MGM PARADE

February 8, 1956

Directed
by Leonard
Spigelgass

Written
by
David Greggory

CAST

George
Murphy (Himself
/ Host) was introduced as “Your Hollywood Ambassador of Good Will.”
He started singing and dancing on Broadway at age 25. There he is
credited with introducing Bob Hope to his wife Dolores. In Hollywood,
he became Screen Actors Guild (SAG) President and was eventually elected
US Senator. He was given a special Oscar in 1950. Murphy was in
four films with Lucille Ball between 1934 and 1941. He starred with
Desi Arnaz in The
Navy Comes Through
(1942) and Bataan
(1943).
In 1959, Murphy and Desi switched roles when Desi took a role in his
own anthology series “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” and
Murphy acted as guest host. He was also a performer in “The Desilu
Revue” aired in December 1959.  

Lucille
Ball (Herself
/ Susan Vega in Forever
Darling)

Desi
Arnaz
(Himself / Lorenzo Vega in Forever
Darling)

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE

Nelson
Eddy and
Jeanette
McDonald
(as Paul Allison and Marcia Mornay from Maytime)

Lena
Horne (as
Herself in Ziegfeld
Follies)

Charles
‘Chic’ Sale (as
Abraham Lincoln from The
Perfect Tribute)

---

“MGM
Parade”
(1955-56) was a weekly series on ABC designed to give viewers a
glimpse into the movie making process at Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).
The
30-minute program was one of their first TV programs and was produced
by MGM’s trailer department, before the official creation of MGM
Television.
The opening theme was “That’s Entertainment” by Arthur Schwartz
and Howard Dietz. Walter Pidgeon took over hosting duties from George Murphy for the
final eight episodes.

Since
it was first aired just one week before Valentine’s Day, the theme for
this episode was love in all its forms. Romantic love is displayed
between the characters portrayed by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette
MacDonald singing “Sweetheart” from Maytime
(1937). 

Patriotic love of country is embodied by Charles ‘Chic’
Sale’s portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in excerpts from The
Perfect Tribute
(1935). Leila McIntyre was Mary Todd. McIntyre played Mary Todd Lincoln twice more in 1936: in both The Plainsman and The Prisoner of Shark Island.

A more literal use of the word love is presented as Lena
Horne sings the song “Love” in a scene from Ziegfeld
Follies
(1945). Interestingly, Lucille Ball was also in this film, though it
is not mentioned and she is not seen in the clip. Horne and Ball also were seen together in Thousands Cheer (1943), in which they both played themselves. 

Wedded bliss is
displayed in real life as husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille
Ball present a scene from their upcoming feature film, Forever Darling (1956),
in which they also played husband and wife.

On
“I Love Lucy,” Ricky was under contract to MGM to make Don Juan, just like Lucy and Desi were for The Long, Long Trailer and Forever Darling. 

Forever
Darling
Synopsis:
After five years of marriage, Susan (Lucille Ball) and Lorenzo (Desi
Arnaz) have grown apart. Lorenzo is a chemist who has been working
long hours on a new insecticide, making Susan feel neglected. Susan starts seeing her Guardian Angel (James Mason), who
advises her to try to support her husband. So she agrees to go on a
camping trip during which Lorenzo will be testing a new bug formula,
even though Susan knows nothing about surviving outdoors.

Forever
Darling was Lucy and Desi’s second and final film for MGM, the first
being The
Long, Long Trailer (1954).
At the end of “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E11), Lucy and Desi filmed a
tag encouraging viewers to get the record and see the film. 

The promo is set on board the SS Constitution, but intentionally vague about whether they were speaking as Lucy and Ricky, or as Mr. and Mrs. Arnaz. The tag was not part of the syndicated print of the episode. 

When talking about the film to George Murphy, Desi
reminds home viewers that Forever
Darling
is in color. This is because “MGM Parade” was filmed and broadcast in
black and white.  

The clip from Forever Darling is the scene where Susie and Lorenzo capsize their raft while Lorenzo is collecting insect specimens for his research. Naturally, this leads to an argument between the couple. Lucille Ball would often find humor in getting wet. 

The moment would be reprised when Lucy and Ricky’s rowboat sinks in “Lucy’s Summer Vacation” (LDCH 1959). Howard Duff and Ida Lupino were also on board.

Lucy Carmichael’s raft sank in the Thames River in “Lucy in London” (1966).  Her tour guide Anthony Newley also went down with the ship!

Murphy’s
introductions and interviews were set in an office decorated with
Oscars, plaques, and a lion puppet in a tux nicknamed ‘Little Leo’ inspired by the roaring lion that started every MGM film.
Murphy and his guests would often converse with the puppet during the
show. 

In “Ricky’s European Booking” (ILL S5;E10), Ricky Ricardo
is seen recording the song “Forever Darling” with the Pied
Pipers, further blurring the lines between Desi Arnaz, Ricky Ricardo,
and Lorenzo Vega. 

Little Leo is sitting on a chair by the studio door
and Ricky gives him a pat on the head as he leaves the room. Viewers
of both CBS shows during the 1950s would have recognized Little Leo, but
it is an obscure reference to most modern viewers. In some
syndicated versions of the episode, the moment has been edited out.  

During
the show, Murphy stands in front of an American Flag. At this point
in America’s history, there were only 48 states, so the stars on
the flag also only number 48 and therefore are differently
configured. “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”
would both mention the statehoods of Alaska and Hawaii, with the
Ricardos and Mertzes traveling to Nome to mark the occasion in
February 1959.

In
1956, Lucy and Desi were still playing the Ricardos, so it is a bit
disorienting to hear Lucy refer to her husband as Desi instead of
Ricky. During the light banter, however, it is clear that Lucy is the
one in charge, a bit of role reversal from the domestic comedy of “I
Love Lucy.”