For those of you unfamiliar with that phenomenon of American culture known as Ozzie And Harriet, Here Come The Nelsons there one and only feature film will give you a good opportunity to see them and judge what you think.
Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard both individual performers became joined at the hip as performers when they went on radio and then television in a domestic situation comedy. Ozzie was a fair to middling singer and bandleader, his style could be described as Rudy Vallee lite. Harriet was an excellent singer and I always thought it a pity she never got to sing on her show. Such that was done was by their younger son Ricky, but that's in the future.
Instead they were the all American parents with all American boys, Ozzie was a nice guy if a bit of doofus at times and Harriet could always put him down with a sharp wisecrack. Ozzie's occupation was a mystery, I think it was assumed he was a musician of sorts given his background. In this the background is alluded to although he's working in an advertising agency.
He's been given an assignment by his boss Gale Gordon, come up with a winning campaign to sell Paul Harvey's girdles that he manufactures.
At the same time Harriet is persuaded by neighbor Ann Doran to visit astrologer Frank Nelson who says that Ozzie will become a chick magnet. And shortly there is evidence to prove it, but Nelson's advice is to just ride it out, it's a passing phase.
And while all this is going on, Sheldon Leonard and Edward Max are planning to rob the centennial fair that the town of Hillsdale is having at the moment. All these plot elements at the end do coalesce believe it or not.
Here Come The Nelsons is a nice film, but really nothing more than one of their half hour TV episodes stretched out for a feature film. The film is important because it does give Universal International's up and coming leading man Rock Hudson a role as a boarder in the Nelson home. So is Barbara Lawrence, trick rider at the rodeo featured at the centennial. The Nelsons were nothing if not hospitable.
For fans of Ozzie and Harriet and those who want to see what they were all about.
