I Love Lucy: Season 4
Paramount Pictures (1954)
Comedy
USA / English / Black/White / 787 min
8.9 
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| Cast | View More ↓ |
| Lucille Ball | Lucy Ricardo / Herself |
|---|---|
| Lucille Ball | Lucy Ricardo |
| Vivian Vance | Ethel Mertz |
| Desi Arnaz | Ricky Ricardo / Himself |
| William Frawley | Fred Mertz / Himself |
| Crew | View More ↓ |
| Director | William Asher, Ralph Levy |
|---|---|
| Writer | Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Davis |
| Producer | Jess Oppenheimer |
Plot
I Love Lucy (1951 - 1960) is an American sitcom that centers on an unforgettable showbiz-wannabe redhead, her Cuban bandleader husband, and their landlords, who also happen to be their best friends and co-conspirators.
Technically, I Love Lucy ended May 6, 1957 with the sixth-season episode "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue." This set, however, collects the 13 episodes of what can be considered the successor to I Love Lucy, known as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. First airing on November 6, 1957, the show was more an offering of hour-long specials rather than a regular series -- it was often months between shows. Picking up where I Love Lucy left off, Lucy (Lucille Ball), husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz), and best friends Ethel (Vivian Vance), and Fred (William Frawley) continue their popular comedy formula honed during the original series.
Technically, I Love Lucy ended May 6, 1957 with the sixth-season episode "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue." This set, however, collects the 13 episodes of what can be considered the successor to I Love Lucy, known as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. First airing on November 6, 1957, the show was more an offering of hour-long specials rather than a regular series -- it was often months between shows. Picking up where I Love Lucy left off, Lucy (Lucille Ball), husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz), and best friends Ethel (Vivian Vance), and Fred (William Frawley) continue their popular comedy formula honed during the original series.
Episodes
1
The Business Manager
30 min 1954-10-04
Ricky hires a business manager, and Lucy finds him tighter with money than Ricky.
Guest starring: Charles Lane
2
Mertz and Kurtz
30 min 1954-10-11
Fred's globetrotting old vaudeville partner, Barney Kurtz, shows up, so Fred says he's a real-estate tycoon (with a red-headed maid to prove it). Actually, Barney's a cook in the Bronx, but his grandson is coming for a visit, so it's on with the show.
Guest starring: Stephen Wootton, Charles Winninger
3
Lucy Cries Wolf
30 min 1954-10-18
Lucy cries wolf once too often when she decides to see whether Ricky would come to her aid in an emergency. He assures her that he'd rush home from the club ""between the 'baba' and the 'lu' "" if she were in danger, but that's not enough reassurance for her, and soon she's in a precarious position.
Guest starring: Beppy de Vries, Fred Aldrich, Louis A. Nicoletti
4
The Matchmaker
30 min 1954-10-25
Lucy wants to nudge a shy couple to the altar. Lucy's idea: show them how wonderful her and Ricky's marriage is. Her plan: invite them to a quiet at-home dinner. A quiet dinner at the Ricardos'? Who ever heard of such a thing?
Guest starring: Milton Frome, Sarah Selby
5
Mr. and Mrs. TV Show
30 min 1955-04-11
Ricky is initially reluctant to host a new TV show when he learns that the sponsor prefers a husband-and-wife format. Nonetheless, he agrees to do the show. But when Lucy learns that he hadn't wanted her in the show at all, she decides to get even by sabotaging the ""Breakfast with Lucy and Ricky"" dress rehearsal. What Lucy doesn't know is that the so-called rehearsal is actually being broadcast to the entire city of New York in an effort to achieve an unrehearsed, spontaneous look.
Guest starring: John Litel, Lee Millar
6
Ricky's Movie Offer
30 min 1954-11-08
A Hollywood talent scout is coming over to the apartment to audition Ricky for a movie role. But Ricky won't be the only one looking to attract the scout's attention. (Who's that gal in the Marilyn Monroe getup?).
Guest starring: Frank Nelson, James Dobson
7
Ricky's Screen Test
30 min 1954-11-15
The term ""helpmate"" takes on a new meaning when Lucy appears on a Hollywood movie lot. The cameras roll for Ricky's screen test -- but when the big moment arrives, Lucy takes the cue.
Guest starring: Clinton Sundberg, Ray Kellogg, Louis A. Nicoletti, Alan Ray
8
Lucy's Mother-in-Law
30 min 1954-11-22
Ricky's mother comes to visit, and poor Lucy can't speak Spanish. So she finds a Spanish-speaking mindreader and it works like a charm — as long as he's around.
Guest starring: Fortunio Bonanova, Mary Emery, Virginia Barbour, Pilar Arcos, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr, Bennett Green
9
Ethel's Birthday
30 min 1954-11-29
Despite Ricky's qualms, Lucy decides to help Fred pick out a birthday present for Ethel. The present turns out to be toreador pants, which Ethel decides are not only unflattering but ""unfitting."" Relations between the two women become strained almost to the shattering point.
Guest starring: Richard D. Kean, Mary Lansing
10
Ricky's Contract
30 min 1954-12-06
As Ricky paces the floor awaiting word from Hollywood about his screen test, Lucy enlists the Mertzes to distract him. The drastic steps taken by the trio to alleviate Ricky's tension boomerang into a king-sized headache for them all. 11
Getting Ready
30 min 1954-12-13
California, here they come: Lucy and movie-star-to-be Ricky, plus Fred and Ethel, who are tagging along. Their mode of transport: a used Cadillac that Fred bought. And used it is — it's 25 years old and California's a long way away. 12
Lucy Learns to Drive
30 min 1955-01-03
Lucy learns to drive — then teaches Ethel everything she knows. The crash course begins as Ricky buys a brand new convertible for their California trip. Lucy wants to learn to drive it and Ricky reluctantly agrees to teach her. And with that experience under her belt (she can't really be blamed for that U-turn in the Holland Tunnel, can she?), she sets out to teach Ethel to drive. It's a good thing the car's insured. It is insured, isn't it? 13
California, Here We Come!
30 min 1955-01-10
The Ricardos and Mertzes head for California. But first, of coures, there are complications. The chief one: Lucy's mother, who shows up and wants to accompany them. Ricky objects (to put it mildly), and when Fred and Ethel overhear him complaining about too many people on the trip, they take it personally. And when the dust from that blowup finally settles, there's packing to do. 14
First Stop
30 min 1955-01-17
The Ricardos and Mertzes have a hard time finding accommodations that will please everyone on their trip to California. They finally hit a greasy restaurant where stale cheese sandwiches cost them a dollar apiece. Hoping to find something better elsewhere, Ricky pays the check. The couples leave -- only to return several hours later, fooled by some purposely misleading road signs.
Guest starring: Olin Howlin
15
Tennessee Bound
30 min 1955-01-24
The Ricardo-Mertz westward trek faces a delay — they're all thrown in jail for speeding — in Bent Fork, Tenn., home of Lucy's ""cousin"" Ernest, who'll do all he can to get them out of the pokey, even if it means marrying one of the sheriff's two daughters, Teensy and Weensy.
Guest starring: Marilyn Borden, Rosalyn Borden, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Aaron Spelling, Will Wright
16
Ethel's Home Town
30 min 1955-01-31
The Ricardos and the Mertzes stop at Ethel's hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico (Vivian Vance's real-life hometown). Under the impression that Ethel has been called to Hollywood and not Ricky, the townsfolk accord her a monumental ovation. When Ethel refuses to disillusion them -- and even goes so far as to put on a ""celebrity act"" -- Lucy takes matters into her own hands.
Guest starring: Irving Bacon, Chick Chandler
17
L.A. at Last
30 min 1955-02-07
Lucy arrives in Hollywood with stars in her eyes. She heads for The Brown Derby, a celebrity hangout, where she encounters Eve Arden and William Holden -- and inadvertently presents Holden with a custard pie in the face. Hollywood legends William Holden and Eve Arden guest-star as themselves.
Guest starring: Bob Jellison, Harry Bartell, William Holden, Eve Arden, Dayton Lummis, Dani Sue Nolan, Alan Ray
18
Don Juan and the Starlets
30 min 1955-02-14
Lucy is forced to lend Ricky to five dazzling starlets for a proposed evening of publicity pictures. She tries to wait up for him but falls asleep on the sofa and doesn't awake until late the next morning. When she finds Ricky's bed unused, she jumps to the conclusion that he spent the night out with the starlets and decides she wants a divorce.
Guest starring: Ross Elliott, Dolores Donlon, Beverly E. Thompson, Shirlee Tigge, Maggie Magennis, Iva Shepard
19
Lucy Gets in Pictures
30 min 1955-02-21
Lucy finally gets her shot at Hollywood stardom — as a chorus girl photographed in a lavish musical. But she had better not get a swelled head, because the headdress she has to wear is too big as it is.
Guest starring: Lou Krugman, Onna Conners, Louis A. Nicoletti
20
The Fashion Show
30 min 1955-02-28
Lucy's a model at a charity fashion show, but the redhead — wearing a scratchy tweed suit — is red all over from too much time in the California sun.
Guest starring: Mona Carlson, Frances Neal Heflin, Marylin Johnson Tucker, Jeanne Biegger Martin, Brenda Marshall Holden, Sheila MacRae, Don Loper, Amzie Strickland
21
The Hedda Hopper Story
30 min 1955-03-14
Lucy takes a dive in an effort to further Ricky's career by creating a big splash in Hedda Hopper's Hollywood column. Her scheme turns out to be ""all wet"" in an adventure that could only happen to Lucy and Ethel. Hedda Hopper, the renowned Hollywood gossip columnist, guest-stars as herself.
Guest starring: Hedda Hopper, Hy Averback, John Hart
22
Don Juan is Shelved
30 min 1955-03-21
Ricky's movie is shelved, so Lucy schemes to get Ricky another role. The plan: impress MGM studio boss Dore Schary by any means necessary, even if it means that Schary must impress himself. But first, there are 500 fan letters to write.
Guest starring: Philip Ober, Jody Drew, John Hart
23
Bull Fight Dance
30 min 1955-03-28
Lucy literally blackmails Ricky into getting her a part in one of his guest appearances on television. He does get her a role -- as a bull. When Lucy is displeased with the turn of events, she transforms the bull's image from that of a snarling beast to a mincing creature resembling Elsie, the Borden Cow. Look for the classic scene where Lucy upstages Ricky in this episode.
Guest starring: Ross Elliott, Ray Kellogg
24
Hollywood Anniversary
30 min 1955-04-04
Frantic over having forgotten the date of their wedding anniversary, Ricky tells Lucy that he has a big party planned in a famous nightclub. He doesn't tell her when it is, desperately wiring their marriage license bureau for the correct date. This episode is based on an actual surprise anniversary party that Desi Arnaz threw for Lucy. 25
The Star Upstairs
30 min 1955-04-18
Cornel Wilde becomes the one-hundredth movie star Lucy has seen in Hollywood; he is living in the penthouse directly above the Ricardo suite. Determined to get a glimpse of the handsome actor, Lucy disguises herself as a bellboy, then hides under the star's luncheon cart to gain entry into Wilde's suite. Things go smoothly until she finds herself locked out on Cornel's terrace and must make her way down the side of the building using a few blankets as rope. Swashbuckler Cornel Wilde guest-stars as himself in this episode.
Guest starring: Cornel Wilde
26
In Palm Springs
30 min 1955-04-25
Lucy and Ricky and Ethel and Fred are bored with each other so the gals head off to Palm Springs for a break. Rock Hudson guests as himself (and has a hand in getting the couples back together).
Guest starring: Rock Hudson
27
The Dancing Star
30 min 1955-05-02
Lucy begs Van Johnson to let her dance a number with him at the nightclub to impress her rival Caroline Appleby, who is visiting from New York. Van accepts the challenge by waltzing her across the ballroom floor as his dance partner. Movie star Van Johnson guest-stars as himself.
Guest starring: Van Johnson, Marco Rizo
28
Harpo Marx
30 min 1955-05-09
Lucy decides to impersonate some Hollywood notables to impress nearsighted Caroline Appleby, who is visiting from New York. A mixup occurs when Lucy, having introduced her friend to ""Gary Cooper,"" ""Clark Gable,"" ""Marlon Brando,"" and ""Jimmy Durante,"" decides to impersonate Harpo Marx just as the real Harpo arrives at the apartment with Ricky.
Guest starring: Harpo Marx
29
Ricky Needs an Agent
30 min 1955-05-16
Ricky needs an agent, Lucy figures, so she nominates herself (unbeknownst to Ricky, of course) and heads off to negotiate with a studio executive to land him a role in a movie. Her strategy: use a nonexistent Broadway musical as a bargaining chip. It works too well.
Guest starring: Parley Baer, Helen Kleeb
30
The Tour
30 min 1955-05-30
Lucy and Ethel are abandoned by their sightseeing bus tour when they try to get a grapefruit from Richard Widmark's garden. When Lucy is stranded inside the garden wall, she and Ethel, who is outside, launch plans to get Lucy out -- but without comparing notes on how. Film star Richard Widmark guest-stars as himself.
Guest starring: Richard Widmark, Juney Ellis, Benny Rubin, Audrey Betz, Barbara Pepper
Editions
| Barcode | Format | Region | Release | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 097368887848 | DVD | 1 | 2005-05-03 | |
| 097368887824 | DVD | 1 | 2005-05-03 | |
| 9781415711552 | DVD | 4 | 2005-05-03 |