Sunday Movie Review: "High Society" (1956)

Boy, have I had a busy weekend!!!

And because of that, I have been (sniffles) unable to watch a movie this weekend. :( I know, I get really sad too when I don't get to watch a classic movie over the weekend, because, you know, when I'm watching one of those I'm at some of my very happiest.

HOWEVER, I still have a movie review for today. Though it's going to be extremely short, and so let me explain a new set of rules I'm going to apply to the Sunday Movie Review.

1. We can refer to it as "SMR" - is that a clever acronym or what? (Yeah, I'm being sarcastic).
2. Now here's the more important part: so something I realize is that my reviews are short to begin with, but if I have not just seen the film the past couple of days, I stumble over my words and use too many photos and overall the review tends to be extremely short and choppy for me. I don't like producing work that falls short of what I want to do, so...

So, now when I go ahead and admit to you "Dahhlings, I didn't watch a movie this weekend", I'll label that SMR a short review. Basically, I take a review from my Netflix reviewing history and paste it into here. Since Netflix doesn't give you all the space in the world to you know, write reviews, these reviews will just be, well, short. 

I will try and not do this often, only on the weekends when I do not get the opportunity to watch a movie and have to pull something from my movie past.

As for this first SMR short review, I'll start with one of the longer short reviews I could dig up. The movie is "High Society".

Also, you may notice I have tweaked my format for these movie reviews slightly - this will apply to all of my SMRs. I have decided to make it a little more organized and neater, which hopefully make the over all review seem more.. polished?? Any feedback on this is greatly appreciated. 

***

The poster: I like it. Simple, perhaps, but fun and it's cute :)

The plot:

In this musical reworking of The Philadelphia Story, Newport blueblood Bing Crosby tries to win back his ex-wife, "ice goddess" Grace Kelly, while Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm (reporters for Snoop Magazine) gum up the works. Cole Porter wrote the score (which includes the Oscar-winning song "True Love"), and Louis Armstrong and his band are on hand to syncopate all the shenanigans. [from Netflix]

The starring players:

• Grace Kelly as Tracy "Samantha" Lord
• Bing Crosby as C.K Dexter-Haven
• Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor
• Celeste Holm as Liz Imbrie
• Louis Armstrong as himself

The verdict:

3/5

***

This film had a lot of things going for it for me. 1) the lovely soon-to-be-Princess-of-Monaco, Grace Kelly, 2) the supporting talents of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Celeste Holm, 3) the sophisticated setting of Newport high society, and 4) brilliantly bright Technicolor filming. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The original "Philadelphia Story" is one of my favorite films and I wanted to see what they would do with it. They use some of the same dialogue, except they throw in awful bits and pieces - "I want you to marry me not because I'm worthy, but because I'm unworthy," (?) Grace insists - and string in some songs. If you are a music enthusiast, you'll probably be excited to hear Crosby and Sinatra, the two greatest crooners of all time, sing together but trust me, it's not as fun as it seems. Grace is sophisticated and wears some gorgeous outfits, but as lovely as she is she is not enough to save this film. At an hour forty minutes, it dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. It was a sticky and as slow as molasses when it came to the point where we began fast forwarding it. If I despise it so much, you wonder, why do I bother to give it 3 stars?? Grace, Bing, Frank, and Celeste deserve some sort of a cheer for forcing themselves through this. It gets some brownie points for sophistication. Perhaps if I had never seen Philadelphia Story (gasp!), I could bring myself to like it more. But I was raised on that movie, and this is hodgepodge in front of it, I'm afraid. Watch the original instead and you'll have a lot better time.

The bottom line:

Though I liked particular elements of this film (the star studded cast, the beautiful clothes worn by Grace, and the "high society" setting), I just could not like the whole thing very much. Everyone makes a good effort, and the intentions are good, but as a great lover of "The Philadelphia Story", it was not very easy for me to love this movie. If you have a hardcore musical lover and perhaps not a big fan of the original, you may like it, but each to their own, I suppose! Three out of five stars.

Some photos:

Some trivia:

• The first choice for Tracy Lord was Elizabeth Taylor, but she was unavailable so it was given to Grace. It would be her last feature film before leaving Hollywood to become Princess of Monaco.
• Tracy Lord's engagement ring in the film was in reality the ring given to Grace by her real life fiance, Prince Rainier of Monaco.
• Features the song "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", which is where the TV quiz show of the same name would get it's title.

A movie tidbit:

***

There it is, my first SMR in it's newly revamped edition. I like the structure myself - hopefully it'll be better for you readers and I must admit, it was a lot easier for me to put together, as well. Oh, and my first "short review", too. Hopefully they won't be that frequent.. .but it wasn't that bad, was it? :) 

By the way, I found this on Tumblr the other day and decided to share it... if I could choose which place and year I could live in, this would probably be one of my very top choices:

New York in the late 1930's. ;) Isn't it glorious?

Thanks very much! :)

I have some bloggy business to take care of right now but most of it is just THANK YOU because three exciting things have happened to me...

The first is earlier this week I was officially excepted into the Large Association of Movie Blogs, (or the LAMB)! What fun it is is going to be to participate in the LAMB events and whatnot, and I feel now like a member of the movie blogging community for sure. I can't wait until next year, when the CiMBA (Classic Movie Blog Association) will start accepting new members. :D

The second is I hit thirty followers! Now it is actually thirty-four followers (I know the followers gadget says thirty-three, but it's actually a screw up with the widget I can't seem to fix. Only if you hit "more" and turn the page does it display the right amount... annoyances :/ )... well, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :) I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to check out my posts and comment and follow and all of that. I love to write and though I have been told before I am "good" at it, I didn't actually, you know, think that people would really want to read my thoughts and rambles. But you people do and you leave encouraging comments and it really makes a girl want to write forever. Thank you!!! :)

The third is I won first place at Film Classics's article contest! Once again: THANK YOU!! It was your votes that made my article win and you know it was a very close race. :) I'm glad about that, because my "opponents" happen to be just some of my favorite bloggers and fellow classic movie loving teens, Natalie from In the Mood and Bette from Bette's Classic Movie Blog. They wrote some really fabulous articles (you can read Bette's here and Natalie's here - I of course, recommend both!) and racked in lots of votes. I love their blogs and I love their articles and congratulations to them, too. :) And then, once again, THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who voted. It means quite a lot to me. :)

Oh, and also, for those of you who may not have noticed it on my sidebar, I joined the Dueling Divas Blogathon at the Backlots blog (click the link). I believe it will run from the 20th to the 23rd of December and it looks like it's going to be a ton of fun! The topic is basically to write about divas who dueled, on screen and off (like Bette and Joan) or a diva who may have played a duel character in a movie (like Hayley Mills in "The Parent Trap"). Isn't that a brilliant idea for a blogathon? One of these days I'm going to have to host a blogathon myself, you know. Maybe if I get a 100 followers. ;)

Ok, that's it for today. But a big, fat thank you to everyone once again.

A smiling Audrey GIF for you (yeah, I finally figured out how to embed those :D) to express my happiness and thanks. And Audrey because I'm going to a Halloween function tomorrow night (actually something for little kids that I'm helping run) and will be dressed up as her. 

Thank you thank you and have a good weekend everyone! :)

Vintage Vocabulary, Darling!

Hi everyone,

Before I begin today's topic (one that proves to be interesting, I hope) quick birthday wishes to three big Classic Hollywood stars: Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, and Montgomery Clift! In honor of the two girls, I added "Only Angels Have Wings" into my Netflix queue so you should anticipate a review for that... in the near future. ;) As for Monty, I've been wanting to see "A Place in the Sun" for a REALLY long time, but it's on a "short wait" at Netflix, so I guess I'll just have to wait.. longer... :( [Anyway- look for pictures of them throughout this post! :D]

Something I have noticed in classic films is though the way they speak is pretty much the same way we talk today, a lot of the "slang words" are different which obviously makes sense... I mean, the staples of the English language will forever stay consistent (I hope), but slang words change as trends change and as particular generations get older and new ones begin. (Like in my circle of teenage friends I don't find someone going, "Hey, that's groovy!" all that often, if you know what I mean. :D)

Having watched classic films for quite a while (and yeah, being obsessed with it helps too) I have picked up on my "vintage vocabulary" so much that it often filters into my everyday speak. I love vintage slang, especially from the 30's and 40's, because some of it is just so adorable! And considering a lot of words are dead these days, so to speak, it's even fun to say them to get a reaction out of people.

Here's the list of "vintage vocabulary" I came up with. If you can think of any I haven't included don't forget to leave me a comment with the word (and it's definition, just in case I haven't heard it) so I can add it in.

I present to you, a list of Vintage Vocabulary... (I tried to come up with the best Classic Hollywood related sentences I could; others seemed like lines out a film noir for me and I tried to express that but I think I failed most of the time...)

• darling - [noun]; Used as an affectionate form of address to a beloved person. "Tallulah Bankhead called everyone 'darling'. Except she says it 'dahhling', you know."
• dame - [noun]; An attractive woman. "Walter didn't plan on everything landing up this way, but Phyllis was a dame he could not resist."
• heel - [noun]; a contemptibly dishonorable or irresponsible person. "Everyone thought that Gregory Peck was a total heel in 'Duel in the Sun'."

LOVE this photo - Gregory and Deborah on the beach!

• gay - [adjective]; having or showing a merry, lively mood. "Then Cary Grant was wearing this frilly negligee and he jumped up and shouted at the woman, 'I went gay all of a sudden'!"
• swell - [adjective]; excellent; first-class. "Gee I like to see you looking swell, baby! Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby..."
• golly - [informal adjective]; used as a mild exclamation expressing surprise, wonder,puzzlement, pleasure, or the like. "Good golly, Miss Molly!"

Hedy dining with the birthday girl, Rita

• gee whiz - [informal adjective]; arousing or characterized by surprise, wonder, or triumphant achievement. "Gee whiz, that Lucy is funny."
• square - [noun]; old-fashioned in views, customs, appearance, etc. "Ava Gardner was certainly never a square."
• scram - [verb]; to go away; get out. "Scram, kid, this ain't the place for you," snarled Bogie.

The other birthday girl, the lovely Jean Arthur 

• broad - [noun]; an offensive term for a woman or a girl. "I thought Glenn Ford had a lot to put up with in that movie; Gilda was a real broad."
• babydoll - [noun]; Used as an affectionate form of address to a pretty person. " 'Come with me, babydoll,' Cagney told the flapper."
• slay - [verb];  To amuse somebody very much. "Groucho's sense of humor just slays me!" This was suggested by Martin.

The birthday boy, Monty, and friend Liz out for dinner. 

THE FOLLOWING ARE PHRASES.

• "Get a load of Bette Davis in this picture!"
• "Ricky blew a fuse when he saw what Lucy had done."
• "Frank Sinatra wanted to bust the chops of the reporter who took his picture." 

I couldn't do one of these photo things without a picture of Lucy! <3
I love this one, she's being a real "darling" in it, paining the nails of her stand in! And so carefully, too!

That was all the "vintage vocabulary" I could think of. By the way, I don't mean that these phrases or words aren't used today at all (though some are kind of extinct, like "heel"), just not as commonly, or in different contexts (with "gay", for example). If you can think of any others, drop me a comment and I'll add it in (with all due credit, of course)!

UPDATE: Friend and fellow blogger Natalie (In the Mood) composed her own list of vintage vocabulary as an addition to this post. She came up with some great ones that I missed, so be sure and check it out!! :)

Sunday Movie Review: "Daisy Kenyon" (1947)

Hello dahhhlings,

Channeling my inner Tallulah Bankhead. I started saying "darling" so often now I've got my friends doing it with me. ;)

Today's an exciting day! My blog turns three months old exactly, and will finally be eligible for entry into the LAMB - for those of you who don't know what that is, LAMB stands for Large Association of Movie Blogs. It's exactly what it sounds like; a big cluster of all types of movie blogs. I've been waiting to join it ever since I first heard about it a couple of months ago, but my blog has to be old enough first. It is today, I plan on sending in my entry, and I'll let you know when it's all official! ;)

Oh, I also made some tweaks to my blog. Nothing big, I suppose you've noticed them already. For one, I'm trying desperately to clean up my sidebar because I felt it was getting too crowded. My blog roll looks smaller, but don't worry - all the blogs are still there (with some new editions), too, only it now displays five blogs instead of ten. Just hit "show all" to see all of my favorite blogs. Also, instead of showing off just a couple of my Youtube videos on my sidebar there's now a cute little pink TV widget that will take you to my channel page. STILL, I'm annoyed because the sidebar still feels crowded and it's driving me nuts. !!! Oh well. I'll stop complaining. ;)

And one more quick thing:

VOTE HERE

Voting for Film Classics's contest ends in a week I believe, so if you haven't already be sure and go over and do so! Just hit the little reminder under Lucy above :) [I still haven't figured out how to link URLs with pictures...]

Okay, now, with no further ado, onto the review! (Hey, that rhymes, doesn't it???)

***

Oh my gosh, I LOVE that poster. So awesome and beautiful - I just want to blow it up here, actually. ;)

Tired of waiting for her lover, Dan (Dana Andrews), to dump his wife, commercial artist Daisy Kenyon (Joan Crawford) decides to settle down and marry war vet Peter (Henry Fonda). But when Daisy learns that Dan has gotten a divorce and wants her back, she's caught in a terrible dilemma. Dan is a high-powered attorney who lives a glamorous life, but Peter is an honest man who sincerely loves her. [from Netflix]

The cast's got:

• Joan Crawford as Daisy Kenyon
• Dana Andrews as Dan O'Mara
• Henry Fonda as Peter Lambert
• Ruth Warrick as Lucille O'Mara

It is directed by Otto Preminger.

I happened to see parts of this movie in passing on TCM, but never sat down to watch the whole thing. What I had seen looked promising though, and I wasn't disappointed.

To begin with: the plot. Though it isn't the most original, it still has a lot of potential and a lot of ground to work with which the film utilizes quite well. I wouldn't exactly call this film outright film noir, though it screams to be one with the classic film noir lighting elements that are used several times throughout the movie (spotlighting Joan Crawford's humongous eyes, the dancing shadows - my God, there are a lot of shadows). Instead I would call it "noirish"; there, but not exactly. Like I've said, the lighting is all there --

And I liked it, it seemed to set a mood to the film. But throw away the guns or dramatic music or any of that (do those count as spoilers? I hope not). Anyhow, if you're avoiding this film because you think the plot and the love triangle all seem too cardboard and stuff you've seen before, I can proudly tell you not to worry and go ahead and give it a try anyway. 

Moving onto acting: I really liked Joan Crawford's performance as Daisy. These are the roles Joan Crawford was built for: tormented woman who manage to remain strong and somehow come out alive. (Also, she has a habit of playing in films whose titles are just the main player's full name, doesn't she? Mildred Pierce. Sadie McKee. Letty Lynton. :D)

But anyway, Joan usually excels in these noirish roles (gee whiz, I'm having fun with that word, amn't I?) and her performance as Daisy is no different. You feel sorry for her, you feel her pain, her dilemma, all that she suffers through. Her character, as complex as she may be, comes out very likable in the end. (At least to me, i guess some may argue). Henry and Dana are good but Joan's strong willed character becomes so that she takes over the film, giving her a chance to shine, and the latter mentioned men become props. Over all a solid performance, what was expected of Joan in this sort of a film, this sort of a character, and she doesn't fall short at all.

DAISY:

"It's a funny thing about being in love. Sometimes it's easier to tell when you are than when you aren't." 

I like Joan the more and more I watch her, though I'm still decidedly Team Bette. (Of course, that doesn't mean I can't like Joan at all!). And so I liked her in this, quite a lot.

Onto the men. Dana Andrews - this was the first movie of his I'd seen, believe it or not. His character was interesting; as a viewer at times I liked him and at other times I hated him. By the end of the movie I must admit he was a character I didn't like all that much but it wasn't only until till the last few minutes of the movie I came to that final conclusion (and I'm sticking to it). He does a good job with his role as well, though as I admitted earlier in this review he and Henry Fonda are eventually like props for Joan. Good props, though.

Anyway, I liked him and I hope to see more of him in the future because he was pretty good.

His connection, or chemistry, rather, with Joan's character is very good and they have some strong scenes together. (Let me give you a hint: it results in the bandage on his head in above photo).

Now, onto Henry Fonda. Henry is one of my favorite actors, though I haven't really talked about him much at all in my three months of blogging. :( My apologies, Henry! I really enjoyed him in this, though I usually enjoy him in anything. His character reminded me somewhat (just a hint) of his role in "The Big Street", a 1942 movie he made with Lucy, but you'd have to have seen that movie to understand what I mean. (Of course, this character has a LOT more backbone). 

This movie has a prominent love triangle, and that being said he plays good against Joan. I liked the two of them together and though their chemistry isn't as strong or as high-strung as Joan and Dana's (which is what the film calls for), it is good in the way it supposed to be: comfortable, reliable, and a sense of stability.

Also there was Ruth Warrick as Dana Andrews' wife. She was in Citizen Kane, I believe, and Driftwood. (Okay, you're probably scratching your head at that last film there. It was a really awful B movie that Natalie Wood made as a child actress, and it was available for instant watching on Netflix, so... ). She was familiar to me. I HATED her character so that means she obviously did a great job. Ruth, who to me looks slightly like Jean Arthur (see photo below), is an underrated actress but on the occasions I have seen her, I have always liked her performances.

Jean Arthur? Please? Slightly? Yes? Maybe it's just me...

There were two child actresses in this as well, both girls, and I liked them too.

I pretty much enjoyed this movie. It was exciting and somewhat suspenseful, keeping me on the edge of my seat at times. It kept me guessing about how everything would turn out in the end until the very last minute.

At moments it shines brighter than at others; nearing somewhat corny at points, but still a good noirish (okay, this is like my word of the day or something) melodrama. If you like Joan Crawford you'll love this; and if you're just on the fence about this movie, go ahead and watch it. I give it a 4/5 stars. Not disappointing and never falls short of exciting.

***

That's it for today's Sunday Movie Review. I actually also watched "State of the Union" (1948), with Kate and Spencer, with the intentions to write my review of that film but I was so disappointed in that movie! I would have to say, my least favorite Kate/Spencer movie to date (and I've seen seven of their nine movies). Too much political talk and simply too talky; and as much as I love the two of them I must say: avoid it like the plague! (Unless you love movies about politics and scripts with rambling speeches that go on for two pages. I had high hopes for that film, too... :( Oh well.)


Also: don't forget, it you have a request for a Sunday Movie Review feel free to leave me a comment and let me know! My only limitations are that it be pre-1970, not R rated (this is, after all, a family friendly blog :P) and nothing so obscure that I can't find it. If I can get it within my means, I'll be happy to review it for you! 

Au revior!

I Love Lucy: 60 Years of Love and Laughter.

On this day, 60 years ago, the very first episode of I Love Lucy aired on CBS.

The episode was "The Girls Want to Go To a Nightclub". The original first episode was supposed to be "Lucy Thinks Ricky is Going to Murder Her", but on the night of the premiere episode there was a glitch with that particular reel and luckily, their second episode was already there to fill in.

Stills from the historic first episode

America in the 1950's was a curious time, and a time of change. They had survived the tough years -  the Depression, the War Years - and now the new decade loomed before them clear and glittering. Filled with the patriotic pride, can-do spirit, and endurance that had followed them throughout the difficulties of the past 20 years, they charged forward with a new, hopeful spirit.

Now that the boys were back home, "The Baby Boom" era had launched and families were growing quicker and faster ever than before. The American suburbs were born: pretty, tidy, yet somewhat identical and stereotypical single family homes with big backyards in a wholesome neighborhood popping up all over the country.

America in the 1950's was commercial. They were willing to reward themselves with perhaps a shiny new dishwasher or refrigerator; the Retro Housewife was getting her share of presents. And the American Woman was a new person. Though she still sent the kids and the husband to school in the morning, cooked and cleaned and gossiped with her girlfriends throughout day, all in having the house spanking clean and the pot roast ready for dinner, she was somehow becoming more independent. The War Years had given women new opportunities, told them to take charge. They got jobs and held down the fort with their husbands away. Now their husbands were back and they fell back into their role as housewives but with a new air of confidence. They wore pants, for example, and demanded the new household appliances that went hand in hand with independence.

The 1950's was very much the hyperbola of the glory years: the decade when "things were better" and that glorified "The American Dream." A gorgeous new car would cost you $1,000 - a house perhaps $9,000, the milkman would drop off the bottles of milk in the back of the house for 92 cents, and a dozen eggs would spare you two dimes and then some. America was happy, rejuvenated, and excited by the prospect of the future. They had survived the rough times and now, they could sit back and thoroughly enjoy life.

This was the world that I Love Lucy walked into. 

Television was something new, but it was hot and Americans were excited about it. Still, in the year 1950 (just a couple years after it came on the market), only one in ten Americans owned a television set. Lucy would premiere the following year, give birth to the sitcom, and change television for good. For by the year 1955, more than half of Americans would own a television set and most of the time, their dials would be turned to CBS, to Lucy.

One of the most classic of all episodes - "Job Switching."

The next morning after Lucy's premiere, the critics excitedly declared the show a runaway hit ("full of good comedy, slick in comedic construction, preformed with a smart feeling!"). The Hollywood Reporter was so enthusiastic that they blurted, "The show should bounce to the top of the rating's heap in no time at all. If it doesn't, the entire structure of  the American entertainment business should be overhauled from top to bottom!"


The Hollywood Reporter needn't worry because Americans were able to take notice of this good thing when they had it. Lucy shot to number three for the first season of the show, but that was only the beginning.

Season Two started out with a bang. Since Lucy and Desi were pregnant, Ricky and Lucy were about to be, too. CBS shook in their boots: scandal, perhaps? The infant of television had never dared show a straight up, openly pregnant woman before on TV. Some moral guardians shook their head and clicked their tongues "no", one woman writing into a newspaper:

What must we tell our eight year old daughter when she fails to see why Lucy's inability to get out of a chair is a joke?

The newspaper, who supported the show, gave it write back to the woman.

Several mothers of young daughters in our neighborhood solved the problem by explaining exactly why Lucy has difficulty getting out of chairs.

Years later, Lucy would say, "We weren't even allowed to say the word 'pregnant', and today not only can you say the word you can show how they got that way!" (That was thirty years ago).

Most, however, were supportive of the nine consecutive episodes surrounding the pregnancy and the sweet moments that were provoked from it. One lady writer wrote, "Lucille Ball lends chic to maternity", while other writers agreed the pregnancy shows were one hundred percent appropriate for the family viewing and that the episodes were done with total taste, not to mention with the approval of a priest, minister, and rabbi (who never brought up an issue, instead wondered what was the problem and thought that showing motherhood on television was a beautiful thing).

When the Ricardos' son, Little Ricky, was born on January 19th, 1953 (that morning Lucille Ball had given birth to the Arnaz baby, Desi, Jr. in perfect timing), more than 70% of TV viewers tuned into watch the episode. Based on the number of people who owned television sets and then the over all percentage that tuned in, this spawned one of the most watched TV moments. The inauguration of President Eisenhower was the next morning and he famously failed to rake in only 68% of the viewers.

If Lucy wasn't a phenomenon before, that was the clincher. The first edition of TV Guide displayed "Lucy's $50,000,000 baby", Desi, Jr. It was announced on radio in Japan that the Ricardos had given birth to a baby boy, and up until then people had even been making bets on what the sex would be. Lucille Ball's hospital room was filled with flowers - so many that they spilled into the hallway and several floors down - and the Arnazes received hundreds and hundreds of cards (only twenty-three of them were negative.)

America adored Lucy.

An interesting article entitled "I Love Lucy Takes Nation by Storm" examined and showed just how strong the popularity of the show was in the country. The article tells us just a few of the habits of religious Lucy watchers. Like, for example -

• In Dallas, Lucy viewing parties were all the rage despite the show broadcast on a Monday night, which was both a school and work night.
• In Pennsylvania, a department store manager who used to keep his store open Monday nights was forced to move it to another night because he and all his help wanted to go home and watch Lucy with their families.
• A telephone company in LA confirmed that telephone calls plummeted to a minimum during the Lucy half hour.
• Parents began sending requests to Lucy and Desi if the 9:00 PM show could be move to earlier in the evening as their children were constantly begging for allowances in bedtime to stay up to watch the show - allowances which, indeed, the parents had to make.
• The writer himself remembered one instance sitting in a dentist office on Monday night when the young lady across from him suddenly dropped her magazine and shot out of her chair, declaring, "I've got to get out of here! I forgot tonight is Lucy!"

One of the greatest conversations on a Tuesday whether it would be between girlfriends, at the office, or at the dinner table was Lucy. And it wasn't "Did you see I Love Lucy?". It was did you see the show. "The show" signified only one show in the world, everyone was watching it, and everyone knew it.

That was the 1950's, that was sixty years ago. The most intriguing thing about the show, however, is it's capability to remain popular today.

How is that so? Maybe that it is the hyperbola of the classic television, the hallmark of the Golden Age of TV; why, for most people if you were told "classic TV", the first thing that would come to mind would be Lucy. Even before I watched the show I had heard of it and in my mind it was just what you thought of when you thought of old TV or black and white TV.

To each avid Lucy viewer and fan, the show means something to him/her. Usually something individual. Oh, there all the underlying factors that just about everyone will agree with: it's hilarious, for one. But there are others that lie beneath the surface. 

Like for me, it cheers me up. If I have ever had a hard day or a long one, all I need to do is watch one episode and it helps me relax and smile again. It is a comfort. I have seen each episode so many times, so much so that I can say the lines in unison with the characters. I know exactly what Lucy's scheming do and when and why Ricky is going to blow. Yet I watch a few episodes nearly every day, and I never get tired of it. Never "oh, that old episode again." Each time I watch it the the lines can still be funny, still fresh and new, but familiar so I feel like it's a friend and a good one.

I have always felt that in my worst moments or my worse times, I can turn to this show and instantly feel better. And I think that is simply one of the things that gives this show it's an enduring popularity. It can never feel outdated (for antagonists of old things) because some things, whether it was sixty years ago or today, can never become old. Two of these big things are "love" and "laughter", and Lucy gives us both.

"Laughter", of course, is the most obvious of these two. One might have to stop for a moment and think about "love". Is it because of the title? The title, given by the show's producer, Jess Oppenheimer, actually has meaning. He wanted the show to be about this ditzy redhead and her bandleader husband. She's always botching up, doing these silly things, he loses his temper but at the end of the day he still loves her. The show is about unconditional love. (A bit of trivia: Lucille Ball agreed to the title because she felt that it gave Desi top billing, as the "I" in I Love Lucy was Desi and he came first. Up until then, they had been trying to do "The Lucille Ball Show" or "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show", which always gave Desi second billing).

The show is warm and loving. And I know it must feel strange to have such a strong attachment to a television show; just black and white characters frolicking on our screens (tiny then, humongous now). But I know I'm not the only one. The show was a labor of love and a gift. To me, laughter is the greatest sound in the world and Lucy is one thing you can be sure of will always have it.

Some follow-ups to what I have written:

♥ My first experience watching 'Lucy'

♥ Examining part one of 'Lucy' 's dream team: the stars

♥ and part two: the backstage brains.

♥ The top ten most classic 'Lucy' moments

♥ A list to help you discover if you're obsessed with 'Lucy' or not

And if you want more, just check my "I Love Lucy" tag.

Of course, I have made a tribute for this particular day and this amazing show. Here it is:

And I'll leave you with a picture... and quote! 

"I'm happy that I have brought laughter because I have been shown by many the value of it in so many lives, in so many ways."

- LUCY

I guess there's nothing left to say, but: Thank you. Thanks, Lucy, for all the love and laughter and the good times you've given to generations of people, for sixty years. ♥