Forever, Darling (1956)

Just perfect...

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

I think even die-hard Lucy fans, if pressed, would have to admit that there was something missing here in both the story line and the comedy elements. The Lucy/Ricky charisma of the TV show just wasn't there, and in retrospect, it's a bit sad to realize that the trouble in the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz marriage was being recreated in the dialog between their characters in this film. You wouldn't have known it at the time of course because these things were kept hush-hush for the sake of the TV show; I didn't know it back then because I was just a kid watching and enjoying "I Love Lucy". Oh well, one grows up to have those illusions shattered.At least they look good together on screen, especially in the Technicolor format, even if they're fighting with each other most of the time. James Mason steps in as the ostensible guardian angel to try and help things along in the troubled marriage, but even he's absent once things get rolling during the camping trip. The 'Shadows of Africa' movie interlude had me going for a while, thinking it was a real movie credit for Mason until Ms. Ball showed up as the replacement Jungle Lady for the uncredited Marilyn Maxwell. That was probably the cleverest device the picture offered.Back to that camping trip, I couldn't help thinking that the film makers borrowed a page from the Western genre when Ricky, er, Lorenzo Vega serenaded Susan (that would be Lucy) by the campfire with the title song. That was the highlight of the picture for my money, better than the tent gimmick or Susan's sleeping bag hip-hop that might have been better served with a laugh track, but otherwise just ho-hum within the story itself. For TV and movie fans, the other nice diversions were the characters of Nancy Kulp as the Vega's easily irritated housemaid, and Natalie Schafer in a decade prior warm-up for the role of wealthy Mrs. Thurston Howell on 'Gilligan's Island'. All said and done though, you're better entertained watching any single episode of "I Love Lucy".

Although "The Long, Long Trailer" is an average film, it seems like a classic next to this anemic followup by Lucy and Desi, their second feature film during the run of "I Love Lucy." Lucy has a guardian angel who only she can see and she claims he looks like James Mason, which seems reasonable as he is played by James Mason. Lucy and Desi try to make the most of it, but the magic of the TV show is missing, thanks to a lame script about insecticides. Mason looks bemused, probably wondering what the heck he's doing in this movie. The cast features Schafer ("Gilligan's Island") as a meddling cousin and Kulp ("Beverly Hillbillies") as an impertinent maid.

If there is one thing I dread more than sitting through a collection of modern bad flicks, it is those that are both old and bad. Unfortunately, many of the classics that were filmed in Hollywood's Golden Age and beyond are now mainly left forgotten, only to be pulled by those who are studying the history of film and television.You may ask why I am reviewing such an old and mediocre film. Believe it or not, something off of Lucy prompted me to sit down and review this nostalgic, but mostly bad film. There is no doubt that I Love Lucy remains a classic show, and though I am not a fan of it or Lucy by any means, you can't deny the impact and status it has had throughout the years. This is the last of the three Lucy/Desi films and it unfortunately, is the weakest of the bunch.If Lucy and Desi had to struggle for years on B-quality films to finally get their money's worth, Forever Darling certainly doesn't help. There are few to no laughs shown here, not even a hilarious gag or skit. The productions used are sub-standard, and just like most of Lucille Ball's other films, the sets look cheap. It was basically a comedy misfire, and there is nothing special to praise about in Forever Darling. I considered The Long, Long Trailer to be a funny but mostly average film about two of the biggest television stars of the 1950s. Nothing to get excited or look forward to. But Forever Darling takes the prize as being one of the worse films of the 1950s and early 1960s, when B-movies such as this title were being packaged and manufactured on a assembly line.The only profit this movie got was the fans who were eager to see Lucy and Desi star in their last film together, before their marriage began to fall apart and would eventually get divorced from each other. Only fans of Lucy and Desi should see this movie, for which I am a fan of neither. It is a stretched out "I Love Lucy" sketch that failed to impress the audience. Do yourself a favor and either watch "I Love Lucy" as seen by the eyes of millions, or see the mostly average but funnier Long, Long Trailer. Forever, Darling is not the worst movie, but it certainly isn't worth mentioning if your looking for witty comedy and good chemistry.Three out of Ten.

After the classic "Long Long Trailor"(1954) raked in millions at international box-offices, MGM allowed Desi Arnaz to produce a follow-up that was based on an old script that Metro was going to star Lucy in with William Powell back in 1945. Well this story about a married couple- a scientist and his domestic wife who seeks advice from an Angel played by the superb James Mason- does not work that well. Lucy is excellent and she gives it her all but the plot line is too fanciful. Some sections are quite amusing but overall it is not a success. Also Lucy looked so beautiful in their previous film but atrocious set design and flat color cinematography do nothing for Lucy's looks or the visual aspect of the film..It makes it look like its a lower budgeted effort. Desi did produce it on the cheap at their Desilu studios and it does look it. At least if the film had the gorgeous cinematography of "Trailor" it would not be such a let down. Nonetheless it has its entertaining moments and Lucy and Desi fans should eat it up.