Silver Screen Icons: Lucille Ball

Room Service (1939)

In this adaptation of a play by Allen Boretz and John Murray, Groucho, Harpo, and Chico portray Broadway producers who have a play, some hungry actors, no backers, and a hotel bill that keeps rising. The boys’ attempts to stay one step ahead of everyone will leave you in the aisle. Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Frank Albertson co-star. BW/Rtg: NR

Du Barry Was A Lady (1943)

There's fun and frolicking in this lavish musical comedy starring Red Skelton as a hat check man who gets knocked on the head and wakes up in 17th-century France where he, as King Louis XV, courts Madame DuBarry (Lucille Ball), who looks remarkably like the nightclub star he loves back home. Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Zero Mostel also star; score includes Cole Porter's "Friendship." 101 min. C/Rtg: NR

The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are a laugh riot in this comic lark directed by Vincente Minnelli. It seems like a great idea when newlyweds Tracy (Ball) and Nicky (Arnaz) decide to spend their honeymoon driving around the country. But the enormous, expensive, unwieldy trailer they tow along with them makes for a hilarious road trip where everything that can go wrong, does. Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn also star. 96 min. C/Rtg: NR

Forever Darling (1956)

Unhappy hausfrau Susan Vega (Lucille Ball) sensed that her marriage to inattentive, workaholic industrial chemist Lorenzo (Desi Arnaz) was in trouble...and that was confirmed when her guardian angel (James Mason) came down from heaven to intervene. Will her decision to tag along on his camping trip/field test for his new insecticide wind up stamping out the love bug? Offbeat fantasy comedy also stars Louis Calhern, Natalie Schafer, John Hoyt. 91 min. C/Rtg: NR

Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.