The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm)
by Charles Lamont, Chester Erskine, Edward Sedgwick
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Louise Allbritton, Marjorie Main, Percy KilbrideDirector: Charles Lamont, Chester Erskine, Edward Sedgwick
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: Chester Erskine
Writer: Al Lewis
Writer: Betty MacDonald
Writer: Fred F. Finklehoffe
Writer: Herbert H. Margolis
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 345 minutes
Published: 2004-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm)
Movie Review: "Come 'n get it!!!"
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to sit in front of the TV as a kid on a Saturday afternoon & watch the Ma & Pa Kettle movies. I'm happy to say they haven't lost their charm at all. The one I had always managed to miss was the one that launched the Kettles, "The Egg & I"; I'm pleased to see it made the DVD collection. The Kettles are supporting characters in this one (it starred Claudette Colbert & Fred MacMurray as newlyweds roughing it with farm life). But it's obvious that Universal had plans to spin the Kettles off into their own film series...lucky for us! "The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle" puts the Kettles in the driver's seat when Pa wins a tobacco slogan contest, transporting the brood into an automated "home of the future". All adjust to this new environment but Pa, who's more used to the laid-back farm life (the bits with an electronic-eye door, the arm-rest vacuum, and the heat lamps in the bathroom are a hoot). "...Go to New York" once again uses the fish-out-of-water formula when Pa wins yet another slogan contest (for a lazy man, he's done well for himself!) through Bubble Cola, an all-expenses paid trip to you-know-where. A bank robber crosses paths with Pa at the farm & asks him to deliver a black travel bag to his "brother" once in New York. From there begins a dizzying series of plot twists as strange men steal Pa's bag, Pa gets arrested for feeding zoo animals, and even Ma puts herself through charm school to be more of a lady for Pa (Marjorie Main gloriously hams it up here). Meanwhile, the bank robber agrees to babysit the kids while they're gone--the poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into! Look for Jim Backus (of "Gilligan's Island" Mr. Howell fame) as one of the thugs. "...Back on the Farm" delivers a blessed event: A grandchild for the Kettles (hilariously, Pa gets confused & thinks it's HIS wife that just had kid #16!). The bliss is soon over when the in-laws arrive, and the mother-in-laws' snooty, upper-class Bostonian methods on how to raise the baby ruffle Ma's feathers to no end. Eventually driven from their home & settling back down at the old place, the story takes some wacky detours with the discovery of uranium on the property, a baby kidnapping gone awry, and a wild car chase that closes the film.
It was obvious that Universal had a tried-and-true formula on how to make the Kettle series, with comedy writers & directors supplied (Charles Lamont had also directed the studio's big comedy team Abbott & Costello, and there's a variation of the team's "pack/unpack" routine in "...Back on the Farm"). But when it comes down to it, the greatest assets of the series were the actors themselves. No one lent more credibility & broad appeal to the characters of Ma & Pa Kettle than Marjorie Main & Percy Kilbride. They put their distinctive stamps on the roles, and even great catchphrases & familiar bits left their impressions (Ma's roar of "Come 'n get it!!"; Pa's lazy lament "Going to have to fix that one of these days"; or Ma & Pa getting confused over their fifteen childrens' names).
So looking forward to Volume 2!
More The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm) reviews:
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Summary of The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm)
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