Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair

The Ma and Pa Kettle series was very consistent for its first three movies after the characters were introduced in The Egg and I. This fourth entry in the series is a departure from the rest, but just as good as its predecessors.

Oldest son Tom is mentioned briefly, but no longer part of the story. The gags about the Kettles' old and new houses were discarded. Birdie Hicks returns as Ma's biggest rival for prizes at the fair. Introduced to the series is daughter Rosie, played by Lori Nelson.

Rosie hopes to go to college, but the family cannot afford to send her. That starts Pa thinking of ways to raise money, and in the process brings up new trouble and a new adventure. Eventually everything hinges on Pa winning a harness race with a horse that is past her prime as a trotter.

Even if it were not known that Director Charles Barton and some of the writers had worked with Abbott and Costello, the change in the feel of the jokes is obvious. Crowbar and Geoduck definitely play a scene that has A&C written all over it, and even make reference to them. Ma and Pa even change a little bit. In the previous movies Ma was grounded as a real person with some depth to her character. There is only one good, but brief, scene in which Ma shows some sincere feelings with Rosie as they talk about Pa. The majority of the time they are on screen, Ma and Pa are purely there for comedy. Near the end of the movie Ma makes a decision that again shows her to be a conscientious and caring person, but that is quickly followed by even more comedy.

After five movies together, Ma and Pa were going strong without a slump.

I have seen most of the Ma & Pa Kettle films and so I can see that compared to the earlier films, "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair" is a sub-par entry into the series. It's not terrible....but it's also not particularly good. Much of this is because the jobs seemed much more limp than usual--especially Pa's American Indian friends.

As usual, Pa Kettle is scheming and spends most of the film trying to manipulate folks into giving him money. He COULD use all this energy getting a job, but this IS Pa Kettle! However, again and again, his schemes seem to backfire--and end up costing Ma the Jelly and Jam contest as well as the bread baking contest at the fair. Can Pa finally redeem himself at the big horse race at the end of the fair? Maybe...and maybe not.

This film is pretty much what you'd expect from a film in the series, although the oldest son (Richard Long) is no where to be seen and the little Kettles only make a couple brief token appearances. As I mentioned above, the Indian sidekicks are a minor issue. They are more important to the film and their charm wears thin after a bit. Inoffensive but also very, very slight overall.

I grew up in a harness racing family. We spent summers racing at county fairs in the northeast. It seems that often harness racing doesn't get nearly the attention and credit that thoroughbred racing gets. And yet, harness racing is where it all started in this country. A true American Breed for a true American Sport. Thanks Ma and Pa Kettle for keeping harness racing in the public's eye; at least during the few times a year this film is broadcast.

I watched "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair" again yesterday, as I do every year at fair time. Do not expect a profound masterpiece here; the humor is corny and some of the jokes are telegraphed, but you will laugh your head off anyway. Pa thinks up several ways to earn money to help his daughter, Rosie, with her college expenses. Probably the funniest is when he gets the bright idea to apply for unemployment. Rosie reminds her pa that one has to have worked before one can get unemployment. Apparently the only work Pa has ever done is to sire his brood of 14 children ha. The broken-down old mare that Pa has been tricked into "purchasing" has a secret that turns her into a real terror, and here we find one of those "telegraphed" jokes. "Emma" runs away with Ma at the reins, and they charge across a plowed field straight toward a scarecrow. You will just know what is going to happen, but I just about collapse in gales of laughter when it does--twice! The writers of this series used similar situations more than once, such as in one where the farm animals get into the moonshine, and, in this case, when a couple of crows pick at Ma's cement-baked loaves of bread and the obvious happens here, too! "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair" is a worthy member in the series, so just settle back and enjoy the yuks!

"Ma & Pa Kettle at the Fair" is a fun movie. This movie has more smiles than actual laughs (even though I did laugh-out-loud a few times) but that's okay. It has solid cast. Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride are both terrific. "Ma & Pa Kettle at the Fair" is a solid installment in the Ma & Pa series. Honorable mention: Pa's sermon.