Ma and Pa Kettle (film)

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Ma and Pa Kettle
MandPaKettlefilm.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Charles Lamont
Written byAl Lewis
Screenplay byAl Lewis
Herbert Margolis
Louis Morheim
Based on The Egg and I
1945 novel's characters
by Betty MacDonald
Produced by Leonard Goldstein
Starring Marjorie Main
Percy Kilbride
Cinematography Maury Gertsman
Edited byRussell Schoengarth
Music by Milton Schwarzwald
Production
company
Universal Pictures
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • April 1, 1949 (1949-04-01)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200,000 [1] or $500,000 [2] or $380,000 [3]
Box office$2,850,000 (rentals) [1] or $2.3 million [4]

Ma and Pa Kettle (also known as The Further Adventures of 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 series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. [1]

Contents

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. In order to receive a new tobacco pouch for entering a contest, Pa Kettle writes a slogan for the King Henry Tobacco Company.

During the council meeting to condemn the property, Alvin, the town's mailman, calls about a telegram declaring Pa Kettle the winner of the contest's grand prize of a new "house-of-the-future". Mayor Dwiggins is delighted and cancels the meeting in order to deliver the telegram personally to Pa. All of the council members arrive at Ma and Pa's farmhouse but are greeted by the 14 youngest Kettle children who thinking they are defending their home from condemnation, attack them with slingshots and toy guns.

The Kettles' oldest son Tom, on his way home after graduating from college, meets easterner Kim Parker on the train and shows her his plans to improve a chicken incubator to make it more affordable for farmers. Kim is a young writer full of theories on the advantages of modern living, but when Tom learns of his family's windfall, he objects to the characterization that his upbringing had been one of "abject" poverty.

The family move into their large house-of-the-future. After Pa suffers a sunburned face from a heat lamp while shaving, he alone moves back to their old house to further avoid such troublesome gadgets. The jealous Birdie Hicks accuses Pa of plagiarizing his prize-winning slogan from traveling salesman Billy Reed, who has a similar one on a calendar. The bad publicity threatens Tom's chances for financing his incubator.

When Pa is disqualified from winning the prize, Ma and the kids have to literally fight off authorities trying to evict them from the modern house while Kim digs up proof that Pa thought up the slogan himself. Billy explains that he got his slogan from Pa, not vice versa, and they keep the house. Tom gets financing to manufacture his improved chicken incubator and marries Kim. At the ceremony Pa receives a telegram advising him that he has won another slogan contest, this time winning a free trip to New York.

Cast

Production

Helena Carter turned down the female romantic lead. [5]

Filming started December 1948. [6]

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." [7]

Related Research Articles

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The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in the US state of Washington. The book is based on the author's experiences as a newlywed trying to acclimate to and operate a small chicken farm near Chimacum, Washington, with her first husband, Robert Heskett, from 1927 to 1931. On visits with her family in Seattle, she told stories of their tribulations, which greatly amused them. In the 1940s, MacDonald's older sister, Mary, strongly encouraged her to write a book about these experiences. The Egg and I was MacDonald's first attempt at writing a book.

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Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick. It is the third installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. It was also the last completed film of director Sedgwick's long career.

<i>Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair</i> 1952 American film by Charles Barton

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton. It is the fourth installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series, starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.

<i>Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation</i> 1953 film

Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sixth installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.

<i>Ma and Pa Kettle at Home</i> 1954 film by Charles Lamont

Ma and Pa Kettle at Home is a 1954 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the sixth, and also most successful, installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.

<i>Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki</i> 1955 film by Lee Sholem

Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki is a 1955 American comedy film directed by Lee Sholem. It is the seventh installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride in his final starring role.

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<i>The Kettles on Old MacDonalds Farm</i> 1957 film by Virgil W. Vogel

The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm is a 1957 American comedy film directed by Virgil Vogel. It is the tenth and last installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle series starring Marjorie Main and introducing Parker Fennelly as Pa, replacing Percy Kilbride. It was also Marjorie Main's last movie of any kind.

<i>Feudin, Fussin and A-Fightin</i> 1948 film by George Sherman

Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' is a 1948 American musical comedy film directed by George Sherman and starring Donald O'Connor. Also featured are Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride,, with Penny Edwards as the perky love interest. It was produced and distributed by Universal Studios.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Reid, John Howard (2005). Movie Westerns: Hollywood Films the Wild, Wild West. Lulu.com. pp. 91–92. ISBN   9781411666108.
  2. ↑ "'Kettle', 'Reilly', Key US Bread and Butter BO". Variety. 10 August 1949. p. 6.
  3. ↑ "U's $1,470,000 Average Prod Cost Pared to 740G Per Pic in 49". Variety. 27 April 1949. p. 6.
  4. ↑ "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. 4 January 1950. p. 59.
  5. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (February 14, 2020). "Helena Carter: An Appreciation". Filmink.
  6. ↑ Thomas F. Brady (October 12, 1948). "M-G-M, Fox at Odds Over Film Subject: Both Studios Planning Movies That Deal With the Royal Canadian Mounted Police". The New York Times. p. 32.
  7. ↑ A.H. Weiler (Feb 5, 1950). "Random Notes About People and Pictures: Jed Harris to Direct Film--Of Bogart And Bacall--Sequel to 'Iwo Jima' B AND B: Sequel: Bonanza". The New York Times. p. 93.
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