Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955)

 Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955)

When Cousin Rodney (Loring Smith), Pa’s cousin (and former suitor of Ma, which causes Pa some distress), has his pineapple plantation in trouble with the bank and needs someone to replace him due to a bad ticker, he calls on Pa. Pa had presented himself in letters as a financial genius, a claim which is clearly not the case. However, Pa's ultimate laziness isn't in dispute until he meets his Hawaiian counterpart, Papa Lotus (Charles Lung). Before that, Ma considers Pa the laziest man she has ever met.

Pa accidentally plays lively music at the cannery, leading to a doubling of production, which saves him from immediate exposure as a humbug. But things take a twist when a shady-looking character offers a secret formula that causes the cannery's vats to explode. Pa decides it’s best to find an alternative solution, leading to his pursuit of nonexistent treasure, which, in turn, gets him kidnapped.

The fact that Ma and Pa are this charming hillbilly couple with a large brood plays very little in the story. Apart from Pa meeting his Hawaiian counterpart, the plot follows a fairly generic script that could have been used with any comedic team.

Pa’s newfound islander friends battle the kidnappers, and everything ends well as it's revealed that the explosion was, somehow, a good thing.

This was Percy Kilbride's last appearance as Pa Kettle, marking his final movie as well. The movie also features Marjorie Main, (The Professor) Russell Johnson, Lori Nelson, and Byron Palmer.