neonboy619 During my downtime from work and my show, I decided to sit down and watch Lil' Abner. Two theater friends of mine have been talking about it, and I've been wanting to watch it for awhile now. I mean, look at that main actor. HOT! If you haven't noticed by now, I love musicals, and Lil' Abner is a cute little musical. I was instantly pulled into this unique world based off of the comic strip of the same name by Al Capp. The main plot introduces us to Daisy Mae's (Leslie Parish) plight to catch Lil' Abner (Peter Palmer) on Sadie Hawkin's Day and finally marry him. This simple plot expands and expands to include almost every character in the little town of Dogpatch and the American Government.Lil Abner kind of reminded me of Oklahoma, but better. Oklahoma seemed to lack focus, whereas Lil' Abner is totally focused. Most importantly, you can feel the love behind every scene. The movie is just so infectious and charming that it's hard to not be pulled into this world. There's also a few scenes with Julie Newmar playing the small role of Stupefyin' Jones. (because she can "stupefy" any man in her tracks)Peter Palmer is absolutely delicious in his role as Lil' Abner, the title character and the original actor to play him on stage. Lil' Abner comes together very nicely. The sets are beautiful, the singing is beautiful, the men are beautiful... :-) What's not to love?http://neonboy619.blogspot.com

pyotr-3 This film is just the best. A pure joy.It is a remarkably good representation of the comic strip "Lil Abner," which was incredibly popular across America for many, many years. It is very sophisticated humor disguised as a bunch of yokels with no apparent education.The actors and actresses in this film are magical here. Peter Palmer is absolutely perfect as Abner, and may well be the most gorgeous man to ever live. Stubby Kaye makes you feel like you really have walked into Dogpatch USA in his role as Marrying Sam. There's not a weak performance in the whole lot. And one AMAZING surprise awaits you when you see the Dogpatch girls singing "Put 'Em Back the Way They Was" and notice that a very young VALERIE HARPER is one of the Dogpatch girls! Long before she gained fame on Mary Tyle Moore and her own shows, she sang and danced in "Lil Abner"! Who knew?! It is hard to imagine a more wonderful musical than this. The great Johnny Mercer wrote brilliant & memorable songs for it, which will have your heart singing for days. This movie is an absolute MUST-SEE.

domerrb2 This is one of the finest musical comedies around! It's an eclectic mix of political satire, music and wry humor. Al Capp's satirical genius comes through loud and clear. Listen to the words of "Jubilation T. Cornpone"! You can't help but appreciate this show in light of the political climate in the past decade. Al Capp's insight into the political machinery is as relevant today as it was over 50 years ago. The satire in this movie may be lost on Generation X'ers, but those of us who have lived through more than 3 national elections can appreciate it's relevance. It crosses all political boundaries and indiscriminately pokes fun at both sides of the aisle. Give this movie a chance, and look at it with the right frame of mind, and you're in for a real treat!

ricknorwood Fifties movies are -- well -- fifties movies. You accept them for what they are. In those terms, Li'l Abner is fun, especially Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam. Just why the fifties are a vast movie wasteland is an interesting subject. I grew up in the fifties, and you could be marked as a non-conformist by not wearing a tie. You got laughed at if your haircut didn't show at least an inch of neck above your collar. Naturally, all this had a chilling effect on television and movies, and so we have only a handful of great movies between the glories of The Third Man and To Have and To Have Not in the forties and Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill a Mockingbird in the sixties. Look at the Oscar winners from the fifties to get an idea of just how bad things were. And so we turned to science fiction -- Destination Moon, Forbidden Planet, This Island Earth -- and to movies based on comic strips like Li'l Abner. When you watch Li'l Abner, just remember, in the fifties this passed for pungent political satire and risqué humor. ricknorwood, sfsite