''Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair'' is a 1952 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Charles Barton. It is the fourth installment of
Universal-International
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
's ''
Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late 1940s and 1950s. The hillbilly duo had their hands full with a ramshackle farm and a brood of rambunctious child ...
'' series starring
Marjorie Main
Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and ...
and
Percy Kilbride
Percy William Kilbride (July 16, 1888 – December 11, 1964) was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series of feature films.
Early life
Kilbride was ...
.
Plot
Ma and Pa Kettle are trying to raise money to send their daughter Rosie to
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
, although the couple are unemployed and in debt. Pa deliberately walks in front of street traffic, hoping to win a monetary injury settlement, but only succeeds in causing a collision. Ma then decides to participate in contests at the
county fair
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...
, and Pa buys Emma, an old tired horse, on credit for the Harness Race, promising to pay the owner later with Ma's fair prize winnings. Birdie Hicks tries her best to win all of the contests, but the Kettles are the ones who get the last laugh.
Cast
*
Marjorie Main
Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and ...
as Ma Kettle
*
Percy Kilbride
Percy William Kilbride (July 16, 1888 – December 11, 1964) was an American character actor. He made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the ''Ma and Pa Kettle'' series of feature films.
Early life
Kilbride was ...
as Pa Kettle
*
Lori Nelson
Dixie Kay Nelson (August 15, 1933August 23, 2020), known professionally as Lori Nelson, was an American actress and model mostly active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had roles in the TV series ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' and the films ''Re ...
as Rosie Kettle
*
James Best
Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...
as Marvin Johnson
*
Esther Dale
Esther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress of the stage and screen.
Early years
Dale was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. She attended Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend, Vermont. In Berlin, Germany, she stud ...
as Birdie Hicks
*
Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career.
Early years
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...
as Billy Reed
*
Russell Simpson as Clem Johnson
*
Rex Lease
Rex Lloyd Lease (February 11, 1903 – January 3, 1966) was an American actor. He appeared in over 300 films, mainly in Poverty Row westerns.
Biography
Lease arrived in Hollywood in 1924. He found bit and supporting parts at Film Booking O ...
as Sheriff
References
External links
1952 films
American comedy films
American horse racing films
Ma and Pa Kettle
1952 comedy films
Films set in Washington (state)
American black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
Films directed by Charles Barton
1950s American films
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