The Tammy movies are a series of four light-hearted American films about a naive young lady from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. They were produced by

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

between 1957 and 1967, and based on the character created in Cid Ricketts Sumner's 1948 book ''Tammy Out of Time''. The

main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the first three films, Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, is portrayed as a kind and friendly country girl who finds romantic love. Her rustic southern dialect shows her isolation from modern culture, as well as her her rural upbringing but, in the original novel, ''Tammy Out of Time'', Professor Brent discovers that she uses speech expressions going back to

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

, and much of her vocabulary is from the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

“as is true of some of the mountain folk of Kentucky and Tennessee.” ''

Tammy and the Bachelor ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' is a 1957 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent. It is the first of the four Tammy fi ...

'' was the basis for the 1965-1966 television series '' Tammy''. In the series Tammy’s last name was Tarleton, and she lives on a houseboat with her grandfather and uncle, but finds work as the secretary of wealthy Mr. Brent.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 1st Edition'', page 612, Ballantine Books, 1979 Four episodes of ''Tammy'' were reedited into the last Tammy movie, ''Tammy and the Millionaire''.

Film synopsis

''Tammy and the Bachelor'' (1957)

Seventeen-year-old Tammy (

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

) lives on a houseboat with her grandpa (

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

). One day she comes upon the wreckage of a plane, plus the unconscious pilot, Peter Brent (

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (11 February 192628 November 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. Nielsen was bo ...

). Tammy and Grandpa nurse him back to health, and before he leaves for home Peter tells Tammy that if anything happens to her kin she can come and stay with the Brent family. When Grandpa is arrested for making moonshine liquor Tammy and her pet goat, Nan, go to live at Brentwood Hall. With her rustic upbringing and common-sense Tammy is able to save the aristocratic Brent family from bankruptcy. She and Peter fall in love.

''Tammy Tell Me True'' (1961)

Tammy’s (

Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials, and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénue ...

) boyfriend, Pete, left for agricultural college but didn’t write to her, so she decides to take classes at a local college. She hoped to rent a room from rich widow Annie Rook Call, (

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

) but the lady ends up moving into Tammy’s houseboat, and she remembers living on her uncle’s shanty-boat. Tammy falls in love with one of her teachers, Tom Freeman (

John Gavin John A. Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–73), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–86). Among the films he appeared ...

''Tammy and the Doctor'' (1963)

When Mrs. Call (

) needs medical treatment in California Tammy (

) goes with her, becomes a nurse’s aide, and is wooed by a doctor (

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

). Martin Connors & Jim Craddock, ''Videohound’s Golden Movie Retriever 2000'', page 892, Visible Ink, 1999

''Tammy and the Millionaire'' (1967)

A re-edit of four half-hour episodes of the '' Tammy'' TV series. Tammy Tarleton ( Debbie Watson) had been raised on a houseboat by her grandpa (

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in se ...

) and Uncle Lucius ( Frank McGrath) before being hired as a secretary for wealthy John Brent (

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...

). His neighbor, Lavinia Tate ( Dorothy Green) was always trying to make Tammy look bad so that Brent’s son, Steven ( Jay Sheffield) will become interested in Mrs. Tate’s daughter. But Mrs. Tate’s plans always backfire, and Tammy ends up impressing Mr. Brent, and winning Steven’s heart.

References

External links

* * * * {{Tammy