I Love Lucy, Season Five

I Love Lucy, Season Five.
From: 10-3-1955 - 5-14-1956

Lucy Visits Grauman's: 10-55
Lucy and Ethel are looking over all of their souvenirs, and deciding that the amount they have already collected just isn't enough. So what would be a great souvenir from Hollywood? Would a huge block of cement be enough? Or how about a huge block of cement with John Wayne's footprints? Sounds great right? Wrong! Watch as the gang tries to pretend it never happened.

Lucy And John Wayne: 10-55
After the grand theft at Grauman's, Ricky decides to ask John Wayne himself, what could possibly be done now. And instead of a huge prosecution, Mr. Wayne decides to make another footprint for Grauman's. What can go wrong with Lucy around?

The Passports: 12-55
Lucy is trying to find her birth certificate, and without the certificate, Lucy is unable to purchase a passport for her and Ricky's tour. Lucy goes through so much with Jamestowne, her childhood birthplace, and all along she is looking in the wrong place. Of course, Ethel, Ricky, and Fred get their passports just fine.

Staten Island Ferry: 1-56
Fred is very much seasick, and he is threatening not to leave on a ocean liner. Which Ethel and Lucy try to convince him, has little motion in the ocean. He decides that it is best to try one of the "Seasick pills" and to go on the Staten Island. Lucy goes with him, but gets seasick also. They end up stuck for a lot of trips, and need to get back to the gang to go back to the Passport Office.

Bon Voyage: 1-16-56
The gang are all set to go on the Ocean Liner. But Lucy's mom is staying with Little Ricky at home in New York. Destraught, Lucy misses the boat to give her son one more kiss goodbye. The dock has a plan. To airlift Lucy and bring her down right on the ship. Yeah right! Lucy is scared to let it happen. Will she get reunited with her pals?

Second Honeymoon: 1-23-56
Lucy and Ethel decide to ask their husbands for a second honeymoon. All goes well except that Ricky is stuck on another part of the Ocean Liner that he can't spend time with his wife. But maybe Lucy can talk him into just one night.

Lucy Meets The Queen: 1-30-56
Ricky is going to perform for the Queen of England and has told Lucy and the gang about it. Lucy wants so bad to meet the Queen that Ricky says okay to letting her dance with him onstage. But Lucy decides that she needs to learn how to curtsy more so, that she ends up with a leg cramp that she can't get out of.

Lucy Meets Charles Boyer: 3-5-56
Lucy and Ethel spot the French actor Charles Boyer. But because of his distaste in being talked to out in public, he convinces her that he is NOT Charles Boyer. Ricky figures this out, and is suppose to be working with The French Star. And they end up working together in more ways than one.

Lucy In The Swiss Alps: 3-26-56
Fred accidentally makes Ricky's band end up somewhere else. And Ricky has made reservations for them to get to the right spot. The Swiss Alps. While waiting, Ricky is pacing so much that Lucy tells him that they need to go for a walk outside. In the Alps. And Fred and Ethel tag along also. They end up in a deserted mountain cabin, and while in the cabin, they get a great big avalanche around them and the cabin. They are stuck for some time. But I have a feeling everything will work out.

Lucy Gets Homesick In Italy: 4-9-56
It is Little Ricky's birthday, and Lucy is in Italy. Saddened by this, Lucy tries to reach him through telephone. But the plans to talk over the phone keep getting delayed. There is a boy that comes in and out of the hotel Lucy and the gang are staying at, and it happens to be "a his a birthday too." The gang give the boy and all of his friends a birthday party for Little Ricky.

Lucy's Italian Movie: 4-16-56
The Italian director wants to use Lucy in his film that he is about to work on. The movie is called Bitter Grapes. To prepare for the part, Lucy decides to go to a Vineyard outside of Rome. She is fast put to work, and is stomping grapes with an angry grape stomping partner! They get into a heated fight, with no words, just a lot of grapes being thrown.

Navy Blue And Gold

Navy Blue And Gold
Released Date: November 19, 1937
Director: Sam Wood
Actors: Robert Young, James Stewart, Florence Rice, Billie Burke, Lionel Barrymore, Tom Brown, Samuel S. Hinds, and Paul Kelly

     In this movie we follow John Cross (James Stewart) as he joins the Naval Academy, but he happens to join under a false name. He does this so that he can help out his father who was also in the Navy, but because he had a hard time in the Navy during a war, he was looked at as a horrible Navy officer. John Cross stands up during the Navy's version of the story of his father, and gives them the real story. Once they find out that John Cross is not who he says he is, the Academy needs to decide whether to expel him or let him stay and clear his father's name. John's best friends, Roger 'Rog' Ash (Robert Young), and Richard Aronold 'Dick' Gates Jr. (Tom Brown) are scared for their friend. They all played football together, but during the investigation, John has to stay behind during their biggest game of the year. Will John Cross get to stay? Or will he be expelled from the school his father also attended?

I Love Lucy Season 3

I Love Lucy Season 3
From October 5 1953 to May 24 1954

Ricky's 'Life' Story (10-5-53):
Lucy gets a copy of Life magazine, which has her husband Ricky as the front cover and main article. When Lucy notices that her picture is not in the article, she gets mad. So Ricky then decides to let her dance at the club, and makes sure that she is over worked so that she wants to quit from being exhausted. Lucy finds out, and you would not believe, or maybe you would, the end result.

The Girls Go Into Business (10-12-53):
Pals, Lucy and Ethel decide to make some money, so they figure on going into business together by buying a Dress Shop together. They end up not doing so hot. Freaking out they decide to sell, and a buyer comes in and offers them $500 more then they paid for the shop. They then find out that the person that bought the store sold for $50,000 and made a better deal. I bet they wish they had waited, huh?

Lucy And Ethel Buy The Same Dress (10-19-53):
The gals are to do a TV appearance together. They want to sing the song "Friendship." But when they end up buying the same dress, their husbands, Fred and Ricky, tell them both to return the dresses. When they appear together, without showing each other the end result, they end up again, with the same exact dress as before. While singing, the mad duo strip off a lot of the dress, leaving them with separate dresses.

Redecorating The Mertzes' Apartment (11-23-53):
Ethel is about to host the next women's club meeting, and is upset about how her apartment looks. She ends up fighting a lot with Fred, and Lucy, being upset by her friends arguing, decides to take matters into her own hands. She decides that her and Ricky are going to pay to paint and reupholster the place. But when Fred turns on a fan to take away the paint fumes, the whole place is covered with feathers. Why? Because the gang takes out the feathers from a chair. The apartment ends up a feathery mess, and a shaky friendship.

Too Many Crooks (11-30-53):
There is a thief running around the neighborhood. They call this thief  'Madame X.'  Mrs. Trumbull sees Lucy walking out of the Mertzes' apartment with one of Fred's suits. So she believes Lucy is the thief, and gets Ethel to believe the same theory. But Lucy sees Ethel outside of her apartment window with Fred's hat and coat and believes it is Ethel pulling the neighborhood jobs. They are on to each other until one of them catches the real deal.

Home Movies (3-1-54):
Both Fred and Ethel are getting tired of Ricky showing home videos of Little Ricky. Although they love their godson, they are tired of the videos, and just want a night of cards. They go over to the Ricardo's and Ricky starts one of the videos, and at the end of the video, Ricky finds Lucy is asleep and the Mertzes' have left the apartment. Angry, Ricky decides not to use them in his own personal home movie to show to a producer. So Lucy then decides to make her own home movie with Fred and Ethel, and then splices their Western/Musical/Drama into Ricky's own video. How do you think that turns out?

The Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis 
Released Date: April 20, 1957
Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith, Bartlett Robinson, Marc Connelly, Arthur Space, Richard Deacon, and Charles Watts

     James Stewart (47 years old) was cast as the young Charles Lindbergh (25 years old). It was said that James Stewart had pretty much begged to play Lindbergh, for Stewart was a huge fan of his. Although, it was said that Stewart was very difficult to work with during filming, which was unusual because almost everyone working with him loved it, but coworkers thought it might have been that he realized he was not right for the part. Lindbergh actually wanted Anthony Perkins to play him. I will have to say on record that James Stewart did a great job!

     Charles 'Slim' Lindbergh (James Stewart) wanted to be the first pilot to go from New York to Paris in a solo transatlantic flight. He needs first, to find sponsors, and then he needs to find the plane that will take him from point A to point B. Lindbergh finds his sponsors, and his sponsors find a plane owner that will sell him a good enough plane to take him across the Atlantic. However, the seller (Richard Deacon) wants to pick the pilot, which of course he wants someone other than Lindbergh. He then takes a train back home to St. Louis to give his sponsors their money back, but they have for him, a train ticket to New York. They also tell him that they do not want any other pilot. So he gets on the train for New York, and he is to see a man that can build a plane from scratch. The catch is that Lindbergh needs this plane to be built in 90 days or less. They are able to do this. The plane is plain, for it has no bathroom, no excess weight of any kind. Lindbergh even settles for not having a parachute along, which would have been a safe thing to have with him. He even has flash backs during his trip, of a time when one came in handy during a trip in his beginning plane rides. Will he make it across the Atlantic Ocean? Or will he and his Spirit of St. Louis plummet into the Ocean? The only way to find out is by watching this amazing movie. It is one that I have to say, kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I know you probably get tired of me saying a lot of the same things over, but I love James Stewart, and this movie, along with a great many others, is why I do. Charles Lindbergh is amazing, and is a great pilot. 

The Stratton Story

The Stratton Story
Released Year: 1949
Director: Sam Wood
Actors: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Williams, Bruce Cowling, Cliff Clark, Mary Lawrence, and Dean White

     James Stewart was in a lot of movies and he played all sorts of characters. He was a war hero, and a truly amazing man. Everyone that worked with him loved him. And he always had a great way of looking at things. He is my absolute favorite actor and it is easy to see why. It is also very easy to imitate him, as his voice is very distinctive. This movie was the first of three movies in which June Allyson and James Stewart played a married couple. At first, the producers of the film wanted Donna Reed, who had played his wife in "It's A Wonderful Life." But because It's A Wonderful Life did such a poor job at the box offices, they decided against it. You will also notice that Agnes Moorehead plays James Stewart's mother, she in reality, is only eight years older than him.

     Based on a true story, Monty Stratton (James Stewart) became a pitcher for the White Sox. He started out as a farm boy living with his mother, Ma Stratton (Agnes Moorehead), while playing baseball with a bunch of friends on the side. But when Barney Wile (Frank Morgan) comes to town and sees Monty at his game, he decides to coach the boy for the rest of summer, through fall, winter, spring and then head to Chicago to try out for the White Sox. While in Chicago, Monty meets Ethel (June Allyson) and falls in love. The two get married and head for a lifetime of love and baseball. One day while out hunting for meat, Monty accidentally shoots himself in the leg. The leg is to be amputated, which also means the end of a career. Or is it? Monty decides to go with his wife, mother and friend Barney to Chicago to surprise all three of them as he tries to play again, in a all-star game. Can a man with one real, and one artificial leg play professional baseball? 

The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps

Released Date: August 1, 1935

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Actors: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, and Helen Haye

     Alfred Hitchcock loved to play jokes on his cast and crew members. It was something he always loved to do, he was a fun director to work with and was not very strict. Whenever someone got upset or frustrated, he would usually say "it's just a movie" or "pretend" when something was too tough. Anyway, one joke he played was with the actors Robert Donat, and Madeleine Carroll. There is a scene where the two actors are handcuffed together. Alfred Hitchcock handcuffed them and then he pretended to have lost the key. He played this off for several hours. This movie is very well done, and since it came out which was in 1935, it has been dubbed as a top English film. This is still a top movie and I would recommend it to anyone. 

     We start the film off at the music hall in London, England. Mr. Memory (Wylie Watson) is performing, when all of a sudden there is a gun shot. Mayhem breaks loose and we then meet Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim) as she asks Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) if she can go home with him to his flat. He is from Canada and is new in town but he says okay. We then discover that she is very skittish and does not even want to be near an open window, as she is afraid to be seen. The reason? She shot the gun to cause confusion to assassins that are chasing her. She is a secret agent spy and is looking for a man that plans on stealing vital British Military Secrets, that he plans on revealing. After getting stabbed, Annabella tells Richard to go to Scotland and to find a large house in a small village. Also, the man he is going to look for has his top joint to his little finger missing. He flees and is of course being chased by police since a maid found Annabella dead in his flat, therefore he is the murderer. Will he get caught? If he does, does that mean the information will get spilled? Find out by buying this movie. Yes, I say buy because you will want this movie in your film collection. 

     (Actually, I would recommend any black and white movie... I would recommend any James Stewart film.... I would recommend any Alfred Hitchcock movie :)) 

The FBI Story

The FBI Story
Released Date: 1959
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Actors: James Stewart, Vera Miles, J. Edgar Hoover, Murray Hamilton, Larry Pennell, Nick Adams, Diane Jergens, Jean Willes, and Joyce Taylor

     J. Edgar Hoover did a cameo appearance and personally chose James Stewart to play the part of Chip Hardesty. The movie is about the FBI and their changes that they made. Did you know that the FBI use to be run down and not a very exciting place to work? Well with the help of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI became a well respected organization. And one that was very exciting field to work for.  Also, another piece of cool information, there was always two FBI agents on the set at all times. My grandma and her sister worked for the FBI, they were told not to reveal any kind of information. And was also told not to even tell people that they worked for them, they were told just to say that they worked for the government. My grandma's sister is in this movie too. I wrote before that I had watched this and did not see her, but then I re-watched and saw her. That is pretty wild, huh?

     This movie follows a man, Chip Hardesty (James Stewart) as he goes through the changes of the FBI. His wife, Lucy (Vera Miles) even asked him in the beginning of his career, to leave. She asked him of this because it did not seem that all of his intelligence and schooling were being shown through his work. But when Chip went in to resign in Washington DC, he ended up sitting through a speech made done by J. Edgar Hoover. The speech made the FBI sound promising and it seemed to Chip that he needed to stay. When Chip goes to meet his wife for dinner, after having supposedly quit, she tells him she is pregnant and he tells her he never resigned but she ended up saying that he should go ahead and stay. Which was a great idea because the FBI did change, and for the better. We watch Chip Hardesty go through investigating gangsters, the KKK, Nazi agents, and war spies. We even watch him tackle down Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger and Ma Barker. Then the war came, WWII, and his son enters in the war. Chip and his wife had three children, a son and two daughters. You will also get to see a very interesting case about a man named Jack Graham. He had killed his mother and 44 people by planting a bomb in her suitcase that went on plane. He did that so he could collect her life insurance. Little did he know, but the FBI can track down anyone. It was very cool and interesting how they figured it out. Just by finding particles.

     This movie is one of my favorite James Stewart films. And is very exciting and on the edge of your seat intertainning. One film that I would recommend to any one. I have always loved James Stewart, and I actually saw this movie for the first time today. I was pleased by the end of it, and was happy that I purchased such a masterpiece. Rent/buy or loan, this is a treasure.