Tuesday in Turo

Having acquired a few more negatives from the "Lucy's Italian Movie" episode of "I Love Lucy," I thought it was time to put them together in storyline order and present them as a set. Debuting on April 16, 1956, it is one of the most famous episodes of the series. Ricky, Lucy, Ethel, and Fred are on a train to Rome where Ricky's band will be playing. Cramped into one area because Fred was too cheap to buy sleeping berths, the gang feel like sardines...without the oil. While on the train, a famous Italian movie producer discovers Lucy and wants to give her a bit part in his next movie titled "Grappolo Pungente." When Lucy learns later that the title translates to "Bitter Grapes," she assumes it is about the wine making industry and decides to do some background research before making her debut on set.



The hotel bellman tells her that there is a winery in Turo where they stomp grapes and make wine the old-fashioned way. Lucy dresses appropriately to blend in and heads to Turo, despite Ricky forbidding her from "soaking up local color." When she arrives, Lucy falls in line with the rest of the ladies who have shown up for a day's work. Ernesto Molinari played the vineyard boss at far right who chooses Lucy because of her feet being as big as pizzas.



Lucille Ball didn't practice with real grapes until the day of filming. What you see in the episode is her genuine reaction, which she later said felt like "stepping on eyeballs." Teresa Tirelli played the other grape-stomper who ends up wrestling Lucy in one of the funniest fights ever captured on film.



See more "I Love Lucy" photos at my main website.