Li'l Abner (1959 film)
| Li'l Abner | |
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| Directed by | Melvin Frank |
| Produced by | Norman Panama |
| Written by |
Al Capp Melvin Frank |
| Starring |
Peter Palmer Leslie Parrish Julie Newmar Stella Stevens Stubby Kaye |
| Music by | Gene De Paul |
| Edited by | Arthur P. Schmidt |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3,200,000 (US/ Canada) |
Li'l Abner is a 1959 musical film based on the comic strip of the same name created by Al Capp and the successful Broadway musical of the same name that opened in 1956. The movie was produced by Norman Panama and directed by Melvin Frank (co-writers of the Broadway production). It was the second film to be based on the comic strip, the first being RKO's 1940 film, Li'l Abner.
Several songs, with music by Gene De Paul and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, were adapted directly from the Broadway production, but the original portions of the motion picture score were written and conducted by Nelson Riddle and Joseph J. Lilley, which earned them an Oscar nomination for Best Score in 1960 and earned Riddle a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album. The movie was released on December 11, 1959 by Paramount Pictures.
Almost every major character in the movie was portrayed by the same performer who appeared in the role on Broadway. Notable exceptions are Daisy Mae (played by Edie Adams on Broadway), Appassionata von Climax (played on stage by Tina Louise) and Mammy Yokum (played on stage by Charlotte Rae). Jerry Lewis has an unbilled brief cameo as Itchy McRabbit.
It's a "typical day" in Dogpatch, U. S. A., a hillbilly town where Abner Yokum lives with his parents. Mammy Yokum insists on giving Abner his daily dose of "Yokumberry tonic," although he is grown. He has a crush on Daisy Mae Scragg (although he resists marrying her) and she on him; Abner's rival for her affections is the World's Dirtiest Rassler, Earthquake McGoon.
Sadie Hawkins Day is approaching. On this day the "girls chase the men and marries whomstever [sic] they catches," as Senator Jack S. Phogbound puts it. However, the citizens of Dogpatch find out that their town has been declared the most unnecessary place in the country—and will be the target of an atom bomb, since the nuclear testing site near Las Vegas is allegedly spoiling things for the wealthy gamblers there.
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