Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Best movie ever!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I saw this show on stage in San Francisco when it was on a national tour in 1959. I had been a movie fan since 1940 and a theatre lover since 1950 I saw the movie with my wife later that year having heard the original Broadway cast recording numerous times previously. Obviously we love the show and the movie came as close as possible to capture the stage production. Having read the comics all my earlier life I was familiar with Al Capp and his satire. There were only a few transfers of hit shows from Broadway to movies in that era which included original cast members. Two I enjoyed and own copies on DVD or VCR are NEW FACES OF 1952 and WHERE'S CHARLEY?. Gerald Bordman in American MUSICAL THEATRE A CHRONICLE (1978) says it ran almost 700 performances on Broadway in the late fifties. I certainly understand that movies do not always please viewers but the great majority of reviewers on this site are enthusiastic and have very ably described the many qualities which are apparent in this production. The success of this musical undoubtedly paved the way for the creation of ANNIE.

Currently I must watch an old VHS copy as Paramount's DVD is currently "out of print" except for a few overpriced new & used collector's copies on Amazon. In order to completely enjoy this movie, you have to be from the era when "Li'l Abner" was a popular comic strip. Al Capp, the cartoonist, was always controversial. One of his story lines involved a blue frozen Russian "girl" who was deemed too "sexy" for family newspapers! This is a cute, innocent version and it stars most of the Broadway Cast, so it is very well done. The songs are fun and memorable. The dance numbers, from the same choreographer as "Seven Brides", are fun and fantastic. Plain and simple: if you like the material, you like the movie. It makes fun of the U.S. Government ("The Country's in the Very Best of Hands") The Hillbilly "code",promiscuity, and youth ("I'm Past My Prime"). Minor appearances by Julie Newmar as "the secret weapon" and even Jerry Lewis in a cameo. Leslie Parish (Daisy Mae) and Stubby Kaye (Marryin' Sam) are outstanding, as are Li'l Abner and his parents, as portrayed by Peter Palmer, Joe E. Marks (Pappy) and Billie Hayes (Mammy). The story centers around the "Sadie Hawkins Day Race" and Daisy Mae's "powerful" love for Li'l Abner. The "Society Party" scene is hilarious. It also makes great sport of big business, as "General Bullmoose" spoofs GM. But Leonard Maltin doesn't like it, so he only gives it 2&1/2 stars. It's right up there with Robin William's "Popeye" which also is not beloved by everyone. I'm waiting for a new DVD release, which will probably only happen if there is a Broadway revival.

Abner, Mammy and Pappy Yokum, Daisy Mae, Marryin' Sam and all those other hillbilly characters are musically reunited for the film version of the hit 1956 Broadway musical. The moonshine is flowing, Mammy Yokum has just finished a batch of her muscle building Yokum Berry Tonic (backwoods steroids!), and Pappy Yokum is jumpin' around more excited than a mating grasshopper. The result is a rootin', tootin' musical confectionery delight.Dog Patch USA has been chosen by the Pentagon as the most unnecessary spot on Earth and has the dubious honor of being made a bomb testing site. But when Mammy Yokum's tonic (which turns wimps into the Incredible Hulk) is discovered to be the most wonderful find since Television, Dog Patch is saved, for now.... Greedy General Bullmoose (Howard St. John) finds out that Li'l Abner will be the heir to the Yokum Berry Tonic fortune, and arranges for his mistress (the apply named Appassionata Von Climax) to catch Abner in the Sadie Hawkins Day race, breaking Daisy Mae's heart. Mammy and Pappy Yokum sense evil afoot and join forces with Marryin' Sam to reunited Daisy Mae with her beloved not-so-dumb hunk. The handsome Peter Palmer reprises his role as Abner, showing off a beautiful tenor singing voice, while Joe E. Marks ("Peter Pan") and Billie Hayes ("Puffnstuff's" Witchipoo) are his loving, if unlikely parents. Leslie Parrish makes a charming Daisy Mae, while the lovable Stubby Kaye ("Guys and Dolls") steals every scene he is in as Marryin' Sam. Years before cutting in front of Shelley Winters to climb up the upside down Christmas tree in "The Poseidon Adventure", Stella Stevens was Ms. Von Climax, while that "Too Wong Foo" doll, Julie Newmar, is unforgettably silent (but fortunately not invisible) as Stuppefyin' Jones, Dog Patch's "secret weapon". Bern Hoffman as Earthquake McGoon and Al Nesor as Evil Eye Fleagle are others worth mentioning. The score includes such riotous production numbers as "Jubilation T. Cornpone" (the town hero that helped the South loose the civil war) and "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands", a song that remains quite appropriate more than 50 years later. Daisy Mae gets to sing two lovely duets, "I'm Past My Prime" (with Kaye) and "Namely You" (with Palmer)."Li'l Abner" has only had a brief concert revival in New York, so a new production of it is long overdue. The movie is one of the most faithful renditions of a Broadway show and a lot of fun from start to finish. Everybody gets moments to shine, and sharp viewers will have to look underneath the country bumpkin attire to spot Valarie Harper ("Rhoda") and Beth Howland (Vera on TV's "Alice") in chorus parts. And yes, that is Paramount's top box office draw of 1959, Jerry Lewis, in a memorable walk-on. The cartoonish filming and obvious backdrop set totally work, and remind me of 1954's "Red Garters" which had a similar theme and an artistic approach to its use of somewhat surrealistic sets. Michael Kidd's choreography is right up there with other outdoorsy musicals such as "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" and "Oklahoma!".

This fun musical is a treat to watch. It's clever and silly and exuberant. It is filled with great musical number and actually has a fairly decent plot. And of course, it has my favorite things in it: singing, dancing and a happy ending! There are a number of memorable performances. I mean, who is going to forget Billie Hayes Mammy Yokum declaring "I has spoken!", or Epassionata Von Climax's (Stella Stevens)mantra "What's in it for me?" The supporting roles were all so colorful and wonderful (I still laugh every time Evil Eye Fleagle scurries into a scene!) And we must not forget one of the best non-speaking roles ever, Stupifying Jones (Julie Newmarz).So if you want to enjoy an almost perfect musical with a few genuine belly laughs along the way, then this is the musical for you!