| Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair | |
|---|---|
 theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Barton |
| Starring | Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride |
| Studio | Universal International Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 11, 1952 |
| Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair is a 1952 comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The Cape Flattery County Fairis coming up, and Ma and Pa Kettle are ready to compete with Birdie Hicks on the contests.
Synopsis[]
Ma and Pa Kettle are trying to raise money to send their daughter Rosie to college. Ma decides to participate in contests at the county fair, and Pa buys Emma, an old tired horse, for the Harness Race. Birdie Hicks tries her best to successfully win all of the contests, but the Kettles are the ones who get the last laugh.
Cast[]
- Marjorie Main as Ma Kettle
- Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle
- Lori Nelson as Rosie Kettle
- James Best as Marvin Johnson
- Esther Dale as Birdie Hicks
- Emory Parnell as Billy Reed
- Oliver Blake as Geoduck
- Russell Simpson as Clem Johnson
- Rex Lease as Sheriff
Films[]
Ma and Pa Kettle first appeared in supporting roles as neighbors in The Egg and I, starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert as a refined city couple who move to a rural chicken farm. Marjorie Main, a veteran character actress, played a hardy country woman in dozens of films, and so was a natural for the role of Ma Kettle. Main was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[1] After the success of The Egg and I, she and Percy Kilbride starred in their own series of Ma and Pa Kettle movies, which became box-office bonanzas for Universal Pictures, having earned an estimated $35 million for the entire series.[2]
Original film poster
Kilbride retired after making Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki due to an automobile accident,[3] and the Pa Kettle character did not appear in The Kettles in the Ozarks. Arthur Hunnicutt played Pa's brother Sedgewick Kettle in that movie and in The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm, the last Kettle movie, Parker Fennelly played Pa Kettle.
The ten Kettle films are:
- The Egg and I - 1947
- Ma and Pa Kettle - 1949[4]
- Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town - 1950
- Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm - 1951
- Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair - 1952
- Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation - 1953
- Ma and Pa Kettle at Home - 1954
- Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki - 1955
- The Kettles in the Ozarks - 1956
- The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm - 1957
References[]
- ↑ The Egg and I, Awards at Internet Movie Database
- ↑ Main and Kilbride also appeared together in the 1948 Universal film "Feudin', Fussin' And A-Fightin", costarring Donald O'Connor and Joe Besser. Many have mistaken this movie to be a Kettle film. Main played Maribel Matthews and Kilbride played Billy Caswell.
- ↑ Fitzgerald, p. 69
- ↑ Also known as The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle
External links[]
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair at the Internet Movie Database
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