''The Egg and I'' is a 1947 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Chester Erskine Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer. Biography Chester Erskine was born in Hudson, New York and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first dir ...

, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fred F. Finklehoffe, based on the book of the same name by

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 ...

and starring

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

and

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

, with

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 ...

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 ...

. The

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

success of ''The Egg and I'' influenced the production 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 ''

'' series, which consists of nine feature films most of which star Main and Kilbride together. At the 20th

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, Main was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Plot

The film tells the story of a young married couple who become chicken farmers. Betty follows her husband Bob to the countryside where his dream is to be a successful chicken farmer. The problem is, their home is old and needs to be repaired and the baby chicks need constant care. When a rich single woman with a new house and new farm equipment flirts with Bob, Betty questions their decision to move to the farm in the first place. In the end, she finds out that Bob was trying to buy the new house for Betty as a surprise.

Cast

Production crew

* Production Design .... Bernard Herzbrun * Set Decoration .... Oliver Emert / Russell A. Gausman * Hair Stylist .... Carmen Dirigo * Makeup Artist .... Jack P. Pierce * Assistant Director .... Frank Shaw * Second Unit Director .... Jack Hively (uncredited) * Sound Technician .... Glenn E. Anderson * Sound .... Charles Felstead * Orchestrator ....

David Tamkin David Tamkin (28 August 1906 – 21 June 1975) was an American composer of Jewish descent, born in Chernihiv, Russian Empire. He devoted much of his professional career as an arranger, composer ncreditedand orchestrator of film scores for Hollywoo ...

* Composer: Stock Music .... Sam Perry (uncredited)

Reception

''The Egg and I'' was a box office success, earning $5.5 million in domestic theatrical rentals against its budget of $1.9 million.

Radio adaptations

* ''The Egg and I'' was presented on ''This Is Hollywood'' on January 4, 1947, with Colbert and MacMurray reprising their movie roles. The adaptation was unusual in that it preceded the film's release. * ''The Egg and I'' was presented on ''

Hallmark Playhouse ''Hallmark Playhouse'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology series. It was broadcast on CBS from June 10, 1948 until February 1, 1953, and was described by one author as "a program that consistently produced the highest levels of prod ...

'' January 5, 1950, with Colbert again starring in her movie role. * ''The Egg and I'' was performed as a one-hour radio play on the May 5, 1947 broadcast of ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'', with both Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray reprising their movie roles.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egg And I, The 1947 films American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films Films based on American novels 1947 romantic comedy films Ma and Pa Kettle Films about farmers Films directed by Chester Erskine American romantic comedy films Films set on farms Films set in Washington (state) Films scored by Frank Skinner Films about chickens 1940s American films