Fred & Ethel

Authors: Connor Campbell
Location: Texas

“Fred & Ethel”

Produced by George Clooney, Sydney Pollack & Kelsey Grammar
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Written by George Clooney
Score by Gustavo Santaolalla
Edited by Michael Kahn
Sound by Kevin O’Connell & Paul Massey
Art Direction by James D. Bissell & Jan Pascale
Cinematography by Robert Elswit

Principal Cast:

Drew Barrymore- Vivian Vance
Philip Seymour Hoffman- William Frawley
Adam Beach- Desi Arnaz
Debra Messing- Lucille Ball
Greg Kinnear- Phil Ober
Thomas Haden Church- John Dodds
Courtney Cox Arquette- Mary Wickes
James Spader- Fred MacMurray

Tagline: "All they had in common were the Ricardos” September 2007

Synopsis: This is the story of the bitter relationship between Vivian Vance & William Frawley. It begins with Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz looking at casting options for the characters Ethel & Fred Mertz on their upcoming television show on CBS called, “I Love Lucy”. Since their original choices, Gale Gordon & Bea Benaderet were unavailable, they were clueless as to who would be playing the Mertzs. They decided to cast vaudevillian William Frawley as Fred Mertz. As for Ethel, Desi cast Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz after seeing her in a Vaudeville act. Shortly after taping the pilot of I Love Lucy, Vivian said that it was an insult to be cast as the wife of a man 22 years her senior. Frawley caught word of this and never forgave her, & the bitching began. The bitterness only got worse & worse as the show was more & more watched. Frawley & Vance’s 3rd Husband, Phil Ober, who had guest starred on the show several times weren’t too fond of each other either. In the meantime, Lucille, Vivian & Mary Wickes had become the best of friends as well as Desi & William becoming close too. As the show went on, Vance would ask Desi for a raise on several occasions sighting that she should be making much more than Frawley. He would honor her requests, but secretly give the same raise to Frawley. In 1953, Vance & Frawley were among the very first “Best Supporting” Emmy nominees. It became a way to prove who was better between the two. Vivian won the Emmy; William did not. The relationship between the two worsened with Frawley making remarks like “I’d probably end up teaching fat ass the f**king thing”, in front of Vance’s face. Soon, Ball & Arnaz’s marriage was falling apart & the cast was barley speaking to each other. The series ended and William & Vivian were offered a spin-off series to be called Fred & Ethel. Surprisingly, Frawley agreed, but Vance did not. The two went on with their lives. Vivian got divorced from Phil Ober shortly there after while Frawley & Vance were making the Lucy & Desi Comedy Hour. That series ended, shortly followed by the finalization of Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz’s divorce. Vivian got married for a fourth time to John Dodds. Vance signed on to do “The Lucy Show”, while Frawley jumped around with small roles in films. Finally, Frawley landed a role in the Fred MacMurray series “My Three Sons” as Bub. It was during this time that while walking the streets of New York City after seeing a movie with his male nurse that William Frawley collapsed on the sidewalk. After being taken to the lobby of a near by building he died. Desi Arnaz upon hearing the news took out a full page ad in the trade papers with William Frawley’s picture that read, “Buenas noches, amigo!” as to Vance having said while eating dinner with her second husband “Champagne for everybody!” aloud in the restaurant. After her final television appearance on “Lucy Calls the President”, Vance began appearing in commercials for Maxwell House Coffee while spending her time with her good friends, Lucille Ball & Mary Wickes. Vivian Vance was diagnosed with breast cancer, & on her deathbed, Lucille & Mary came to visit. Lucille and Vivian reminisced on their favorite moments of the series. Vivian dies, the film ends with Lucille Ball and Mary Wickes walking the streets of Los Angeles remembering Vance and crying the whole way.

What the press would say:

I’ve seen a couple of Lucille Ball biographies in my day, and the whole time I’m thinking “hey, Vance & Frawley despise each other. I want to see more”. Thank God! This movie was my most anticipated film of the year and I’m overjoyed that it lived up to my expectations. Drew Barrymore is amazing as Vivian Vance & she can expect Oscar gold come February. Philip Seymour Hoffman as William Frawley concerned me at first since he is much to young to play Frawley, but then I remembered there’s a little thing called make up. Hoffman is great! Adam Beach is awesome as Desi Arnaz. Debra Messing as Lucille Ball, brilliant! Courtney Cox Arquette surprised me, because I didn’t even know she was in this until about 20 minutes before the movie & second, she has successfully thrown out any possibility of ever being stuck as “Monica Gellar” for the rest of her career. A fantastic screenplay & glorious direction with a superb ensemble, Fred & Ethel is my front-runner for Best Picture as of now.

Major Awards

Golden Palm- Cannes Film Festival
Best Picture- Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Best Picture Drama- Golden Globes
Best Ensemble- Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Picture- BAFTAS

Nominations

Best Picture- George Clooney, Sydney Pollack & Kelsey Grammar
Best Director- Sydney Pollack
Best Actor- Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best Actress- Drew Barrymore
Best Supporting Actor- Adam Beach
Best Supporting Actress- Debra Messing
Best Supporting Actress- Courtney Cox Arquette
Best Original Screenplay- George Clooney
Best Original Score- Gustavo Santaolalla
Best Cinematography- Robert Elswit
Best Art Direction- James D. Bissell & Jan Pascale
Best Sound- Kevin O’Connell & Paul Massey
Best Editing- Michael Kahn