Li'l Abner | Jeff York, Martha O'Driscoll | A 1940 Hit , well worth watching!

Li'l Abner | Jeff York, Martha O'Driscoll | Nice to have back!

DVDs:

Li'l Abner

	Li'l Abner Jeff York, Martha O'Driscoll Allied Artists Entertainment, 2003 average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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LI'L ABNER (DVD MOVIE)

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"

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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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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.

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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!!"

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reviews: page 1, 2

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