Lucy in London

Lucy is as energetic as ever but the material here is terribly thin and exacerbated by late 60's tricksy photography; all jump cuts and stop motion nonsense......directed by Richard Lester it ain't. It is a lame excuse to build a 50 minute show around the talents(?!) of Anthony Newley. Newley had a questionable charm which, when stretched to the running time of this TV special, wears extremely thin and swiftly irritating. James Robertson Justice and Wilfrid Hyde White are both grossly underused and I searched for the wonderful Robert Morley in vein. If you're a fan of Lucy, look elsewhere as you shall feel starved of her wonderfulness after watching this disappointing missed opportunity to highlight one of the most ebullient and exciting comediennes ever!

Lucille Ball flew to London (on a much missed Pan American, a great Airline) to star in "Lucy In London". Pan American was the original worldwide airline with non stop flights from Los Angeles and New York to London, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Rio, Buenos Aires, among many many other cities. Pan Am also had a thriving domestic network LA-NYC, LA-Honalulu, Chicago-NY, Miami-NY etc

Lucy carefully emphasized a conservative appearance on her smash hit Desilu comedy series The Lucy Show and its successor Here's Lucy.

I always felt there were 3 Lucy's". Lucy Ricardo a madcap comedienne, which was an act; Lucy admitted she herself was not funny; Lucille Ball, Star and Lucille Ball Morton a brilliant business woman. The 'Business' Lucy bet her fortune on Mission Impossible and Star Trek. Both of these shows were expensive to shoot, and lost money in their initial broadcast but made millions in syndication. , but Lucy persevered and had a 3rd hit TV Show Mannix.

Lucy In London shows Lucille Ball with a great sexy figure and shows a different side of the fabled Lucy.

This was a Desilu Production. The only Desilu production filmed overseas. Lucy had am exec Peter Cary who ran Desilu International selling series such The Untouchables, GreatestShow On Earth, and Mission Impossible and Star Trek and Mannix.

Lucy wanted Desilu to be a "comedy factory" and had pilots such as " Hey Teacher". Ethel Merman's "Maggie Brown" and a TV version of the famous "Frank Merriwell" books and a Wally Cox comedy "Alfred Of The Amazon" but alas they did not sell etc etc. . Desili packaged all of these failed pilots into a summer replacement series called "Vacation Playhouse where Desilu could amortize the costs of these failed pilots.

Two pilots "Police Story" starring Steve Ihnat and "The Long Hunt Of April Savage, a Western did not sell either. The Long Hunt Of April Savage is a curious story: It was placed on the ABC schedule bu from what I can develop its creator Sam Rolfe refused to proceed with the series and ABC dropped it, incurring the wrath of Lucille Ball and Executive Vice President Herb Solow.

Paramount has the beautiful "Lucy. Bark" on the site of the Desilu Gower property. A great tribute to a Great Star.

Lucille Ball went to London to film a CBS Special as they were referred to in those days. It was a big deal to be filmed in color and shows the Star looking very beautiful. Lucy's zany antics on TV one sometimes forgets that La Ball was a old fashioned movie star and looked terrific and wore great fashions when not being Lucy Ricardo/Lucy Carter/Lucy Carmichael. Miss Ball was a stunning woman and this show Lucy in London shows La Ball in a very sexy outfits an dance routines.

This was the only show Desilu filmed overseas. However a man named Peter Cary based in London was in charge of Desilu International sold the Desilu portfolio of shows such as The Untouchables and Greatest Show On Earth to TV stations in Europe.

Lucy returned to Hollywood continuing her duties as CEO of Desilu with Mission Impossible Star Trek and Mannix on network TV and the film Yours Mine and Ours a smash hit in mpvie theatres.

Lucille Ball had quite a year in 1966. The debut of two Desilu shows now iconic Mission Impossible and Star Trek from her Desilu Studio and went to London to cash in on the "mod" scene by a hilarious Lucy In London. This was a special on CBS apart from her weekly Lucy Show and the first and only Desilu production filmed Internationally. Lucille Ball ever the professional does an fine job and in fact steals the show as always with her comedic talent. This special showcases Ms. Ball in other ways too! Lucille Ball had a great showgirl figure for a woman in her late 50's, Lucy looked awesome in this TV Special. I wish somehow Lucille Ball let that other sexy Showgirl image show more and more and forget the Lucy character. There was to be another Lucy special called Lucy of Arabia but that was postponed and then canceled when Ms. Ball left Desilu.

Soon after this special Desilu placed yet another hit dramatic show on the CBS network Mannix and then Lucille Ball filmed her long delayed pet project 'Yours Mine and Ours' moving Desilu into the film business. Yours Mine and Ours was s smash hit with Ms. Ball superb. Ms. Ball then sold her shares of Desilu for $11 Million and the studio merged into next door film studio Paramount.

Quite a Lady.

Well, first a disclaimer. I'm a huge fan of Anthony Newley and Peter Wyngarde. And also all things Swinging Sixties London. I'm not really a fan of Lucille Ball, but I certainly grew up with her on TV and enjoyed her quirky comedy.

I think this special is marvelously done and all the camera trickery fits in perfectly with the Sixties zeitgeist. There is humour, wonderful music and of course London. It's an excellent vehicle for the lofty talents of Newley (the consummate showman) and Wyngarde (masterfully reciting Shakespeare), as well as Lucy herself. Added to the mix are other British greats James Robertson Justice and Wilfred Hyde-White. If you don't blink, you'll also even catch Sixties fashion icon, Twiggy. I must've missed Robert Morley's moment, another favourite! Thankfully, this special is currently available on YouTube (and not just another lost gem), which I've now downloaded, so there's always the opportunity for repeat viewings.

I think Lucy In London is a commendable product of its time and offers viewers a well-rounded and entertaining hour of harmless fun mixed with some very talented performers, not to mention that groovy slice of nostalgia. A biased 10/10.