The Egg and I (1947)

Too much of everything

Really Surprised!

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Fred MacMurray and Claudet Colbert are newlyweds. They grew up in the big city, so when MacMurray tells his new bride he has bought a farm and plans to raise chickens, it is quite a surprise. What is a bigger surprise is the farm is a run down mess. They have all the mishaps expected of people who have no knowledge of a serious situation. Just when things are getting really serious, in walk the Kettles. This was their initial screen appearance. I was a big fan of these guys when I was about ten, but later it was a bit much for me. Anyway, Ma, hardly a model for Good Housekeeping, and her lethargic husband, come to the rescue. They have fifteen children, so while a bit eccentric, they see things for what they are. Of course, "Green Acres" is a ripoff of this movie. Anyway, the local characters move in and it's craziness. The star quality makes this work. Margery Maine, as Ma, is delightful and embraces her character totally.

When I was a child(I am now 38) I read the Mrs Piggle wiggle books which were for children...but I always did see that the author was best known for the Egg and I. A few years ago I chanced on a copy of the book in my hometown of Astoria, Oregon. I was really taken by the book, especially since I could relate to the region. I found that while the books had moments of comedy, it also had lots of dead seriousness...as this was the author's actual life experiences. While cinematography was not what it is now or would be later than 1947, I missed shots of the imposing and indifferent Olympic mountains looming over the fragile farm. I quite disagree that the actress who portrays Betty is well cast...the real Betty was more stoic and less stereotypically helpless as was common in the portrayal of women in the 40s.

Married couple Betty and Bob (Colbert & MacMurray) move from the city to the backwoods to take on an abandoned chicken ranch. Hilarity follows.What a chuckled-filled scene when wife Betty plops into the hog wallow following a failed attempt to outwit the pig. Then, along comes spic-&-span, husband-stealing Harriet (Albritten) to walk off with hubby Bob, leaving poor Betty wondering why she's corralling a pig instead of a city bus. It's a delightful film that really holds up despite the passing decades. Mac Murray and Colbert are near perfect in their comedy roles. Note how Bob never becomes dislikable despite his often airy unconcern, or how Betty never becomes maudlin despite the frequent frustrations. Then there are the colorful hayseeds—Ma Kettle (Main) who apparently took housekeeping lessons from Atilla the Hun and needs name tags around that wild pack of kids. And, of course, there's Pa Kettle, the slyest guy around, that is, when he's not begetting little Kettles. But what I really like is the barn dance. That corny band sort of chugs along while the dancers make up their own steps. But pity poor Betty, caught up with a collection of Arthur Murray dropouts who appear to confuse dancing with a mix-master.There were a number of these "back to the sticks" comedies during the period, including Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and George Washington Slept Here (1942). The laughs are built into the premise of inept city folk trying to master country ways, but none are funnier or more delightful than this one.

This movie was based on a book of the same title. The woman who wrote the book, Betty MacDonald, wrote it with her experiences as a young wife living on a chicken farm in the Pacific Northwest. It is worth noting that in the film, Claudette Colbert's character's name is Betty and Fred MacMurray's character's name is Bob (her husband's name). As for the film, we are not told exactly where the characters are supposed to be living although it is safe to say they are far away in the country. What we do know is that Fred MacMurray plays a recent war veteran who tells Claudette Colbert, his wife, that he has just purchased a chicken farm and that he intends for them to live out there so they can raise chickens. This is the beginning of what is a riot because they are both city people trying to get used to life on the farm. Bob (Fred MacMurray's character) is overly enthusiastic about the whole move but one can tell right away that much as Betty (Claudette Colbert's character) tries to be supportive, she is not as taken by it. First of all, the farm house is decrepit, they have to deal with the Kettle clan (especially Pa Kettle who is always asking for things but never returning favors) as well as a seductive woman who has a mechanical farm next door and has eyes for Bob.The movie is a riot as we see the couple dealing with everything I have mentioned. I have watched the movie a number of times and even have the video tape of it. I sometimes try to imagine what it would be like if someone said to me one day, "You're moving on a farm tomorrow. Now go to work!" Well, I guess it would probably not be much different from this film!