Was The Tallulah Bankhead Episode Really A Trainwreck?!?

[Brian Damage]

I read that Tallulah Bankhead and Lucy battled constantly on the set. I also ready that Tallulah was drunk most of the time during filming and the episode of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour was pretty bad?

[HuntingtonM15]

I've always heard this and that Lucy and Desi regretted hiring her for the episode. Though, whatever happened behind the scenes was not evident during the episode, so they must have put that behind them for the taping. It's one of my favorite episodes.

[Benno123]

Whatever happened behind the scenes does not effect this episode at all. In fact, as Huntington said, it is also one of my favorite episodes of any Lucy show, and in my opinion perhaps the one that closest resembles any 1/2 hour ILL episode. Though in Lucy In The Afternoon (I believe it is) the author quotes Lucy on this episode saying that she would never allow a guest star to take advantage of her (and Desi) the way Tallulah did.

I believe that this was the episode that was being filmed when Desi bought RKO if I'm not mistaken.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

I also ready that Tallulah was drunk most of the time during filming and the episode of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour was pretty bad?

Huh???? I've never heard anyone say this episode was bad. In fact, I've never heard anyone say anything other than that it's one of their favorites. It's hilarious, and Lucy and Tallulah played off each other wonderfully. Yes, there was great tension on the set. Tallulah was, after all, Tallulah. Somebody -- Vivian maybe? -- complimented Tallulah on the slacks she was wearing one day during rehearsals. "You really like them? Okay, then you can have them." Then right in front of everyone, Tallulah took off her pants.

Tallulah was apparently drunk a lot of the time, and showing up late, and Desi came close to firing her. (And she later made some rude remarks about him to the press.) But at the end of the two weeks of rehearsals when it was time to film the episode, Tallulah rose to the occasion and gave a stellar performance. By the way, a similar scenario played out ten years later with Joan Crawford on The Lucy Show, at least as far as the drinking and tardiness goes. Joan kept her clothes on, though.

Here's a bit of the Lucy/Desi/Tallulah story:

http://books.google.com/books?id=y1p...0Arnaz&f=false

[HuntingtonM15]

Since Bette Davis was originally hired to play the role, I've always wondered how the episode would have been with her.

[Hcfinch1]

This was one of Lucy's daughters favorite episodes. Remember they had a long friendship from both trying out for Gone With the Wind. My mother and Tallulah are related and growing up I would glean conversations about Tallulah. Aunt Mamie who was 14 years older than my mother had some tales to tell. She never forgave Tallulah for not attending her father's funeral in Jasper, Alabama. My Grandfather and Aunt Mamie sat with Franklin D. Roosevelt at William B. Bankhead's funeral. Tallulah attended the state funeral in Washington D.C. The Bankhead's are from (Moscow) Sulligent, in Lamar County, Alabama.

[comedyfreak]

The Bankhead episode is my favorite of all the Desilu comdey hour shows.

[ajgenard]

I agree the Tallulah Bankhead episode is easily the best of the Comedy Hour episodes. As was pointed out earlier, this is likely due to it's close proximity to the half-hour episodes. They didn't rely on location shooting that employed a dubious laughtrack or overreaching for something else to make it "bigger and better" than what they had done in the past. Instead this was Desilu doing what Desilu did best.

[lucy&vivfan]

Of all 13 episodes of TLDCH the Tallulah Bankhead episode was among the best, along with the episode with Danny Thomas & Marjorie Lord. The remaining 11 episodes, in my opinion, were less-than-average.

[comedyfreak]

They really should have done more of the specials at home instead of on location.

[missy's pop pop]

In Bart Andrews' THE I LOVE LUCY BOOK, Desi acknowledged they had trouble with Tallulah Bankhead's drinking on the set; he claimed she didn't come in until about 11 am and did well until about 1 pm. He finally had to lay it on the line with Miss Bankhead. The night of the performance, he gave her a kiss for luck, and, as he said later, "she was nothing short of magnificent."

For her part, Miss Bankhead claimed all went well except she caught pneumonia when "someone blinded me with hair spray." She also claimed Desi was worried because, again, quoting, "he was fat." (The Mouth of the South strikes again!)

Andrews said the show had problems since no one had written an hour-long "I Love Lucy." He wrote the Bankhead show was written as two half-hour shows and "stitched together", but nobody seems to notice!

[lucy&vivfan]

Of the 13 hour-long episodes, the two with Bankhead and Danny Thomas are the best of all of them. The rest (especially the ones with Ida Lupino and Howard Duff, Fernando Lamas and Robert Cummings) were pretty bad.

[visi]

Originally Posted by lucy&vivfan

Of the 13 hour-long episodes, the two with Bankhead and Danny Thomas are the best of all of them. The rest (especially the ones with Ida Lupino and Howard Duff, Fernando Lamas and Robert Cummings) were pretty bad.

I agree, but I have to add the one with Anne Southern as her Suzie character. My friends and I quote the jail scene all the time.

"A siesta! Well, he's got a lot of nerve!"

[Hughsgirl]

I liked the episode but I thought Tallulah was absolutely dreadful!

[McGillicuddy]

Interesting, that they had a similar situation with Joan Crawford, on The Lucy Show. Plus Joan replaced Gloria Swanson, who originally was supposed to do that episode, "The Long Lost Star".