The Egg and I is a 1947 comedy film directed by Chester Erskine. It stars Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. The film is based on Betty MacDonald’s 1945 memoir of the same name. The Egg and I is also the first film to feature the characters Ma and Pa Kettle, played by Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride.
Director: Chester Erskine
Production Company: Universal Pictures
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Louise Albritton, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Billy House
US Box Office: $13,750,000 ($346,300,000 adjusted for inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: March 21, 1947 (premiere); May 1947 (general release)
Plot Summary: Bob MacDonald (Fred MacMurray) convinces his wife Betty (Claudette Colbert) that they should move from the big city to rural Washington to start a chicken farm. Bob is mostly successful in adapting to farm life. Betty struggles with the excessive chores, uncooperative animals, volatile weather, and rundown farmhouse; but she does become friends with Ma (Marjorie Main) and Pa Kettle (Percy Kilbride), her eccentric hillbilly neighbors. However, Betty is not so keen on Harriet Putnam (Louise Albritton), an attractive young neighbor woman who appears to have her sights on Bob.
Production: In 1945 Betty MacDonald published a comedic memoir titled The Egg and I which was based on her experience as a city girl trying to adapt to life on a farm in rural Washington from 1927 to 1931. The Egg and I was a bestseller, so the studio executives at Universal Pictures purchased the film rights. Universal chose Chester Erskine and Fred F. Finkelhoffe to write the screenplay for The Egg and I. Erskine and Finkelhoffe produced the film alongside Leonard Goldstein. Erskine also directed The Egg and I. Erskine had written and directed a few films in the 1930s, but primarily worked as a theater writer and director before The Egg and I. He notably directed Spencer Tracy in the Broadway production The Last Mile (1930).
Claudette Colbert was cast as Betty MacDonald, the film’s main protagonist and a fictionalized version of author Betty MacDonald. Colbert starred in both dramatic and comedic films. She had recently appeared in the comedies Without Reservations (1946) and Guest Wife (1945). Fred MacMurray was cast as Bob McDonald, Betty’s husband (in real life Betty MacDonald’s first husband was named “Bob” and her second husband had the last name “MacDonald,” the names were combined in the film to avoid the topic of her divorce). The Egg and I was the sixth film to feature Colbert and MacMurray together. They previously starred in: The Gilded Lady (1935), The Bride Comes Home (1935), Maid of Salem (1937), No Time for Love (1943), and Practically Yours (1944). They later starred together in Family Honeymoon (1948). Marjorie Main was hired to play the hillbilly Ma Kettle. Universal borrowed her from MGM.
Production on The Egg and I began in October of 1946 and continued until January of 1947. The film was primarily shot on set at Universal Studios. The Kettle farm was portrayed by Gausman Ranch, a movie ranch located at Universal Studios. Gausman Ranch later reappeared in seven of the Ma and Pa Kettle sequel films. It was additionally used in several television shows and in the horror film The Thing That Couldn’t Die (1958). The set was heavily modified for Spartacus (1960), and was demolished in 1969.
Fun Facts and Trivia: The fat and dirty pig that doesn’t listen to Betty is named “Cleopatra.” This is an ironic reference to Claudette Colbert’s earlier film Cleopatra (1934) where she played the glamourous Queen Cleopatra. The road in Chimacum, Washington where the real-life Betty MacDonald’s farm was located was renamed “Egg and I Road” in 1981. The Egg and I is shown as a movie being played to prisoners in Universal’s film noir Brute Force (1947), which was released a few months later.
Actor Victor Potel (Crowbar, one of Bob’s Indian friends) died a few days before The Egg and I had its Los Angeles premiere. The Egg and I was his last credited film, he had uncredited bit parts in four more films released afterwards. Claudette Colbert and Richard Long (Tom Kettle) previously starred together in the drama film Tomorrow is Forever (1946). Fred MacMurray and Esther Dale (Birdie Hicks) previously appeared together in the Western film Smokey (1946).
Reception: The Egg and I had its premiere on March 21, 1947. It went into wide release two months later. The Egg and I was a massive success for Universal, and it was one of the top five highest grossing films of the year. The film’s humor and escapist value likely contributed to its success at the box office. The Egg and I also received generally positive reviews from critics at the time. The Hedda Hopper Show – This Is Hollywood broadcast a thirty minute radio adaptation of the film on January 4, 1947 that featured Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray reprising their film roles. Colbert and MacMurray also reprised their roles in a one hour radio adaptation of The Egg and I for Lux Radio Theatre on May 5, 1947. Hallmark Playhouse broadcast a radio version of the film on January 5, 1950 that featured Colbert reprising her role as Betty. The Egg and I was one of 500 films nominated for the American Film Institute’s 2000 list of the top 100 funniest American films.
The characters Ma and Pa Kettle were very popular with audiences, so Universal decided to make a sequel to The Egg and I titled Ma and Pa Kettle (1949), that just focused on the titular characters. That film was a success so Universal released eight additional films with the characters between 1950 and 1957. Marjorie Main reprised her role as Ma in all nine sequels, and Percy Kilbride played Pa in the first seven sequels. Richard Long (Tom Kettle) and Esther Dale (Birdie Hicks) reprised their roles in three of the sequel films. The character Billy Reed appeared in four of the sequel films as well, but he was played by Emory Parnell instead of Billy House.
Betty MacDonald’s book The Egg and I (1945) was the subject of two lawsuits. Edward Bishop, the son of Albert and Susanna Bishop, claimed that his parents were basis for the “Ma and Pa Kettle” characters without their permission, and he sued MacDonald. That case was settled out of a court. In 1950, other members of the Bishop family sued MacDonald and her publisher claiming that their family was negatively portrayed as the Kettle family. MacDonald testified in court that the characters from her book were all composite characters inspired by the traits of various people she met, and not based on a specific person. Additionally, it was found that the Bishop family had previously attempted to profit off the rumor that they were the basis for the Kettles. In 1951 the jury ruled in favor of MacDonald.
Oscars: Marjorie Main was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ma Kettle in The Egg and I. She lost the Oscar to Celeste Holm for Gentleman’s Agreement.
Why You Should See It: The Egg and I is a good comedy film. Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray give decent performances and are likeable in their roles. Marjorie Main gives a really good performance as Ma Kettle. She makes the character endearing and her character’s toughness is good contrast to the more laid-back Percy Kilbride. The Egg and I features plenty of funny moments. I thought that the scene where Bob tries to cut down the tree next to the chicken coop was hilarious. The fair scene featured some standout moments as well.