When this installment of the Ma & Pa Kettle series begins, there is an announcement over the radio that the Kettle's son, Elwin (Brett Halsey) was a finalist in an essay contest. In this essay, he talked about the Kettle farm* as if it's an idyllic place--a picturesque showplace. If you've seen other Kettle films, you'll know that the place is a rundown dump--mostly because Mr. Kettle is the laziest man on Earth! There are two problems with Elwin winning the contest, however. First, two representatives of the essay contest (Alan Mowbray and Ross Elliot) will be coming to stay with the two finalists and their families! Second, Elwin's girlfriend is the other finalist. So, the family will try (in vain) to fool the reps into thinking the farm isn't a dump. But the Kettle place never will look as nice as the other farm. What's next? See the film.
This film is far lower in laughs than most of the Kettle films but it does make up for it with some nice sentimentality. It doesn't lay it on too thick (thankfully) and is a pleasant little B-movie. Worth seeing just to see Santa's sleigh near the end of the film!
*In one of the earliest films, the Kettles win a space-age and beautiful home. Yet, oddly, there's no reference to it in this movie and it's as if it just disappeared. Am I missing something? I don't remember any plots about aliens or the Internal Revenue or the banks taking this home.
