Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick

Plot

Except for a few later guest-star spots, Dinah Shore ended her film career with Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick. Based on an old stock-company perennial by Walter Benjamin Hare, the film stars Dinah as Josie, a farm gal who is slickered out of her life land by big-city con artists Bill Merrydew (Robert Merrill) and Gladys (Adele Jergens). Unbeknownst to Josie, her farm is rich with oil. Upon finding this out, Josie's neighbor and erstwhile beau Aaron Slick (Alan Young) heads to town to retrieve her holdings. Since the film stars three well-established singers--Dinah Shore, Alan Young, and Robert Merrill--the Hare original has been transformed into a musical (though truth to tell, it isn't exactly on the level of Oklahoma). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

The 1919 stage play upon which Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick is drawn was for many years a huge hit with community theaters, especially those with rural audiences. But by the time the film was made in 1952, its day was long past. What possessed Hollywood to try a straight-ahead adaptation of such weak material is anyone's guess, although the popularity of the Ma and Pa Kettle series of films was probably a big factor. Perhaps sensing that Aaron needed a little help, the producers decided to make a musical out of it. Unfortunately, the songs -- and there's a fair heaping, healthy quantity of them -- are no more distinguished than the screenplay. Serviceable, yes; occasionally agreeable, yes; memorable, no. Still, they're at least a respite from the trite story, annoying dialogue, and cardboard characters. And they are handled by the delectable voice of Dinah Shore, the impressive voice of Robert Merrill, and the pleasantly engaging voice of Alan Young. Indeed, it's the cast that makes Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick worth watching at all. They can't make a silk purse out of this sow's ear, but they make all the corn somewhat palatable. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Alan Young - Aaron Slick
• Dinah Shore - Josie Berry
• Robert Merrill - Bill Merridew
• Adele Jergens - Gladys
• Minerva Urecal - Mrs. Peabody

Martha Stewart - Soubrette; Fritz Feld - Headwaiter; Veda Ann Borg - Girl in red; Chick Chandler - Pitchman; Guy Mitchell

Credit

Claude Binyon - Director, Archie Marshek - Editor, Robert Emmett Dolan - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ray Evans - Songwriter, Jay Livingston - Songwriter, Charles B. Lang - Cinematographer, William Perlberg - Producer, George Seaton - Producer, Claude Binyon - Screenwriter, Walter Benjamin Hare - Play Author

Previous:	Aaron Slick (1928 Film), Aaron Siskind (Film)
Next:	Aaron Spears: Beyond the Chops - Groove, Musicality & Technique (Film), Aaron's Way (1988 Film)