4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Typical Lucy, January 6, 2000
This review is from: The 'I Love Lucy' Collection V. 16 (Lucy Visits Graumans & Lucy and John Wayne) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I have the entire Lucy video collection and love it! I am such a Lucy fan that I nick-named my 2 boisterous granddaughters "Lucy and Ethel" (these 2 girls are forever getting into trouble). Lucy brings on the laughs almost from the very beginning. No one can twirl spaghetti on a fork like her! With John Wayne, she is in rare form. Anyone would be proud to own and share these videos. They definitely don't come close to anyone duplicating her. What a lady!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
She did it again!!!, August 28, 2001
This review is from: The 'I Love Lucy' Collection V. 16 (Lucy Visits Graumans & Lucy and John Wayne) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The wonderful 2 part story of Lucy and John Wayne. These "I Love Lucy" shows are casted in Hollywood, CA. Lucy and Ethel meet John Wayne, and Lucy just has to get his footprints from the Graman's Chinese Theater. They are spotted, and as usual, the whole thing is a big mess of tricks, stunts, and is just plain hilarious. You will love this.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Some of the most classic moments from this landmark series, April 6, 2003
This review is from: The 'I Love Lucy' Collection V. 16 (Lucy Visits Graumans & Lucy and John Wayne) [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This tape contains what for me are two of the very best episodes from the classic "I Love Lucy" television series. Granted that this series contains so many classic episodes that it is hard to pick absolute favourites but the two dealing with the saga of John Wayne's footprints and the wacky Lucy's determination to take them back with her to New York are totally hilarious and have attained true icon status since they were first televised in the mid 1950's.
The first of the two episodes "Lucy Visits Graumans" finds the wacky but lovable redhead along with fellow conspirator in many escapades Ethel, touring the famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre to see the stars inprints in the forecourt. Lucy discovers that John Wayne's block is loose and concocts a wild scheme to clain the, to quote Lucy, "the souveneir of all souveneirs". Lucy works out an hilarious plan to steal the footprints that involves "precision timing, a trowel, a bucket of quick dry cement, and a getaway car", to carry off the perfect heist and indeed what girl according to Lucy wouldn't want John Wayne's block under her bed!! Lucy being Lucy of course everything goes wrong and she finds herself in an absolutely hilarious moment with her foot stuck in the bucket of quick dry cement which hardens while they are hiding from some policemen in the bushs near the theatre. Their efforts to get the block back to the hotel are halted by Ricky (Desi Arnaz) who finds out about what has taken place (in another hilarious moment in the Mertzes hotel room) and orders them to take it back upon which Lucy and Ethel drop it and it breaks into a milion pieces.
Episode two "Lucy and John Wayne", continues the story and is one of the very best episodes from the entire series boasting a rare television appearance by John Wayne playing himself. It chronicles the gang's repeated efforts to replace the smashed footprints before that evenings preview of John Wayne's new picture "Blood Alley". Of course their efforts are constantly upset to the point where John Wayne who knows Ricky from the studio and has kindly agreed to redo his footprints to get Lucy out of trouble, is forced repeatedly to set his footprints and signature in wet cement as Lucy erases the first effort and little Ricky crawls through the next set!!! Lucy has a laugh out loud line when Desi states that he is too embarrassed to ask John Wayne to yet again set his footprints in a fourth try when she says "Well he's in pictures tell him it's a retake!". Another hilarious scene occurs when Lucy and Ethel sneak into the studio to try and get the Duke's imprints without him even knowing about it and Lucy gets trapped in John Wayne's dressing room where she is forced to give him a body massage. That scene alone is worth watching the episode for! All ends happily when the Duke provides Lucy with a years supply of cement blocks complete with his footprints and signature to take back to New York with her.
Rarely has this great ensemble of performers worked better together than in these two episodes. Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley are all superb and the real revelation of these shows is the wonderful performance by John Wayne in part two. Whether he is being spiked in the behind by one of Lucy's hair curlers, pretending to shrink to the ground in agony after shaking the hand of "old bone crusher Mertze" (Fred) or having an unexpectadly rough back massage by his unknown "assistant" he is a joy to watch and indeed worked so well with Lucy that he also guest starred in her next television series "The Lucy Show"' during the 1960's.
This two part story shows what made Lucille Ball such a wonderful performer and one of, if not the greatest comedy performer on television ever. The show is still as fresh and funny today as it was in the 1950's and people will undoubtedly go on loving Lucy for as long as television is in existence. These episodes filmed during the season when the show moved locales to Hollywwod contained some of the best individual stories and most have now attained the status of television classics in their own right. Enjoy a wonderful laugh and hold onto your sides when you watch Lucy visiting Graumans and encountering John Wayne. Guaranteed belly laughs from beginning to end!
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