| Mother Carey's Chickens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Rowland V. Lee |
| Written by | S.K. Lauren Gertrude Purcell |
| Based on | Mother Carey's Chickens 1911 novel byKate Douglas Wiggin |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Starring | Anne Shirley Ruby Keeler Walter Brennan |
| Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
| Edited by | George Hively |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
Production company | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $358,000[1] |
| Box office | $703,000[1] |
Mother Carey's Chickens is a 1938 Americandrama film starringAnne Shirley andRuby Keeler. The film was directed byRowland V. Lee and based upon a 1917 play byKate Douglas Wiggin andRachel Crothers, which in turn was adapted from Wiggin'sMother Carey's Chickens.
At a low point in her career, Katharine Hepburn was offered the lead role, but she turned it down and instead bought out her RKO contract for $75,000 to become an independent actress.[2][3]
In 1963, Walt Disney releasedSummer Magic, a loose remake of this film, withHayley Mills as Nancy Carey.
Mr. Carey, a captain in the United States Navy, dies during theSpanish–American War. His wife Margaret, daughters Nancy and Kitty and sons Gilbert and Peter are left behind. They are now on their own with only Capt. Carey's pension for income. The family moves into a series of ever-smaller rented houses while Mrs. Carey works in atextile mill. When she is injured, they lease a broken down mansion for a year at a nominal fee, and invest the captain's small life insurance payment to fix it up into a boarding house. Both daughters fall in love, Kitty with a local teacher and Nancy with Tom Hamilton, the son of the absentee owner.
When the Hamiltons put the house up for sale, the family is given an eviction order by Tom Hamilton, a doctor who wants the money from the sale to study in Europe. However, fate intervenes and Tom is called to save Peter from a serious illness, then falls in love with Nancy. The new owners, the Fullers, move in to force the family to vacate. The Careys and their beaus then try to scare off the Fullers by telling them the house is haunted, and making assorted spooky noises at night, hoping they will leave.[4]
The film earned a profit of $110,000.[1]
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