Starring: Jeff York, Martha O'Driscoll, Mona Ray, Johnnie Morris, Buster Keaton Directed By: Albert S. Rogell Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Live, NTSC Label: Allied Artists Entertainment Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 16, 2003 Running Time: 72 minutes Theatrical Release Date: November 01, 1940
What To Do If A Skunk Gets in Your Woodshed Buster Keaton should have known better. This is one of the most insufferable films in history. I may donate my copy to the CIA to assist with interrogation of especially hardened suspects. It's that bad. The film immortalizes the unfunny antics of L'il Abner (Jeff York) along with other characters from Dogpatch (and neighboring Skunk Hollow) like the villain Earthquake McGoon (Charles Post,) and the most embarrassing "Indian" in screen history, Lonesome Polecat (Buster Keaton,) whose performance ranks as perhaps the worst ever.
The plot concerns the hilarious events of life with one brain cell: entrapment into marriage; the awkwardness of kissing; fistfights; sharing an annual bath with a pig; eating mustard and wondering if that leads to death or merely indigestion, etc. In the physical deformity department Exhibit A is the nose. Most of the cast has on idiotic round nose appliances making them appear more inbred than you might even expect. This was all a bit irritating, but perhaps most annoying of all was the theme song (which we get to hear twice, and was co-written by Milton Berle, who should also have known better) which goes on an on about how all the girls want L'il Abner, and then concludes with a line (about how L'il Abner just wants a porkchop) that fits neither the rhyme or meter of the song.
I may not be from a generation that really "gets" the comedic genius of L'il Abner, but this movie was given to me by a friend (I will be avenged), who, in turn, was given this film by his mother who is advanced enough in age to be in the subset of the population who should be able to appreciate this film. She is a very smart and wise woman, and has increased in stature in my eyes for her extremely concise and accurate review of this film, which I think stands as an excellent summary. She said "This is the worst movie I have ever seen."
Heed this sage advice and do not watch this if you value your time or sanity. If you are given this as a gift, I recommend a strategy differing from the one that I used (which was acceptance and a troubled "thank you"). Instead I recommend that you momentarily hand it back to the giver, point behind you and exclaim "Look! A bear with the head of Sandra Day O'Connor!" When the giver turns to look for the bear, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can, abandon all your belongings in place, move to Bolivia, and do not reveal your identity for at least ten years.
Yes, the movie is that bad.
Comic page characters come to life Buster Keaton DOES NOT play Li'l Abner-- as some "sage" reviewers think!
This early movie version of Lil Abner (1940), brought Al Capp's Dogpatch characters vividly to life. Although the Broadway musical was filmed two decades later, this original Abner film is superior by far.
This was Hollywood's first ever attempt at precisely recreating a newspaper comic strip, and the actors chosen, after much makeup, were dead ringers for the characters they portrayed. In particular, Buster Keaton as Lonesome Polecat deserves mention. He is perfect and hilarious as the strange little Indian that brews Kickapoo Joy Juice. Besides Keaton, the cast includes such old-time comedy actors as Edgar Kennedy, Chester Conklin and Al St. John.
The plot is somewhat average, but fans of Capp's work will definitely NOT be disappointed seeing the denizens of Dogpatch come to life. This movie is as yummy as "poke chops fo' brekfiss, poke chops fo' lunch, and fo' suppah....MO' poke chops!!"
A 1940 Hit , well worth watching! This 1940 version of Li'l Abner is and will remain a classic (but not to all). I think it really captures Al Capp's Characters to a T. All the girls chasing Abner were great. Jeff York could of used about 30 more pounds of muscle to really look like Abner(those skinny arms just didn't cut it). At least he wasn't sloppy and overweight as he was in the 1950's when he appeared in "Old Yeller". This movie is now being sold on DVD at stores like Walmart for $1.00, what a shame as some of this high budget trash they make today and sell for 20 bucks isn't even worth a nickel! This is a movie that reaches down into the town of "Dog Patch" and carries a great story to the end of the show. Some of the folks in the movie like Mammy Yokem look like they escaped from the set of the "Wizard of Oz" that was made a year earlier in'39(she would of made a Great munchkin). Bottom line get this movie classic, you will really get a kick out of it, "Enjoy"
BRINGS A SMILE OR TWO. When LI'L ABNER was made, in 1940, Al Capp's comic strip of the same name was one of the U.S.'s favorites, with his hayseed creation finding himself in one jam after the other, without trying at all. A story by Capp is the foundation for this film, which holds a unique spot in cinema history, as it is the only attempt to precisely recreate comic illustration, utilizing makeup, costumes and exact phrasing (without interpretation). The plot and subplots generally revolve about the annual Sadie Hawkins Day celebration in Dogpatch, which presents area females with just about their only opportunity to catch a husband, by literally running down and snaring one of the town's fleeing bachelors. For those who remember the silent film era, this effort provides small roles for many pre-talkie stalwarts, including Buster Keaton, Edgar Kennedy, Chester Conklin, Al St. John, Lucien Littlefield, Hank Mann and Edward Brady. At times very reminiscent of Capp's drawing, the very tall Jeff York, billed as Granville Owen, is effective as Abner. Martha O'Driscoll, Kay Sutton and Billie Seward, as the three women most vigorously seeking marriage with Abner, do their hearty best with the thin scenario. More silly than cute, this picture is not marked by outstanding work from cast and crew, its significance coming only from the mentioned verisimilitude.
Nice to have back! Lord, I spent some time the last few years trying to track down an old VHS version of this. I'd seen it ages ago and was wowed by the weird and wonderful ambience of the flick. Hardly a masterpiece but definitely worth owning and watching regularly--especially if you care at all for the way folks back then were able to generate real magic with a shoestring budget. I shudder to think what a low-budget version of this would have looked like if it had been produced in the, say, Seventies. I'm one of the few people I know who gets a little uncomfortable with the sleezy cheapness of "Willie Wonka."
Recommended if you like funky old films and REALLY recommended if you're a Guy Maddin fan. I'd find it impossible to believe that that wonderful contemporary director (Careful, Archangel, Saddest Music in the World) is not aware of this film.
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