Why You Should Watch The Long, Long Trailer.

Filmed in 1953 and released in 1954.  At the height of I Love Lucy’s popularity, they filmed The Long, Long Trailer in color—unlike the sitcom.

For folks that own a towable RV, It’s one of the funniest and most stressful movies you will probably ever watch.  There isn’t a travel trailer owner that won’t be able to identify with some of the situations they find themselves in.

But it’s just a comedy, right? Well, not really – it’s more than that.  Let’s talk about somethings you might not know about this film.

  1. The film is based on the 1951 book by Clinton Twiss.  It is based on his real-life travels with his wife in a travel trailer. Many of the film’s events are based on their actual experiences.
  2. Desi Arnaz loved travel trailers and thought the movie would both be a great comedy and a way to showcase the industry.
  3. The rock collecting done by Lucy during the movie was also a true story.
  4. The trailer they used was real.  It was a 1953 Redman New Moon trailer, which was 36 feet long.  That was a very long trailer for the time.
  5. The purchase price of the New Moon was stated to be $5,300.  That would put it around 65,000 dollars today.  A very expensive trailer for a couple that apparently is worried about their finances.
long, long trailer
  1. The studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, didn’t think it would be a hit.  Lucy even had her doubts but trusted Desi’s instincts. Desi Arnaz was so confident the film would succeed that he pushed forward despite skepticism from MGM—and ultimately proved them wrong.
  2. Lucy and Desi liked the trailer so much that after the film they had it towed to their property. Lucy Arnaz recounts that she used it as a playhouse.
long, long trailer

What are the takeaways from the film?

  1. A marriage can certainly become stressed living full time in an RV.  It’s not just a comedy—it’s a very real look at how small problems snowball when you’re traveling together in a confined space.
  2. Navigation, has come along way since people used maps to find or not find their destinations easily.  Route planning matters!
  3. Trailer Weight distribution is everything – a problem then and still today.
  4. Communication when backing up your trailer is really important, but you all know that.

If you haven’t seen The Long, Long Trailer, I highly recommend it—you may find yourself tensing up at times, even while laughing.

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