Squabbling marrieds Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are given help from Lucy's guardian angel, played with self-bemusement by James Mason. The big joke in the material is that Ball's character sees the angel as a dead-ringer for Mason the Movie Star, but that's about the only laugh to be had in this leadweight scenario. Knowing what we do now about the troubled real-life relationship between Ball and Arnaz (big television stars by this point), it's only unease we get from watching them constantly bickering on screen. I doubt the film was very fresh even in 1956, mostly due to the turgid, hapless screenplay by the normally talented Helen Deutsch. Nothing on display here is diverting, with the jokes, costumes, pacing and production all sub-standard. Any mid-run episode of "I Love Lucy" runs rings around this comedic misfire. NO STARS from ****

Or "I Love Lucy, Episode Two: 'Forever Darling." This could very well be a first in more ways than one: two actors who had slogged through B-movies in unremarkable parts had by now become larger-than-life television stars due to their show, bought RKO Studios, converted it into Desilu, were beginning to produce other shows (who would go on to successes of their own), and to top it off, had broken the myth that television actors could not make the transition into the big screen. THE LONG, LONG TRAILER was proof of that and only bolstered "I Love Lucy" to greater heights. FOREVER DARLING was a way of cementing their TV personas in another feature film in which the same antics that had been the basis of every "Lucy" episode would be seen in a 90-minute movie while incorporating an element of Surrealist fantasy where James Mason makes his appearance as an Angel who intervenes in key moments throughout the film. It's an enjoyable little movie that doesn't try to pretend to be bigger than it is; lightning does not always strike twice, although here it just fails to hit its target dead-center because it essentially recycles much of the "I Love Lucy" stories. It is enjoyable, though.

"Forever Darling" is Lucy & Desi's 3rd and last movie together. This movie is okay but its not the greatest movie in the world, but its not the worst either. I like the end with the camping trip.

The perfect film for settling marital irritations. Settle down with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, as they take you through a hilarious time while they settle all their marital incompatibilities. A must see for anyone who loves a good laugh.