Reviews (3)

Ma & Pa get their own movie since "The Egg and I" (1947)
This is he first starring role for Ma & Pa Kettle, but not the first film they appeared in. The very first film Majorie Main and Percy Kilbride as "Ma & Pa Kettle", along with Richard Long was in the film "The Egg And I" (1947). They were only minor characters in the film, but made such an impact and was considered so down-home funny that it was decided they should be given a movie of their own. Thus "Ma & Pa Kettle" (1949) was made. In fact, they made eight more films to follow. The films are quite wholesome and Ma & Pa Kettle living on the farm, I'm sure you will enjoy the country-life humor. Ma & Pa Kettle didn't always stay on the farm. They did go to the fair and traveled to the city and even Hawaii. In this film, they finally get to move into a new model home. Wait until you see all the fancy stuff this house can do. I highly recommend you see "The Egg And I" (1947) first, to get the good flavor of the films and appreciate the humor. Enjoy! Followed by: Ma & Pa Kettle Go To Town (1950), Ma & Pa Kettle Back On The Farm (1951), Ma & Pa Kettle At The Fair (1952), Ma & Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953), Ma & Pa Kettle At Home (1954), Ma & Pa Kettle At Waikiki (1955), The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956), The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957). Note: Be sure to catch Majorie Main in "Dead End" (1937).

NUTS TO BIRDIE HICKS!
Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main star in this spin-off of the EGG AND I, a 1947 flick in which they were scene-stealing supporting characters. The Ma & Pa Kettle series - corny and unsophisticated as they were - proved huge money-makers for Universal Pictures. The hoi polloi just loved watching the antics of these loveable country bumpkins who lived out in Hicksville! In this offering, Ma & Pa play the down-and-out parents of 15 kids who are faced with being evicted from their ramshackle home. Pa wins a slogan contest for a tobacco company, and wins his wife and brood an ultra modern (for 1949) brand-new, fully automated house. Local grouch Esther Dale (as the hilarious Birdie Hicks, a sour old beldame with the face of curds) is jealous of the Kettles' new fortune and accuses Pa of plagiarizing the slogan...Note the the eldest son - Tom - is played by 22 year-old Richard Long who would go on to play Jarrod Barkley on TV's THE BIG VALLEY.

reminds me of growing up in my big family
I grew up in a family of nine, with parents like man and pa. I just love these movies and am looking to collect all their titles..Does anyone know how many video's have been released and where I can get them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

YOU KNOW YOU NEED THIS
This is the greatest film ever made.

It may not be as enlightening as MA AND PA KETTLE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN INDUCTION AND DEDUCTION, but it remains highly entertaining, a real blast, and with a morality-punchline that will guide you through life very quickly.

I've seen this film 22 or 23 times. Do you need ANY more encouragement? Come on...

A new twist on the city slicker/country cousin paradigm
Ma and Pa Kettle were first introduced in The Egg and I, as incidental characters to the story. A humorous interpretation of "country folk" at a time when our nation was surging ahead technologically, these films provide a poignant glimpse of this transition period. Pa Kettle displays penchant for winning sweepstakes (a true underdog and underacheiver, this is the only financial contribution he seems to provide for his family of 17). Having already won a modern home in The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle, Pa now wins a trip for two to New York City paid for by the Bubble-Ola Soda Company. The usual series of screwball mishaps color this movie with a refreshing (by modern standards) bolt of humor. First Pa finds a babysitter for the children back in Cape Flattery, Washington...who turns out to be a notorious gangster from New York passing himself off as a poet. When Pa goes to deliver a package to the gangsters for his new found friend he finds himself entangled with the police, the gangsters, and a corporate climber mistaking him for Kettle the underwear magnate. The simplicity of the Kettles working within the context of the modern urbanized environment allow us to laugh at both sides. This film in particular is among the Kettle best, and among the essentials within the 10 titles. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Ma & Pa Kettle become grandparents and visit the old farm.
The Kettle story began with the film THE EGG AND I (1947). They had a small part in the film, but was asked to star in their own film series, MA AND PA KETTLE (1949) and then MA AND PA KETTLE GO TO TOWN (1950). In this fourth film, Pa goes into town with his two Indian friends to get on the nerves of Mr. Reed, the gemeral store owner. What Pa doesn't know is, is that he is about to become a grandfather. Pa gets confused and thinks his wife is about to have another child. Like they have 15 already. Actually, it's Richard Long that is the new daddy. The Kettles are finally settled in their new modern house they had won in that contest, but upon the sudden visit of the new grandson's other grandparents, the Parkers, who are well-to-do, the whole house is re-arranged by the new guests. But soon the Parkers are about to see how the Kettles really live. Since the house is too big or should I say too crowded for the daughter-in-law and her parents, the Kettles decide to go back to the old farm. If the man who plays "Steve" looks familar, it is Jerry Hausner who went on to play "Jerry--the Agent" in the "I Love Lucy" pilot. Then Jerry/Joe and did "Baby Crying" in the CBS "I Love Lucy" tv series.

Wonderful Family Movie
I think this movie is one of their best. It brings tears of laughter to your eyes. Movies that make you smile and feel good are the best and this one is on top of the list of great family films. I think you will enjoy this movie and feel good for the rest of the day after watching Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm.

Ma and Pa become grandparents...and move back to the farm
In this installment of the Kettle series, Ma and Pa become grandparents when their son, Tom, and his wife, Kim, become parents themselves. Kim's parents arrive from Boston to help out with the baby, and tensions rise between the grandmothers. The end result--Ma and Pa leave the start of art modern home to return to the squalor of the squattors flat. Included is the standard screwball humor, and the introduction of Kim's parents is important as background for Ma and Pa Kettle On Vacation (an essential film). However, for Kettle films, this one falls squarely in the middle. It is a good film, not quite as good as the first 3 (including The Egg and I), better than At the Fair, In the Ozarks, or Old McDonalds Farm. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A certified film noir classic, Criss Cross embraces the genre'sdarkness with an uncompromising tale of doomed lovers and multilayered betrayal.Reuniting with director Robert Siodmak after their success with TheKillers, Burt Lancaster plays a love-struck loser who seals his fate when hereturns to Los Angeles to find his ex-wife (Yvonne DeCarlo) eager to rekindletheir love against all better judgment. She encourages their torrid affair butmarries a mobster (Dan Duryea); to deflect suspicion, Lancaster lures Duryeainto an armored-truck robbery, creating a vortex of greed and passion from whichhe cannot escape. Featuring the brief screen debut of Tony Curtis, CrissCross is a stylish masterpiece of clashing fates and fatal attractions;Franz Planer's cinematography creates a shadow world in which every desire istainted by the threat of violence, and Miklos Rozsa's score underlines a lovestory that could never end happily. Film noir doesn't get any bleaker--orbetter--than this. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (18)

FIRST RATE FILM NOIR....
"Criss Cross" has all the classic elements of good film noir. Lust, crime, betrayel, murder, mobsters, the stalwart anti-hero and a sultry femme fatale all in the netherworld of b&w. With crisp direction by Robert Siodmak and a tight script, "Criss Cross" starts on a roll and doesn't stop until the finale. Steve (Burt Lancaster) can't keep away from his ex-wife Anna (Yvonne de Carlo) even after she marries mobster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). So he concocts a robbery at the armored car business where he works to throw Slim off the scent. He gets double crossed, winds up in the hospital and ironically labeled a hero by the press. But that's not the end. There's still Slim and Anna. The cast is compelling and reason enough to watch this classic but Siodmak crafted an exciting film as a whole. It seethes with tension, anxiety and a pall of doom seems to hang over everything. The sensual de Carlo is seen to good advantage and is noir perfect as the catalyst for the robbery. When Steve sees Anna dancing in a roadhouse that features a very good rhumba band (Esy Morales and his group), it's exciting because she's really sexy as she dances, tossing her dark hair. Her partner (barely glimpsed) is a young Tony Curtis. The rhumba music is exotic and pulsating and you can see that Steve is one gone dude as he watches her. So much to recommend about "Criss Cross". If you're a noir collector, this is a first rate addition. The DVD looks very good. Enjoy.

Lancaster Hoodwinked
"Criss Cross" could not be a more apt title for the 1948 film noir thriller in which Burt Lancaster is caught in the middle of a double cross orchestrated by Dan Duryea and Yvonne De Carlo. The film marked a reuniting of star Lancaster and director Robert Siodmark, who two years earlier teamed up in the noir classic "The Killers."

Lancaster, playing former armored truck driver Steve Thompson, returns to the tired section near downtown Los Angeles where he lives with his mother and younger brother Richard Long, who would ultimately star on television in "Seventy-Seven Sunset Strip" and "The Big Valley." Thompson left L.A. for one year, hoping to put his painful divorce to opportunistic good time girl Anna, played with fidelity by Yvonne De Carlo in one of her most impressive roles, behind him for good. The returning prodigal convinces no one when he insists that Anna holds no more memories for him, after which he ventures over to the old hangout, a local bar called The Roundup, to look in on the old gang. He tries to convince himself he is not looking for Anna, but realizes how futile his effort is as he spots Anna dancing with Tony Curtis, making his film debut.

The dance ends and so does Curtis' involvement in the picture. A smiling De Carlo spots Lancaster, going over to resume acquaintances. Before long Lancaster learns that Dan Duryea, a favorite film noir heavy, is romancing his ex-wife.

Before long De Carlo marries local mobster Duryea to better herself economically. Even then Lancaster will not lay off, failing to listen to his mother and old neighborhood buddy Steven McNally, now a prominent local police detective. In fact, after McNally, at the behest of Lancaster's mother, warns De Carlo to leave his old friend alone or he will find a reason to run her in, a furious, drunken Lancaster takes a wild swing at his him, then promptly falls to the floor.

The film's shrewd "Criss Cross" occurs when De Carlo and Lancaster reheat their old romance while gangster Duryea is in Detroit on business. De Carlo makes an arranged visit to Lancaster's house with Duryea and his mob cronies, led by John Doucette, arriving shortly thereafter. Needing a quick explanation as to why De Carlo is there, Lancaster, who has gone back to work driving an armored truck, explains to Duryea that they were discussing the possibility of pulling an armored truck holdup. Lancaster explains that such a holdup, while deemed impossible, is possible with the cooperation of someone on the inside, namely himself.

While Lancaster is convinced that he is launching into the criminal world for De Carlo and himself, after which they will be together again, the woman he loves is actively cooperating with Duryea. Eventually she will tell Lancaster, "In this life you have to look after yourself."

Events ultimately spiral out of control after the holdup occurs. Eventually a showdown will occur involving the opportunistic De Carlo and the two men she has used for personal gain, Duryea and Lancaster.

"I never cared about the money," Lancaster morosely muses to De Carlo at one point. "I just wanted you." He learns ultimately that the feeling was far from mutual.

McNally had the whole situation intelligently analyzed. In his last meeting with Lancaster, he exclaims in total frustration, "I should have been a better friend and kicked your teeth in!"

Potent film noir
You may cosnider this film as an authentic elite of this genre.
Lancaster plays the role of a man who hasn't been capable to forget to his ex-wife (Ivonne De Carlo) . She is trying to remake her life and wants to marry with a villain .
This script will become progressive more intriguing till the climax is a shock for the viewer. Robert Siodmak was one of the key film makers all along these decads of creative and dramatic film noir. The essential clues are present here. The hopeless ; the happiness never smiles the guy ; the girl uses to fall in love with the mistaken man ; the long arm of the fate seems to dictate its own rules ; the sinister and dark shadows of the envy , the cruelty and the greed establishes a typified behavior ; the insatisfaction surrounds the couple , and many times it seems to touch the model citizen turning in a evil human being . There are bits of melodramatic concerns but it never becomes in the narrative nucleus.
Lancaster makes a convincing role nnd Curtis makes his screen debut.
If you are a hard fan about this genre. This is for you. There was a remake in 1995 titled Underneath : but you may ignore this last one. It doesn't keep the black and bitter atmosphere of Criss cross . Don't forget another trimph that Siodmak also directed The dark mirror (Olivia de Haviland).

CRISS CROSSED ON A SCANT DVD PRESENTATION
Robert Siodmak's "Criss Cross" is a stylishly bleak, torrid and brilliant ménage a trois of shadowy intersecting lives in which all the multilayered plot entanglements are tainted with a threat of violence and ultimately lead to ruin and betrayal. Burt Lancaster is Steve Thompson, a love-struck mama's boy who returns from a one year sabbatical after his painful divorce from the love of his life, Anna (Yvonne DeCarlo) only to discover that Anna is eager to rekindle their love. The lure is not without its own subtext. Against his better judgment, Steve jumps into the deep end of the pool, so to speak, and once more, ignites his tawdry lust that ends miserably when Anna decides to better herself - financially, at least - by marrying mobster, Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). But Anna isn't quite ready to give up her playtime with her former husband. When the two are nearly exposed by one of Slim's bodyguards, Steve plots against Slim by saying that the two are planning on an armored-truck robbery, one which results in a maelstrom of greedy, godless passion from which no one escapes.
THE TRANSFER: Universal has done a bare bones job of remastering "Criss Cross" for DVD. The gray scale is very well balanced with deep solid blacks and whites that are clean. There's a hint film grain and some age related artifacts. Also there's more than a hint of edge enhancement and pixelization that tends to distract from a visual presentation that, overall, is a considerable improvement over previously issued VHS tapes.
BOTTOM LINE: There are, unfortunately, no extras on this disc. Nevertheless, it is a good disc to add to your library of classic cinema.

Idealism vs. Realism
In faithful accordance with classic film noir convention (a modus operandi also reminiscent of the Greek tragedies of old), armored truck driver Steve Thompson, protagonist of 'Criss Cross', Robert Siodmark's and Burt Lancaster's follow-up to the outstanding 'The Killers', brings about his own ruin and demise through two primary tragic flaws, namely hopeless infatuation and unfounded optimism.

The object of his affection is his ex-wife Anna, memorably played by the stunning Yvonne De Carlo, whose hubris prompts her to wed sleazy gangster Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea), apparently to spite Steve's detective friend Pete Ramirez (Stephen McNally) for intimidating her the night before. Regrettably I cannot be too sure of this plot point, though, as at the time my attention was solely focused on Miklós Rózsa's wonderfully dark and driving underscore.

Naturally a torrid affair ensues between Mr. Thompson and the now-Ms. Dundee, and -- even more naturally -- they are almost immediately caught together by her new husband, which impels Thompson to divert Slim Dundee's attention by unexpectedly suggesting a heist of his armored truck. It remains somewhat unclear whether this is something he'd been planning all along or just an inspired attempt to weasel himself out being killed on the spot, but the gangsters thankfully decide to go along with it. Crosses and double-crosses follow, Anna somehow escapes with the money, lovesick Steve stupidly leads the mobsters to her hideout, and Slim shoots them both in cold blood.

Undeniably this summary, either through simplification or omission, paints Steve Thomson as a bit of a nitwit, but although he makes some unbelievably bad choices, they are always well-rooted in his character, which screenwriter Daniel Fuchs (working from a novel by Don Tracy, if I'm not mistaken of 'Death Calling Collect' fame) takes great pains to establish in the first third of the story. The real conflict here is one of ideology, Steve being an idealist and Anna being a realist. One Imdb user cites Steve's refusal "to become completely cynical and hard-bitten" as his most admirable feature, likely unaware of the famous H.G. Wells quote that states "A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist." Steve is more than just a hopeless romantic, he possesses and indefatigable optimism that allows him to rationalize any action not just for the sake of being with Anna, but due to the firm, absolute conviction that they belong together and that nothing will stand in their way. Alas, in film noir love does not necessarily conquer all and, as Anna put it, "you've got to watch out for yourself."

In the end, when taking one of the gangsters to Anna's hideout for a payoff, Steve has obviously abandoned all logical reasoning and is acting on pure, emotion-fueled impulse. He is so blinded by love, so single-mindedly focused on Anna, that he gives no second thought to Slim or the money, certain that his police friends will take care of the matter eventually. In many ways, the traditional gender roles of him and Anna are reversed here. She is the tough, down-to-earth pragmatist struggling for survival; he is the longing, pining fool, willing to sacrifice everything for her love. It is the against-type casting of Burt Lancaster, THE blue-collar macho idol of the time (and dressed alternately like either Bruno Hoffmann or Stanley Kowalski), that makes this reversal fascinating. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

We need a Life of Riley DVD box collection!
William Bendix was a great comic actor. He had been doing the role of Chester Riley on the radio since World War II and that show is still fresh. While other radio shows relied on ex-vaudeville acts to do comedy based on puns and unlikely situation comedy, LOR was doing a new type of humor - character humor. Bendix was able to do the fully developed character of Chester Riley from the first show - the bumbling, boyish, big-hearted lug. Because Bendix had looks that fit the character perfectly, the transition to television went smoothly once Bendix took over the role from the badly cast Jackie Gleason (Bendix had contractual obligations for the first two years). This is a still funny show. Why can't we have a box collection?

VINTAGE CHESTER A. RILEY LIVES ON VIDEO
It's a great thing to see Chester A. Riley, America's everyman, again, on video. Bumbling likable Riley was in the middle of the comic fun, usually started by some crazy misunderstanding. Peg, his wife, was the voice of reason in the family, and kept Riley from totally getting out of control. His son, Junior, sometimes counteracted what his father said to add to the comedy. Babs, his daughter, tolerated but always loved her bumbling father, who always had the best intentions. Jim Gillis, was Riley's best friend, his neighbor, and co-worker at the aircraft plant. His wife was Honeybee, who at times could be outspoken. These shows are really good and fun to watch. I wish more were available on video. The episode, "Babs School Election", was one of the best and revealed the classic humor of this great show. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Ma & Pa Kettle become grandparents and visit the old farm.
The Kettle story began with the film THE EGG AND I (1947). They had a small part in the film, but was asked to star in their own film series, MA AND PA KETTLE (1949) and then MA AND PA KETTLE GO TO TOWN (1950). In this fourth film, Pa goes into town with his two Indian friends to get on the nerves of Mr. Reed, the gemeral store owner. What Pa doesn't know is, is that he is about to become a grandfather. Pa gets confused and thinks his wife is about to have another child. Like they have 15 already. Actually, it's Richard Long that is the new daddy. The Kettles are finally settled in their new modern house they had won in that contest, but upon the sudden visit of the new grandson's other grandparents, the Parkers, who are well-to-do, the whole house is re-arranged by the new guests. But soon the Parkers are about to see how the Kettles really live. Since the house is too big or should I say too crowded for the daughter-in-law and her parents, the Kettles decide to go back to the old farm. If the man who plays "Steve" looks familar, it is Jerry Hausner who went on to play "Jerry--the Agent" in the "I Love Lucy" pilot. Then Jerry/Joe and did "Baby Crying" in the CBS "I Love Lucy" tv series.

Wonderful Family Movie
I think this movie is one of their best. It brings tears of laughter to your eyes. Movies that make you smile and feel good are the best and this one is on top of the list of great family films. I think you will enjoy this movie and feel good for the rest of the day after watching Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm.

Ma and Pa become grandparents...and move back to the farm
In this installment of the Kettle series, Ma and Pa become grandparents when their son, Tom, and his wife, Kim, become parents themselves. Kim's parents arrive from Boston to help out with the baby, and tensions rise between the grandmothers. The end result--Ma and Pa leave the start of art modern home to return to the squalor of the squattors flat. Included is the standard screwball humor, and the introduction of Kim's parents is important as background for Ma and Pa Kettle On Vacation (an essential film). However, for Kettle films, this one falls squarely in the middle. It is a good film, not quite as good as the first 3 (including The Egg and I), better than At the Fair, In the Ozarks, or Old McDonalds Farm. ... Read more