The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm

"The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm" is the final entry into the Ma and Pa Kettle series and, frankly, it's two films too late. When Percy Kilbride left the series and retired, the studio should have retired the films. However, some dolts thought it would be a fine idea to do one featuring Pa's brother, Sedge, in the previous film. However, the idea got even stupider here, as they re-cast the character and have Parker Fennelly play Pa. He is somewhat similar though his accent seems much more New England. However, it did feel a bit creepy because this particular episode featured a lot more sexual innuendo concerning Ma and Pa Kettle than usual...and it made me wanna yell "Unhand Ma Kettle...you interloper!".

The biggest problem with the film apart from the re-casting was the plot. Instead of being about the Kettles, they were there but the story was about a boring young couple who wanted to get married despite her father's objections. It turns out he did NOT object to the groom...but felt that his daughter was too spoiled and lacked the grit needed to be a farm wife. So, Ma shows her how to do this. Additionally, a bear runs about in the film for no particular reason.

This is not a bad film...it just isn't very good. The story is odd, the re-casting is a dumb move and it all felt rather sad and unnecessary.