Ma and Pa Kettle (film): Difference between revisions
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* Other uncredited players include [[John Beck (actor)|John Beck]], [[Teddy Infuhr]], [[Wilbur Mack]], [[Sam McDaniel]], [[Gene Persson]], [[Dewey Robinson]], [[Eddy Waller]] and [[Chief Yowlachie]] |
* Other uncredited players include [[John Beck (actor)|John Beck]], [[Teddy Infuhr]], [[Wilbur Mack]], [[Sam McDaniel]], [[Gene Persson]], [[Dewey Robinson]], [[Eddy Waller]] and [[Chief Yowlachie]] |
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==Reception== |
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The film was a big hit, grossing over $3 million. According to a Universal executive, "their stuff is burlesque and it isn't sophisticated, but the company found that the film is drawing not only the younger element but also the so-called lost audience of over 35 who don't go to the movies regularly."<ref>RANDOM NOTES ABOUT PEOPLE AND PICTURES: Jed Harris to Direct Film--Of Bogart And Bacall--Sequel to 'Iwo Jima' B AND B: SEQUEL: BONANZA: |
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By A.H. WEILER. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 Feb 1950: 93</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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Revision as of 05:57, 11 February 2015
| Ma and Pa Kettle | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Lamont |
| Written by | Al Lewis |
| Produced by | Leonard Goldstein |
| Starring | Marjorie Main Percy Kilbride |
| Cinematography | Maury Gertsman |
| Edited by | Russell Schoengarth |
| Music by | Milton Schwarzwald |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal-International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000[1] |
| Box office | $2,850,000 (rentals)[1] |
Ma and Pa Kettle is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sequel to the 1947 film version of Betty MacDonald's semi-fictional memoir The Egg and I and the first official installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle franchise starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.[1]
Plot
Ma and Pa Kettle have lived in a broken-down ramshackle farmhouse for twenty-five years in rural Cape Flattery, Washington. The Kettles' arch-nemesis, Birdie Hicks, organizes a town council meeting to condemn the Kettles' "garbage dump" farm.
Pa Kettle enters a contest to win a "house-of-the-future" by writing a slogan for the King Henry Tobacco Company. During the council meeting, Alvin, the town's mailman, calls about a telegram declaring Pa Kettle the winner of the contest. Mayor Dwiggins is delighted and cancels the meeting to deliver this notice to Pa. All of the council members arrive at Ma and Pa's farmhouse, but they are greeted by the Kettle children who attack them with slingshots and toy guns. Ma comes out and calls Pa, but all Pa wanted was a new tobacco pouch. The family move into their large house-of-the-future and enjoy it, throwing a party there. It has modern television, and rows of beds which simultaneously fold up into the wall at the push of a button. After Pa suffers a sunburned face from a heat lamp, he alone moves back to their old house to further avoid such troublesome gadgets. He is then accused of plagiarizing his prize-winning slogan from Billy Reed, and as a result his wife and children have to literally fight off authorities arriving to evict them from the modern house. Pa is finally exonerated from the accusation, and they can keep the house. Their older son gets financing to improve his improved chicken incubator, and in the end gets married.
Cast
- Marjorie Main as Ma Kettle
- Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle
- Richard Long as Tom Kettle
- Meg Randall as Kim Parker
- Esther Dale as Birdie Hicks
- Emory Parnell as Billy Reed
- Harry Antrim as Mayor Dwiggins
- Barry Kelley as Victor Tomkins
- O.Z. Whitehead as Mr. Billings
- Lester Allen as Geoduck
- Other uncredited players include John Beck, Teddy Infuhr, Wilbur Mack, Sam McDaniel, Gene Persson, Dewey Robinson, Eddy Waller and Chief Yowlachie
Reception
The film was a big hit, grossing over $3 million. According to a Universal executive, "their stuff is burlesque and it isn't sophisticated, but the company found that the film is drawing not only the younger element but also the so-called lost audience of over 35 who don't go to the movies regularly."[2]
References
- ^ a b c Reid, John Howard (2005). Movie Westerns: Hollywood Films the Wild, Wild West. Lulu.com. pp. 91–92. ISBN 9781411666108.
- ^ RANDOM NOTES ABOUT PEOPLE AND PICTURES: Jed Harris to Direct Film--Of Bogart And Bacall--Sequel to 'Iwo Jima' B AND B: SEQUEL: BONANZA: By A.H. WEILER. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 05 Feb 1950: 93
