episode is that when Lucy answers an ad to be the "Girl Friday" for Paul Douglas's "Early Bird" television show, she impressed the show's sponsor because she is an everyday housewife. So even though the star of the show was not thrilled at all the things she did to get the other applicants to leave, Lucy actually gets the job.

That turns out to be when the fun begins, because it is, after all, the "Early Bird" television show, which means that she has to get up at 4 in the morning to go to work. The only time she sees Ricky is when they pass in Grand Central Station. Douglas is sympathetic and says he can get Lucy out of her contract, only Ricky takes Lucy out to celebrate the return of their family life to normal. Of course, this only sets up a big on-camera disaster for the redhead. Douglas is not a big name when compared to some of the other guest stars Lucy and Desi brought in (Episode 10 has Milton Berle), but all this is really important here is that the situation sets up a series of scenes in which Lucy gets to do some of her patented physical comedy. All in all, "Lucy Wants a Career" is an average episode "The Lucy & Desi Show," but since we are talking Lucille Ball that makes it an above average television show from the Fifties.

Lucy at her all-time best
This Lucy hour long episode is one of the greatest episodes Lucy ever made. Lucy decides to apply for Paul Douglas' morning show as his girl Friday. Paul dislikes her but the producers want her to stay. The results are hilarious. Wait til you see her first day on the job. I was laughing so hard I started to cry. Lucy then gets sad because she doesn't get to see her family that much anymore because of her and Ricky's work hours. Well she thinks that she got to quit her contract, so she takes sleeping pills to sleep well that night. But she can't get out of the contract. Once again, the results are hilarious. BUY THIS VIDEO ASAP!

Lucy Is Hilarious
This is one of the best hour long episodes! Lucy (Lucille Ball) once again is bored of housework and wants a job. She applys for Paul Douglas' Early Bird Show as Girl Friday. Paul dislikes her after she scares away all other applicants. The producer loves her and hires her on the spot. After the show is a wonderful success she is sad because she never sees her family. Paul tells her he can get her out of her contract. So she takes sleeping pills because she usually wakes up at four in the moring. It turns out Paul can't get her out of it and she has to do the show half asleep!If you would like to know the rest of this hilarious show BUY IT! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Little Ricky wants a horse, so, of course, Lucy gets him one
"Lucy Wins a Racehorse" (February 3, 1958), was the fourth episode of "The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show," which continued the "I Love Lucy" characters in an hour-long setting. Little Ricky wants a horse and his mom enters a contest being sponsored by a breakfast food company. Lucy wins a horse named Whirling Jet (played by "Tony" the stunt horse) and everything looks good until Harry James, who is playing with Ricky down at Club Babalu, points out how expensive it is to keep a horse. So Lucy, Ethel and Betty Grable decide to run Whirling Jet in harness races to earn the money for his upkeep. The only problem is that since the horse is in love with Lucy, she is the only one who can be his driver. A lot of this show was shot on location at the Santa Anita race track and the attempt to combine traditional movie making with the "I Love Lucy" format did not mesh terribly well. They kept trying to come up with ambitious shows to justify the hour-long format but they never seem to quite work.

hilarious!!
this video is hilarious!! Of course Lucy makes it that way, with her being pulled by the horse and other funny antics. It's one of her best works

Grable and James saddle up for some laughs with Lucy
If you are an I Love Lucy fan, you'll love this ... and if you also happen to be a Betty Grable fan - you've won a watch! Or should that be horse?

When Lucy wins a racehorse for her son, she has problems with husband Desi about keeping it. Betty Grable solves the problem by encouraging Lucy to enter it in a race. Of course, it wins after Lucy steers it in every direction until she eventually passes the winning-post - practically on her knees!

Betty Grable, looking very glamorous and still showing a great pair of legs, gets to dance the Bayamo. It is just a pity she hadn't a better dance partner than Desi Arnaz, who seems to bring the normally fast-moving Grable to a canter! Good fun. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

One of the best!
I watched reruns of I Love Lucy all the time when I was a little girl and I never knew until Nick at nite started showing it that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made another show with their Lucy and Ricky characters, they only made a few episodes of their hour long specials but this is one of the best! Lucy wants to go on a much needed vacation alone with Ricky but he cancels with the excuse of being to busy at work so she gets mad and has her feelinhgs hurt and goes on the sky trip anyway with Ethel and they meet a handsome sky instructor played by Fernando Lamas and Lucy decides to use him to make Ricky jealous. It is not difficult to see why so many women had crushes on Fernando Lamas he definitely looked like he was a great looking guy.

Lucy & Ethel head to Sun Valley for fun in the ice and snow
"Lucy Goes to Sun Valley" was the last of the five hour-long specials Lucy and Desi did in the "I Love Lucy" format during 1957-58. Lucy and Ricky have planned a romantic vacation to Sun Valley, Idaho, but Ricky has to cancel because he has to do something for television. Lucy is upset and goes off with Ethel to Idaho, leaving the boys behind to stew. Once they get to the lodge they enjoy the activities and then the girls meet movie star Fernando Lamas. Of course Lucy enlists Fernando's help in making Ricky jealous and, of course, Ricky and Fred show up to surprise the girls. Filmed on location, the chief treat of "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley" is watching the queen of comedy doing most of her own stunts, especially the stuff ice skating. And, of course, Fernando looks marvelous. Not quite as good as Lucy & Desi #2, the infamous one with Tallulah Bankhead, but close.

Go On A Skiing Vacation With Lucy!
I recommend this one, if you like the snow, romance, comedy, and a handsome movie star. Reminds you of your first skiing lesson, this will bring back memories. A beautiful setting, skiing in Sun Valley, log cabin, fireplace, ski lifts, mountains, it has it all. Lucy has a handsome movie star for a private instructor,and Ricky gets jealous. You'll end up laughing. ... Read more