BEHIND THE WHEEL!

Lucy & Cars ~ Part Three

In the late 1960s and early 1970s America’s automobile obsession had become part of daily life, including on “Here’s Lucy.” 

“Lucy and the Great Airport Chase” (1969) ~ Filmed entirely on location at Los Angeles Airport, there were a variety of vehicles featured. During the chase, Lucy (or her double) drives a Hough Paymover towing a jet! 

The episode features (top left to bottom right): 

• 1968 Chrysler Newport 
• 1968 Dodge Cornet 500 wagon
• Clark Clarktor, luggage transport vehicle
• Corchran Cargo King, for unloading baggage
• 1963 Ford C-Series Truck
• Clark 15su-653

The episode included stock footage of various airport vehicles. 

There is also footage of cars on the roads and parking lots outside the airport, including the iconic LAX Theme Building. 

Footage of Lucy and Harry driving the Clark 15su on the tarmac was done with a stunt double in the location footage, and using rear-projection with Ball and Gordon in the studio. The wires in the upper left corner of the screen actually made their way into the finished film! 

“Lucy Helps Craig Get His Driver’s License” (1969) ~ The driving test scenes were filmed on location and reproduced in the studio using rear projection. 

Craig takes his road test in Lucy’s car, a pale yellow 1965 convertible Dodge Dart. In the parking log there are also a red 1969 Plymouth GTX and a blue station wagon waiting to take the road test. The location footage was done on the streets of Hollywood surrounding the Paramount lot. The Dodge Dart was previously driven by Sergeant Carter on Desilu’s “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C” in 1965.    

As the Dart traveled the streets of Los Angeles, it passed many other vehicles parked or traveling the roads. 

“Lucy Visits the Air Force Academy Parts 1 & 2″ (1969) ~ Season two opens with a road trip as the series goes on location for the first four episodes.  All four episodes feature a Travco motor home. The company’s RV’s were originally built on a Dodge chassis. Travco was in business from 1964 until the late 1980s.  

Like previous location shoots, the episodes were supplemented with studio shots using rear projection for driving scenes. 

The mobile home passes a 1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten parked on the side of the road. At the time, this car was nearly 15 years old!  It resembles the 1953 blue Pontiac featured on the Hollywood episodes of “I Love Lucy.”

“Lucy Runs the Rapids” (1969) ~ This episode opens the same way as the first two episodes of season two, with the camper driving through western landscape to the strains of “Breezin’ Along with the Breeze,” a song used as the theme music for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer.

This episode features the interior of the mobile home, where some physical comedy takes place, much like in The Long, Long Trailer. 

The mobile home isn’t the only vehicle parked on the banks of Lee’s Ferry, Arizona. 

“Lucy and the Indian Chief” (1969) ~ The fourth and final episode on the road trip finds the mobile home pulled over to help the driver of a 1967 GMC C-2500.

Studio shot footage is combined with location footage of Lucy riding on the roof of the Travco! 

After this road trip, the series returns to its interior home and office setting. 

“Lucy at the Drive-In Movie” (1969) ~ Lucy and Harry track down Chris and her new boyfriend Alan to the local ‘passion pit’ aka ‘drive-in theatre’.  Any episode taking place at a drive-in necessarily involved an array of vehicles. 

• 1969 Red Plymouth Barracuda convertible (Alan’s car)
• 1969 Blue Simca 1204 [928] (Man with dog’s car)
• 1969 Blue Plymouth Valiant (Younger necking couple’s car)
• 1969 Blue Plymouth Barracuda (Older necking couple’s car), 1964 Red Plymouth Valiant Signet & 1969 Beige Simca 1118 [950]

• 1969 Yellow Triumph TR6 
• 1965 Dodge Dart (Lucy and Harry’s car, the same vehicle used in “Lucy Helps Craig Get a Driver’s License”)
• 1964 Red Plymouth Valiant Signet

“Lucy and the Used Car Dealer” (1969) ~ Milton Berle plays Cheeful Charlie, a used car salesman with an eclectic array of vehicles on his lot. Charlie cons Kim and Craig into buying a psychodelic (Harry calls it ‘sick-o-delic’) 1940 Packard One-Twenty. 

Other vehicles on Charlie’s lot: 

• 1961 Ford Falcon
• 1966 tan Volkswagen Beetle
• 1961 light blue Ford Falcon
• 1964 blue Chevrolet Biscayne
• 1955 Cadillac Coupe

The episode also mentions: 

• Kaiser-Frazer ~ a car company that briefly thrived after World War II.
• Pierce-Ruxton ~ a fictional combination of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company (1901-1938) and the Ruxton, a front-wheel drive automobile produced by New Era Motors Company from 1929 to 1930.
• Lucy calls a car a combination Hudson Edsel Tucker Reo and Packard – all defunct automobile companies.
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ~ the name of a fantastical flying car in the 1964 book by Ian Fleming and a 1968 musical film. 

“Lucy the Laundress” (1970) ~ After bragging to Craig about her perfect driving record, Lucy smashes into a laundry truck. In order to pay for the repairs, she has to go to work at the laundry.  Although no actual vehicles are used in the episode, Lucy reanacts the accident at the insurance agent’s office using model cars. Lucy insists on a green car because the red one clashes with her hair! 

“Lucy and Viv Visit Tijuana” (1970) ~ To get there, they first have to convince Harry to loan them his car. 

Harry agrees to drive them using his 1970 yellow Plymouth Satellite convertible. They get stopped at the border after agreeing to transport a stuffed animal they don’t realize is smuggling stolen gems. 

The line of cars at the border station also features a red 1970 Dodge Challenger and a 1968 Sunbeam Alpine GT [Arrow].

“Lucy and Wayne Newton” (1970) ~ The Carters drive to Las Vegas and end up at Wayne Newton’s ranch. The episode features location footage of the Las Vegas strip and Casa de Shenandoah. Harry’s 1970 yellow Plymouth Satellite convertible was previously seen in “Lucy and Viv Visit Tijuana”.  

Rear projection of the strip was used to replicate the location footage. 

Tiny Tim (T.T.), Newton’s miniature horse, waits in the car!

“Lucy and the Raffle” (1970) ~ Kim wins a new sports car in a church raffle, but then can’t pay the taxes. The car is never seen on screen. 

“The Not-So-Popular Mechanics” (1973) ~ Harry trusts Lucy and Mary Jane to watch after his prized antique automobile and take it in for an oil change. Since they have been taking night school courses in auto mechanics, they decide to do the oil change themselves!

There’s no room in the garage, which already holds Lucy’s new car. 

Harry’s vintage vehicle is a Rolls Royce. 

Chevrolet provided all the training materials as well as the motor parts for the car. Series Executive Producer (and husband to Lucille Ball) Gary Morton was an auto enthusiast so he acted as consultant for this episode. He was, however, billed under his birth name, Morton Goldaper.  

“Lucy Carter Meets Lucille Ball” (1974) ~ The prize for winning the Mais Oui Lucille Ball Look-Alike Contest is a new sports car!