A decade before Ma andKettle first introduced their dozen or so children to move the audiences in a Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert film, the Weavers of radio represented homespun humor on the big screen, for Republic pictures. They've been on their farm for years. Now a big company has come along and wants to dam up the river, basically tossing them off of their property. But there's a promise of a new home to sweeten the deal even though they refuse to easily change their mind.
It's entertaining and corny of course, with lots of songs and real old fashioned homespun humor. With character actors like Pinky Tomlin, Berton Churchill and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams alongside them as well as future Dick Tracy Ralph Byrd, it's not going to appeal to everyone as it's quite dated, but there are a lot of amusing moments particularly an upbeat rendition of "Old MacDonald". I found the later Weaver pictures better than this one, but I wouldn't shuck the corn and toss it aside either. June Weaver gets the best material with her Minnie Pearl yodel and homespun hatchet face, especially when she has to describe why she looks a decade older than her age.
It's entertaining and corny of course, with lots of songs and real old fashioned homespun humor. With character actors like Pinky Tomlin, Berton Churchill and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams alongside them as well as future Dick Tracy Ralph Byrd, it's not going to appeal to everyone as it's quite dated, but there are a lot of amusing moments particularly an upbeat rendition of "Old MacDonald". I found the later Weaver pictures better than this one, but I wouldn't shuck the corn and toss it aside either. June Weaver gets the best material with her Minnie Pearl yodel and homespun hatchet face, especially when she has to describe why she looks a decade older than her age.
