Early TV showing


I remember this film from an early 1950's showing on a New York television station. For a kid of 10-12, it was a highpoint to the constant westerns, B pictures. One scene in particular where Li'l Abner must end his life, stands on the crest of a hill and solemnly swears, "I respects and obeys the code of the hills," and then jumps to a landing about 4 feet below. That done, he goes on with the story. U-tube or wherever, I've got to check it out again.

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I never saw this film before tonight but I absolutely loved it, wonderful "cartoon" vibe for a live action movie. You are remembering what's in the movie but running two scenes together, Li'l Abner does announce "I respects and obeys the code of the hills" but it's when it's he's told he has to marry Daisy Mae because he's kissed her. Also, he thinks he's dying at one point in the film because of a smart aleck barber pretending to be a doctor. Abner wakes up from a nap beside a tree and thinks he is in "daid" and in Heaven and so he jumps off the small cliff thinking he's going to fly with his angel wings (not having bothered to check that he has none!). This movie is very easy to find and you can download it for free at archive.org.

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I found this DVD at Walmart for $1 and what interested me was the fact that the stars listed on the cover artwork was non other than Peter Palmer and Leslie Parrish (actually stars of the 1959 Paramount musical) I'd been a real Li'l Abner fan since seeing the broadway show in New York in 1958 with Peter Palmer in the starring role. This 1940 version was a DigiView release.

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I got mine at Target for a buck too and while they didn't put the "wrong" stars on the cover they did make it seem like Buster Keaton had the lead role. But then what can one expect from companies releasing cheapie public domain titles.

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You have to admit though that Buster Keaton will always be the best-known actor from that cast, so it's logical that his presence gets played-up.

As far as the Digiview release, aside from the screw-up with Palmer and Parrish featured on the slimcase, it's well worth $1 for the casual fan to pick up.

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Buster Keaton was the probably the best known actor in the cast without a doubt. If I remember correctly, Jeff York later had a sizable roll as Mike Fink in "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" in 1956. He also had a decent role under the name Granville Owen in "Old Yeller" in 1957 as Bud Searcy. He was considerably heavier by the time he took on those roles.

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