The Beverly Hillbillies
 One of the most durable television sitcoms and one of the most
successful of the popular rural comedies at CBS during the 1960s, The
Beverly Hillbillies has withstood critical disdain and become
a favourite with viewers in reruns.
The Beverly Hillbillies is the old story of city slicker
versus country bumpkin, of education versus wisdom; and though the
laughs are at the Hillbillies' expense, in the end they almost
always come out on top despite their lack of sophistication.
This simple account of simple country folk at odds with city
folk hit a nerve in the country and was reflected in a number of
other shows of the era, including fellow Paul Henning productions Petticoat
Junction and Green Acres.
The Beverly Hillbillies premiered to a critical blasting
and yet within a few weeks was at the top of the ratings and
remained popular for the length of its run.
In the theme song we learn the story of Jed Clampett (Buddy
Ebsen), a mountain widower. One day, while hunting for food, Jed
comes across some "bubbling crude" on his land:
"Oil, that is, black gold, Texas tea."
Jed sells the rights to his oil to the OK Oil Company and
becomes a millionaire. He is advised to move from the hills and so
he goes off to a luxurious thirty-two room mansion at 518
Crestview Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, to live the high life.
Along with him he takes his mother-in-law, Granny (Irene Ryan);
his daughter, Elly May (Donna Douglas); and his nephew, Jethro
Bodine (Max Baer, Jr.).
In California Jed's money is kept at the Commerce Bank, and
along with the bank comes its president, Milburne Drysdale
(Raymond Bailey), and his plain but smart assistant, Jane Hathaway
(Nancy Kulp). Most of the interactions involve the Clampetts and
the Drysdale/Hathaway team - and occasionally Drysdale's snobby
wife.
To keep a closer eye on his largest depositor, Drysdale
arranges for the Clampetts to move into the mansion next to his
house in Beverly Hills. Drysdale is obsessed with the fear that
the family will move back to the hills along with their money, and
he will do practically anything to assuage them and help them feel
comfortable in their new home. This simple premise remains
essentially unchanged through the bulk of the show's run.
Unfortunately, the Clampett's attempt to live the life of
millionaires was doomed from the very start because; a) they still
yearned for Hicksville, and, b) they may have had 25 million
dollars but they did not have a clue what to do with it. Granny
even had trouble telling the TV set from the washing machine for
Christ's sake. . .
City life is not difficult for the rube man-child Jethro, who
fancies himself a playboy or secret agent or movie producer and
wants to keep his "hick" family from making him look
bad. Elly May is the pretty tomboy who seems content to live in
the city as long as she has her "critters." But crusty
old Granny is not happy here, where she has lost her stature in
society and she can no longer be the doctor, matchmaker, and
keeper of wisdom.
Most of the characters in The Beverly Hillbillies are
caricatures and stereotypes of rich and poor. The only real
exception is Jed Clampett, who alone seems to appreciate both
sides.
The humour in this show comes from many sources. Initially, the
jokes and obvious humour come at the expense of the Hillbillies.
The ragged clothes, the fascination with even the most ordinary
aspects of everyday life (they assume the billiard table is for
formal dining and that the cues are for reaching across the
table), and odd customs and ideas about high society based on
silent movies that reached their hometown.
But just as funny are the city folk, like Mr. Drysdale and his
transparent efforts to get them to stay, or Miss Jane and her
proper and humorous look.
The Beverly Hillbillies is at its best in showing how
foolish modern-day life looks through the eyes of the transplanted
country folk. Jed is the centre and the speaker, pointing out
those things that seem to not make sense, and upon reflection we
can often agree.
While this show is no work of high art or philosophy, and the
story lines and situations are often ludicrous and sometimes
downright foolish, it does an excellent job of entertaining with a
basic backdrop and characters for thirty minutes.
Anxious to capitalise on their success, CBS commissioned two
other rustic sitcom spin-offs, Petticoat Junction and Green
Acres.
Critics, of course, hated all three shows, and, because it was
the first, reserved their strongest vitriol for The Beverly
Hillbillies. The public was having none of it: they loved the
show and watched it in record numbers.
Remarkably, the eight most-watched half-hours in the history of
US television are all Beverly Hillbillies episodes. It's a safe
bet though, that a good proportion of the viewing audience were
young males tuning in to catch an eyeful of blonde bombshell, Elly
May Clampett in the tightest jeans around (yum yum).
In the weeks following the assassination of President Kennedy,
this show had four of its highest rated shows, and some of the
highest rated shows of all time.
But in 1971 CBS pulled the plug - and not just on this show but
on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres too. All may
have been past their prime but audience ratings remained high, and
the network's only valid reason for cancelling was a commercial
one: polls indicated that the shows were attracting the wrong type
of viewers for the advertisers.
So that was that until ten years later, when three of the
original cast (Ebsen, Douglas and Kulp) came together for a
witless two-hour reunion special, The Beverly Hillbillies Solve
The Energy Crisis, screened by CBS on 6 October 1981.
Ray Young replaced Max Baer Jr to play Jethro while Irene Ryan
(Granny) had died in 1973 and Raymond Bailey (Milburn Drysdale) in
1980. Harriet MacGibbon (Margaret Drysdale) was around 75 years
old by this time and was not cast.
Twelve years further on again, in 1993, 20th Century-Fox made a
feature film of The Beverly Hillbillies (directed by
Penelope Spheeris, with Jim Varney as Jed Clampett) that also
failed to hit the mark, with only Lily Tomlin (cast as Miss
Hathaway) outstanding.
That same year (on 24 May 1993), CBS presented The Legend Of
The Beverly Hillbillies, featuring surviving members of the
original cast linking old clips and explaining what happened to
the Clampetts and their acquaintances since it ended.
But here's a question for you; Was Elly May a lesbian? Look at
the circumstantial evidence . . . She always wore jeans, never had
much luck with boys and spent most of her time hanging around with
Miss Hathaway. You be the judge!
HISTORICAL NOTES
Actress Sharon Tate, later to be infamously murdered by the
Manson Family, appeared in The Beverly Hillbillies as Janet
Trego (Mr Dysdale's secretary).
Max Baer appeared (in drag) as Jethro's sister (Jethrine) on
the show. Paul Henning (the creator of the series) had his
18-year-ol daughter Linda dub Jethrine's voice.
The real mansion used for exterior establishing shots in the series was also
the location for the Jerry Lewis movie Cinderfella. The
house (which is actually in Bel-Aire, not Beverly Hills) was owned
by Mrs. Arnold Kirkeby, widow of a hotel magnate. Her favourite
charity received a donation in exchange for its use in some
drive-up shots and occasional establishing views. All the other
exterior scenes used a recreated set piece.
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