THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

Part 1 ~ The Ricardos & Mertzes Commune with Nature

“I Love Lucy” generally took place indoors – at their East 68th Street apartment or Ricky’s nightclub. As residents of New York City, they had little opportunity to commune with nature – but there were exceptions. In nearly all cases, these outdoorsy moments were staged indoors – in a Hollywood studio.  

“The Marriage License” (1952) ~ To correct an error on their original marriage license, Lucy and Ricky travel to Greenwhich, Connecticut to renew their vows. While there, Lucy makes Ricky renact his proposal at the tree bench where it first happened.  

• LUCY: “Gee. I don’t remember this seat being so small, do you? I guess the tree grew in a little from each side.” 
• RICKY: “Let’s face it, we’ve grown out a little from each side!” 

This brush with nature came during the 26th episode filmed and is the very first time Lucy and Ricky have been seen outdoors.  The Desilu set designers finally had a chance to use foliage! 

“Lucy’s Last Birthday” (1953) ~ Depressed that no one has remembered her birthday, Lucy wanders the city at night, eventually arriving at Central Park – Manhattan’s equivalent of The Great Outdoors. 

While sitting alone, the Friends of the Friendless come marching through the trees, stopping to console her. Not used to negotiating the outdoors, FOF extra Barbara Pepper (the only Friendless female) loses her hat on a low-hanging branch! 

“The Camping Trip” (1953) ~ Lucy wants to do everything Ricky does – including going on a camping trip to go fishing and duck hunting. 

This is by far the most exensive use of greenery in the series. Assessing Lucy’s camping attire, Ethel is typically blunt.

• LUCY: “Well, do I look like I stepped out of ‘Field & Stream’?”
• ETHEL: “You look more like you fell in.”

Although the campsite is located in the woods near a stream, the exact location is never stated. It is must be within driving distance, so likely upstate New York.  

“The Fox Hunt” (1956) ~  At an English country manor Lucy goes on a fox hunt, despite never having ridden a horse.

Lucy really gets back to nature by becoming ensared in a bush. Unbeknownst to her, the fox does too! 

“Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (1956) ~  After a mistake in booking during their trek through Europe, the Ricardos and Mertzes go mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. 

This establishing shot tells the audience the enivronment that the gang will be dealing with: snow-capped mountains. 

The “I Love Lucy” set designers were charged with creating a realistic mountain top, then making it snow!  

The Great Outdoors weren’t always green!  This sequence was later integrated into the promotion of Paramount+ streaming service, showing various CBS / Paramount characters scaling ‘Mount Paramount’. 

“Lucy’s Bicycle Trip” (1956) ~ When leaving Italy for France, Lucy has her heart set on biking along the coast and across the border – until she can’t find her passport!

In the middle of nowhere, she tries everything she can think of to get past the border officials. Before the border, the gang gets in touch with nature by sleeping in a barn!  

“Off to Florida” (1956) ~ When Lucy misplaces their train tickets to Miami Beach, she and Ethel must share a car ride to Florida with Edna Grundy (Elsa Lanchester), a woman they suspect might be a hatchet murderess.

Mrs. Grundy insists on driving the backroads from New York City to Florida. Instead of stopping at a roadside cafe, Mrs. Grundy has packed watercress sandwiches, which Lucy calls ‘buttered grass’.  

Instead of stopping at a hotel, they simply pull off the road and try to sleep in the car. The ominpresent chirp of crickets keeps them awake. 

• LUCY: “Who can sleep with all that noise? Sounds like feeding time in a pet shop.” 

“Deep Sea Fishing” & “Desert Island” (1956) ~ While visiting Miami Beach, Lucy and Ethel make a bet with Ricky and Fred that they can catch the bigger fish. Not all nature is green or white – sometimes it is blue, too!  The scenes on the ocean were filmed in a water tank in Hollywood, while actor doubles were also filmed off the coast of Miami. The two films were then edited together.

When their boat runs out of gas, the gang is stranded on a lush (what they believe to be) deserted island. The island seen in the second unit footage (above) is not nearly as large or verdant as the one built in the studio. 

• RICKY: “Hey!  They have caca-nuts here!”
• LUCY: “Caca-nuts? (she looks around) Oh, yeah. A lot of caca-nuts.”

Palm trees and whie sands are usually an idyllic way to commune with nature – except when a giant native (Claude Akins) shows up!  

“Lucy Raises Tulips” (1957) ~ In Connecticut, Lucy turns gardener. When she takes charge of the rider mower, the landscape changes for the worse –  including the garden! For city folks, nothing says Back to Nature more than gardening. 

“Lucy Hunts Uranium” (1958) ~ The third of the hour-long episodes later called “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” takes the gang to Las Vegas, where they hunt for uranium with Fred MacMurray. As with previous episodes, this was a combination of studio shooting and second unit location footage.

Location filming took place in California’s Mojave Desert. This is the first time Lucy and Desi have gone on location as the Ricardos.

During the exterior prospecting scene, the actors actually ‘fall asleep’ on a Hollywood sound stage and ‘wake up’ on location in the desert!  Movie magic!

Although the actors went on location, the car chase sequences were filmed using stunt doubles intercut with studio-filmed process shots. 

“Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (1958) ~ The gang travels to Sun Valley, Idaho, where they meet Fernando Lamas. 

Sun Valley is a resort city where tourists can enjoy ice skating, golfing, hiking, trail riding, cycling, tennis and (of course) skiing on Bald (“Mount Baldy”) Mountain and Dollar Mountain. It was a favorite vacation spot for the Arnaz family. They spent part of their 1952 summer hiatus from “I Love Lucy” at the resort and later returned in 1959, after Lucy and Desi had separated, staying at Ann Sothern’s home.

As usual, the episode was a combination of studio shooting and location footage of the actors at the resort. This episode, however, featured far more location footage than any previous episode. 

Lucille Ball was called upon to really get back to nature by skiing, skating, and even frolicking in the snow with animals!  

“Lucy Makes Room for Danny” (1958) ~ Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) and his family sublet the Ricardo home during the winter.  Building snowmen and throwing snoballs were part of the show’s plot. Unlike their visit to Sun Valley, this snow was a studio creation. The episode was a clever way to tell viewers that “Make Room for Daddy” (aka “The Danny Thomas Show”) would be taking over “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” time slot!  

“Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1959) ~ The gang travel to the nation’s newest state to buy some discount land – but end up out in the cold – literally!  Red Skelton guest stars. 

Although the action is set in and around Nome, the second unit footage was filmed in Lake Arrowhead, California, about 100 miles from Hollywood. 

The exteriors were done with doubles and none of the regular cast left the newly-purchased Desilu (formerly RKO) Studios.

“Lucy’s Summer Vacation” (1959) ~ Lucy and Ricky go on vacation to Vermont and end up sharing their cabin with Howard Duff and Ida Lupino.

In the story, Lucy and Ricky have been invited to spend a week at a cabin on (fictional) Lake Wotchasokapoo, Vermont. 

The show took the Ricardos out of their Connecticut home, but the scenes were not filmed on location in Vermont, but inside Desilu Studios. There is one brief establishing shot of a lake.