''Forever, Darling'' is a 1956 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by Alexander Hall, written by Helen Deutsch, and starring

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

, Desi Arnaz, and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

. In the film, Ball stars as a wife who tries to save her struggling marriage to a chemical engineer (Arnaz) with the help of her

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...

(Mason). Louis Calhern and Natalie Schafer co-star in major supporting roles. Originally intended for William Powell and Myrna Loy, the script took the interest of Ball and Arnaz, who were interested in doing another film for MGM after the success of '' The Long, Long Trailer''. The film was produced during hiatus of '' I Love Lucy''. MGM released the film on February 9, 1956. Unlike ''The Long, Long Trailer'', the film received mixed reviews and lukewarm commercial response.

Plot

After five years of marriage, chemical engineer Lorenzo Xavier Vega ( Desi Arnaz) tends to neglect his wife Susan (

) in favor of his work. When she wishes aloud that she had a more attentive spouse, her Guardian Angel – coincidentally the mirror image of her favorite movie star (

) – appears. The angel advises Susan to take a greater interest in Lorenzo's career, so she agrees to accompany him on a camping trip to test the revolutionary new insecticide he's developed. However, Susan's dream of a second honeymoon turns into a nightmare when everything that possibly could go wrong does. She becomes determined to save her marriage before it's too late.

Cast

as Susan Vega * Desi Arnaz as Lorenzo Xavier Vega *

as The Guardian Angel * Louis Calhern as Charles Y. Bewell * John Emery as Dr. Edward R. Winter * John Hoyt as Bill Finlay * Natalie Schafer as Millie Opdyke * Mabel Albertson as Society Reporter *

Ralph Dumke Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in ...

as Henry Opdyke * Nancy Kulp as Amy * Willis Bouchey as Oliver Clinton Marilyn Maxwell also makes an uncredited appearance as herself, in a fictional film she co-stars in with Mason.

Production

The script originally entitled ''Guardian Angel'' had been written by Deutsch in the 1940s as a vehicle for William Powell and Myrna Loy and had been languishing unfilmed at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

for several years. Later,

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

were slated for the film, but it eventually fell through. Following the success of their 1954 film '' The Long, Long Trailer'', Ball and Arnaz had signed a two-picture deal with MGM in an attempt to set up a film unit for Desilu Productions. MGM head

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...

suggested ''Guardian Angel'' to the couple as the first picture of the deal. Ball believed the project would bring the couple closer together, and they agreed to do it. It was the first time Desilu was involved in

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

production. As with '' The Long, Long Trailer'', the characters portrayed by Arnaz and Ball are similar in personality to the Ricardos. In March 1955, Cary Grant was the reported choice for the guardian angel; however, his demanded salary was too high, so the role went to Mason. Alexander Hall — who was Ball's boyfriend at the time she met Arnaz — was hired as the director. Arnaz felt the script was weak, and brought in '' I Love Lucy'' writers Madelyn Pugh and

Bob Carroll, Jr. Robert Gordon Carroll Jr. (August 12, 1918 – January 27, 2007) was an American television writer notable for his creative role in the series '' I Love Lucy'', the first four seasons of which he wrote with his professional partner Madelyn Pugh, a ...

to make uncredited changes; the duo's contribution was the

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

camping sequence in the final third of the film. Filming commenced in mid-June 1955, while Ball and Arnaz were on hiatus from filming ''I Love Lucy''. Though mostly filmed at Desilu Studios in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, some scenes were filmed on location in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

. Filming wrapped on July 12. The title song, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and music by Bronislau Kaper, was recorded by both Arnaz and the Ames Brothers, who performed it over the opening credits and ultimately had the bigger hit. The tune became an Arnaz family tradition, sung by Desi at special events, including his daughter

Lucie Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Lucie Ahl, British tennis player * Lucie Arnaz, American actress * Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance * Lucie Baltha ...

's marriage to actor

Laurence Luckinbill Laurence George Luckinbill (born November 21, 1934) is an American actor, playwright and director. He has worked in television, film, and theatre, doing triple duty in the theatre by writing, directing, and starring in stage productions. He is kno ...

Promotion and reception

Ball and Arnaz promoted the film via a cross-country train tour aboard a special car provided by the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

, with stops in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and Ball's hometown of

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest po ...

. The film opened at the Loew's State Theatre, where the newlywed couple had performed their first

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

act in 1941. The film received mixed critical reception. Bosley Crowther of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as a "thin, overdrawn, weak caper", while '' Time Out London'' calls it a "fitfully amusing offering." Most notably, programmers at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

, where ''Trailer'' had premiered, refused to let the film open there because they found it "sub-standard". According to MGM records the film earned $1,912,000 in the US and Canada and $376,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $188,000. As a result of the disappointing results, MGM and the couple mutually agreed to cancel the deal, and Desilu did not produce another film until '' Yours, Mine, and Ours'' eleven years later.''Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz'', pp. 103–104

References

External links