The Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 (The Egg and I / Ma and Pa Kettle / Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town / Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm)

Wife enjoyed it since we just started raising chickens

Family-friendly. Good comedy.

I used to sit in front of the TV as a kid on a Saturday afternoon & watch the Ma & Pa Kettle movies. I'm happy to say they haven't lost their charm at all. The one I had always managed to miss was the one that launched the Kettles, "The Egg & I"; I'm pleased to see it made the DVD collection. The Kettles are supporting characters in this one (it starred Claudette Colbert & Fred MacMurray as newlyweds roughing it with farm life). But it's obvious that Universal had plans to spin the Kettles off into their own film series...lucky for us! "The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle" puts the Kettles in the driver's seat when Pa wins a tobacco slogan contest, transporting the brood into an automated "home of the future". All adjust to this new environment but Pa, who's more used to the laid-back farm life (the bits with an electronic-eye door, the arm-rest vacuum, and the heat lamps in the bathroom are a hoot). "...Go to New York" once again uses the fish-out-of-water formula when Pa wins yet another slogan contest (for a lazy man, he's done well for himself!) through Bubble Cola, an all-expenses paid trip to you-know-where. A bank robber crosses paths with Pa at the farm & asks him to deliver a black travel bag to his "brother" once in New York. From there begins a dizzying series of plot twists as strange men steal Pa's bag, Pa gets arrested for feeding zoo animals, and even Ma puts herself through charm school to be more of a lady for Pa (Marjorie Main gloriously hams it up here). Meanwhile, the bank robber agrees to babysit the kids while they're gone--the poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into! Look for Jim Backus (of "Gilligan's Island" Mr. Howell fame) as one of the thugs. "...Back on the Farm" delivers a blessed event: A grandchild for the Kettles (hilariously, Pa gets confused & thinks it's HIS wife that just had kid #16!). The bliss is soon over when the in-laws arrive, and the mother-in-laws' snooty, upper-class Bostonian methods on how to raise the baby ruffle Ma's feathers to no end. Eventually driven from their home & settling back down at the old place, the story takes some wacky detours with the discovery of uranium on the property, a baby kidnapping gone awry, and a wild car chase that closes the film.It was obvious that Universal had a tried-and-true formula on how to make the Kettle series, with comedy writers & directors supplied (Charles Lamont had also directed the studio's big comedy team Abbott & Costello, and there's a variation of the team's "pack/unpack" routine in "...Back on the Farm"). But when it comes down to it, the greatest assets of the series were the actors themselves. No one lent more credibility & broad appeal to the characters of Ma & Pa Kettle than Marjorie Main & Percy Kilbride. They put their distinctive stamps on the roles, and even great catchphrases & familiar bits left their impressions (Ma's roar of "Come 'n get it!!"; Pa's lazy lament "Going to have to fix that one of these days"; or Ma & Pa getting confused over their fifteen childrens' names).So looking forward to Volume 2!

This is a delightful movie...what I call a 'feel good' movie. I read the book many years ago and had seen the film a couple of times and then decided to purchase a copy for my film library. I highly recommend this film.

The idea of packing up and moving to the country to raise kids, farm animals, and your own crops is not a new one and this Fred MacMurray - Claudette Colbert classic is one of the best. Not sure if it’s the first to tackle this topic, but it’s my favorite. It’s simple, clean, and such good fun you can’t help but smile throughout. With a young Richard Long and at the time, audience favorites, Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main, this (for their day) all star cast creates a standout story that stands the test of time.Join this young couple as he - just home from WWII - tells his new bride they are moving to the country. He spent those long hours in the trenches dreaming about... chickens... and what they would so as farmers raising them.In the days before it was a fad or escape, The Egg and I let one dream of a ... simpler life... only to discover the truths of living on a farm... coupled with love and friendship and hard work and joy of being in it together. Come along as both the good and bad of this adventure bring one couple to the country and into the community they have joined.

This is a cute film with two of the most likable stars of the golden age of Hollywood: Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. Marjorie Main who made her first appearance as Ma Kettle ran away with the picture. She and Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle were a hoot. They proved so popular with movie audiences that a whole series of Ma and Pa Kettle followed.

I bought this DVD mainly for the movie The Egg and I. The Egg and I almost never comes on tv, and I couldn't find it on streaming services. The DVD I rec'd works well and is good quality. This is a good package deal, with the several movies. Besides The Egg and I, it has Ma and Pa Kettle movies. The Egg and I is a great old comedy movie starring Claudette Cobert and Fred McMurray. That's the first movie in which Ma and Pa Kettle appear, I think. The Kettles were so popular that Hollywood started making Ma and Pa Kettle movies (some of which are on this DVD). I remember all the movies on this DVD coming on tv occasionally when I was a child, but no more. So I'm so glad to have this collection of them to add to my DVD library.As others have mentioned, this movie is based on actual events from the woman's book of the same name. The couple live in the city, but the husband has had a lifelong dream of having a farm in the country. So Green Acres-like, she goes along with him like a sport (Goodbye, city life!), so he can live his dream. And there ensues the comedy, as anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. It's funny to see the different ways each one sees everything. The husband is gung-ho and so happy with everything, like the rustic house (she sees a shack), the trusty dog (she sees a worthless hound), the old fashioned stove (what she calls the monster). The husband decides to go into the egg business. Hence the name of the movie, since it's her job to collect the eggs. It's a charming, funny movie.

Cute Movie. Clear Picture. You know how sometimes you buy older movies and the picture is unclear, fuzzy etc. This movie is not one of those. Has a Very clear picture.

I recall reading Betty Macdonald's book of this in the 1960's also in particular The Plague And I. Enjoyable as The Egg And I is with Betty and her husband and the surrounding eccentric neighbours I feel The Plague And I might have a better choice. However this a great film of it's time with Marjorie Main's performance outstanding as Ma Kettle and the family. Perhaps the success of this wasn't too great hence none of Betty's other books were adapted for the screen. However it did introduce the world to the Kettle Family and a series of films by them in the early 1950's.

Not my style but brother was impressed.

Purchased this dvd as it was the first film I ever saw, aged 4yrs. However it didn't work

Saw it as a child and it brought back those vague memories. Pleasant with excellent cast.

very dated, but older viewers might enjoy it