The Films of Ma & Pa Kettle

Oh my goodness, I've had the most wonderful time this week! I've been so lazy just sitting around enjoying the warm weather while watching Ma & Pa Kettle! I bought the complete set last week and it's probably my cheapest and most favorite purchase this year, so far. The set has all ten films, all for under $20! I bought mine for $13 at Wal-mart, but Amazon has a great deal, too! You can't beat that with a stick! Well, you could but then you'd have to buy a new set!

I have no idea where my affection for Ma & Pa came from, but I'm pretty sure my mother had something to do with it. She would always tell me about her favorite movies or songs. She influenced me just as most parents do. Her favorites became mine and I think that's only fitting because I was her favorite child - don't tell my siblings, they'll be crushed!

So, without further ado, I give you Ma & Pa Kettle, their 15 kids, Pa's Indian friends Geoduck and Crowbar, Jennie the hen, and that mean old Birdie Hicks! Oh, and I almost forgot about Billy Reed. He's the reason the Kettles could live a life of luxury - or so Pa thought - because Billy let them have a line of credit! I hope you enjoy!

Note: I had links for all the movies, but I kept getting a warning that this was being over-promotional and couldn't be published. I don't want to be guilty of that. I just wanted to share my love for the Kettles! Sorry!

This is where the Kettles got their start. Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray starred, but the Kettles stole the show! Here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:

On their wedding night Bob informs his new bride Betty that he has bought a chicken farm. An abandoned chicken farm, to be exact, which is obvious when the two move in. Betty endures Bob's enthusiasm for the rural life, rustic inconveniences, and battling nature, but her patience is severely tested when glamorous neighbor Harriet Putnam seems to set her sights on Bob. [source: IMDB.com]

This movie gave the Kettles a chance to shine! Pa is as lazy as ever and Ma is always the strong one. I think she could bench press a cow! I used to imagine living in the modern house that Pa won in this movie! I even loved all the furniture! Here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:

Hard working but slightly unaware Ma Kettle and idle-minded and sloppy Pa Kettle, and by association their fifteen children, are in trouble with the Cape Flattery, Washington town council for the messy condition they keep their house. The council believes it to be both an eyesore and a health hazard, and they plan on condemning it. The mayor thinks it's a win-win situation for both the town and the Kettles when he learns that Pa has just won a completely furnished modern house in the King Henry Tobacco Company's slogan contest. Beyond getting the Kettles out of their current rat trap, Pa's contest win has put Cape Flattery "on the map". [source: IMDB.com]

Well, well, Pa wins another contest in this one! His prize? A trip to New York City! These country bumpkins in the big city is why this movie is one of my favorites! Here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:

When Pa wins a jingle-writing contest, he and Ma head for New York City. They they get in trouble with gangsters when they lose some stolen money which they had already agreed to deliver to one of the thugs. [source: IMDB.com]

This movie is entertaining, but not nearly as much as the others. Made my blood boil when one of the characters acted all high and mighty towards Ma & Pa, but that's what I was supposed to feel. Great acting! Here's the summary:

In this installment of the Kettle series, Ma and Pa become grandparents when their son, Tom, and his wife, Kim, become parents themselves. Kim's parents arrive from Boston to help out with the baby, and tensions rise between the grandmothers. [source: Amazon.com]

Between the teeth-breaking homemade bread and Ma entering herself as a horse in the horse race, I was laughing non-stop. This one is very funny, but I sure felt sorry for those horses with the full bellies! Here's the plot summary:

Ma and Pa are trying to raise enough money at the county fair to send their daughter Rosie to college. Ma competes in baking and Pa enters a trotter in a horse race, while Rosie takes up with handsome young Marvin Johnson. [source: IMDB.com]

I really enjoyed this one. The Kettles go to France! We get to see Ma & Pa all dressed up and in style! Well, Pa would like nothing better than to stay in bed all day, but Ma makes him take a bath and go out to socialize! Here's the summary:

Ma and Pa Kettle receive a special letter. Elizabeth (Barbara Brown) and John (Ray Collins) have sent them tickets to New York and Paris, France. The hometown Indians, Geoduck (Oliver Blake) and Crowbar (Teddy Hart) will take care of the 13 children. So off they fly to Paris. Unfortunately, Ma and Pa get mixed-up in a kettle of trouble. [source: Amazon.com]

Another good one! Pa decides to spruce up the old farm, well, he gets Geoduck and Crowbar to do the actual work, but the plans are all Pa's! Keep this in mind: lazy men are not the best at making plans! Here's the plot summary:

Elwin Kettle might win a scholarship to an agricultural college. Essay contest judges Mannering and Crosby decide to choose between the two finalist by spending the weekend at the home of each. Pa makes numerous cosmetic improvements to his rundown home to impress the judges, but all wash away in a torrential rain storm. Will the judges still award the scholarship to Elwin? [source: Amazon.com]

Cute, cute movie! The Kettles go to Hawaii! Pa tries to run a company and Ma tries to fit in with the wife of the bank president. Yeah, another one of those high-falootin' people, but Ma don't mind! Here's the summary:

Ma and Pa, along with daughter Rosie, go off to Hawaii in answer to cousin Rodney's call for help running his pineapple farm while he recovers from an illness. Pa soon causes a major explosion and gets himself kidnapped. [source: IMDB.com]

Good, but not as good as the ones with Percy Kilbride(Pa) in them. He was not in the last two due to illness. He is definitely missed, but this is still a good movie. Ma always runs the show! Here's the plot summary:

Ma and the kids head back to the Ozarks for a visit with Uncle Sedge (essentially a Pa Kettle replacement). He's working his way through a twenty years long relationship with Miss Bedelia Baines. [source: IMDB.com]

Sadly, this is the last Kettle movie. A new person plays Pa, but it still has all the usual wackiness involved with a Ma & Pa Kettle movie! Here's the summary:

This one brings down the curtain on the likeable series as Ma & Pa (and kids) settle into new digs...and discover a young couple hiding out. And so, it's up to the Kettles to act as chaperones, along with some funny bits of business involving doing chores, a logging competition, and a pesky bear. [source: Amazon.com]