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About These Films
Cast
1. The Egg & I (1947)
2. Ma & Pa Kettle (aka The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle) (1949)
3. Ma & Pa Kettle go to Town (1950)
4. Ma & Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951)
5. Ma & Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952)
6. Ma & Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953)
7. Ma & Pa Kettle at Home (1954)
8. Ma & Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955)
9. The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956)
10. The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957)
About These Films:
This hillbilly family comedy film series from the late 1940s to late
1950s set the standard for rural comedy, predating such shows as "The
Beverly Hillbillies" and Walter Lantz Studios "Maw & Paw" cartoons
to name a few. Although they always called themselves Ma &
Pa, you will hear their real names mentioned in a few of the Kettle
films if you listen closely. Ma's real name is Phoebe, and Pa's
real name is Franklin. In "Ma & Pa Kettle On Vacation", Pa is
surprised when he sees his real first name written down and hardly
remembers ever being called Franklin.
1.
The Egg
And I
(1947)- I LOVE THIS
MOVIE!!! It has charm, great acting, and is very,
very funny. If Hollywood was smart, they would remake this
movie. "The Egg & I" was a very popular novel which was
adapted into a movie in 1947. Ma & Pa Kettle were only meant
to serve as supporting characters. This movie is not so much
about them, although they do get a fair share of screen time. The
movie's major characters are Betty (Claudette Colbert) and Bob (Fred
MacMurray). We're to assume their last name is MacDonald, after
author Betty MacDonald, although it's never given.
Bob &
Betty are newlyweds. Betty is very much a city girl (we are later
to suspect that she comes from a fairly rich family), so when Bob
brings up the idea of taking up chicken farming she is less than
excited. Betty goes along with every hair-brained idea Bob has,
and puts up with a lot more than most people probably would. But
it's more than evident to everyone that she's had her fill of country
life. Thank goodness she makes friends with Ma (Marjorie Main)
and Pa Kettle (Percy Kilbride). Also featured in this film is
Richard Long (later of TVs "The Big Valley" fame) as oldest Kettle
child Tom. Mr. Long would reprise his role of Tom in later Kettle
films.
What's neat
about Ma & Pa Kettle in this film is that their characters are
EXACTLY like they would remain for the rest of the Kettle films (except
for the final film, where Pa was played by a different actor).
There were no sharp changes made to their look or personality.
The same goes for softspoken Tom. The oldest Kettle kid was just
out of high school at the time of this film and clearly an inventive
genius. He wants so badly to go to college, but his family's
poverty situation made it nearly impossible. The events of this
movie lead to his going to college, which we learn about in the first
"official" Ma & Pa Kettle film.
This is a good film for the fact that we meet the many curious characters that surround Ma & Pa in their own film series. Geoduck and Crowbar, Smilin' Billy Reed, Birdie Hix and her mother, Emily and her make-believe husband Albert...all of them key ingredients of any good Ma & Pa feature.
One question
people often have is "What do Geoduck & Crowbar do for a
living?". The answer: they sell fish. That's how they make
their money. In most of the Ma & Pa films, that point is not
entirely clear as they spend most of the time doing Pa's work.
A shining
starlet in this film besides the superb Claudette Colbert (she's an
incredible comic actress) is Louise Albritton as Harriet Putnam.
Harriet runs a rather high-tech farm and is well-to-do. Harriet
and Betty never become good friends, for the simple fact that Harriet
is definitely trying to steal away Bob. Harriet is a knockout and
speaks very articulate. She's a woman of great
sophistication. Harriet wears the finer clothes and flashes off
her finer things. The animosity between these two women is movie
gold! It's like a verbal and psychological catfight.
They're always very proper to each other, both knowing the other's true
thoughts, but bitter enemies.
Bob never
falls for Harriet's charms, although she tries very hard and it's more
than understandable why Betty becomes jealous. Most men probably
would fall under Harriet's spell. It's almost unbelievable that
Bob didn't, considering how hard she puts it on him. But Bob is
unduly faithful to his wife.
Betty
discovers she's pregnant just shortly before she's decided she's had
enough of Bob hanging out with Harriet. The humble housewife
who's put up with just about everything thrown at her leaves in a huff
and goes to her mother's place.
I like
Betty's mother. She's one of the few "nice" mother-in-laws of
film. We never see her with Bob, but we know that they like and
respect each other. She wants Betty and Bob to patch things up,
especially since her daughter is with child. 9 months pass, the
baby is born, and Betty decides to go back. To make a long story
short (this is almost a two-hour film, long for a Kettle film), Bob and
Betty have a happy reunion. The baby is a girl named Ann.
It was nice
how they ended the movie. Bob & Betty now live on their new,
high-tech farm, purchased from Harriet Putnam when Betty left.
We're to assume Harriet's farm is a good distance away from the farm
the couple first owned, which explains why we don't see Bob & Betty
in the Kettle film series. They are no longer neighbors to the
Kettles. Betty holds her baby and tells us "I could write a
book," playing off the idea that author Betty and movie Betty are the
same person, and the fame of the book. That was cute.
Bob &
Betty's saga ends here. As you may or may not know, "The Egg
& I" was a huge hit. One of the best-loved comedies of the
Golden Age. This was so popular, and the Kettle characters so
well-liked, that they attempted a sequel to "The Egg & I" with just
the Kettles. There really was not any more that could've been
done with Bob & Betty. "The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa
Kettle" from 1949 was a huge success. It introduced one of the
more unusual sagas in film or TV history. For one thing, every
movie in the series had continuity. Few film series at the time
did that. Beyond that, it gave us the rags-to-riches story of
hillbilly folk that strike it big. In this case, the entire
Kettle family having won a very large, high-tech house in a tobacco
slogan contest. And the entire film series was based on that
premise. It could be said that this inspired the later TV hit of
the "The Beverly Hillbillies" which first aired in 1962. Once Ma
& Pa Kettle had great success with their own film, they were able
to break away from any ties to "The Egg & I". Many people who
grew up with the Kettles do not realize there WAS a film before the
first strictly Kettle film. But "The Egg & I" started it all
and it should be watched by EVERYONE who loves the Kettles!
Highly recommended.
Cast:
Fun
Facts:
2. Ma & Pa
Kettle (aka The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle) (1949)-
The first REAL Ma & Pa
Kettle movie where they are the main characters.
The Kettle Kids:
Ma & Pa have 15 kids in all, but 14 still live with them. Tom
went to college and lives on his own.
Who's the Kettle kid in love this
time?: Tom, the articulate oldest son played by Richard
Long.
Who's the Kettle kid's love
interest?: Reporter Kim Parker, as played by Meg Randall.
Familiar Faces:
Ma's nemesis Mrs. Birdie Hicks, played by Esther
Dale.
Birdie Hicks' senile old mother, played by Isabel
O'Madigan.
Traveling salesman Bill Reed, played by Emory
Parnell.
Who plays Geoduck and Crowbar in
this movie?:
Lester Allen plays Geoduck. He would play
Geoduck in one more movie, the next one.
Chief Yowlachie plays Crowbar. He would play
Crowbar in one more movie, the next one.
[What's unusual about this arrangement is that in this and the next
film, Geoduck is the little Indian and Crowbar is the big Indian.
In later Kettle films this would be reversed.]
3. Ma & Pa Kettle Go
To Town (1950)-
Familiar Faces:
Tom Kettle, played by Richard Long.
Kim Parker Kettle, played by Meg Randall.
Who plays Geoduck and Crowbar in
this movie?:
Lester Allen plays Geoduck.
Chief Yowlachie plays Crowbar.
4. Ma & Pa Kettle
Back on the Farm (1951)-
5. Ma & Pa Kettle at
the Fair (1952)-
6. Ma & Pa Kettle on
Vacation (1953)-
7. Ma & Pa Kettle at
Home (1954)-
8. Ma & Pa Kettle at
Waikiki (1955)-
The last movie with Percy
Kilbride as Pa Kettle.
9. The Kettles in the
Ozarks (1956)-
The first (and only) Ma &
Pa Kettle movie without Pa Kettle. In his place is brother
Sedgewick Kettle.
10. The Kettles on Old
MacDonald's Farm (1957)-
The last Ma & Pa Kettle
movie and the first (and only) one with Parker Fennelly as Pa Kettle.