LittleRickyII Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Yeah.. I am probably gonna get booted off this website for saying this... but I think this season 6 is very unforgiving to Lucille's looks.. for years I have been shielded from her "flaws" by great make up and lighting techniques.. and on this season I am troubled by her baggy eyes and crows feet.. I know she is human an can't look flawless all the time (and I won't take any prizes with my apperance either) but it is kind of distacting for me to see her in unflattering light.. and am I wrong.. don't these season 6 episodes seem more "lit" than any The Lucy Show episode so far?? I know Here's Lucy looks like it is filmed under the sun at times.. but The Lucy Show had a softer quality.. until this season which I guess is when she insisted on more light and I feel is isn't balanced at times because you can catch her in some not so great angles ... just wondering if anyone else noticed this and if so.. could Desilu have corrected this?? I have noticed this, too. You may be correct that it has something to do with the lighting because it seems to me that she looked younger on HL. I was watching "Little Old Lucy" last night, and there was a moment when she's sitting on the couch to the left of the elderly bank president. She's annoyed at him and turns her head away from him (towards her right, the viewer's left) and it's in that moment that she looks older than I'm used to seeing her on her shows. Yes, I know she was dressed up like an old lady, but I don't think this look was intentional. Mr. Cheever refers to her in that same episode as a young woman, so it's a bit awkward. Lucille Ball was known to be pretty expert about lighting, so it's a little surprising that it wasn't ideal at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Kampen Tripp Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 I have noticed this, too. You may be correct that it has something to do with the lighting because it seems to me that she looked younger on HL. I was watching "Little Old Lucy" last night, and there was a moment when she's sitting on the couch to the left of the elderly bank president. She's annoyed at him and turns her head away from him (towards her right, the viewer's left) and it's in that moment that she looks older than I'm used to seeing her on her shows. Yes, I know she was dressed up like an old lady, but I don't think this look was intentional. Mr. Cheever refers to her in that same episode as a young woman, so it's a bit awkward. Lucille Ball was known to be pretty expert about lighting, so it's a little surprising that it wasn't ideal at this time. Thank you for understanding what I meant... I wasn't chastising her for getting older.. I was wondering who was asleep at the switch because these things can be rectified with proper attention. Yeah.. she does look younger in Here's Lucy at times compared to this sixth season of The Lucy Show because I guess they corrected the proplem.. She has light on her at the wrong angle or the camera is at the wrong angle.. Remember .. I Love Lucy was shot through a scrim (gauze) and the lighting was thought out... so she could be shown at her best from a decent angle. I am not trying to jump on her for aging I want everyone here to know that.. It just seems at times unflattering angles are not corrected.. and I'd expect the people at Desilu to know how to light a set by now.. (hehee) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRickyII Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you for understanding what I meant... I wasn't chastising her for getting older.. I was wondering who was asleep at the switch because these things can be rectified with proper attention. Yes, I understood what you were trying to say. It's an interesting point. Yeah.. she does look younger in Here's Lucy at times compared to this sixth season of The Lucy Show because I guess they corrected the proplem.. She has light on her at the wrong angle or the camera is at the wrong angle.. Remember .. I Love Lucy was shot through a scrim (gauze) Really? I never knew that. and the lighting was thought out... so she could be shown at her best from a decent angle. I am not trying to jump on her for aging I want everyone here to know that.. It just seems at times unflattering angles are not corrected.. and I'd expect the people at Desilu to know how to light a set by now.. (hehee) It is curious that the lighting standards changed that season (assuming our observations are correct). Is it possible there was a personnel change and the person doing the lighting at this time was less experienced? I can't think of any other reason why that would happen because, like you say, Desilu as an organization should have had all that down pat by this point. Of course, to the casual viewer watching on television back then, this would not have been so noticeable because television images were not so sharp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowpeck Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Remember, this was the season Paramount took over the studio... perhaps that led to some changes. That may have been one of the many reasons Lucy packed up shop and produced Here's Lucy on her own terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 "Meets the Berles"...I wonder if the opening apartment scene was not filmed before an audience. Lucy's entrance in the subsequent scene gets applause, which is sort of strange if the audience had already seen her in the previous scene. Is Ruth Berle pregnant in real life? Sure looks like she has a maternity dress on. Speaking of dresses, lucy's looks like a test pattern. The Ruta Lee-movie star thing is inadvertently funny. I did not know it until recently but she did do quite a few movies, though movie STAR is a stretch. As is Lucy going on about going to see "her" pictures 3 and 4 times. (In a printed interview, then Mayor Sam Yorty--future guest in HL "Jim Bailey"--stated, when asked who his favorite movie star is: "Ruta Lee" to which the reporter editorialized "I'd like him to name ONE of her movies.") Ruth Berle has that Don Loper non-actor charm, but her performance is fitting for this episode because despite Lucy and Milton's efforts, most of it is so presentational. It's hard not to laugh at the salad-on-Milton's head scene. It's obvious that much of it was unplanned as if a real salad was not used in dress rehearsal. It's one of the few times everyone is breaking up but trying to hold it together, except for Lucy who tries vainly to keep everyone on script and in character. I'm glad they left Milton's adlib "Hear you? I can't even see you" in. Do you think Milton practiced that perfect dumping of the last bit of salad in the bowl? The set up of Lucy listening over the intercom is well done. It didn't dawn on me before that this plot device is borrowed from both "Housewarming" and "New Tenants". Though a bit over the top, this is a pretty good LS episode especially for this season and a good choice for the opener. I can't think of another California episode that is Mooney-less. Is there one? Ok, one of my all time fave eps, but for a group who never tolerated ad libs, glad they let this one, it's the best joke of the whole show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have noticed this, too. You may be correct that it has something to do with the lighting because it seems to me that she looked younger on HL. I was watching "Little Old Lucy" last night, and there was a moment when she's sitting on the couch to the left of the elderly bank president. She's annoyed at him and turns her head away from him (towards her right, the viewer's left) and it's in that moment that she looks older than I'm used to seeing her on her shows. Yes, I know she was dressed up like an old lady, but I don't think this look was intentional. Mr. Cheever refers to her in that same episode as a young woman, so it's a bit awkward. Lucille Ball was known to be pretty expert about lighting, so it's a little surprising that it wasn't ideal at this time. Just had a terrible thought about that Little Old Lady BIT, did she forgo the lift chin contraption as she knew she was doing that scene where she was SUPPOSED to be a little old lady? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 BS. Lucy looked her best Season 6 of TLS. And yes, Lucy was human so why keep bringing up her baggy eyes and crow's feet. She was in her late 50s at the time so give her a break already. Yeah, wait till you get to that age yourself and see what happens, i'm 62 and was ugly to begin with, so imagine from there . . . when people have seen you Goddess like beautiful for decades, they have this mental image of you they can never forget but that eventually goes with the wind, ask Robert Redford of the pockmarked face, all you can really hope for is to die very young like Monroe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 This is not a bootable offense! By a long shot. We're here to discuss the good and the bad and everything in between. I agree with what you're saying, because this is the first season I began to notice that Lucy was no longer a 'young woman'. However in the few episodes I've looked at from season 6, I don't know what I had detected because she looks better than I remember. It could be that her voice was being strained by this point, but even that's much better than my memory. She was still trying to speak in the Lucy Carmichael register when her own voice had lowered. There are numerous, mostly unflattering theories for this voice lowering, but I think it was the strain I mentioned coupled with the fact that many women's voices lower as they get older. Poor Lucy faced more of a dilemma than most aging actresses in that it disappointed us when she showed any sign of age...to the point that it seemed to actually ANGER people. Other than Mae West in "Sextette" I don't know of any actress that was ripped apart for aging as Lucy was in "Mame". It's as if she invented soft focus and personally spritzed the lens with vasoline before each shot. It's not like she was trying to look THAT much younger than her real age either. Not like Mae who was trying to convince us that men more than 50 years younger than she was, still thought she was hot stuff. Sextette fiance/husband Timothy Dalton should have been given a special Oscar for uttering lines like "Young and beautiful, your looks will never be gone" to a woman who could have been his great-grandmother! Apropos to Lucy still being perceived as younger, the TV Guide article of that season mention that she was 56 and a reader wrote a letter they published. He/she thought it was a typo and they meant 36!--which I'm sure Lucy loved. How about the constant YOUNG LADY comments when talking about Lucy, were the writers looking for a raise? Side note, i'm 62 and exhausted lately having worked 28 nights straight with only a couple days off, feel like Lucy doing Wildcat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Thank you for understanding what I meant... I wasn't chastising her for getting older.. I was wondering who was asleep at the switch because these things can be rectified with proper attention. Yeah.. she does look younger in Here's Lucy at times compared to this sixth season of The Lucy Show because I guess they corrected the proplem.. She has light on her at the wrong angle or the camera is at the wrong angle.. Remember .. I Love Lucy was shot through a scrim (gauze) and the lighting was thought out... so she could be shown at her best from a decent angle. I am not trying to jump on her for aging I want everyone here to know that.. It just seems at times unflattering angles are not corrected.. and I'd expect the people at Desilu to know how to light a set by now.. (hehee) The lighting duties must have been handled by moron thompson or little herbie kenwith that season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 But if you think about it they probably didn't even notice. These shows were made in the 60's on a bad quality tube. I doubt they thought in 50 years it would be all remastered and ready for people to watch and be a critic to. I just don't see what any of you see, yes she aged but who the hell cares she looked breathtaking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Interesting to see the reaction of the Carol episodes. I didn't particularly enjoy them - the first one was definitely better than the second episode. It doesn't phase me that she played a different character but yes, she could have still been the same Carol from previous seasons. I just thought the whole flight attendant premise was silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRickyII Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Just had a terrible thought about that Little Old Lady BIT, did she forgo the lift chin contraption as she knew she was doing that scene where she was SUPPOSED to be a little old lady? That is a possibility, Claude, but do you think her vanity would allow her to do that? I know she had no problem with having pies thrown in her face, getting covered in chocolate, mugging and all the rest. But I think she had her limits. Ever noticed how when she was in drag pretending to be a man, she usually still had on false eyelashes and lipstick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRickyII Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 How about the constant YOUNG LADY comments when talking about Lucy, were the writers looking for a raise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySanJoaquin Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Just had a terrible thought about that Little Old Lady BIT, did she forgo the lift chin contraption as she knew she was doing that scene where she was SUPPOSED to be a little old lady? Naw, about all she did was use a pale shade (pink?) of lipstick without the overarched "heart" shape; still had her false eyelashes on and of course, wearing a gray wig -- which kinda looked like it was pinned to the hat she had on top of it. I wondered if they slapped that on top of her usual wig or whether they bothered to remove one for the other?? Sure didn't look like it -- seemed kind of "wobbly"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Just had a terrible thought about that Little Old Lady BIT, did she forgo the lift chin contraption as she knew she was doing that scene where she was SUPPOSED to be a little old lady? LOL @ "lift chin contraption" - I have strange images in my head! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Morenzi Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 In "Lost Star," when Lou asks her why she's cleaning the house herself, did anyone half expect Joan to reply "If you can't do something right, DON'T do it at all!" Lou, when you polish the floor you have to MOVE the TREE! I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the DIRT! Or when Lucy & Viv walk in: "Take your shoes off, I just washed that floor...I can handle the socks" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyImHome Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 In "Lost Star," when Lou asks her why she's cleaning the house herself, did anyone half expect Joan to reply "If you can't do something right, DON'T do it at all!" Lou, when you polish the floor you have to MOVE the TREE! I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the DIRT! Or when Lucy & Viv walk in: "Take your shoes off, I just washed that floor...I can handle the socks" Mommy, Dearest didn't come along until 1980 or so. That would have been hysterical, though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mot Morenzi Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Mommy, Dearest didn't come along until 1980 or so. That would have been hysterical, though!! I knew that. I have a 1978 first edition. It was just the idea of it, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 That is a possibility, Claude, but do you think her vanity would allow her to do that? I know she had no problem with having pies thrown in her face, getting covered in chocolate, mugging and all the rest. But I think she had her limits. Ever noticed how when she was in drag pretending to be a man, she usually still had on false eyelashes and lipstick? Yeah, like when she trained in the marines next to Gomer Pyle, she looked like the first person who really needed to be involved in DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Naw, about all she did was use a pale shade (pink?) of lipstick without the overarched "heart" shape; still had her false eyelashes on and of course, wearing a gray wig -- which kinda looked like it was pinned to the hat she had on top of it. I wondered if they slapped that on top of her usual wig or whether they bothered to remove one for the other?? Sure didn't look like it -- seemed kind of "wobbly"! Funny, just watched the KEEP JIGGLIN PEGGY one of ILL and noticed the wigs back then looked horrible, so she had a triple decker, a small wig on top of the laugh getter grey/white one which covered her own hair of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 LOL @ "lift chin contraption" - I have strange images in my head! Just think how bad those images would be had she not resorted to wearing that cockamamie thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 How about the constant YOUNG LADY comments when talking about Lucy, were the writers looking for a raise? Side note, i'm 62 and exhausted lately having worked 28 nights straight with only a couple days off, feel like Lucy doing Wildcat. And I'll bet people are still calling YOU young lady! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I love the silent segments on the DVDs of Lucy posing for a last glamor (or glamoUr) shot they use...also the Here's Lucy opening credit session. She had so many cute looks and poses. The ones they picked to use, I don't think were the best. Again thanks to the DVD producers (Thomas Mae Watson and Company) for taking the trouble to find these and including them for posterity. Were it not for their diligent efforts, we would NEVER get to see this footage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I love the silent segments on the DVDs of Lucy posing for a last glamor (or glamoUr) shot they use...also the Here's Lucy opening credit session. She had so many cute looks and poses. The ones they picked to use, I don't think were the best. Again thanks to the DVD producers (Thomas Mae Watson and Company) for taking the trouble to find these and including them for posterity. Were it not for their diligent efforts, we would NEVER get to see this footage. Hear Hear! Not sure why they stuck with what they used when they had so many better poses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted October 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 (or glamoUr) Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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