MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Strange Direction Choices

Strange Direction Choices

posted 2 years ago by Garyandfilm (548)
2 replies | jump to latest

Every now and again one see odd choices in direction for TV shows and movies, including ILL.

The other night, I watched "Home Movies", a cute offering from season three. In the opening scene, as Fred and Ethel are preparing to visit the Ricardos, Ethel turns out the living room lamp and puts on a sweater!! They're just walking across the wall in an enclosed building. Why would she put on a sweater??? In other eps, she's only wearing a sweater or coat if the foursome are heading out to dinner or something.

In this same episode, Lucy suddenly knows how to splice film???? Yes, the editing is rushed and bad, but how would Lucy even know how to cut film? And how could she buy all the editing equipment/cameras/mics without Ricky's knowledge? The above flaws are the writer's script holes, but it's still hard to swallow.

Any other examples?

[–] Costumer (1829) 2 years ago

A couple of thoughts.

Remember, the 50s were a bit more formal than we are today. Men often wore suits, with ties, even while relaxing at home. They wore hats when they went out. Ladies wore dresses and stylish jackets. Likely Ethel put on the sweater simply because she was leaving the apartment.

Formality wasn't universal, of course. We were moving to the 60s and 70s and things were easing up a bit from the front half of the century. But people were still more formal and likely to dress up in situations where we might wear jeans and t-shirts.

At that time knowing how to splice film wasn't that odd a thing. My dad could do it. Remember, we didn't have videotape and dvds. Home movies were shot on film. Lucy (as in Ricardo here) was also obsessed with show business. She likely read everything she could find on the subject; not just the gossip mags.

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[–] [email protected] (6082) 2 years ago

Yes, Lucy had many hidden talents! I wondered where she got the cash to rent all that scenery and where did she stash all the living room furniture? In the kitchen again?

In "Charm School", it looked as if Lucy had given herself a professional makeover. She probably could've learned to do that make-up but her elaborate hair style looked as if it was done by a professional.