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.
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.