Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)

An unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional southern gentleman.

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Oscar Brodney (screenplay), Cid Ricketts Sumner (novel)

Stars:

Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan, Leslie Nielsen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Debbie Reynolds	...	Tammy
Leslie Nielsen	...	Peter Brent
Walter Brennan	...	Grandpa
Mala Powers	...	Barbara
Sidney Blackmer	...	Professor Brent
Mildred Natwick	...	Aunt Renie
Fay Wray	...	Mrs. Brent
Philip Ober	...	Alfred Bissle
Craig Hill	...	Ernie
Louise Beavers	...	Osia
April Kent	...	Tina

Storyline

When Pete's plane crashes in the swamp, he's rescued by young Tammy, an unsophisticated backwoods girl who lives with her lay-preacher-cum-moonshiner grandfather. When Pete's well, he goes back home to his fiancée. But then Grampa gets sent to jail and he sends Tammy to stay with Pete. At Pete's house, Tammy's home cooking, enthusiasm and quaint sunshiny personality bring about changes in Pete's family and in Pete himself.

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Plot Keywords:

swamp | louisiana | rural setting | country girl | southern u.s. | 

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Taglines:

All about a little Mississippi riverboat gal who taught a sophisticated bachelor about love!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1957 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Tammy

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In August 1957, this film was being shown on a double bill with The Midnight Story (1957).

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Quotes

Aunt Renie: [taking out a fancy gown out of a storage trunk] These things were Grandmother Cratcher's. She was Peter's great-grandmother. This is a comb she wore. You must wear your hair up, like her portrait. They wouldn't have her downstairs - not glamorouos enough. She walked barefoot, beside her father's wagon, all the way from Virginia. They were robed on the way by some bandits. Was nothing left but the cow, and a few chickens.
Tambey 'Tammy' Tyree: That's too bad...
Aunt Renie: And then one day she came to this house to sell eggs. My...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in These Old Broads (2001)

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Soundtracks

Tammy
Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Sung by The Ames Brothers (over the opening credits)
Later sung by Debbie Reynolds (at her bedroom windowsill)

User Reviews

Debbie Debbie Debbie

It's hard to believe that Debbie Reynolds did this movie 5 years after Singin' In The Rain. It seems like she should have played Tammy 5 years before Singin'.

Reynolds infuses some complexity in the role - check out her sly grin when Leslie Nielsen picks her up in the barn. It's a role that could easily have been annoying to audiences but Reynolds never loses a viewers affections. In the two sequels Sandra Dee came very close to crossing that annoying line.

Besides Reynolds, the other treat is the great cast around her. It was fun to see a young Leslie Nielsen in a straight role as the leading man and Mildred Natwick does her usual excellent job (why did she never get more Oscar recognition). Fay Wray, Walter Brennan, Philip Ober & Sidney Blackmer also do a great job.

The director, Joseph Pevney, should get credit for keeping the story moving forward and not getting bogged down in the corny aspects of the movie. Had i been more than 1 years old when this movie came out, I'm sure it would have been a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.