When the "Egg and I" came out in 1947, Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray had already made five other movies together, and they would do one more after this one. As with each of the first ones, they have wonderful chemistry in this film. Paramount made the first five that included one drama and four comedy romances. Universal signed the couple for this and the last pairing, "Family Honeymoon" the next year. This film is not the hilarious comedy and laugh-out-loud fun of other films. It rather has a warmth of humor in the travails of a city couple setting up in country living. Faith in partners and trust in love play a nice story within the story here, with a good lesson at the end. Colbert is one of the great actresses of all time. She was versatile and could act well in many genres. She had a distinct persona for comedy that made her unusual among actresses. She always played an intelligent woman, if not always a wise one. MacMurray likewise played well across genres. From his last years, people may remember him mostly as an absent-minded or funny professor. But MacMurray did much better comedy roles – mostly straight; and he made some fine Westerns and dramas. He was very good in the few action and mystery films he made. This is a wonderful movie that the whole family should enjoy.

This film is included on the Colbert Collection, therefore I watched it. It was delightful - or more accurately I thought Colbert delightful and MacMurray even more so - until the 'facts' of their marriage shook me out of my happy viewing reverie.Colbert and MacMurray are newlyweds. Without telling or asking Colbert beforehand, Bob has bought a chicken farm and intends to spend the rest of his life in the hills raising chickens. Bob deserves a stern talking to on proper husbandly behavior. But his bride is a good sport and pitches in, dealing with the multiple large and small crises. So far, this follows movie formula 34. Then ... in the last reel, he buys a better chicken farm, again without asking or telling Colbert beforehand. This last reel is, believe me, unbelievable. Our much-in-love couple has a tiff, she leaves him, and returns 7 or 8 months later with a surprise in tow. He says, "Oh, Betty." She says, "Oh, Bob" and they fall into each others arms for the happy-ever-after fade out. Is this factual? What does Betty's book say? And poo on Pa Kettle. I took an immediate dislike to him when he dropped by to welcome his new neighbors and "borrowed" 6 2x4s, nails, and a can of green paint. So do Betty and Bob set boundaries for Pa? No sirree. Bob has Pa build a water tank on stilts which then ... well, see for yourself what happens. I liked Ma though. Who can resist Marjorie Main? And I liked the silky siren down the road who has a hankering for Bob.In spite of a story that will have the feminist dragons spouting fire, this is a fun 90 minutes. The 2 stars are wonderful to watch and there are lots of laughs.

Married couple Betty and Bob (Colbert & MacMurray) move from the city to the backwoods to take on an abandoned chicken ranch. Hilarity follows.What a chuckled-filled scene when wife Betty plops into the hog wallow following a failed attempt to outwit the pig. Then, along comes spic-&-span, husband-stealing Harriet (Albritten) to walk off with hubby Bob, leaving poor Betty wondering why she's corralling a pig instead of a city bus. It's a delightful film that really holds up despite the passing decades. Mac Murray and Colbert are near perfect in their comedy roles. Note how Bob never becomes dislikable despite his often airy unconcern, or how Betty never becomes maudlin despite the frequent frustrations. Then there are the colorful hayseeds—Ma Kettle (Main) who apparently took housekeeping lessons from Atilla the Hun and needs name tags around that wild pack of kids. And, of course, there's Pa Kettle, the slyest guy around, that is, when he's not begetting little Kettles. But what I really like is the barn dance. That corny band sort of chugs along while the dancers make up their own steps. But pity poor Betty, caught up with a collection of Arthur Murray dropouts who appear to confuse dancing with a mix-master.There were a number of these "back to the sticks" comedies during the period, including Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and George Washington Slept Here (1942). The laughs are built into the premise of inept city folk trying to master country ways, but none are funnier or more delightful than this one.

Before seeing The Egg and I and later reading about the movie and its cast here on the IMDb I was familiar with the title phrase, but I did not know why it was so important. In listening to old time radio shows there were references to "The Egg and I" that have become more clear to me now. I am beginning to understand just how popular the 1945 book was, and the movie that followed two years later.In the make believe world of 1940's movies beautiful women admired their handsome husbands. No matter what the husband asked, the loving wife would acquiesce. That is exactly what happens in The Egg and I, but despite the passive act of following her husband to the "abandoned" farm in the mountains the character of Betty MacDonald is quite a strong person. Claudette Colbert did not portray MacDonald as infallible, but she was determined to make life on a chicken farm work. Even a show of uncertainty or sad emotion cannot be deemed a sign of weakness. Betty tries to learn the ways of the country, and accepts the local people as they are rather than impress the ways of the city on the rural folk.Even though The Egg And I is included in the first DVD collection of Ma and Pa Kettle movies, I understood that the Kettles would be supporting players. Not expecting to see much of them, I was pleased by how important to the story they were. Ma is hardly the person one would expect to be befriended by Betty, but a friendship arises that is beneficial to everyone. Marjorie Main had much of her characterization of Ma "in reserve" because Ma is not as outrageous as the environment around her. She, like Betty, has learned to adapt and make the most of her situation in life. Because I liked this movie so much, I will find a copy of Betty MacDonald's original book.