I have to disagree with the previous poster...this is a typical LUCY SHOW episode, with the usual jokes and such, and several times I did laugh at Lucy's, Viv's or Joan's jokes. Joan is not "in a fog" and she does not "slur" her speech. She appears quite cognizant throughout the show, and Lucy (the perfect hostess as the star) defers to Joan when appropriate. I am not a Crawford fan (I actually think Bette Davis is the better talent), but I find it too sad that Joan Crawford's personal problems in her later years have influenced IMDb posters to make such negative comments about her. She may not have been perfect, and maybe she was a real bitch, but she WAS a star for five decades and she deserves at least a little respect for that!
3 Reviews
Legendary Episode -- Because of Backstage Drama
kgraovac21 November 2023
Lucy's car breaks down near Joan Crawford's house, and when she and Viv ask to use the telephone, they mistakenly conclude that the famous star has become destitute and scheme to help her get back on her feet.
This episode is probably more famous for the backstage drama than what we see on the screen. What was it with Lucy and actresses named Joan? First Blondell, then Crawford. Anyway, you can Google that info elsewhere, so on to the episode...
This is not a series' best but it's a must-see once you've read about the behind-the-scenes drama. Joan gives a very strange performance and some curious line readings. If you didn't know she was Hollywood royalty, there is no indication here. The sitcom format was definitely not her forte. In retrospect, seeing Joan being obsessive about house-cleaning is surreal when we all know the legend of Mommie Dearest. Every time I watch this I can't get over how diminutive she looks.
The opening scene has some good jokes in it and Lucy and Viv fall back into their old rhythm immediately. I just wish Viv wasn't sporting that ugly meatball hairdo - it ages her terribly. It's funny when Mooney calls them the Smothers Mothers.
When we get to the show-within-a-show, Lucy's gum-chewing 1920s "Rusty" character recalls Season 4's "Lucy the Gun Moll" where she played a gangster's girl with the same name. Vivian looks like a drag queen in her flapper costume. It's funny when Lucy calls Joan "Honeysuckle Rose" and when Joan takes the second hit of gin. Apparently, the Charleston number was cut down so we only see Joan dancing for about ten seconds. Mooney does make a memorable entrance as "Scarface" though - and fifteen years before Pacino!
Lew Parker plays Crawford's agent. This is his fourth appearance in Season 6, each time playing a different character. Simultaneously, he was appearing as Marlo Thomas' father on THAT GIRL.
This episode is probably more famous for the backstage drama than what we see on the screen. What was it with Lucy and actresses named Joan? First Blondell, then Crawford. Anyway, you can Google that info elsewhere, so on to the episode...
This is not a series' best but it's a must-see once you've read about the behind-the-scenes drama. Joan gives a very strange performance and some curious line readings. If you didn't know she was Hollywood royalty, there is no indication here. The sitcom format was definitely not her forte. In retrospect, seeing Joan being obsessive about house-cleaning is surreal when we all know the legend of Mommie Dearest. Every time I watch this I can't get over how diminutive she looks.
The opening scene has some good jokes in it and Lucy and Viv fall back into their old rhythm immediately. I just wish Viv wasn't sporting that ugly meatball hairdo - it ages her terribly. It's funny when Mooney calls them the Smothers Mothers.
When we get to the show-within-a-show, Lucy's gum-chewing 1920s "Rusty" character recalls Season 4's "Lucy the Gun Moll" where she played a gangster's girl with the same name. Vivian looks like a drag queen in her flapper costume. It's funny when Lucy calls Joan "Honeysuckle Rose" and when Joan takes the second hit of gin. Apparently, the Charleston number was cut down so we only see Joan dancing for about ten seconds. Mooney does make a memorable entrance as "Scarface" though - and fifteen years before Pacino!
Lew Parker plays Crawford's agent. This is his fourth appearance in Season 6, each time playing a different character. Simultaneously, he was appearing as Marlo Thomas' father on THAT GIRL.
"The Lost Star" is apt...Crawford in a fog
moonspinner552 October 2015
Terrible sixth season episode of the long-running "The Lucy Show" has Lucy and Viv beset with car trouble and stranded on the roadside; Lucy convinces a grumbling Viv to walk two miles to the nearest house to use the phone (I hope their heels held up!), only to find out it's the home of movie star Joan Crawford. Since La Crawford is having her house redone, there's no furniture downstairs, leading the girls to believe she's fallen on hard times. It's tough deciding which is worse here: the flimsy premise, the second-half featuring the cast (plus Joan!) putting on a musical show for charity, or Crawford's slurring, stupefied performance. The fashion runway costumes (particularly Vivian Vance's coat in the last scene) are far too extravagant for a program like this, and Lucy never gets a funny line--those are all given to Gale Gordon.
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