funkyfry 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in some kind of Pollyanna time warp, its down-home Americanisms pushing skinny Debbie Reynolds into the over-sized and outdated shoes of Mary Pickford where they are unsurprisingly uncomfortable.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.

dgz78 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.

Lisa245_38 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.

MissMellieY 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.