''Ma and Pa Kettle'' (also known as ''The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle'') is a 1949 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 o ...

directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

. It is the sequel to the 1947 film version of

Betty MacDonald Betty MacDonald (born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard; March 26, 1907 – February 7, 1958) was an American author who specialized in humorous autobiographical tales, and is best known for her book '' The Egg and I''. She also wrote the '' Mrs. Piggl ...

's semi-fictional memoir '' The Egg and I'' and the first official installment of Universal-International'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 1 ...

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 b ...

Plot

Ma and Pa Kettle have lived in a broken-down ramshackle farmhouse for twenty-five years in rural

Cape Flattery, Washington Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, and ...

. The Kettles'

arch-nemesis In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy. Etymology The word ''archenemy'' sometim ...

, Birdie Hicks, organizes a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

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

* Other uncredited players include John Beck,

Teddy Infuhr Teddy Infuhr (November 9, 1936 – May 12, 2007), born Theodore Edward Infuhr, was an American child actor. Biography Missouri-born child actor Teddy Infuhr, youngest of four, moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was three and was initial ...

Wilbur Mack Wilbur Mack (born George Frear Runyon, July 29, 1873 – March 13, 1964) was an American film actor and early vaudeville performer from the 1920s through the 1960s. His film acting career began during the silent film era. Biography Mack w ...

Sam McDaniel Samuel Rufus McDaniel (January 28, 1886September 24, 1962)Tanner, Beccy (November 7, 1991)"McDaniel Opened Doors; 'Gone With the Wind' Was Actress' Most Famous Film" ''The Wichita Eagle''. Retrieved January 3, 2021. was an American actor who ap ...

, Gene Persson,

Dewey Robinson Dewey Robinson (August 17, 1898 – December 11, 1950) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 250 films made between 1931 and 1952. Career Dewey Robinson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1898, and made his Br ...

Eddy Waller Edward Carlingford Waller (June 14, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor. Early years Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas M. Waller, a Presbyterian minister, and Anna Ta ...

and

Chief Yowlachie Chief Yowlachie (August 15, 1890 – March 7, 1966), also known as Daniel Simmons; was a Native American actor from the Yakama tribe in the U.S. state of Washington, known for playing supporting roles and bit parts in numerous films. He is p ...

Production

Helena Carter turned down the female romantic lead. Filming started December 1948.

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."

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma And Pa Kettle (Film) 1949 films 1949 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films set in Washington (state) Universal Pictures films Films directed by Charles Lamont Ma and Pa Kettle 1940s English-language films 1940s American films