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Lucy Calls the President

  • TV Movie
  • 1977
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
154
YOUR RATING
Lucille Ball, Gale Gordon, and Vivian Vance in Lucy Calls the President (1977)
Comedy

After Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner... Read allAfter Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner. Calamity and comedy follows as Lucy frantically prepares for the momentous event with th... Read allAfter Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner. Calamity and comedy follows as Lucy frantically prepares for the momentous event with the eager support of family, friends and neighbors. The special is capped with a surprise ca... Read all

  • Director
    • Marc Daniels
  • Writers
    • Bob Carroll Jr.
    • Madelyn Davis
  • Stars
    • Lucille Ball
    • Vivian Vance
    • Gale Gordon
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    154
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Marc Daniels
    • Writers
      • Bob Carroll Jr.
      • Madelyn Davis
    • Stars
      • Lucille Ball
      • Vivian Vance
      • Gale Gordon
    • 9User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

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    Top cast13

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    Lucille Ball
    Lucille Ball
    • Lucy Whittaker
    Vivian Vance
    Vivian Vance
    • Viv
    Gale Gordon
    Gale Gordon
    • Omar Whittaker
    Mary Wickes
    Mary Wickes
    • Millie Baker
    Mary Jane Croft
    Mary Jane Croft
    • Midge Bowser
    James Brodhead
    • Mayor Wally Bowser
    • (as James E. Broadhead)
    Steve Allen
    Steve Allen
    • Self
    Lillian Carter
    Lillian Carter
    • Self (President Jimmy Carter's Mother)
    Joey Forman
    Joey Forman
    • Secret Service Agent Thatcher
    Ed McMahon
    Ed McMahon
    • Floyd Whittaker
    Stack Pierce
    Stack Pierce
    • Secret Service Agent Stockley
    John William Young
    • TV Director
    • (as John Young)
    Roy Rowan
    Roy Rowan
    • Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Marc Daniels
    • Writers
      • Bob Carroll Jr.
      • Madelyn Davis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    6.7154
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    Featured reviews

    joserus

    I remember this

    I do remember this TV movie just a little. Commenting on the other reviewer, on thing that I do remember about this show is the joke about the hors d'oeuvres. Mary Jane's character had made 50 deviled eggs that she was setting out for the president who was coming over. Vivian Vance went up to the tray and ate one as Mary Jane panicked and told her that each one represented a state and she had just eaten Kansas. Vivian Vance replied "for heaven's sake, I just ate my home state!" I didn't really get most of the jokes being just ten years old, but I do remember my grandmother laughing a lot.
    koconnor-1

    The Last of the Lucy We Knew and Loved

    This intriguing (but probably forgettable to most) farce was most likely an attempt to launch an all-new Lucy series, with most of the original cast members (sans-Desi Sr.). The humor was quite good for those that remember and loved the original Lucy shows. And it was a delight to see these lovable oddballs together again, but it still seemed like there was something missing. The humor and pratfalls and gadgetry gags were done with a bit less energy... clear indicators that our favorite redhead and her pals were beginning to look and feel their age.

    I don't remember the premise for WHY President Carter and family were going to visit Lucy's home, but I do remember that - after a number of hilarious calamities in the home, capped by the loss of Lucy's front tooth and the "thubthequent thlurring of her thpeech patternth", it turned out that the President had to cancel. (Did anyone REALLY expect the Chief Executive to actually visit a sitcom pilot?)

    Still, all was not lost when Miss Lillian did place a call to Lucy (and comments on Lucy's speech impediment, "And they say WE talk funny...")

    Unfortunately, Lucy's future in television sitcommery only went further down when she tried to again revive her old glory with "Life with Lucy". Now, I was not so much laughing at her antics, as I was concerned that she would need a hip replacement if she fell. It was sort of like watching Roger Moore attempt to run across train tops and climb the Golden Gate Bridge as James Bond, when he was already pushing his mid-fifties...

    By the time she had reached this point in her life, I found her to be much more effective as a dramatic actress ("Stone Pillow"), or grand-dame host of special events like the Emmys, with David Letterman.

    Her passing was especially poignant for me as it was on the day before I first visited the newly-opened Disney MGM Studios in Orlando. The flags were at half staff, and the "Superstar Television" attraction held a moment of silence in tribute to her.

    After more than half-a-century, we STILL love Lucy.
    mrbean36

    great special

    i remember this special, almost anything with lucy i can remember. i have this special uncut on video, it was given to me by a new friend. i think this was a great special. it was the last time lucy and vivan vance worked together. vivan became ill during the week and the night they taped the show. in a book i read eve arden was in the audience, and when lucy made her appearance on stage she went right over to eve and gave her a hug. the special was written by her original writers and the first i love lucy director directed this special also.

    i think its a very funny show, ive seen it several times since i got the tape, and ive even showed it to friends, and they also liked it.

    it was also good seeing lucy work with gale gordon, mary wickes and mary jane croft again
    9MyMovieTVRomance

    Lucy and Viv make my heart go boom-boom!!

    Lucy and Viv are my favorite couple ever!! Ever since I was a little girl, long before I acknowledged myself as being sapphic and long before I ever really understood lesbianism or romance at all, Lucy and Viv still somehow struck a chord with me. They always made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and somehow, I knew that I wanted what they had with each-other. They are my ideal pair and always have been!

    Looking back, it's no wonder "The Lucy Show" was unofficially referred to as "Two Dykes In Danfield" by the writers and crew in the early years when Lucy and Viv were featured living together! As a kid, I hated knowing this bit of trivia, as I thought it was an insult. But now that I am a sexually developed woman and no longer a sexually shy child, I totally appreciate that secondary title, whether it was given with sincerity or not, because the fact that the writers and crew even thought of it proves that I'm not alone in sensing a certain deliciously lovely lesbian energy between Lucy and Viv!💜💜💜💜💕

    This here may not be the best TV movie in general, but we get great Lucy-Viv screentime, and that makes it so special! These two women, though supposedly straight in real-life, have an on-screen chemistry that turns me on and resonates with me on a more personal level than any other! They never kissed on the lips or had a sex scene, yet every touch of the hand, every sly remark, every inside joke, gives me all the warm fuzzies as though they had- now THAT'S chemistry!!

    They really should have made a movie together, just the two of them! It would have given all the official lesbian films a run for the money and even put some to shame!

    Lucy & Viv 4ever!!! 💌💜💜💜💜💜💕
    7bkoganbing

    Almost like a pilot

    If I didn't know any better I would have sworn that this was a pilot for yet another Lucille Ball series. Might have been a good one. But I doubt that the White House would have put its imprimatur on a TV series, a special but not a TV series by having a first family member appear.

    I also don't think that Ed McMahon would have left the Tonight Show and Johnny Carson to do a series either.

    McMahon and Lucy are a married couple in a small Indiana town. Ed's father Gale Gordon lives with them and Ed owns a bowling alley. Lucy on a national call-in show speaks to President Carter about a community problem and he decides to drop in as he's speaking in Indianapolis the next day.

    The rest of the show is devoted to her frantic preparations for the presidential visit. Such Lucy friends as Mary Jane Croft, Mary Wickes, and Vivian Vance are also in this which features the usual Lucy schemes and situations.

    Lucy fans and others will love it.

    More like this

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    5.7
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    6.9
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    7.4
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    7.2
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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was the last time Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance appeared on screen together. During filming, Vance was already suffering from the cancer that would lead to her death two years later.
    • Goofs
      When Lucy tires to remove her noisy necklaces during the interview with Steve Allen, the letters on the chains are "L" and "M" for Lucille Morton (Ball's married name).
    • Quotes

      Lucy Whittaker: [on the phone with President Carter] How would you feel if somebody tore down Amy's tree house?

    • Connections
      Featured in Dinah!: Dinah and the First Ladies (1977)
    • Soundtracks
      Sweet Georgia Brown
      Written by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard

      Performed by Vivian Vance and Ed McMahon

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 21, 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Lach' mit Lucille Ball: Ein ganz besonderer Gast zum Dinner
    • Production company
      • Lucille Ball Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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