Seasons & episodes
S4 · E6Ricky's Screen Test 1954-11-15 · 25 min
The term "helpmate" takes on a new meaning when Lucy appears on a Hollywood movie lot. The cameras roll for Ricky's screen test -- but when the big moment arrives, Lucy takes the cue.
S4 · E7Lucy's Mother-in-Law 1954-11-22 · 26 min
Ricky's mother comes to visit, and poor Lucy can't speak Spanish. So she finds a Spanish-speaking mindreader and it works like a charm — as long as he's around.
S4 · E8Ethel's Birthday 1954-11-29 · 24 min
Despite Ricky's qualms, Lucy decides to help Fred pick out a birthday present for Ethel. The present turns out to be toreador pants, which Ethel decides are not only unflattering but "unfitting." Relations between the two women become strained almost to the shattering point.
S4 · E9Ricky's Contract 1954-12-06 · 25 min
As Ricky paces the floor awaiting word from Hollywood about his screen test, Lucy enlists the Mertzes to distract him. The drastic steps taken by the trio to alleviate Ricky's tension boomerang into a king-sized headache for them all.
S4 · E10Getting Ready 1954-12-13 · 26 min
California, here they come: Lucy and movie-star-to-be Ricky, plus Fred and Ethel, who are tagging along. Their mode of transport: a used Cadillac that Fred bought. And used it is — it's 25 years old and California's a long way away.
S4 · E11Lucy Learns to Drive 1955-01-03 · 25 min
Ricky makes the mistake of teaching Lucy to drive his brand new car. It's only after showing Ethel how the car works that she crashes into another car and has to get them unhooked and fixed in time.
S4 · E12California, Here We Come! 1955-01-10 · 26 min
The Ricardos and Mertzes head for California. But first, of coures, there are complications. The chief one: Lucy's mother, who shows up and wants to accompany them. Ricky objects (to put it mildly), and when Fred and Ethel overhear him complaining about too many people on the trip, they take it personally. And when the dust from that blowup finally settles, there's packing to do.
S4 · E13First Stop 1955-01-17 · 24 min
The Ricardos and Mertzes have a hard time finding accommodations that will please everyone on their trip to California. They finally hit a greasy restaurant where stale cheese sandwiches cost them a dollar apiece. Hoping to find something better elsewhere, Ricky pays the check. The couples leave -- only to return several hours later, fooled by some purposely misleading road signs.
S4 · E14Tennessee Bound 1955-01-24 · 25 min
The Ricardo-Mertz westward trek faces a delay — they're all thrown in jail for speeding — in Bent Fork, Tenn., home of Lucy's "cousin" Ernest, who'll do all he can to get them out of the pokey, even if it means marrying one of the sheriff's two daughters, Teensy and Weensy.
S4 · E15Ethel's Home Town 1955-01-31 · 26 min
The Ricardos and the Mertzes stop at Ethel's hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico (Vivian Vance's real-life hometown). Under the impression that Ethel has been called to Hollywood and not Ricky, the townsfolk accord her a monumental ovation. When Ethel refuses to disillusion them -- and even goes so far as to put on a "celebrity act" -- Lucy takes matters into her own hands.
S4 · E16L.A. at Last 1955-02-07 · 25 min
Lucy arrives in Hollywood with stars in her eyes. She heads for The Brown Derby, a celebrity hangout, where she encounters Eve Arden and William Holden -- and inadvertently presents Holden with a custard pie in the face. Hollywood legends William Holden and Eve Arden guest-star as themselves.
S4 · E17Don Juan and the Starlets 1955-02-14 · 26 min
Lucy is forced to lend Ricky to five dazzling starlets for a proposed evening of publicity pictures. She tries to wait up for him but falls asleep on the sofa and doesn't awake until late the next morning. When she finds Ricky's bed unused, she jumps to the conclusion that he spent the night out with the starlets and decides she wants a divorce.
S4 · E18Lucy Gets in Pictures 1955-02-21 · 25 min
Lucy finally gets her shot at Hollywood stardom — as a chorus girl photographed in a lavish musical. But she had better not get a swelled head, because the headdress she has to wear is too big as it is.
S4 · E19The Fashion Show 1955-02-28 · 26 min
Lucy's a model at a charity fashion show, but the redhead — wearing a scratchy tweed suit — is red all over from too much time in the California sun.
S4 · E20The Hedda Hopper Story 1955-03-14 · 25 min
Lucy takes a dive in an effort to further Ricky's career by creating a big splash in Hedda Hopper's Hollywood column. Her scheme turns out to be "all wet" in an adventure that could only happen to Lucy and Ethel. Hedda Hopper, the renowned Hollywood gossip columnist, guest-stars as herself.
S4 · E21Don Juan is Shelved 1955-03-21 · 26 min
Ricky's movie is shelved, so Lucy schemes to get Ricky another role. The plan: impress MGM studio boss Dore Schary by any means necessary, even if it means that Schary must impress himself. But first, there are 500 fan letters to write.
S4 · E22Bull Fight Dance 1955-03-28 · 26 min
Lucy literally blackmails Ricky into getting her a part in one of his guest appearances on television. He does get her a role -- as a bull. When Lucy is displeased with the turn of events, she transforms the bull's image from that of a snarling beast to a mincing creature resembling Elsie, the Borden Cow. Look for the classic scene where Lucy upstages Ricky in this episode.
S4 · E23Hollywood Anniversary 1955-04-04 · 26 min
Frantic over having forgotten the date of their wedding anniversary, Ricky tells Lucy that he has a big party planned in a famous nightclub. He doesn't tell her when it is, desperately wiring their marriage license bureau for the correct date. This episode is based on an actual surprise anniversary party that Desi Arnaz threw for Lucy.
S4 · E24Mr. and Mrs. TV Show 1955-04-11 · 25 min
Ricky is initially reluctant to host a new TV show when he learns that the sponsor prefers a husband-and-wife format. Nonetheless, he agrees to do the show. But when Lucy learns that he hadn't wanted her in the show at all, she decides to get even by sabotaging the "Breakfast with Lucy and Ricky" dress rehearsal. What Lucy doesn't know is that the so-called rehearsal is actually being broadcast to the entire city of New York in an effort to achieve an unrehearsed, spontaneous look.
S4 · E25The Star Upstairs 1955-04-18 · 26 min
Cornel Wilde becomes the one-hundredth movie star Lucy has seen in Hollywood; he is living in the penthouse directly above the Ricardo suite. Determined to get a glimpse of the handsome actor, Lucy disguises herself as a bellboy, then hides under the star's luncheon cart to gain entry into Wilde's suite. Things go smoothly until she finds herself locked out on Cornel's terrace and must make her way down the side of the building using a few blankets as rope. Swashbuckler Cornel Wilde guest-stars as himself in this episode.
S4 · E26In Palm Springs 1955-04-25 · 25 min
Lucy and Ricky and Ethel and Fred are bored with each other so the gals head off to Palm Springs for a break. Rock Hudson guests as himself (and has a hand in getting the couples back together).
S4 · E27The Dancing Star 1955-05-02 · 26 min
Lucy begs Van Johnson to let her dance a number with him at the nightclub to impress her rival Caroline Appleby, who is visiting from New York. Van accepts the challenge by waltzing her across the ballroom floor as his dance partner. Movie star Van Johnson guest-stars as himself.
S4 · E28Harpo Marx 1955-05-09 · 26 min
Lucy promised Carolyn Appleby she'd produce some real Hollywood celebrities. Now she's got to deliver. Dressing up as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper and other celebrities, she manages to fool the near-sighted Carolyn. However, the real Harpo Marx shows up only to discover Lucy dressed up as him.
S4 · E29Ricky Needs an Agent 1955-05-16 · 26 min
Ricky needs an agent, Lucy figures, so she nominates herself (unbeknownst to Ricky, of course) and heads off to negotiate with a studio executive to land him a role in a movie. Her strategy: use a nonexistent Broadway musical as a bargaining chip. It works too well.