Li'l Abner Reviews

In this faithful adaptation of the Broadway musical comedy based on Al Capp's famous comic strip, the town of Dogpatch is deemed "the most useless town in all of America," making it the perfect site for an A-bomb test. The enraged citizens fight back and search for something that will prove that their town is important. Finally they decide that "Yokumberry Tonic," the wonder elixir concocted by Mammy Yokum (Billie Hayes), will raise a few eyebrows in Washin'ton. Naturally, the government is interested and all ends happily. The cast, nearly all from the original show, are wonderful, bringing lots of energy and yokel innocence to their cartoonish roles. The costumes are excellent, the music is lively, and the well-edited dance sequences prove that there's more to movie dance numbers than just fancy footwork. Though LI'L ABNER shows its age a bit, it's still plenty of fun, and the score was nominated for an Oscar.