‘The Long, Long Trailer’ Blu-Ray Review – A Heartwarmingly Zany Comedy From Lucy & Desi

Nicholas Collini (Desi Arnaz) has to travel for his job as an engineer — so his fiancée, Tacy (Lucille Ball), suggests that rather than buy a house after their wedding, they invest in a motor home so they can see the country together. But the aggravations of life with nosy trailer park neighbors and the dangers of piloting an enormous trailer across narrow country roads soon take their toll on the happy couple, putting their young marriage in turmoil.

For thoughts on The Long, Long Trailer, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic: 

[youtube https://youtu.be/6XO5FyU1Fr0?t=2470]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents The Long, Long Trailer with a beautiful new 1080p master transfer presented for the first time on home video in its original 1.75 theatrical aspect ratio sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Anscocolor Camera Negative. The aspect ratio is enough of an improvement to make this an automatic recommendation, but that fact is further cemented when you know that the previous existing master was derived from a fourth generation interpositive. The jump in quality is unquestionable. 

Warner Archive once again proves that they are one of the best in the business as they bring life back into these classics. The film features some vibrant colors within the costumes and 50s production design that pop off the screen with a great immediacy. The absolute detail and clarity of the transfer is stunning with a sterling amount of natural film grain intact. The film is virtually pristine with no noticeable instances of damage or dirt detected here. The black levels are perfectly deep with a pleasing stability throughout. Compression artifacts, banding and other such issues are never an issue in this transfer. This presentation is as perfect as you could ask from a modern restoration. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is also quite excellent. While you may be used to more frequent singing throughout I Love Lucy, there are only a couple of tunes that radiate during the course of the journey. Nevertheless, this track delivers them with perfect fidelity. Dialogue and background noises are represented faithfully along with the merry score from Adolph Deutsch. 

The restoration has eliminated nearly all age related wear and tear to the track such as hissing and popping. The dialogue always comes through crisp and clear without being challenged by other elements. While mostly dialogue and music driven throughout, the more kinetic moments, such as when trailer mishaps are afoot, are handled with ease and give the track a bit of life. Warner Archive has provided a disc that sounds wonderful in all respects. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

• Ain’t It Aggravatin’?: A nearly nine-minute Pete Smith Specialty short is provided which showcases the frustrations of life such as the difficulties of parking, constructing a patio and more that provides an amusing time. 

• Dixieland Droopy: An eight-minute Droopy Dog animated short from Tex Avery is provided here which actually details the origins of a particularly jazz-crazy pup. This is presented in beautiful HD. 

• Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here. 

Final Thoughts

The Long, Long Trailer is a lighthearted feature that makes really great use of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. While nowhere near vulgar, the cinematic setting allows the couple to push into areas a bit too confining or daring for network television of the era. The character work is developed steadily in a way that makes you sympathize and character for these individuals and their ambitious plans. There are some really terrific examples of physical comedy done in a masterful way that both impresses and has you laughing out loud. This is simply a delight. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray that features a 5-star A/V presentation that really brings a whole new life to this story. Fans of the comedy couple should consider this an essential addition to their collection. Recommended 

The Long, Long Trailer can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store, MovieZyng or various other online retailers. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.