Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) User Reviews

Debbie Debbie Debbie

[dgz78 · 8/10 · 30 July 2006]

It's hard to believe that Debbie Reynolds did this movie 5 years after Singin' In The Rain. It seems like she should have played Tammy 5 years before Singin'.

Reynolds infuses some complexity in the role - check out her sly grin when Leslie Nielsen picks her up in the barn. It's a role that could easily have been annoying to audiences but Reynolds never loses a viewers affections. In the two sequels Sandra Dee came very close to crossing that annoying line.

Besides Reynolds, the other treat is the great cast around her. It was fun to see a young Leslie Nielsen in a straight role as the leading man and Mildred Natwick does her usual excellent job (why did she never get more Oscar recognition). Fay Wray, Walter Brennan, Philip Ober & Sidney Blackmer also do a great job.

The director, Joseph Pevney, should get credit for keeping the story moving forward and not getting bogged down in the corny aspects of the movie. Had i been more than 1 years old when this movie came out, I'm sure it would have been a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Winningly Simple Story; Classic Character; a Delight

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 11 July 2005]

This is a movie that is extremely well-made, more-than-decently- acted, and it is a movie with a theme--"be the genuine article". Case in point--Tammy, a girl living on the bayou with her Grandfather in a houseboat, dreaming dreams and never going anywhere. Whatever she is, she is genuine; Tammy speaks her mind, a quick-learning one, and can do many things, although she lacks "book larnin'". And like her spiritual ancestor, Scarlett O'Hara, she wants Life with a capital "L", not a second-rate existence. So that when a handsome pilot crashes near the houseboat and she nurses him back to health, it seems perfectly natural that she and Nan her goat should walk all the way to find him to ask him to return the help, when Grandpa is taken away--not by death as the family of the pilot and he believe but by the authorities, because he has been making corn liquor instead of confining himself to preaching. Once she arrives, Tammy affects the life of every person she encounters from the cook to the real owner of the mansion, a whimsical Aunt who has always wanted to be a painter and live a Bohemian life in New Orleans. While she pursues the pilot, affianced to a stuck-up girl who does not understand him, she gets involved in the great tomato project, the lives of guests and family, the amorous fantasy of Pete's best friend, the annual historical reenactment--wherein Aunt Renie dresses Tammy in a low-cut gown like some modern transforming fairy godmother--and more. All comes out well in the end, since the pilot can no more resist Tammy than anyone else can. So Grandpa is released from jail just in time to see the boy come after Tammy to tell her she's his girl, forever. The cast of this very attractive and color-filled satirical comedy does very well with the material. Fay Wray is thin-lipped as a disapproving mother, Leslie Nielsen is very good as the pilot; Sidney Blackmer would have been Academy Award caliber as the father of this dysfunctional family if the author had given him more lines; Mildred Natwick as the artist aunt, Aunt Renie, has one of her best roles else. Others in the large cast includes Louise beavers as the cook and Craig Hill as the pilot's amorous friend, with Walter Brennan as Grandpa. The cinematography by Albert Arling is glowing and consistent; Bill Thomas's costumes represent another triumph for him in his department. Frank Skinner provided music, while Livingstone and Evans wrote the hit theme song, "Tammy". The art direction by Bill Newberry and Richard H. Riedel is unusually good as is the direction by Joseph Pevney. Credit for the clever screenplay goes to Oscar Brodney, who adapted the novel by Cid Sumner Ricketts on which the on screen events are based.  It can be objected that the event portrayed are not "real". Millions of moviegoer disagreed; the danger in the character of Tammy is that she is a pseudo-religious figure at basis, an "uncorrupted child of nature who brings the sinful rich folks in the big city back to the Lord and honest ways". Only not one element of this dangerously-wrong set of conventional ideas takes place in this film. What happens is that an unspoiled young girl, only somewhat glossy and overly-cute thanks to the author of her novel, comes across on screen in the person of Debbie Reynolds as an very attractive version of the country mouse, the Man From Mars, the outsider--the one who comes in somewhere and by being honest sees through and works to undo the pretensions of everyone she meets. It is not always realistic. although certain scenes are very strong, and the dialogue coming from Tammy is often amusing; but it is more than occasionally heightened realism, which is called 'fiction", a very scarce commodity these past thirty years in case anyone has forgotten what it looks like. The Tammy character as revived in several sequels with some charm but nowhere near the original effect.

Heart warming classic romantic comedy.

[johnzap · 8/10 · 8 October 1999]

Recommended to me by a friend, this romantic comedy will enlighten and touch your heart. I thoroughly enjoyed the view of life through Tammy's eyes where we are all reminded of just how much we all take for granted. See it, you won't be disappointed!

Sixty Years Later

[dougdoepke · 22 September 2016]

Plot—a backwoods southern girl is invited into a plantation manor after her father is sent to jail for bootlegging. The invite comes after she's rescued the hunky son from a plane crash. Now she's caught up in a humorous conflict of cultures while trying to adjust. At the same time, she pines for the son's affections despite his snobbish girlfriend.

Okay, after 70-some years of breathing my brain is turning to mush—Reynolds is charming, the song's cute, and I even enjoyed the suds this time around. Sixty years ago I hated the movie, but then I preferred rubber space monsters and Elvis's shaking' up the world. So I guess Reynolds and her song didn't really register. Truth be told, I still like Roger Corman's quickies and, of course, Elvis forever.

Nonetheless, in my now geezer opinion, the movie's a charmer, with occasional brain teasing moments. Tammy's a role the spunky Reynolds was born to play. Her sparkly innocence is winning from the git-go. Pairing her with the hunky Nielsen, however, remains a stretch. He towers over her like Tarzan in a spiffy suit. Still, her down-home truth-telling contrasts engagingly with the uptown sophisticates. I can see Peter (Nielsen) succumbing to her natural charm. But she's not all innocence. Behind her lack of education, Tammy has a perceptive inner eye, or a kind of backwoods wisdom. That compensates a lot for her amusing goofs in polite company. And catch the many innuendos I missed first time around. For example, when Tammy comes up with "of a carnal nature" while fending off masher Ernie's eager advances, I had to rerun the passage to make sure I heard correctly.

What also catches my eye this time is the subtle romancing of the ante-bellum South. The Brents represent the gentile side of the Old South transposed to the 1950's. In that sense, there's something of a nostalgia for the earlier time though it's not rubbed in. Then too, a contrasting note is sounded when Osia (Beavers), the Black cook, explains to Tammy the onerous meaning of her red bandanna headgear. So we're reminded of the Old South's not so gentile other side. And catch those colorful battleship cars. 1957 was about the peak year for showy fender fins that seemingly stretch into the great beyond.

Anyway, sociology aside, my age may be showing, but this time around I found the movie charming and occasionally insightful. So maybe something can be said said for geezer-years, after all.

"That old hooty owl hooty hoos to the dove, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 November 2013]

Debbie Reynolds like so many of contract stars was being cut loose from MGM and she sure was fortunate enough to get this film which turned out to be one of her iconic roles. Debbie Reynolds is really something special as the back woods bayou girl with an uncommon amount of common sense.

In her memoirs she had a lot to say about Tammy. First off she had to watch that crafty old scene stealer Walter Brennan playing her grandfather whom she lives with on the bayou. That man did not win three Oscars for nothing, but fortunately he's only in the film in the first 15 minutes before the revenuers clap him in the pokey.

At that point Reynolds takes up an invitation to stay with Leslie Nielsen's family. She and Brennan had rescued Nielsen from a plane crash near their bayou home on the Mississippi. She had a lot of problems with Nielsen as Leslie at the time was not the lovable oaf Frank Drebbin that we later got to know. He was a rather serious Method actor from New York and he and Reynolds did not mesh well. She took some satisfaction in her memoirs at pointing that at the time she thought Nielsen had a great gift for comedy if he'd relax and forget the Stanislavsky. And by God later on he did.

Finally she notes that the film was initially a flop. But later on she recorded the title song and got a Gold record for it. In the movie The Ames Brothers sing it over the title credits and Reynolds sings it during the film. The popularity of the record caused Universal to re- release the film and it was a smash.

Despite Nielsen's serious demeanor and Brennan's irrepressible scene stealing, no doubt this film belongs to Debbie Reynolds. 56 years after it was first release, Debbie will charm the pants off you in this role. Sad she never did the other two films, but even in this she was pushing it to play a bayou teenager.

But she succeeded, oh how she succeeded.

Not as unctuous as you might remember...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 15 January 2006]

Debbie Reynolds plays a 17-year-old girl from the bayou who goes to stay with a friendly pilot (Leslie Nielsen) and his society folks after her grandfather gets thrown into jail. Corny, yet also surprisingly sensitive growing-pains comedy-drama is silly and trite only in retrospect. The film treats its protagonist and her emotions quite sympathetically and the film is sweet without being nauseating. Good support from Walter Brennan, Fay Wray, and the always fun Mildred Natwick. Followed by two sequels in 1961 and 1963, with Sandra Dee taking over the role of Tammy, as well as a failed mid-'60s television series. **1/2 from ****

What makes "Tammy" special is the script and the players!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 23 July 2017]

Producer: Ross Hunter. Copyright 1957 by Universal International. New York opening at the Palace (as a support to a vaudeville bill): 14 June 1957. U.S. release: August 1957. U.K. release: 15 April 1957 (sic). Australian release: 9 May 1957. 8,025 feet. 89 minutes. U.K., Australian and New Zealand title: Tammy.

SYNOPSIS: Tammy Tyree lives with her grandfather on a houseboat on the Lower Mississippi. They rescue a downed pilot from the river and nurse him back to health. When her grandfather is imprisoned for distilling and selling corn whiskey, Tammy and her pet goat hike to the stately mansion of Brentwood Hall, the home of the grateful flyer.

NOTES: If Universal had sold "Tammy" a bit more confidently, the film would easily have broken into the topmost ranks of 1957's money-spinners. It was certainly one of the studio's top grosses and — thanks to a hit record of the title song — was equally if not more successful in Australia and New Zealand.

COMMENT: By the humble standards of director Joseph Pevney, "Tammy" is superior entertainment. True, Pevney has done little to embellish the drama. Aside from a confrontation scene between Nielsen and Hill, with Reynolds caught in the middle, Pevney has used CinemaScope so sparingly one wonders why Universal took the trouble. And even discounting this omission, Pevney has hardly handled proceedings with anything like style.

If we look at the ultra-glossy efforts of producer Ross Hunter, "Tammy" is definitely in the minor league. Yes, the sets, costumes and color are moderately attractive but hardly "All That Heaven Allows".

What makes "Tammy" special is the script and the players. Especially the players. The plot is a variation of that old chestnut Abraham Lincoln was laughing at, but the players, especially Miss Debbie Reynolds, make it all seem reasonably fresh, tolerably amusing and even engaging.

OTHER VIEWS: Blessed with a catchy title song and the appealing presence of Debbie Reynolds, "Tammy" is an entertaining rustic versus urban conflict, with lots of biblical, cracker-barrel philosophy doing battle with genteel impoverishment. That the old formula can still strike more than a few sparks is a tribute to the players generally, Debbie Reynolds and Mildred Natwick in particular.

That "Tammy" struck a sympathetic chord in 1957 picture-goers is evidenced by the fact that it inspired not only three sequels, but a TV series (1965-66) as well. Unfortunately, Debbie Reynolds had moved further towards super-stardom when "Tammy Tell Me True" was released in 1961 and "Tammy and the Doctor" in 1963, so Sandra Dee took her place in both these entries. Debbie Watson starred in the TV series where the character was called Tammy Tarleton (doubtless because "Tyree" was too difficult to pronounce in time-pressed television set-ups). In 1967, Universal released a movie, "Tammy and the Millionaire", culled from three of the TV episodes. — JHR writing as Tom Howard.

Can you say...Pure Debbie?

[Don Lock · 9/10 · 15 October 1998]

I saw this picture, right after seeing "Bundle of Joy," thus hoping for Debbie Reynolds patented radiance to be evident in this film as was the case with the former film. She didn't disappoint me. No one but Debbie could have performed Tammy any better (the song and the character). As to Leslie Nielsen, well, I saw a completely different side to his acting ability that we are not used to today. His chemistry with Debbie was nearly perfect. This film is about a young lady who has to move from the Louisiana Bayou because her guardian is taken from her. She falls for the son of her hostess and there are problems; but the rest is for you to discover. If anyone ever liked Debbie in anything, this is a must see. If anyone wants a romantic comedy to enjoy, this is a good pick. What makes Debbie so wonderful in all her pictures, is that she is able to use her facial expressions so well. They make the movie. You'll watch just to see them. This, like "Singin' In the Rain," "Bundle of Joy," and "Two Weeks With Love," show them perfectly. They are all quintessential films to watch her expressions in. They are often subtle, but if you watch close enough, you'll see them. And they'll make you all giddy and warm inside.

old fashion rom-com

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 27 December 2017]

17 year old Tammy (Debbie Reynolds) is a tomboy from the deep Mississippi swamps. She and grandpa rescue airplane crash survivor Peter Brent (Leslie Nielsen). She is heartbroken when he recovers and returns to his fiancee Barbara. After grandpa's jailing for moonshine, she walks to stay at Pete's vast Natchez estate. Pete is experimenting on tomatoes to revive the estate. The Brents are preparing to host the Rebel Ball and tours of Brentwood Hall.

It's old fashion like the theme song. The whole sensibility is old fashion. Reynolds is great doing the gosh darn thing although she's getting a little old to play the teenager. A younger Leslie Nielsen is playing a fine leading man. This is definitely traditional Hollywood.

memorable forever

[rosco1947 · 10/10 · 15 January 2001]

Although never rated a "ten" by most, I was 10 years old in 1957 when my mom took me to see this movie. Quite naturally I immediately fell in love with Debbie Reynolds while hoping to wind up looking something like Leslie Nielsen at the same time. One`s age at the time a movie is first seen determines a lot. She was sweet and innocent, the song very beautiful and the leading man, although a little unsure of himself, was honorable. That was 43 years ago and of course we have all had a "reality check" - but, what can I say?

Love this Film

[MissMellieY · 10/10 · 28 March 2005]

I really enjoy seeing this film...every time. You can't compare it to the subsequent Tammy films because this is so much better. Even though Tammy still comes across as a major league hick, Debbie Reynolds imbues her with such character that she seems to be a real person. No offense to Sandra Dee (and MUCH offense to Debbie Watson who was just plain HORRIBLE as Tammy), but they don't even come close to the original. I love hearing Debbie sing TAMMY'S IN LOVE...makes the young girl in me sigh! I also enjoy seeing Leslie Nielsen in a dramatic role (well, as dramatic as you can get in this type of a movie). He was quite the handsome man (not that he isn't now...but when I see him now I think of Frank Drebbin!) This is exactly what it purports to be...a sweet film.

However, in comment to another's review, Tammy didn't meet her bachelor hitchhiking, did she? I thought she and her grandfather found him floating in the water after his plane crashed. **I just received the DVD of TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR and I was right. She and her grandfather did find him floating on a log after his plane crashed. She ended up at his house after her grandfather is taken to jail for making corn liquor.

"Cute" movie for the time it was released. Has special meaning for me.

[n-kc · 5/10 · 26 December 2004]

Being in my early 60's, I saw 'Tammy and the Bachelor' when I was a teenager. It was a wonderful movie to me then: the poor girl who gets the handsome, affluent beau. I still like the movie for its simple message: one should be judged by his/her character, not by social status. "Tammy" was the first song that I ever sang in a talent contest (and I won first place), so I have a reason to remember the title song with much interest. A friend of my older brother came from New York to North Carolina for a visit back then and had me to sing "Tammy" over and over. Back then, I felt as if I WERE Tammy. Such movies don't wear as well with time as the classics, but they're nice to remember and to watch again.

A sentimental favorite, well-made cinema, or both?

[oparthenon · 27 March 2014]

A fine film, Tammy and the Bachelor reveals that "B" films often give us more than their bigger, more glossy cousins. Notice what's good about Tammy and the Bachelor, and you will find that nearly everything about it is well-done. First, its script: almost fully visual, it develops three distinct, well-defined characters through set pieces in its first quarter hour, telling us everything we need to know about each -- including personal relationships, all of which are healthy though fully human. There's an absence of sinister intent, malice, self-loathing; Tammy has normal, natural human needs which she expresses with a degree of self-respect which would be disdained by a filmmaker today as naive. Setting is filmed beautifully, simply, naturally well-lit, visually interesting, full of the character which defines the personalities (Tammy the swamp child, Peter the affluent southern gentleman.) Acted superbly: there is no hamming, no larger-than-life glamor which would ring false. Withal, of course, there is little conflict in the film: only Tammy's adolescent coming-of-age in a modern world. But wait: what larger theme is there? All right -- this is not Scenes from a Marriage; Tammy cannot compete with Cabiria; the directing is not David Lean's, and the budget is not Cleopatra's. Reynolds is not Monroe and Nielsen is not Brando. But put them together with Walter Brennan and Fay Wray and a good script and a good cinematographer and the result is this film, which has its own light and sentimental rewards. And a great title song, one of the gems of 1950's screen musings.

The BEST

[karen_donnelly · 10/10 · 27 December 2004]

I have seen all 3 Tammys & without a doubt Debbie is the BEST. She is corny without being too corny. While the others have the hick part down, sometimes they do get just a bit too 'hicky'. But Debbie! Just the right amount of sincere innocence. There are phrases, or lines that are used in this Tammy that appear in the other Tammy adventures. But o my what can I say? Debbie Reynolds is just too good in this role! I adore Sandra Dee, but she is Gidget to me (except for sally field in the TV series), & Debbie will always be Tammy. If you haven't seen this, get your girlfriends, & daughters together & watch a movie that is good, wholesome & even has a great ending. It isn't tear-jerker, but it does have some tender moments, and some that will make you laugh. Wait till you Leslie Nielson! I watch this over & over as do any movie with Debbie Reynolds.

Debbie Reynolds as Tammy

[JLRMovieReviews · 10/10 · 8 September 2011]

5 years after "Singin' in the Rain," Debbie Reynolds cemented her standing in Hollywood and make herself even more likable to her fans, with her role of "Tammy." Tammy lives with her grandpa, played by Walter Brennan, on his boat in the Mississippi swamps. Being one with nature from a young age, she has come to know that material things do not make one happy, but instead a deep relationship with her bible and God. She has had a quiet yet very contented childhood, but only just lately she has been yearning for someone to swoop down and get her and wondering if anything will ever happen to her. Life and love hit her in the form of Leslie Nielsen, when his plane crashes close by. He leaves them after he has recovered, not knowing he's taking her heart with him. I could tell you more, but suffice it to say she is brought into his upper-crust world and brings a breath of fresh air with her. If you love Debbie Reynolds and her buoyant personality, then this is a must for your list of films to see. The film may seem at times to be too simple and undemanding, but then again that's its appeal. It's a very fulfilling and uplifting little film. An added plus is seeing Debbie Reynolds singing, "Tammy," a very sweet song, which became a big hit for her own singing career. Costarring Mildred Natwick, who is yearning to break free from Leslie's eccentric family, this is a feel-good film that can be seen on TCM from time to time. If you miss it, it's your loss, and it's the reason why there's a smile on my face today. I can still see Debbie looking out the window singing, "Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love...."

Watched on AMC classics for the first time 2 weeks ago.

[chow-4 · 10/10 · 23 June 1999]

I thought the movie was great considering that I had no interest in watching it in the first place. I had seen it in the video store and didn't want to rent it. Not my style of movie (I like action or adventure), but I liked Tammy enough to want to rent it if it's not on AMC again. Both my wife and I saw it together and we loved it.

ludicrous colorful comedy

[funkyfry · 3/10 · 14 November 2015]

Debbie Reynolds plays a country gal, Tammy, raised on a houseboat next to a river by her moonshinin' pa Walter Brennan. In an early scene, Tammy bemoans the fact that she's never seen her "complete self" in a mirror. Somehow she knows all the tricks to modern makeup however. As I was watching the film, I kept wondering how it would have played if they had actually cast somebody who looked or felt even remotely like a hillbilly. But this film exists in some kind of Pollyanna time warp, its down-home Americanisms pushing skinny Debbie Reynolds into the over-sized and outdated shoes of Mary Pickford where they are unsurprisingly uncomfortable.

Leslie Nielsen's performance is a study in generic male appeal with no real personality. He's a male ingénue and not given much of any chance to do any of the interesting things we now know that he's capable of. The rest of the cast features some pleasing turns from veterans like Brennan and Fay Wray, but the whole enterprise is soaked in mawkish sentiment, a sort of worshipful attitude towards naiveté. Absolutely nothing unpredictable is allowed to happen, and there are few genuine laughs. The film's only redeeming quality, for those not already intoxicated with the talents of Debbie Reynolds, is the colorful set design and costumes which are captured faithfully and unimaginatively by Arthur Arling's photography.

This is basically a movie for people who like TV. If you watched "Wonderful World of Disney" every Sunday night back in the 70s, then you might enjoy this completely vanilla film. The less said about the film's middle section, where Tammy and the rest of the members of the household dress up as Antebellum stereotypes -- including the maid in a red bandanna mammy outfit -- by the far the better. You might find yourself, like me, with your mouth agape that a film so bland and so deliberately inoffensive could actually be so vile. It's not as if the film-makers weren't aware of what they were doing and, "oh it was a different time" -- if that were the case, they would not have put that little scene where Tammy and the maid discuss how distasteful the whole thing is. Tammy could have said something about it and took a stand, but she's not really the heroine that all the characters in the movie make her out to be. She's just another movie naif who we're supposed to adore, for no particular reason except that she's Debbie Reynolds in pigtails.

The first and only one starring Debbie Reynolds.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 September 2017]

The story begins down in the bayou in Louisiana. Tammy (Debbie Reynolds) lives there with her grandfather (Walter Brennan) and she knows nothing about life outside her little part of the world. When a pilot unexpectedly drops in (literally), Tammy falls for Peter Brent (Leslie Nielson) but their time together is rather brief. He has to get back to his society family as well as his fiancé. But, when Tammy is left alone when grandpa is sent to jail for moonshining, she goes to the city to stay with Peter and his family.

The story is a sweet little romance film. Audience members will very likely guess how it all will end...but the journey there is so pleasant you really won't mind. Excellent writing and acting and direction make this a sweet story...one well worth your time.

Wow

[Lisa245_38 · 10/10 · 31 March 2005]

I love all Tammy's movies. Someday I would like to own them. I think I am the youngest to ever love these movies at my age. My best one is Tammy and the Doctor. I would like to know if any one no where to buy her movies. Sandra Lee is a good Tammy but I think Debbie was just suite able for the role of Tammy. I am only 22 and I love old fashion movies.You might think I am a little weird but I love all old movies. My dad brought me up on these kinda of movies. I was wondering why all old movies had hardly any bad language in them like the movies know days have a ton of bad language in them you can't find one that doesn't. They are all great movies so you all should watch them over and over.

Debbie Reynolds as a delightful debutante from the swamps

[SimonJack · 9/10 · 21 October 2021]

"Tammy and the Bachelor" is a comedy romance set in the Bayou country near New Orleans. This is the first of three films to be based on a 1948 novel, "Tammy Out of Time," by Cid Ricketts Sumner. Her story is about a girl, Tammy Tyree, raised on a riverboat away from modern society. She knows about civilization but is innocent and naïve about many of the ways of the world. She hasn't been exposed to the biases and prejudices of society, or of Southern racism. After her parents died, she was raised by her maternal grandparents, and she recently lost her grandma Dinwitty. So, that left her, as an older teen-ager, to live with her grandpa. The two take care of one another, with Tammy having learned how to pretty much survive on her own.

And, while she may be ignorant of the ways of the world, she bears real wisdom based on her upbringing. They live off the land mostly. Tammy didn't go to school but learned to read and write, and was brought up learning the Bible. Grandpa Dinwitty is a part-time preacher who has run into trouble with the law over making illegal corn liquor in the swamps.

One of the things Tammy hasn't learned to do yet is lie, or hedge facts or try to cover up or get around the truth. So, her frank, honest and straightforward talk often rankles the norms of proper society once she is exposed to the outside world. But, in the meantime, that honesty has a winning way with Peter Brent. He's a young man from the outside, aka "real" world, whom Grandpa Dinwitty and Tammy rescued when his plane crashed in the river.

Debbie Reynolds stars in this first of what would become four films over 10 years. It's her film and she set the standard. The series, like most films with sequels declined after the original film. Reynolds sings the title song in the film, and it was later a number one hit that propelled the film to more popularity on its second release. "Tammy" had the 20th highest box office sales for the year. I saw it in the theater then, and watching it again recently, I found it to still be an endearing, sweet and wholesome picture. Because of its time and setting it's not a movie that is outdated. Young people - and older ones, too, in the 21st century can and still do enjoy this film. It's not a rollicking comedy but a wonderful story with humor, budding romance, and warmth that leave one with a good feeling. It's a breath of fresh air and decency in a world that often shows so much of the opposite with little faith and much anger, angst and strife.

All of the cast are quite good. Veteran actor and three-time Oscar winner Walter Brennan plays Grandpa Dinwitty, but he's toted off to jail a quarter of the way into the film. A young Leslie Nielsen plays Peter Brent in one of the many fine early roles he had before becoming a middle-age comedy icon. The rest of a fine supporting cast includes some well-known actors of the day - Mildred Natwick, Sidney Blackmer, Fay Wray, Philip Ober and Louise Beavers.

Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Peter Brent, "Food, shelter, love, children and chickens! Tammy, is the whole world crazy, or is it you? And me... listening... almost believing?"

Tammy, "Y'all talk so poor when you've got so much."

Tammy, after dusting a shelf with lots of dust and Mrs. Brent saying her husband should move, "A man's got more hair in his nose than a woman and he don't breathe it like we do." Mrs. Brent, "Tammy, we do not discuss the hair in a man's nose." Tammy, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Brent."

Good classic fun...

[MovieAddict2016 · 12 February 2004]

Another classic family story about a young girl with a goat (Debbie Reynolds) who meets a handsome bachelor (Leslie Nielsen) while hitchhiking, then falls in love with him. There's the story. Fill it in with some interesting plot twists, nice romantic touches and a very family-friendly feel, this appealing film is quite a good example of fine family filmmaking. The kids won't be disappointed--and you probably won't be, either.

*** 1/2 / *****

Fairytale in the flesh

[jamesjustice-92 · 5/10 · 29 November 2022]

The story goes as fast as Tammy fires away her lines of dialogue and I was becoming more and more convinced while watching that all of this is a fairytale in the flesh which is not bad per se but is so far from being a good movie to me personally. Although the acting is great, especially on Leslie Nielsen's and Walter Brennan's part but I couldn't say the same about Debbie Reynolds' Tammy who just isn't a seventeen-year-old girl she is supposed to be - there's too much life in her and therefore all her actions that are ought to look childish look over the top instead. Overall it's a fine piece of cinema but it lacks depth and a good lead character.

Perfectly wonderful

[soavemusica · 10/10 · 21 June 2021]

I came for the lyrical song, and stayed for the charm of a classic romcom.

The critics may not thank Tammy's lovely Bible quotes, common sense, and straight-shooting psychological observations of life as a great movie, but I protest. Today, this film is counterculture to Hollywood.

PSALM 92: "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night."

Swamptacular Backwoods Romp!

[kz917-1 · 8/10 · 5 July 2017]

Debbie Reynolds once again plays a barefoot backwoods naive maiden. This time she saves a strapping young man portrayed by Leslie Nielsen (as you've probably never seen him before) that crashes on the Mississippi near her houseboat. Soon her Grandpa gets hauled off to jail for selling illegal corn liquor and Debbie err Tammy sets out to find the young man and stays with his family for a spell. Tammy's kooky speech and naivete provide a variety of comical moments.

Worth a rental if you are a Debbie Reynolds fan.

Old fashioned family entertainment at it's bland best, and features the hit song "Tammy's in Love"

[estherwalker-34710 · 8/10 · 9 November 2021]

The first of 3 films about the adventures: romantic and otherwise, of a lonely, but lovely, bayou 'river girl', lacking formal education, but wise in the ways of love, despite being starved of romantic love. 25y.o. Established cinema star Debbie Reynolds plays the 17yo Tammy, in this first of the 3 films, while the 10 years-younger Sandra Dee plays her in the subsequent 2 films, which I have just finished seeing. Most people rate this film the best of the 3, perhaps preferring Debbie Reynolds over Sandra Dee as Tammy. However, the 3rd film clearly has the most humor, which is sparse in the present film. I don't fault Sandy for her portrayal of Tammy, although some do. Of course, Debbie and Sandy have different personalities. Debbie's Tammy is more carefree, less put off by outsider's criticism of her 'southern backwoods' lingo, and extreme lack of conventional sophistication, due to her isolation. ..........Having spent the early part of her childhood in west Texas, it was much less of a challenge for Debbie to adopt her moderate version of 'southern backwoods' lingo. On the other hand, Sandy was a New Jersey native. Perhaps that is the main reason for her adopting a more extreme, and often rather unnatural version, of 'river girl' lingo. Thus, some viewers, but not me, find fault with her lingo, which admittedly can sometimes be difficult to understand. Clearly, Sandy had to put a lot of work into creating this florid lingo. Also, clearly, her role as Tammy was her finest acting that I have seen. In contrast to the present film, in which Tammy remains in a rural setting, whether on a river or agricultural estate, Sandy's Tammy spent most of her time in urban environments, whether a college campus, or a big city hospital. Perhaps that is another reason why this film is often cited as the best. Each time, Sandy dumped her boyfriend of the previous film, ready to impress a new one............. I do have some criticisms of this film. Developing boyfriend Pete's family are supposedly the descendants of several generations of southerners, since the 1832 building of the Brentwood Hall mansion. Yet, Pete, his father, his friend Ernie, and his girlfriend, Barbara, and her uncle, haven't the slightest hint of 'southern' accent. Pete's mother and and Aunt Renie may have a slight hint of 'southern' in their speech. Of course, we can detect the Massachusetts origin of Walter Brennan, who plays Debbie's grandfather, in his speech............Also, I found the ending rushed, confusing, and apparently unworkable. After Tammy learns that Pete has decided to take up the offer of Barbara's uncle to go into advertising, rather than remain at Brentwood Hall, she runs back to her shanty houseboat, not wanting to move to the city, where Barbara wants Pete to go. Pete made this decision after a terrible rain and wind storm(probably a hurricane) destroyed the special seed tomatoes he had been growing, with the idea of turning the decadent plantation into a tomato farm, despite the 'worn out' soil. However, Pete goes to see Tammy, apparently with the idea of living with her on her houseboat. Debbie enthusiastically greets him, for an apparent happy ending. However, I can't see sophisticated Pete content spending his life fishing for catfish or, horrors, making moonshine whiskey to support a potential family, as did her grandfather, before he was sent to jail.