Mail Order Bride (1964)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Many movies deserve their obscurity, and none more than this formula Western. Direction, editing, writing-- all are uninspired, especially the occasional attempts at humor.But the casting is atrocious. Desperately bad. They've all done good work in other roles, but in this… So clean-cut he almost squeaks, Keir Dullea is at no point convincing as a gambling, carousing womanizer.Buddy Ebsen adds nothing new—not one glance, not one inflection-- to the tiresomely familiar role of the wise, slow-spoken, solitary old-timer.In the eponymous role, Lois Nettleton stares soulfully toward Ebsen, Dullea, or the near distance. That's about it. Refreshing though it is to see a rather plain actress as a star, she finds no way to redeem—with humor, with spirit-- a woman who did not advertise for a husband (her boss did, played by a wry Marie Windsor), and who has almost no curiosity about her sight-unseen future mate and his home. In fact, objectively, her non-reaction is almost criminally irresponsible for a widow with a child.If ever a film deserved to be in the background of some other activity (including sleep), it's this one.

Buddy Ebsen plays an older man who honors a dead friends request to go back and find his son and tame him by marrying him off to one of those mail order brides whom he finds in a saloon. This concept has been done before and since and the music when Ebsen is off on his cupids errand makes it sound like your in for a musical and Ebsen looks so out of place. In the midst of his Jed Clampett days in 1963-64 when this movie was filmed and came out , all he is missing is the accent and Jed's hat. The movie is boring with bland characters and really tiresome dialog, the young man whom Ebsen tries to get hitched doesn't want a bride and only doing it so Ebsen will leave and give him the deed to his dads land. The actor playing the young man and the woman playing his bride are so boring to watch , no chemistry and you wonder how they will end up together which you know they will.In the end there is a gunfight and Ebsen's character leaves the couple whom have decided to stay married with her little boy(played by Jimmy Mathers ,the older brother of Leave it to Beavers Jerry Mathers,another commenter mistakenly posted that he was played by Jerry).You think Ebsen may end up alone as the camera pulls back to him riding away but in the final scene he goes back to the saloon where he found the young bride and you hear wedding bells music,he straightens his tie and goes into the saloon fade out. This last scene refers to an earlier scene when he walks into the saloon looking for what he thinks is a young woman placing an ad for a husband and it turns out she is the owner of the saloon and middle aged. She takes a fancy to Ebsen and thinks he's there for her, so in the end he does care for her ,and ends up going back to pursue her.The rest is left up to the audience to surmise the happy ending. I found the movie boring and Ebsen so out of place - I'll bet he wanted to do his part in one day and be done with this bland movie.One thing I do admit that at 56 yrs old ,Ebsen was hardly elderly looking or an old man as the plot indicates - in fact he was handsome and sexy for his age at that time. Overall i give the movie 3/10 ..Not terrible but not good either.

One weekend in the early Spring of 1964, my younger brother, Bob, and a couple of pals went to see a movie at the old ColonyTheatre, 59th Street and Kedzie Avenue, right here on the South Side of Chicago (the baddest part of Town). When the kids got over there they went to pay their admission; being 11 years of age, they offered their customary ½ price admission. Inasmuch as the three boys were not yet 12, which was the arbitrary age that the theatre company had chosen to separate the boys from the younger boys, ending their eligibility for the ½ price admission.Well on this particular Sunday, the guy in charge was the assistant Theatre Manager, a 24 year old who we'll just call Elmo. Well, it seems that Elmo must have been having a bad time at home or something. His inability to maintain his relationship's proper balance apparently compelled Mr. Elmo into compensating for his domestic situation by exerting his autocratic control of the Show's operation that day.With the firm resolve of an Otto von Bismarck, Germany's "Iron Chancellor", and with the assistance of his own version of the SA Brown Shirts, Elmo imposed his unbridled will to enforce the theatre's rules and make those subjects (young theatre patrons) comply, toe the line and like it. In short, Elmo insisted on the boys pay full freight to enter the Theatre.Only, none of the kids were 12 yet, honest Injun! But the boys wanted to see the movie (I think it was DONDI (Albert Zugsmith Prod., Photoplay Associates/ Allied Artists, 1961). Peacefully, like the little Gentlemen that they were, they surrendered and peacefully settled in for the cinematic arts fest.But once our Mother got hold of this story she called Elmo on the phone; but the Iron Chancellor was neither contrite nor compromising about his actions. "But Madame, I had 400 kids at the matinée and they were noisy, and there are always some of them trying' to sneak in!" Getting no satisfaction, Ma called back Monday and talked to the Real Manager instead of that Play Manager. He was apologetic and sent us a bunch of passes to any of the company's three shows.* So that's how I got to see MALE ORDER BRIDE. I went a second time and saw another fine film in THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET (Warner Brothers, 1964).OUR STORY……… A retired gunfighter, Will Lane (Buddy Ebsen), comes to town to fulfill a promise to a deceased friend to look after his wayward son, Lee Carey (Keir Dullea). The son is a veritable Hellion, but Will answers a magazine advertisement taken out by a Lady interested in Matrimony.Will goes there in person, but the Lady turns out to be a saloon woman, very attractive but just a tad too old for the young man, Lee. The Lady confides in Will that when she saw him come into the saloon, she thought that she had found herself a mate. Selflessly she puts Will on to the young Widow, who now cooks for the Saloon.Arriving back with the young Widow Cookin' Lady, Will (in comical fashion) forces the young guy into marrying. As it turned out, the young Widow had a small son. One of Lee's nogoodnik buddies quips, "Look, that guy went and brought back not only a new Cow, but a Calf too!" After a rocky road, the young woman and Lee do find true love; and with her Son, they form a family. Will Lane rides out of town, alone and lonely.But it won't be for long as in the fade-out scene we see a jubilant heading back into the same Saloon with the Lady who had taken out the Ad in the first place; only this time the call was for himself. (Fade out, Closing Credits & Muisic.) MAIL ORDER BRIDE was a very pleasant, little film that incorporated some elements that all too often aren't included in the 'Horse Operas'. We had some of what has come to be called 'family values. The cultivation of proper manners and civil treatment of your fellow citizens are important items on the agenda.The film was, doubtless, a project that came about because of the success of Buddy Ebsen and Co. in "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" (Filmways Television/CBS TV, 1962-71). A, it provided us with a look at TV's Jedd Clampett, from a little different perspective.Now, we all remember Buddy Ebsen as Jedd Clampett on THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES show, but some of us who are a little long in the tooth can recollect a few other TV roles of his, like: the "DISNEYLAND: ADVENTURES OF DAVY CROCKETT" (1954-56) as Georgie Russell, "NORTHWEST PASSAGE" (MGM TV, NBC, 1958-59) and of course "BARNABY JONES" (Quinn Martin Prod/ CBS TV, 1973-80).As for our family, we have one other recollection of Mr. Ebsen's. Our Uncle, our Mother's younger Brother, the Late Walter Fuerst, served in the Coast Guard during World War II. And on his ship, a Coast Guard Cutter (I think! Name unknown.), was Mr. Buddy Ebsen, who served as an Officer for the Duration.Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Thank You, Elmo!

Minor comedic western has rural newlyweds (a hot-tempered rebel and a widow with a young son) forced together into matrimony, but attempting to make the union work if only to spite the town's naysayers. Buddy Ebsen's role as a potential troublemaker isn't well-defined--and worse, he keeps popping in and out of scenes without any character motive. Keir Dullea and Lois Nettleton fare much better as the married twosome, and Jimmy Mathers (brother of Jerry) is a cute youngster. Nettleton in particular looks very much at home in these rugged settings; she's a warm, reassuring presence on the screen, like a younger version of Deborah Kerr. The scenery is attractive and the pacing is lively, however a bit more action or excitement in the narrative might've helped. Still, fast-paced, innocuous fun. **1/2 from ****