''Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm'' is a 1951 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 Edward Sedgwick. It is the third 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. It was also the last completed film of director Sedgwick's long career.

Plot

In July 1950, Ma and Pa Kettle come home after their fun and exciting trip to New York City only to find out that they're going to become grandparents. Tom's wife Kim is expecting a child. As Tom frets about the pregnancy, the whole Kettle household is happy with the family's newest addition. Right in the middle of their breakfast the Kettles receive a telegram delivered by Alvin, the

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...

delivery boy, from Jonathan and Elizabeth Parker (Kim's parents) declaring that they will soon arrive at the Kettle house to see the newborn. Ma hushes everybody, but to her surprise the in-laws have just arrived and are waiting for them outside. Ma goes out to greet them but the Kettle children fight over the Parkers' luggage which they're supposed to bring into the house. The Parkers are refined

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

ians and their first impression of the Kettles leaves them astounded. Ma and Elizabeth don't get acquainted very well—which is the reason why the Kettles leave their ultra-modern house to return to their beloved ramshackle farmhouse. While Pa and his

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

friends, Geoduck and the mute Crowbar, go to work blasting a new well, two shady men searching for uranium deposits find evidence of the ore in the farm soil. Soon after, Pa falls into the well, and when he climbs out he finds that he can generate electricity spontaneously. Mr. Parker, a retired mine owner who, unlike his wife, appreciates the Kettles' hominess, deduces that Pa's radioactivity must be due to uranium-rich soil in his coveralls pockets. He informs the Kettles that they are about to become very rich. They then discuss with Geoduck, Crowbar and their friend, local salesman Billy Reed, how they would like to share the profits among them all. While they talk, however, Tom arrives and despondently tells them that Mrs. Parker has talked Kim into leaving him and taking the baby from the hospital, where it is staying because of a cold, back to Boston. That night, Billy, Geoduck and Crowbar sneak into the hospital and attempt to steal the baby back for Tom. Each man, however, grabs a girl baby instead of little Jonathan. When the sheriff arrives, Ma and Pa have to trick him into taking the babies back without pressing charges. The next day, the two shady men inform Ma and Pa that they have bought the farm by paying the back taxes owed on it, but Mr. Parker brings in a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

expert to convince them that the land is useless, and the men agree to give Pa the deed to the farm and ten dollars. As soon as they leave, however, the expert reveals to Parker that the land really is barren, and Mr. Parker realizes that the only radioactive element on the property is Pa's coveralls, which his nephew wore during overseas atomic bomb tests. As the Kettles celebrate the payment of their back taxes, Tom announces that Mrs. Parker and Kim have boarded a train to Boston, causing Mr. Parker, Tom, Ma and Pa to give chase. They manage to stop the train, and when Tom stands up to Kim and Mr. Parker rebukes his wife for the first time, Mrs. Parker realizes the error of her ways. She and Ma, however, do not disembark in time, and are forced to stop the train in the middle of a field and use a railroad hand car to get home. By the time that Pa, Mr. Parker, Tom and Kim return to the house, Ma and Mrs. Parker have prepared dinner for the whole happy family.

Cast

as Ma Kettle * Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle * Richard Long as Tom Kettle *

Meg Randall Meg Randall (born Genevieve Roberts;''The Milwaukee Journal'', September 18, 1949, Jesse Daniels, Hollywood, "It Paid Her to Do Nothing", Milwaukee, WI, p. 5. August 1, 1926 – July 20, 2018) was an American film actress. She was active in moti ...

as Kim Parker Kettle * Ray Collins as Jonathan Parker * Barbara Brown as Elizabeth Parker *

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 * Peter Leeds as Manson *Teddy Hart as Crowbar *Oliver Blake as Geoduck *

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 ...

as Clallan County Sheriff (uncredited) *J.P. Sloane as Billy Kettle (uncredited) * Edward Clark (uncredited) *

Edmund Cobb Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundi ...

(uncredited) * Harold Goodwin (uncredited) * Jerry Hausner (uncredited) *

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 ...

(uncredited) * Jack Ingram (uncredited) *

Sherry Jackson Sherry D. Jackson (born February 15, 1942) is an American retired actress and former child star. Early life Jackson was born in Wendell, Idaho, to Maurita (or Maurite) Kathleen Gilbert and Curtis Loys Jackson, Sr. on February 15, 1942, accordin ...

(uncredited) *

Harry von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

(uncredited)

Production

The film was originally entitled ''Ma and Pa Kettle Have a Baby''. Filming started 11 February 1950.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma And Pa Kettle Back On The Farm 1951 films Films directed by Edward Sedgwick Ma and Pa Kettle Films set in 1950 Films set in Washington (state) American comedy films 1951 comedy films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films