Tammy and the Bachelor is a 1957 romantic comedy film and is the first of the four Tammy movies. It stars Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent. It was adapted from the book Tammy Out Of Time by Cid Ricketts Sumner.
Plot
Tambrey “Tammy” Tyree (Debbie Reynolds) is a seventeen-year-old girl living in a houseboat in Mississippi with her Grandpa, John Dinwitty (Walter Brennan). She runs around barefoot, dreaming of life outside of the swamp, and talking to her best friend, Nan, a goat.
One day in the swamp, Tammy sees an airplane fly overhead but makes nothing of it. Grandpa comes back to the houseboat and tells Tammy that the airplane has crashed near the whirlpool. Tammy hears that the police have not found any survivors and decides to go with Grandpa to search with him. By now, it has become dark and Tammy and her Grandpa paddle in a boat towards the plane wreckage. There, in the middle of the whirlpool, they find the unconscious body of Peter Brent (Leslie Nielsen). Tammy and her Grandpa take him back to the houseboat and Tammy maintains a vigil by his side. After five days, his fever breaks and Peter is sufficiently better to sit up and talk to Tammy. As a result Tammy promptly falls in love with him. Five days later, Peter tells Tammy and her Grandpa that he has to go home, but tells Grandpa that if anything ever happens to him then Tammy would be welcome to come and stay with him. Tammy is desolated by the thought of Peter leaving.
Several weeks later and Tammy has still not heard anything from Peter. Grandpa arrives home and tells her that he is being sent to jail because of his moonshining and Tammy goes to stay with Peter. She arrives at Brentwood Hall late in the evening, sees many men and women dancing in a room by the porch, and pulls up a chair. Tammy sees Peter among the dancers, and recognizes Barbara Bissle (Mala Powers), as the “girl who was on [Peter’s] mind when [he] was delirious.” Peter’s best friend, Ernie, arrives and finds Tammy, who has fallen asleep. When Tammy tries to explain her Grandpa's imprisonment, Peter misunderstands and tells his mother (Fay Wray) that Tammy’s grandfather has died.
Tammy awakes the next morning in Peter’s Aunt Renie’s (Mildred Natwick) art studio. Peter brings her coffee, and tells her about Brentwood #6, a tomato that he is growing in hopes of making Brentwood Hall self-sustaining once again. Tammy offers to make breakfast for the family and begins to eat with them, very excited to be in the “elegant house” with Peter and his family. Meanwhile the Brents all believe that Tammy’s Grandpa is dead. When the record is finally set straight, Mrs. Brent is aghast that Tammy is going around announcing that one of her relatives is in jail. Aunt Renie already adores Tammy and she and Peter convince Tammy to stay. That night, Tammy sings of her love for Peter.
A month later, Barbara and her uncle, Alfred Bissle (Philip Ober) return. Mr. Bissle wants Peter to stop meddling around with tomatoes and offers him a deal to come to work with him in the advertising business. Peter introduces Tammy to Mr. Bissle, and in minutes, Barbara succeeds in embarrassing Tammy in front of everyone. Tammy runs off to the barn to talk things over with Nan. Peter finds her asleep, tells her that he has turned down Mr. Bissle's offer, and carries her back to the house.
By now, Pilgrimage Week, which includes a Ball and tours of Brentwood Hall, all the while in costume, has arrived, and the everyone in the house is busy preparing. Renie gives Tammy the dress that Peter's great-grandmother wore. Mrs. Brent and Renie suggest that Tammy pretend to be Great-Grandmother Cratchett for the evening. At the Ball that night, Tammy tells a story for the guests, and enchants everyone, even Mrs. Brent.
That night, a hail storm hits Brentwood Hall. Tammy and Peter attempt to straighten as many of the tomato plants as they can, but Peter stops her, and they both give up, as the tomato plants are all dead. Tammy then goes to the barn to make sure that Nan is alright, crying the entire way. The next morning, the storm has passed and the Brent family and Mr. Bissle gather outside for breakfast. Mrs. Brent announces that Peter has now decided to accept Mr. Bissle’s offer. Aunt Renie then announces that she will be moving to New Orleans to pursue her lifelong dream of being an artist. Osia (Louise Beavers) runs outside and tells everyone that Tammy has left the house in the night. Peter immediately decides to go after her in order to bring her back, but Renie stops him as he mounts the stairs, telling him that Tammy loves him and that he can't break her heart again.
Barbara arrives later with Ernie, and she shows Peter a revealing newspaper article about Tammy and her Grandpa. Peter tells Barbara that Tammy is the one he loves. Peter, accompanied by Tammy's newly-released Grandpa, finds Tammy by the river and gives her her first kiss telling her that she won't ever have to worry about being alone ever again.
Cast
Awards
Jay Livingston and Ray Evans were nominated for an Oscar for their song "Tammy".
Reynolds placed second for a Golden Laurel for Top Female Comedy Performance. The movie itself was awarded third place for a Golden Laurel for Top Comedy.
External links
