Li'l Abner [DVD]

was excited to find this movie! My daughter and I watched it many times as my kids grew up! Love old movies

We went on line to research Sadie Hawkins Day, kind of knowing what we would find and yet investigating resources. This DVD is a historical "must have." It marks an energetic era in creating musicals, not unlike "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (with Howard Keel). Of course the story line is kind of silly; for pity sake, what do expect from a musical based on a comic strip! But the songs are cute, the story well-told, and the actors and actresses most memorable. Julie Newmar. Jerry Lewis. What a hoot! Buy this and add it to your vintage collection. Pop some corn, put up your feet, and enjoy the antics, the music, the songs, and the film history.

This is great because it is so unpretentious-- a crowd pleasing musical farce based on Al Capp's popular comic strip. The gorgeous 50's pin-up style women are especially true to their source (and Julie Newmar really earns the name "Stupefyin' Jones"). Leslie Parish makes a luminous Daisy May, and Peter Palmer is the biggest, brawniest baritone Abner you could imagine. Mammy and Pappy are also great, but the weirdest impersonation has got to be Eagle-Eye Fleagle-- that guy moves like a cartoon! The plot is as kooky as one of Capp's Sunday half-page strips. Kind of corny but lively, with very athletic dancing by various hillbilly-clad young Broadway performers. The only flaw is its stagey-ness and flat lighting with multiple shadows on the studio floor. Still, with Gen. Bullmoose, Marryin' Sam (Stubby Kaye), Mooshine McSine, the Scraggs and a lot of plot convolutions, it is a very satisfying fable.

I love this musical. It's a colorufl hilarious satire on government, big city folk versus country folk, great music and lyrics, amazing dancing --Michael Kidd choreography ( recreated I believe) and features Jerry Lewis, Julie Newmar in small roles.In major parts are Peter Palmer and Stubby Kaye recreating their Broadway roles. Also wonderful are Billie Hayes as Mamie Yokum and the beautiful Leslie Parish. The supporting roles are all perfectly filled-Earthquake Muggoon and Pappy YokumSome complain that it is too much like a Broadway musical --filmed. But that's what I love about it. It preserves much of the original Broadway musical with some of the original cast and amazing original choreography. It's lots of fun and if you are in a silly mood --all the better. It is the perfect live cartoon musical.Great music- "I'm Passed my Prime", "Put em Back" (love this number) "Jubilation T Corpone:", "Namely You", and the opening," A typical Day" is just great. Musical lovers will eat this up. Watch it watch it watch it and dig that Yokumberry Tonic.

The musical is based upon the newspaper cartoon that came out daily until the 70s. It's creator, Al Capp, used the hicks and hillbillys of Dogpatch to make subtle points about the U.S. and its government and big business. This musical follows along those lines. In this era of multi-national corporations and rampant greed, it hits a cord. The song, "Whats Good for General Bullmoose is Good for the USA" is funny, but right on target for today's corporations and right wingers. Gen. Bullmoose is the CEO of his business, not a military leader and it is sung by a chorus of "yes" men. Perhaps it was supposed to be a play on General Motors, I don't know, but there is a lot of that type of satire. Our friend's younger children loved it and have watched it over and over. The choreography is frantic, think "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at double speed. There are several nice tunes, and the story does not seem contrived like today's juke box broadway plays such as Mamma Mia. Overall, a great choice for children, and just ok for adults.

I bought the DVD because I have an old lp record of the show's music, and decided to by a DVD before IT became outmoded. It pleased me to discover that the show holds up very well. Al Capp's crazy world of Dogpatch is brought to life with absolutely no effort at realism. The back drops are literally those of the stage, the choreography has real people moving and singing like comic strip characters. I played it for my two-year old granddaughter and she in front of the TV entranced by it all for minutes at a time. Normally she pays no attention at all to live-action films. For people who remember Capp's strip, of course, the satire comes through loud and clear, and enough of it is sufficiently timeless for everyone to get most of the jokes. Stubby Kaye is the real star of the film, and he is perfect as Marrying Sam, a minor figure in the strip, and his vigor holds the film together. But all the cast is pleasant and more than capable. Although I wish that Edie Adams had been cast as Daisie Mae, Lesie Parrish does a fine job in the role, and Peter Palmer sings well and is appropriately good-looking and naive as L'l Abner. The color is a bit runny , but who cares.

It's so silly, and brilliantly presented, you can't help but love it. The beautiful cast sells it well, especially Peter Palmer. Whatever happened to him? Much of the Broadway cast was here to bring life to this endearing Al Capp opus. Leslie Parrish is gorgeous; one of Stella Stevens' first roles; the singing is great and the very athletic dancing, on a smaller scale, is reminiscent of "7 Brides" (also choreographed by Michael Kidd). Stubby Kaye, as usual, is wonderful. The adapted Score was Oscar nominated. I was 10 years old when I first saw this in a theatre in 1959."The country's in the very best of hands". Government deception could never happen, huh? This play and film was made in the 50's, the "comfortable" Eisenhower years, and after Joe McCarthy's disgrace. Think about the thoughts at that time. How're we doin' now? This was one of the first films/plays to suggest government "ambivilence"...in a humorous way.