---

In these photos, the Arnazes celebrate New Years Eve, 1953-54...

1953 had been, as Charles Dickens once said, "the best of times and the worst of times." It had witnessed the dual births of Little Ricky and Desi IV; the soaring popularity of I Love Lucy and the Arnazes' return to MGM, where they filmed "The Long Long Trailer."

But the year had also brought the specter of the Red Scare -- and the knowledge that everything the Arnazes had worked so hard to achieve could have been wisked away in a moment by half-truths and innuendo...

The New Year would bring the theatrical release of "Trailer," the completion of I Love Lucy's 100th episode -- and Jess Oppenheimer's suggestion that the Ricardos and Mertzes ought to visit to Hollywood themselves in the fall...

It would be a very good year, indeed!

---

Back to
All About Lucy

Original material © 2003 Lucyfan Enterprises.
I Love Lucy is copyrighted by and a registered trademark of CBS Worldwide, Inc.
Images of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz used by permission of Desilu, too, LLC.
Licensing by Unforgettable Licensing, Northbrook, Illinois.