Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951)

Director:

Edward Sedgwick

Writer:

Jack Henley (story)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The Kettles leave their ultra-modern home and return to the country looking for uranium. Ma and Tom's mother-in-law...

Plot Keywords:

Uranium | Grandchild | Pregnancy | Maternity Ward | Childbirth

Cast

Marjorie Main	...	Ma Kettle
Percy Kilbride	...	Pa Kettle
Richard Long	...	Tom Kettle
Meg Randall	...	Kim Parker Kettle
Ray Collins	...	Jonathan Parker
Barbara Brown	...	Elizabeth Parker
Emory Parnell	...	Billy Reed
Peter Leeds	...	Manson
Teddy Hart	...	Crowbar
Oliver Blake	...	Geoduck
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lucille Barkley	...	(unconfirmed)
Dee Carroll	...	(unconfirmed)
Verna Kornman	...	(unconfirmed)
Anne P. Kramer	...	(unconfirmed)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Fourth of eight films in which Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride portrayed Ma and Pa Kettle.

Quotes:

Ma Kettle: Thomas Edison's first name was Thomas!

Movie Connections:

Follows Ma and Pa Kettle (1949)

Top Notch Kettle Entry

MA AND PA KETTLE BACK ON THE FARM was the fourth film in the series and it's one of the best, with a number of laugh-out-loud lines and hilarious knockabout humor. The Kettles become grandparents as the film opens - endearing idiot Pa learning Ma is at the hospital and that "Mrs. Kettle" is expecting believes Ma is the one with child! The blessed event brings daughter-in-law Kim's parents to town and Ma immediately clashes with the haughty Mrs. Parker who proceeds to boss the whole Kettle household around, lays down the rules for interaction with the baby, and even decides to name the child over Tom and Kim's decision!! When the bickering gets too intense and threatens Tom and Kim's marriage, Ma decides to Pa and her and the kids will move back to the family's dilapidated rural house for a spell while the Parkers stay in the KETTLES fancy city home. Back home, Pa and local huckster Billy discover uranium on the homestead - and so do a couple of petty crooks from the big city.

This entry has some of the funniest lines in the series and Pa's "14 goes into 25" skit is an unheralded gem that is funnier than Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First" classic sketch. Mrs. Parker is a rather over the top caricature of a snooty city woman although Barbara Brown gives a good performance in the role. Her tirade against the Kettles Indian friends though is rather offensive even for the era though.though I loved Crowbar's retort when Pa informs him aristocratic Mrs. Parker's "ancestors came over on the Mayflower." "Hmmmph," says Crowbar, "that nothing. Mine there to greet them!"