Watch The Egg and I For Free

Just what I expected

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A Disappointing Continuation

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

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.

How often have you heard the term, "The book was better than the movie"? Well, you'll hear it again from me, since Betty MacDonald's book was much more than the conventional slapstick comedy it has been turned into, using only the cleanest episodes from the racy novel to appear in this sanitized screen version where even the studio stage mud looks sparkling clean.It's been turned into a typical CLAUDETTE COLBERT/FRED MacMUARRAY vehicle, given another angle on "the other woman" down the road, and the troublesome neighbors with their earthy ways have been turned into Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main, given the only true comic episodes that have any merit.Whatever, the film was pleasant enough for some because it did become a popular success at a time when "city couple trying to live the country life" was not a theme that had worn out its welcome.Here it's more like a one joke theme, with Claudette falling into the mud when dealing with pesky pigs or confronting a troublesome stove that does everything but work.A few funny, episodic bits with the Kettles is about all you can reasonably expect to enjoy. In fact, they became so popular that a whole series developed around the Kilbride and Main caricatures.Mildly entertaining and good for a few laughs but no great shakes as a comedy.

"The Egg and I" features the first appearance of America'favorite country couple, Ma and Pa Kettle. Unfortunately, it does not star them, but puts them in the supporting cast. The film does center around Betty and Bob MacDonald (Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray), a couple that decides to move from the city out to a chicken farm in the country. The rest of the film follows their trials and tribulations as they try and adapt to their new surroundings. It also focuses on their marital problems, but not so much as to take away from the comedic factor of the film.The reason that this doesn't appeal to me the way the Ma and Pa Kettle films did is probably because Ma and Pa aren't the main players. Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride's wonderful chemistry were what made their films enjoyable, but "The Egg and I" doesn't pair them up enough to do the same. Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray are good enough as Betty and Bob, but they don't have the same charisma and comedic timing that Main and Kilbride do.The best part about "The Egg and I" is the fact that it did spawn off the "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies, which made Main and Kilbride famous. In fact, Main even garnered an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in this film. Her feistiness steals the show, and ever scene she's in is all the more hilarious. She really was a great comedic actress who deserved more praise than she got.I'd definitely recommend this to any Ma and Pa Kettle fans, just for the few scenes they appear in. The story itself never has much of a real storyline, but is mostly a bunch of sitcomish events strewn together. The film and cast makes this work, to an extent, but some parts are a bit too dull. This is still a must-see for fans of down home country comedy, and innocent fun.

If you loved the TV series Green Acres then you will love this film which served as the incubator for the TV series. Betty & Bob MacDonald played wonderfully by Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray live in the city but Bob desires the laid back country life. They move into a house which looks like a shack that must be fixed up. Neighbors like Ma & Pa Kettle and their many children and Billy Reed the Mr. Haney lookalike. Betty hates the country, pigs and chickens. A good comedy and display of just what could happen to city folk that what to become country folk.