Li'l Abner (1959)

Director:

Melvin Frank

Writers:

Al Capp (comic strip)
Melvin Frank (writer)

Release Date:

6 October 1961 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Family

Tagline:

COMES ALIVE IN TECHNICOLOR! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

As Sadie Hawkins Day approaches, Daisy Mae hopes to win the hand of Li'l Abner by catching him in the traditional race...

Plot Keywords:

Li'l Abner | Marriage | Senator | Fishing | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Peter Palmer	...	Li'l Abner Yokum
Leslie Parrish	...	Daisy Mae
Stubby Kaye	...	Marryin' Sam
Howard St. John	...	General Bullmoose
Julie Newmar	...	Stupefyin' Jones
Stella Stevens	...	Appassionata Von Climax
Billie Hayes	...	Pansy ('Mammy') Yokum
Joe E. Marks	...	Pappy Yokum
Bern Hoffman	...	Earthquake McGoon
Al Nesor	...	Evil Eye Fleagle
Robert Strauss	...	Romeo Scragg
William Lanteau	...	Available Jones
Ted Thurston	...	Senator Jack S. Phogbound
Carmen Álvarez	...	Moonbeam McSwine (as Carmen Alvarez)
Alan Carney	...	Mayor Daniel D. Dogmeat

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The stage production of "Lil Abner" opened at the St. James Theater in New York on November 15, 1956 and ran for 693 performances. Edith (Edie) Adams won the 1957 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actress in a Musical for "Li'l Abner" for portraying Daisy Mae. Stubby Kaye, Billie Hayes, Julie Newmar, Robert Karl and Hope Holiday recreated their stage roles in the movie version.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Abner's and Sam's "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands" musical number, both Mayor Dogmeat and the podium he's standing behind disappear twice.

Quotes:

Gen. Bullmoose: [talking about Appassionata von Climax] She works for me. She gets a salary, and she sort of lives in my house.
Li'l Abner Yokum: [to Appassionata von Climax] Really? Does that mean you gets bed and board, ma'm?
Appassionata Von Climax: Extremely!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rhinestone (1984)

Soundtrack:

I'm Past My Prime

The Most Useless Spot in the USA

Lil Abner ran as a comic strip for over 20 years before being converted into a long running Broadway musical. The original production had Peter Palmer in the lead with Edie Adams instead of Leslie Parrish being Daisy Mae. It debuted in 1956 and ran for two years.

Our government has determined Nevada with its contribution of Las Vegas to our culture should no longer be a site of atomic testing. Dogpatch with its 100% unemployment should be. So everyone's to pack up and leave in a week.

Needless to say the residents of Dogpatch who Al Capp created are not ready to leave, but they are blindly patriotic. They have to find some thing worth salvaging in Dogpatch.

They hit on it with Mammy Yoakum's Yoakumberry tonic which she has been feeding a spoonful of to Lil Abner since his birth. He's grown up big and strong with a soloflex physique.

Let's just say that there's a problem with Yoakumberry tonic. Mammy Yoakum may have hit upon steroid abuse 30 years ahead of time. That leads to all the complications, matrimonial and political, contained in the plot.

I liked the production and the surreal sets, very much like Warren Beatty's production of Dick Tracy later on, another cartoon character. I didn't like the fact that the best song of the Gene DePaul-Johnny Mercer score was left out of the film. It's called Love in a Home and Bing Crosby did a fine record of it back in 1956.

Peter Palmer had he come along even 10 years earlier might have given folks like Howard Keel and Gordon MacRae competition for musical leads in film. As it was, musicals were slowly dying out as they became to expensive to produce.

The one who got the most attention on Broadway and Hollywood was Stubby Kaye as Marrying Sam. DePaul and Mercer wrote a wonderful satirical song called Jubilation T. Cornpone about a less than able southern general who was proud to call Dogpatch his hometown. Kaye was a great performer and fortunate are we that in Guys and Dolls and Lil Abner we have his two best known performances preserved.

By the way, the character General Bullmoose who Howard St. John played, is a spoof of Eisenhower's flannelmouth Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson. He was the President of General Motors and during his confirmation made that comment that came out "what was good for General Motors was good for the USA." He was the perfect living caricature of a blowhard businessman and Al Capp had a field day with him. Hence the choral song What's good for General Bullmoose is good for the USA.

Dogpatch may have been useless, but it's sure a nice place to visit.