Many of Lucy’s films are now available on DVD, having been released in just the past few years. If not, it never hurts to check for older VHS tapes; maybe a movie was released on voideotape and just hasn't yet made it to DVD. Don't forget cable channels like Turner CLassic Movies, which routinely plays many of Lucy's films, and they're ripe for digital recording. From there, you can move in any number of directions. So much publicity of so many different kinds was created for movies, that what you collect really amounts to what you like. Start small, with a movie handout of coming attractions to a theater, such as those starring Lucy (and Desi Arnaz, or even William Frawley; Vivian Vance did not have much of a movie career, but I've seen posters for her one "big" film, 1965's The Great Race). These handouts were often 5.75x4.25 inches, folded and acted as mini posters for the movies they promoted. From there, move on to the bigger, more expensive items such as posters and lobby cards (the pic at top is a poster promoting Lucy's recently released on DVD DuBarry Was a Lady, part of Warner Bros.' Lucille Ball Film Collection). If you’re lucky, you can find original press releases and publicity photos the stars did for their movies, not to mention what some people consider the Holy Grail of movie memorabilia, the film’s original press/publicity kit, which is filled with different ideas for publicizing the film plus a synopsis, pictures, poster suggestions, star bios, and so on. The major studios sometimes had their own in-house magazines, and MGM’s in particular, called The Lion’s Roar, was chock-full of information on (then) current and upcoming releases. At least one that I've seen featured Lucy on the cover in full showgirl regalia, again for DuBarry. Search for these gems on eBay and at flea markets. Don’t forget magazine ads; there are tons of them in all sizes available in periodicals from the 1930s on. And studios often arranged for interviews with their movie stars in the various magazines that covered the industry (Photoplay, for example). There are also movie industry trades like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter that reviewed all released films and sometimes featured articles on the (show) business behind the film. There are special paperback releases of movies called tie-ins that often feature the stars on the cover and pictures inside. Some people are happy just to own the original book a Lucy film was based on, regardless of whether it’s a tie-in or not. For some of Lucy’s movies, there are soundtracks and sheet music to collect. There were collectible cards, cigar bands, and other similar items made in the 1930s and 1940s with stars images on them. These are very desirable. And, lest we forget, there is always foreign publicty (click below on Foreign Shores), magazine articles and covers, and on and on. The point is, movies were (and are) publicized in many different ways, and there’s a whole universe of Lucy- (and Desi-) related film collectibles waiting for you to discover it.
Scanning the Internet for Lucy news since 1996
Movie Queen
Lucille Ball made more than 80 films in her lifetime. The first couple of dozen or so amounted to little more than cameo or background appearances, first as a Goldwyn Girl, then as an extra. But even then people could tell Lucy was different. If someone needed to get a pie in the face, Lucy would volunteer (the other girls didn’t want to get messy). This was one of the qualities that made her a success: her willingness to try anything before a camera.
Ask the Lucy Collector!
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