Dick Reeves Movies
- 1957
After a dying outlaw confesses to a crime for which Jedd Ferris (Richard Crane) has been sentenced to jail, Bret (James Garner) sets upon the task of securing Jedd's release. Trouble is, Jedd's wife Martha (Joan Vohs) is coveted by a tough customer named Ben Maxwell (Richard Webb), who will stop at nothing to make certain that Jedd remains behind bars. The first Maverick episode directed by series "regular" Douglas Heyes, "The Long Hunt" is a particular treat for fans of 1950s TV science-fiction shows, inasmuch as Richard Webb, aka "Captain Midnight", is cast as the bitter enemy of Richard Crane, aka "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
On the last leg of their trip from New York to Hollywood, the Ricardos and the Mertzes pull into Albuquerque, the home town of Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). The four travelers are effusively welcomed by Ethel's father, Will Potter (Irving Bacon), who has arranged a gala reception for Alquerque's favorite daughter ("Ethel Mae Potter -- We Never Forget Her"). And why exactly is Ethel being feted as a celebrity? Well, it seems that she told a few -- er -- tall tales about having a spectacular show-business career to the editor of the "Albuquerque Chronicle." Hoping to teach Ethel a lesson, Lucy (Lucille Ball), Ricky (Desi Arnaz), and Fred (William Frawley) try to sabotage her command performance at the local little theater -- but she who laughs last laughs the loudest. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irving Bacon, Chick Chandler, (more)
- 1954
In the conclusion of a two-part story, the Ricardos are at their wits' end trying to figure out some way to get rid of their troublesome hillbilly house guest, Cousin Ernie (Tennessee Ernie Ford). After several misfired schemes, Lucy (Lucille Ball) conspires with Ricky (Desi Arnaz), Fred (William Frawley), and Ethel (Vivian Vance) to convince Ernie that the Ricardos have gone broke and can no longer afford to feed him. But generous Ernie decides to help out his hosts -- and the Mertzes -- by dressing them up as rubes and wangling a musical guest spot on "Millikan's Chicken Mash Hour," a TV show hosted by another of Ernie's unlimited supply of city cousins! ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dick Reeves, (more)
- 1953
"Enceinte" is French for "pregnant," a word that was largely taboo on American television in 1953. Even so, Lucille Ball was pregnant -- no getting around it -- and this fact would have to be written into I Love Lucy. Thrilled at the prospect of being a mother after many years of marriage, Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) must now figure out the best way to break the news to her husband, Ricky (Desi Arnaz). After several false starts, the big moment occurs at the Trocadero Club, right in the middle of Ricky's floor show -- a superbly touching moment, and one of the most unforgettable I Love Lucy scenes of all. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Reeves, William Hamil, (more)
- 1953
The burdens of motherhood have not dampened Lucy's desire to break into show business. Indeed, when Ricky (Desi Arnaz) announces that he is staging a new "Indian Show" at the Tropicana, Lucy (Lucille Ball) not only assumes that she will be the star of the proceedings, but also begins diligently researching the history of Native Americans (courtesy of pulp novels!). Alas, Ricky has no interest in hiring Lucy, though he does find roles for the Mertzes. Never one to give up after the first try, Lucy manages to insinuate herself into a lavish floor-show number, "Waters of the Minnetonka" -- and even figures out a way to care for Little Ricky at the same time. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Hausner, Caroline Richards, (more)
- 1953
Ricky (Desi Arnaz) is staging a French-themed musical revue at the Tropicana club. Hoping to appear in the revue, Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) hire waiter Robert DuBois (Alberto Morin) to give them French language lessons -- and in exchange, DuBois will be allowed to sing "Louise" at Ricky's club. While Ricky is delighted to include DuBois in the act, he expressly forbids Lucy to participate in the revue -- which of course means that not only will Lucy show up at the Tropicana, but she will also steal the show. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alberto Morin, Louis Nicoletti, (more)
- 1953
Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) demand that their husbands, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley), treat them as equals. The boys decide to teach the girls a lesson by taking them out to an expensive restaurant -- and then leaving them with the bill. Also in on the scheme is the restaurant's maître d’ (Larry Dobkin), who orders Lucy and Ethel to work off their bill by washing dishes. Now it is Lucy and Ethel's turn to get even, which they do by concocting a scheme whereby Ricky and Fred will be persuaded that the restaurant is being robbed. Predictably, nothing goes quite as planned, and the evening ends with two of the main characters behind bars. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Dobkin, Louis Nicoletti, (more)
- 1952
Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley) demand that Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) stop spreading gossip, but the girls insists that the boys are as gossipy as they are. Thus, a wager is established: whoever can abstain the longest from gossiping will be served breakfast in bed for a month. Determined to win the wager, Ricky and Fred indulge in some underhanded trickery, forcing Lucy and Ethel to foment a false rumor about Mr. and Mrs. Foster and their milkman. As a result, a smirking Ricky and Fred are seen lying in bed, with Lucy and Ethel waiting on them hand and foot -- but it isn't long before the tables will turn in a spectacular fashion. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Reeves, Bob Jellison, (more)
- 1952
Lucy (Lucille Ball) cooks up a publicity stunt in order to improve business at the Tropicana, the club where her bandleader husband, Ricky (Desi Arnaz), works. The scheme obliges Lucy to pose as the "Maharincess of Franistan," who has ostensibly arrived in America to see her favorite entertainer -- namely, Ricky. Figuring out that the Maharincess and Lucy are one and the same, Ricky concocts a scheme of his own to teach his wife a lesson...a scheme involving a pair of sinister-looking "assassins." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Leeds, Bennett Green, (more)
- 1951
Convinced that Ricky (Desi Arnaz) has lost interest in her, Lucy (Lucille Ball) vows to win back his affections -- using a book called "How to Keep Your Honeymoon From Ending" as her guide. Not surprisingly, Lucy's various strategies -- dressing glamorously for breakfast, joining Ricky's weekly poker game, and so on -- fail spectacularly. As a last-ditch effort, Lucy redecorates the apartment as a replica of Desi's homeland of Cuba, following the book's advice that she should surround her hubby with "things that remind him of his childhood." However, hauling chickens a mule into the apartment may be a case of Lucy's gilding the lily once more! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Michaels, Dick Reeves, (more)
