Review of Ma and Pa Kettle

I'd somehow managed to go my entire life without seeing a Ma & Pa Kettle film (other than THE EGG AND I, which I don't think I got far enough into to meet the Kettles) - until tonight, that is, when I saw that MA & PA KETTLE was about to start on TCM. I figured it would probably be a fun way to wind down Saturday evening. Well, despite the presence of the usually delightful Marjorie Main, from the very first scene I found this film loud, irritating, and remarkably unfunny. Yes, I stuck it out to the end. Oh well. I kept feeling that what I was watching somehow should have been funny, but while the film may have convulsed audiences in 1949, by 2010 standards it was pretty tough going. Loved that flat-screen TV, though!