REVIEW: Lucy in London

Broadcast: Monday, October 24th, 1966 (USA )

Character: Himself

The television special ‘Lucy in London’ featured American comedienne Lucille Ball and was aired in the United States on October 24, 1966.

Produced and directed by Steve Binder, the show was filmed entirely on location in London and included performances from some of Britain’s most renowned entertainers, such as Peter Wyngarde, Anthony Newley, Wilfred Hyde-White, and the pop band The Dave Clarke Five.

In the special, Lucy Carmichael (played by Lucille Ball), an American secretary, travels to London to redeem a free day trip she won through a dog food jingle contest. Anticipating a luxurious limousine tour of the city, she is instead met by a tour guide named Tony (Anthony Newley), who takes her on a motorcycle with an open sidecar. Their first stop involves punting on the River Thames in an inflatable raft, which ends in disaster as they collide with a rowing team and capsize. Following this, Tony takes Lucy to Carnaby Street, where she showcases the latest Mod fashion to Phil Spector’s musical number, ‘Lucy in London’.

While visiting Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks, she is startled by the museum curator, portrayed by the seasoned actor Wilfred Hyde-White, whom she mistakenly believes to be a wax figure that has come to life.

Her next destination is a picturesque English stately home, where she encounters a young gardener who appears oddly out of place while trimming the garden privets. It is revealed that this green-fingered gentleman is actually Peter Wyngarde, who informs Lucy that he is not a staff member but a Shakespearian actor set to perform in an open-air rendition of The Taming of the Shrew in the mansion’s gardens that evening.

Lucy is captivated and reveals that she is an ardent admirer of the Bard, expressing that it has been her lifelong dream to perform in one of his plays. Peter encourages her to participate in a scene from the play, to which Lucy eagerly agrees.

Right: Peter, Lucille Ball and Director, Steve Binder run through the script.

In the production, Peter takes on the character of Petruchio while Lucy portrays Kate, both immersing themselves fully in their roles. Nevertheless, Lucy begins to question her decision when ‘Petruchio’ escalates the intensity, tossing the spirited ‘Shrew’ about the garden and delivering a firm spanking with his whip.

After managing to flee, Lucy meets up with ‘Tony’, and they head back to the Thames, where they are joined by The Dave Clarke Five for a performance of London Bridge Is Falling Down.

Lucy and ‘Tony’ have now reached an unoccupied theater, where Tony dons a tuxedo and performs a medley of songs from the Leslie Bricusse-Anthony Newley production, including ‘Stop the World I Want To Get Off.’ In the show’s finale, Lucy joins him with a mime performance and a song expressing her gratitude for her experiences in London.

The concept of ‘Lucy in London’ emerged during Lucille Ball’s contract renewal with CBS for the 1966-67 season. At that time, she was both producing and starring in ‘The Lucy Show’ for the network. The contract provided her with the opportunity to feature in three specials that would be produced separately from her weekly series. Initially, Ball envisioned a project in which she would co-star with Mitzi Gaynor as two nuns traveling across Europe, followed by a French-themed production titled Lucy in Paris and a comedy set in the Middle East called Lucy in Arabia. However, none of these ideas materialized, and ultimately, Ball, through her company Desilu Productions, decided to proceed with the filming of ‘Lucy in London

The idea for the Special originated from an episode of The Lucy Show titled ‘Lucy Flies to Londo’n. A significant portion of that episode, which showcased Lucy’s lack of experience with air travel, was derived from an unsold pilot that was written and filmed in 1960.

Laurence Olivier was initially contracted to participate in ‘Lucy in London’, but he withdrew from the project before filming commenced.

The special achieved high viewership, ranking as the most-watched broadcast of that week.

Lucille Ball personally requested Peter to participate in the Special after witnessing his performance as Count Marcellus in ‘Duel of Angels‘ at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway in 1960. It is reported that she was quite taken with him and was resolute in her efforts to create an opportunity for them to collaborate on stage.

Peter’s Comments

“Lucy may’ve thought I was kidding, but if she wanted to play this straight she would be a marvellous Kate. Her looks are absolutely right as is her vitality. And she’s a good enough actress to be able to do it”. Peter Wyngarde – Las Vegas Sun, 23 October, 1966