Product Details

• Actors: Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Lori Nelson, Byron Palmer, Russell Johnson
• Directors: Lee Sholem
• Writers: Connie Lee Bennett, Elwood Ullman, Harry Clork, Jack Henley
• Producers: Leonard Goldstein
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: April 25, 1995
• Run Time: 79 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303410162
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,253 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  Video > Comedy > By Year > 1950-1959

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a Kettle fan don't miss seeing Waikiki., May 13, 1999

By A Customer

Ma and Pa Kettle in Waikiki is a rib tickler of a comedy. You'll laugh and roll as this down to earth family finds themselves in Hawaii. By shere mistake and accident Pa blunders his way to the top of his cousin's pineapple business. His goofs turn out to be incredibly beneficial and helpful to Rodney Kettle. You won't be sorry buying this video. If you don't like it, something is wrong in your humor zone.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hawaiian fun with legendary characters Ma and Pa kettle, January 29, 2003

By	Simon Davis - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I always find the Ma and Pa Kettle films alot of fun to watch and although they could be dismissed by some people as a "guilty pleasure" I feel there is alot to enjoy in the old fashioned comedy that was their special charm. Alot of their appeal for me results from the wonderful playing of veterans Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride in their immortal roles of the wacky Ma and Pa Kettle. It's obvious that never once in all their films as the Kettles did these two actors ever loose respect for the characters they were playing which I feel explains their enduring popularity with audiences.

"Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" came late in the hugely successful run of Kettle films and rather sadly marked the last appearance by Percy Kilbride as Pa. He retired due to ill health after this film and died soon after. Certainly this film's story lacks some of the freshness of the earlier installments but it is still very enjoyable with Ma's trademark raw voice and down home outlook combining beautifully with Pa's lazy, dont give a care view on life.

"Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" finds Ma and Pa along with eldest daughter Rosie (played by beautiful starlet Lori Nelson), answering an urgent call from cousin Rodney kettle to come to Hawaii to help out with the operation of his Pineapple Canning factory while he recovers from a medical condition brought on by stress from his failing business. It seems Pa in his letters has boasted to Rodney about his great business acumen and Rodney feels some of Pa's obvious "genius" might help his ailing business. What develops is a typical Kettle misadventure where Pa through a series of mistakes like causing an explosion and bringing his new fangled music player into the workplace actually improves productivity and business practice in the factory. Ma meanwhile has her hands full trying to cope with the wives of Rodney Kettle's business associates. It is in these scenes that Marjorie Main really comes into her own. A veteran of so many classic films like "Dead End", "Susan and God", "A Woman's Face", and "Meet Me in St. Louis" Main is hilarious adapting herself to the fancy living and refined tastes of the ladies forced to invite her for an afternoon tea. Mabel Albertson, still best known as one of the interfering mother-in-laws on the classic 60's comedy series "Bewitched" excells as the bitchy and snobbish Mrs Andrews who has the misfortune to encounter the Kettle's on the boat to Hawaii (ending up in the swimming pool fully clothed for her troubles!!) and then finds herself having to play host to Ma at one of her afternoon soiree's. The highly unlikely proceedings result in "business wizard" Pa Kettle being kidnapped by Rodney's creditors who are anxious to take over the operation of the factory. It's interesting to see a very young Russell Johnson pre "Gilligan's Island" in the role of a hired thug determined to get rid of Pa. The scenes of Ma's "rescue" of Pa where she does everything from paddle an Hawaiian fishing boat to organising a coconut bombardment of Pa's captors is very funny and carried off in Marjorie Main's unique style. Its very amusing to see the Hawaiian family who help Ma with the rescue are a carbon copy of the Kettles with the Hawaiian Pa exactly like Pa in character and Hawaiian Ma the same as Ma together with 15 children of their own!

"Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" might not be straight out of the pages of Oscar Wilde but it is a unique opportunity to see two seasoned performers in roles that absolutely suited them to a tee. Alot of the humour might seem very familiar to those of us used to TV sitcoms however one has to remember that the Kettles came first and influenced humour in the decade to come as seen in such hugely successful TV series as "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Green Acres". Marjorie Main in particular is wonderful as Ma and I still feel she never received the recognition she deserved for her acting. Enjoy the laid back charm one last time of the movies most famous country bumkins Ma and Pa kettle when they travel to Hawaii.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movies, January 13, 2007

By	Janet L. Leinen - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki/Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Forgot how funny these movies were. The innocence of the time.
Why can't we make movies today like this.