Tonight's Movies: Ma and Pa Kettle Complete Comedy Collection - A Universal Blu-ray Review

Universal has just released a fun 10-film Blu-ray set, the Ma and Pa Kettle Complete Comedy Collection.

It's a five-disc set containing two films per disc. While the film which introduced the Kettles, THE EGG AND I (1947), had a previous Blu-ray release in 2018, this is the first time for the rest of the movies to be out on Blu-ray.

With the exception of THE EGG AND I, all of the Ma and Pa Kettle films run 76 to 81 minutes. THE EGG AND I runs 108 minutes.

I first reviewed THE EGG AND I (1947) here in 2009 and saw it again at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2017, introduced by Kate MacMurray.

MacMurray's father Fred costarred with Claudette Colbert in this amusing tale of Bob and Betty MacDonald, city slickers trying to make a living after moving to a farm.

The MacDonalds are unflappably accepting of their neighbors the Kettles (Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride), who live with a dozen or so children in a ramshackle house.

The Kettles provide comic relief, as the strains of farm living and an attractive "other woman" (Louise Allbritton) cause problems for Betty and Bob's marriage; other than the marital struggles, which go on too long, THE EGG AND I is quite a fun film. And Marjorie Main was Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actress!

For more information on THE EGG AND I, please visit my previous review.

THE EGG AND I spawned a series of nine sequels from Universal Pictures, with a Ma and Pa Kettle film released in the U.S. every year from 1949 through 1957.

Those titles, all of which are included in this set along with THE EGG AND I, are listed further down in this post, including release years, main supporting casts, directors, and running times. All of the films are presented here in 1080p prints.

Somehow I've never seen a single Kettle film, so I'm looking forward to seeing them for the first time, especially as they have the kind of fun casts I appreciate, filled with both up-and-coming young faces and recognizable character actors.

Clearly it's going to take a lot of hours to watch my way through the entire series, so for purposes of this review I've revisited THE EGG AND I, which is a beautiful Blu-ray print, and I've also watched MA AND PA KETTLE (1949) for the first time.

As MA AND PA KETTLE opens, the town council is about to condemn the Kettle home. As luck would have it, Pa wins a brand-new home in a contest, and the Kettles move in with their children, who currently number 15.

Oldest son Tom Kettle (Richard Long) meets magazine writer Kim (Meg Randall) on the train home from college. They fall for one another, although her theories about good hygiene rather clash with Tom's acceptance of his family's, er, unorthodox standard of living.

The rest of the movie covers the Kettles attempting to get to used to living in a clean, modern home, while Tom romances Kim and tries to sell his plans for a chicken incubator.

Is it a good film? Not especially...but at the same time, I liked it. I'm a fan of "B" movies, and it was a fun hour and 16 minutes to relax with on a weekend afternoon. Making the experience even better was that it was a nice crisp print with good sound.

Marjorie Main tickles me, and I enjoyed chuckling over some of the film's absurdities. I also like handsome young Richard Long, who appeared in a couple more of the films before leaving the series. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the Kettle films.

Familiar players in this one include Emory Parnell, Ida Moore, Esther Dale, Harry Antrim, Chief Yowlachie, and O.Z. Whitehead.

MA AND PA KETTLE is the name on the movie's credits, but it's also sometimes known as THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF MA AND PA KETTLE; those words appear on posters for the film.

The movie was directed by Charles Lamont. It was written by Al Lewis, Herbert Margolis, and Louis Morheim. The black and white cinematography was by Maury Gertsman.

Below is information on the additional eight Kettle films included in this set along with THE EGG AND I and MA AND PA KETTLE. I anticipate sharing additional reviews here in the future as I watch my way through this series.

MA AND PA KETTLE GO TO TOWN (1950) - Richard Long, Meg Randall, Charles McGraw, Jim Backus, 79 minutes, directed by Charles Lamont

MA AND PA KETTLE BACK ON THE FARM (1951) - Richard Long, Meg Randall, Ray Collins, 80 minutes, directed by Edward Sedgwick

MA AND PA KETTLE AT THE FAIR (1952) - James Best, Lori Nelson, 78 minutes, directed by Charles Barton

MA AND PA KETTLE ON VACATION (1953) - Ray Collins, 76 minutes, directed by Charles Lamont

MA AND PA KETTLE AT HOME (1954) - Alan Mowbray, Mary Wickes, 80 minutes, directed by Charles Lamont

MA AND PA KETTLE AT WAIKIKI (1955) - Lori Nelson, Byron Palmer, Russell Johnson, 79 minutes, directed by Lee Sholem

THE KETTLES IN THE OZARKS (1956) - Una Merkel, Ted de Corsia, 81 minutes, directed by Charles Lamont

THE KETTLES ON OLD MACDONALD'S FARM (1957) - Gloria Talbott, John Smith, Claude Akins, 81 minutes, directed by Virgil W. Vogel

The Ma and Pa Kettle Complete Comedy Collection comes in a plastic case sheathed in a cardboard slipcase. The first disc in the set includes a 10-minute featurette, CLAUDETTE COLBERT: QUEEN OF THE SILVER SCREEN (2008). This older featurette previously appeared in Universal DVD releases THE EGG AND I (1947) and CLEOPATRA (1934).

Optional English subtitles are included as well.

Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Universal for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection. It may be purchased from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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