The egg and me (film)

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Movie
German title The egg and me
Original title The Egg and I
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1947
length 108 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Chester Erskine
script Chester Erskine
Fred F. Finklehoffe
production Chester Erskine
Fred F. Finklehoffe
music Frank Skinner
camera Milton Krasner
cut Russell Schoengarth
occupation

The Egg and I (original title The Egg and I ) is an American literary film adaptation directed by Chester Erskine . Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray play a young couple who move from the city to the country to set up a chicken farm, which leads to all sorts of turmoil. The film adaptation goes back to Betty MacDonald 's autobiographical story of the same name from 1945, which was sold more than a million times within a year.

action

While shaving one morning, Bob MacDonald got the idea that he would like to leave town and start a chicken farm in the country. When he informed his young wife Betty of this, her enthusiasm was limited. Since Bob's heart is attached to it, however, she pushes her concerns aside and so some time later they start into an uncertain future with a decrepit car, crammed to the roof. Her new home turns out to be pretty shabby, not only that the roof is leaking and the stove does what it wants, the young woman also has to struggle with other adversities. But Bob doesn't care much, he's already making plans for the future and even setting a schedule for his intended cattle breeding. Their immediate neighbors, the Kettle couple, prove helpful, lending Bob material for the chicken coop that is to be built. Just as Betty is at her stove, she sees two faces at the window that give her a real scare. The men introduce themselves as the Indians Geoduck and Crowbar, they have come to sell fish. A little later, when Betty leads a desperate fight with the pig Cleopatra and is splattered with mud, Harriet Putnam, a twice divorced, very glamorous woman appears. She owns the neighboring "Bella Vista" farm, the most modern and best-run in the area. Betty's next visitor is Billy Reed, a traveling salesman who wants to convince her of the merits of his goods. Then Tom Kettle introduces himself, who just wants to help Betty and tells her about his dream of going to college . When Betty wants to stand up for Tom with his parents, she is taken along by Birdie Hicks' vehicle, which is also Birdie's mother, on her way there. The eccentric old Mrs. Hicks prophesies to Betty that she and her husband will fail on the farm. When Betty then arrives at the Kettles, she is greeted by an exuberant crowd of children and numerous animals. When she brings up Tom's dream, she learns from Ma Kettle, who is a little unorthodox but has a huge heart that the entire family depends on Bob's earnings.

When the young couple accepted an invitation from Harriet Putnam to their impressive estate, the "Bella Vista" farm, Harriet flirted with Betty's husband so openly that the young woman felt jealous. Harriet doesn't shy away from showing Bob her wedding dress and getting him to put on a tuxedo and then dance with him. Harriet's introduction is interrupted by Mr. Henty, an egg wholesaler who moves on without having achieved anything. In the following years, Bob spends a lot of time on "Bella Vista", which he justifies with the fact that there is an important supply contract with the egg wholesaler Henty.

Soon after, a community ball takes place at which Ma Kettle, who has since become a maternal friend of Betty's, will tailor her a new dress and give her a beautiful quilt that she has made . Betty is often asked to dance, but has to see with displeasure that Harriet is once again sticking to Bob. The first real row breaks out between the young couple. The ball comes to an abrupt end when the sheriff appears and announces that Pa Kettle's barn (where he secretly burns schnapps) caught fire, which has since expanded into a forest fire, threatening the entire valley. As the wind turns, the fire heads for Bob and Betty's farm. They lose their desperate fight against the fire. It destroys all outbuildings and their cultivated cultures. For Betty's sake, Bob wants to give up and move back to town so that it can be a little easier again. However, Betty notices his deep inner grief and how difficult it is for him to say goodbye to his dream. She lets Bob know that they won't give up and that they'll be fine together. The next morning the MacDonalds have a wonderful experience. The neighbors have collected, everyone wants to help rebuild the destroyed buildings and everyone has brought something to support the young couple. The egg wholesaler Henty has also come and offers Bob a two-year contract for the purchase of eggs.

Betty manages to get the quilt that Ma Kettle gave her to win a prize at the district fair. She passes the profit on to Ma Kettle. This should make Tom's dream of going to college come true. When Betty passed out shortly afterwards, Ma said bluntly that she was guaranteed to be pregnant. That evening, the young woman wants to surprise her husband with the good news at a special meal. However, Bob doesn't come, just sends a letter through the chauffeur of the "Bella Vista" farm, in which he explains that it could be late. Then Betty packs her bags and travels back to town to see her mother. She returns unopened numerous letters that Bob sends her afterwards. After Betty gave birth to a daughter, she at least wanted to show Bob the child and went to see him in the country. At the train station, she takes a taxi with the child in her arms and asks the driver to drive to Bob's house. When the young woman notices that he has driven her to the "Bella Vista" farm, she is outraged. But then she learns the truth about the night she left Bob. At the time he had fought hard to buy the farm from Harriet, which he had finally succeeded in doing. Relieved, she introduces his little daughter to Bob, and a hug seals her new happiness as a threesome.

background

The shooting took place in the California state of Santa Clarita and in Universal Studios in Universal City . The film premiered in the USA on March 21, 1947 in Los Angeles , on April 24, 1947 it was released in New York cinemas and in May it was shown in other cinemas in the USA. In Germany it was seen for the first time on July 15, 1948 in various cities in the Bizone , in Austria it started on July 9, 1948.

Betty MacDonald's book was in the US bestseller lists for over 18 months. The film also proved very popular at the box office, grossing over $ 5.75 million. The studio took advantage of the popularity of Ma and Pa Kettle's two supporting characters ( Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride ) to turn them into a series of eight films by the mid-1950s that focus on their adventures.

The role of "Harriet Putnam" did not exist in Betty MacDonald's semi-autobiographical novel, however, it was created especially for the film as a counterpart. It was the first time that the former playwright Chester Erskine and Fred F. Finklehoff produced a film based on their own script. For Victor "Vic" Potel it was his last film appearance, he died on March 8, 1947. The proceeds from the premiere of the film in Los Angeles went to the Damon Runyon Fund for Cancer Research. On May 5, 1947, Lux Radio Theater aired a version of the story with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. In 1951, CBS created a television series with Pat Kirkland and John Craven based on MacDonald's novel.

For Colbert and MacMurray, who had been a popular screen couple since 1934 , it was the sixth of a total of seven appearances together. With this successful film adaptation, Claudette Colbert made it into the list of the ten most cash-rich stars for the last time. It would be the last resounding financial success for the actress.

Reviews

The lexicon of international films believes that it is a “lively rustic everyday comedy based on a bestselling novel”.

Variety Staff means that the film makes very little of the amusing situations in the book. Even the supposedly big scene of the forest fire is not believable. MacMurray run through his role with a lot of routine and Claudette Colbert does not succeed in convincingly conveying that she would rather live in the country than in the city. Only Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main, who play the Kettles, would offer great entertainment value every time they appeared on screen thanks to their feeling and understanding for the roles.

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said that the authors Erskine and Finklehoffe were probably so intimidated by the substance of the book that they wasted a lot of potential. As a result, conventional images were created that are supposed to make you laugh and that were at Miss Colbert's expense.

Awards

At the Oscar ceremony in 1948 was Marjorie Main for her role in The Egg and I as a Best Supporting Actress nomination. The Oscar went to Celeste Holm for her role in the film Tabu der Gerechten ( Gentleman's Agreement ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c The Egg and I at TCM - Turner Classic Movies. Income: see "The Universal Story" by Clive Hirshhorn.
  2. ↑ The Egg and I in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used . Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ Review by Variety Staff, written December 31, 1946. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ The Egg and I by Bosley Crowther, published April 25, 1947 in the New York Times . Retrieved January 21, 2013.