I Love Lucy—Lucy’s Italian Movie – season 5, originally aired April 16, 1956
Lucy’s Italian Movie is one of the best I Love Lucy episodes of all time. Lucy takes “getting some local color” a little literally when she travels to an old-fashioned Italian winery to press grapes to impress an Italian film director. (Italian wine stomper played by Theresa Tirelli, 1907-1989).
Highlights of Lucy’s Italian Movie include:
- Lucy and Ethel’s jealousy over their husbands’ reaction to the Italian women.
- Fred’s continual cheapskate traveling across the continent. To the others’ discomfort.
- The actual grape stomping, which is hilarious.
- And, the finale, where she’s “soaked up” too much local color … And Ethel will replace her in the movie!
Lucy’s Italian Movie is available as part of the I Love Lucy season 5 DVD collection.
Funny quotes from I Love Lucy—Lucy’s Italian Movie
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Ricky, do you like earthy women?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): What’s earthy?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): That…
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): We don’t call that earthy in Cuba.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Oh, what do you call it?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): We have five words for it. Ai yi yi yi yi!
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh, I don’t think those Italian actresses are so much. Not one of them got her hair combed.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Well, they look great to me.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): If I let my hair go like that, you’d never let me hear the end of it.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Honeybunch, if the rest of you looked like that, I wouldn’t care if you were bald.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): [talking about the train seat] Well it’s true; they’re not very roomy.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): They’re roomy enough, it’s just that you’re roomier.
[About Fred’s cheap ways]
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I appreciate that, Fred, but you’ve got to draw the line someplace.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Oh, we’re lucky he hasn’t got us hitchhiking.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Thirteen more hours in this sardine can.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): The sardines were better off. They got all that oil to wiggle around in.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Gee did you hear that honey? It’s going to be called “Bitter Grapes.” I wonder what part they want me for.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): You’re probably going to be one of the bunch.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): What am I going to tell Ricky when he asks where you are?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Tell him anything you want. I’ve got nothing to hide. Tell him the truth.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Okay I’ll tell him the truth.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Don’t you dare.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): [about Lucy’s grape-stained appearance] Boy, when it comes to soaking up local color, you don’t mess around.