If the hicks were nixing styx pix when this came out, they were missing one of the funniest films of the 1940's: a comic romp that outshines the more well known "The Egg and I", of which two stars from that 1948 film appear in this.
Research gatherer Fred MacMurray shows up in the hills to find a missing associate and gets involved in a hillbilly battle to find a hidden $70,000. Warned by the local townsfolk about the Fleagle family, he arrives to no great welcome. Whip-toting Ma (Marjorie Main) seems determined to have as many husbands as Ma Kettle did children, while two gun-toting twins seem to be missing their other brother, Darrel, and Grandma (Mabel Paige in a riotous cameo) truly shines. The rough-and-tough Helen Walker shows up, pretending to be a cousin who had the money hid in the first place by Granny, and all sorts of comic mayhem ensues. The farce-filled conclusion truly is something that will need the entire clan "bailed" out.
Those who know this film well all try to remember the song used as a clue to locate the money, first heard over the credits, and later reprised on an organ with a reference to director George Marshall's previous hit, "The Ghost Breakers". MacMurray's city slicker proves he has what it takes to take on these rough mountain folk, whether fighting with an imaginary ghost or utilizing the family's lazy susan type dining table to prevent Walker from swallowing poison. I began singing "Round and round the table goes, where the poison stops, nobody knows", and found myself shouting all sorts of irreverent cracks in my enjoyment of this film. Barbara Pepper and Porter Hall are also along for the fun, of which there is plenty.
Research gatherer Fred MacMurray shows up in the hills to find a missing associate and gets involved in a hillbilly battle to find a hidden $70,000. Warned by the local townsfolk about the Fleagle family, he arrives to no great welcome. Whip-toting Ma (Marjorie Main) seems determined to have as many husbands as Ma Kettle did children, while two gun-toting twins seem to be missing their other brother, Darrel, and Grandma (Mabel Paige in a riotous cameo) truly shines. The rough-and-tough Helen Walker shows up, pretending to be a cousin who had the money hid in the first place by Granny, and all sorts of comic mayhem ensues. The farce-filled conclusion truly is something that will need the entire clan "bailed" out.
Those who know this film well all try to remember the song used as a clue to locate the money, first heard over the credits, and later reprised on an organ with a reference to director George Marshall's previous hit, "The Ghost Breakers". MacMurray's city slicker proves he has what it takes to take on these rough mountain folk, whether fighting with an imaginary ghost or utilizing the family's lazy susan type dining table to prevent Walker from swallowing poison. I began singing "Round and round the table goes, where the poison stops, nobody knows", and found myself shouting all sorts of irreverent cracks in my enjoyment of this film. Barbara Pepper and Porter Hall are also along for the fun, of which there is plenty.