After the smashing success of 1947’s “The Egg and I,” which starred Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, Universal-International launched the film’s co-stars Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride into their own movie series. “Ma and Pa Kettle” was the first in this film franchise that lasted ten years and producing nine motion pictures.
The story has the Kettles moving into a brand-new, all-electric home as a result of Pa winning a contest. All goes well until he is accused of cheating, with pandemonium, as well as laughs, ensuing. Crisp direction by Charles Lamont (“Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion” 1950) and a fresh screenplay by Al Lewis begot a hit at the box office.
Main and Kilbride were at the top of their game here, personifying the hillbilly couple with fifteen children who were mired in abject poverty. The unabashed lazy attitude of Pa Kettle was no doubt the cause. Richard Long appeared as the oldest son, Tom Kettle. He later went on to star in television sitcoms like “Nanny and the Professor.” Other cast members include Meg Randall, Esther Dale, Emory Parnell, Harry Antrim, Barry Kelley, and O. Z. Whitehead.
Ma and Pa Kettle (1949)
cinema
My Review
After the smashing success of 1947’s “The Egg and I,” which starred Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, Universal-International launched the film’s co-stars Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride into their own movie series. “Ma and Pa Kettle” was the first in this film franchise that lasted ten years and producing nine motion pictures.
The story has the Kettles moving into a brand-new, all-electric home as a result of Pa winning a contest. All goes well until he is accused of cheating, with pandemonium, as well as laughs, ensuing. Crisp direction by Charles Lamont (“Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion” 1950) and a fresh screenplay by Al Lewis begot a hit at the box office.
Main and Kilbride were at the top of their game here, personifying the hillbilly couple with fifteen children who were mired in abject poverty. The unabashed lazy attitude of Pa Kettle was no doubt the cause. Richard Long appeared as the oldest son, Tom Kettle. He later went on to star in television sitcoms like “Nanny and the Professor.” Other cast members include Meg Randall, Esther Dale, Emory Parnell, Harry Antrim, Barry Kelley, and O. Z. Whitehead.