"Seventeen-Years-Old and I Never Seen Myself Altogether Yet" - Tammy and the Bachelor

Want to hear the sweet love story between a young girl from the swamp and the city boy who loves her simple worldview? Then let's talk about Tammy and the Bachelor, one of my favourite Debbie Reynolds movies!

via masorad

Let's dive in!

Tammy and the Bachelor was released in 1957, when Debbie Reynolds was a young 24-year-old playing a 17-year-old girl (she was pregnant at the time, too). She's lived in the swamp all her life with her grandparents, and though she has a lot of heart and big ideas, she lacks the education someone of her age should have. 

Meet Tammy Tyree. 

The calm water is the only mirror Tammy's ever been able to use all her life.

But considering all the amenities they do have, I find it a little suspicious that they haven't managed to find a mirror somewhere along their thrifting journey. Anyways! 

That's Grandpa, played by Walter Brennan, and he raises Tammy alone ever since Grandma died. He's a moonshiner and preacher, and he's home early because a plane crashed in the river and he wants to go see what goodies were inside.

They row out to the crash site to gather up the goods, but they don't anticipate finding the survivor clinging to a tree branch, knocked unconscious. 

They bring him back to the houseboat for him to recuperate, and Tammy notices how...handsome he is. 

When he wakes up, five days later, he tells Tammy that he must've been a burden on the family. But Tammy says that having him there, "pleasured us to no end." 

The handsome stranger is Peter Brent, but she calls him Pete. He'd been flying his friend's plane when it went down in the swamp. 

"Grandpa and me, we live here. His name's John Dinwoodie, only folks call him Brother Dinwoodie on account of he used to be a preacher, sort of. I'm Tammy. My baptized name is Tambrey. It means immortal. My full name is Tambrey Tyree, only folks call me Tammy," she tells him, revealing their entire life story. 

When she reveals that she had to help him into Grandpa's nightshirt, she gets all aflutter that he knows she saw him undressed, and goes back over to the kitchen area. Pete's totally charmed by her simple ways, though. He tells her that he's not married, but there's a woman named Barbara waiting for him at home. 

Pete recuperates with Tammy and Grandpa, and quickly folds himself into their way of life. He goes out swimming with Tammy in bathing trunks she'd made herself...

...and Tammy, of course, can't help but notice his physique. 

Peter: Well, like something out of the woods, wild and young and wise. Like a woods owl, maybe.

Tammy: It wouldn't be seemly, I reckon, to tell you what I was thinking.

Peter: Seemly? I thought that word was buried with Queen Victoria.

Tammy: You're making fun of me 'cause I ain't had much schooling.

He promises her that he isn't making fun of her and they become friends.

But eventually, Pete has to return to his home in Brentwood, to let his family know that he's still alive. It's a sad departure for Tammy, but he promises that if she ever needs him to let him know. 

Then, a little while later, Grandpa gets himself into trouble making moonshine. He's being arrested and thrown into jail, and he comes back to the swamp to let Tammy know. He was trying to earn money to send Tammy to school. 

Before Grandpa lets the police take him to jail, he tells Tammy to go to Pete's house. "He made me promise to send you to his house if anything happened to me."

So, Tammy and Nan set out for their big adventure into civilization. Well, over to the next county, but semantics...

I love this part. She's hitchhiking after a long day of walking because her feet hurt, and these kindly old people stop to let her in. Until Nan walks over to get in the backseat. Then they can't get out of there fast enough!

She's about to knock on the door at Brentwood House, but she hears people talking from the open window, so she heads over there to investigate. 

It's a bunch of young people dancing, practicing for Pilgrimage Week. 

Tammy finds this awfully exciting, naturally. She says "You'd think somebody'd tell her her shirt was sticking out," and then falls asleep. 

Pete's inside dancing, but his best friend Ernie arrived late and saw Tammy sleeping on the porch. He disrupts the dance lesson to let Pete know. 

Pete asks what happened, and all Tammy can muster up, in her exhausted state, is that they took Grandpa away and that she's been walking all day. 

Pete's mother comes out to see the commotion and tells him to put Tammy in Aunt Renie's studio for the night.  

Imagine waking up to this, in a strange room, in a strange house, and these are your only context clues. 

Same, though.

Tammy's getting a look at herself in a proper mirror. I think she likes what she sees. 

And then Pete comes up to check on her. 

Tammy: This is the jouncingest bed, Pete! It's as good as a joggling board!

Peter: Oh? What's a joggling board?

Tammy: Well, I ain't never seen one, but I heard tell it's like a bench only you jounce on it. 

He tells her about his farming project, Brentwood #6, an experimental tomato he's growing in the hopes of making Brentwood Hall self-sustaining again. The fact that he's on the sixth tomato should tell you how well it's going... 

He also tells her that the cook's not working today, because she's in a mood, so there's no breakfast. Tammy won't hear of it, though, and insists on cooking. Downstairs, Pete shows her how the pump and sink works, and she's totally fascinated by the concept of running water. 

He also explains Pilgrimage Week, how they open up the house and show it off like how it had been run a century ago to raise money. 

And then she meets Aunt Renie (played by character actress Mildred Natwick), a spinster artist who owns Brentwood Hall and loves cats. If that wasn't already totally clear. 

So Tammy finally sits down with the rest of the family and explains her predicament. They all think she's saying that Grandpa's dead. 

Tammy: Well, we couldn’t be sure, but we figured the dry, warm air would help ease him.

Pete: An extraordinary sort of fundamentalism.

Tammy: No, it's an unusual sort of rheumatism.

Anyways, she reveals that he's been arrested for making moonshine, and that's when Pete's mother freaks out. "Corn Liquor! And me, the Corresponding Secretary of the Ladies' Temperance League!" she cries. 

Tammy feels terrible that she's brought a shame upon the Brent Family, and promises she'll leave to avoid a scandal, but Pete and Aunt Renie talk her out of it, and remind her that Old Nan exists, so she rushes out to the barn to visit. 

"I'm trying to picture Barbara sitting here milking a goat," Pete says. "Ain't nothing hard about milking. The goat does most of the work," Tammy replies. 

He reveals more about Barbara, saying that she wants to live in the city, not on a farm; he wants to stay at Brentwood Hall. Tammy agrees with him, saying that all she could ever want in life is on this farm: a big house, fertile land, near a river... Pete asks if the world's crazy or just her.

While they're out there, Pete shows her the Brentwood #6 tomatoes. He's looking to create a tomato strain that's "Sturdy, wilt-resistant. Something that'll be strong enough to withstand anything this climate has to offer. See, then I can get to the market weeks before any other grower."

She reassures him that he can do it, that she believes in him, and Pete says, "Oh, Tammy! I'm glad you're around. Everything looks much better when you're here."

Later that evening, Tammy sings a song about her love for Pete. It's called 'Tammy' and it was nominated for an Oscar (it didn't win, though). It's a sweet little song (that gets stuck in my head often). Listen to it here:

It sounds so great from Debbie Reynolds, too!

It's been about a month since Tammy came to the house, and she's now helping around the house with Mrs. Brent (played by Fay Wray, of King Kong fame) to get everything cleaned and ready for Pilgrimage Week. 

She's in the library with Mr. Brent dusting, but she's saying whatever Tammy thing comes into her head, most of which Mrs. Brent doesn't find fit for polite society, nor for a lady to be saying. 

Mr. Brent is a quiet man, content to let the women run the house while he hides in his books, but when his wife asks Tammy not to talk so much, he chimes in. "Tammy, she didn't mean to be sharp with you. There were times when she was sweet and gentle, like you. And there was laughter in her voice. That was a long time ago."

Tammy asks him if he thinks it'd be possible for her to learn to speak better, and he tells her that if she'd like to learn, it would be possible. He tells her that not many people have something worth saying when they do talk, but she does, and it's a gift. 

Then the telephone rings for Tammy, and Mr. Brent has to teach her how to hold the handset. She thinks it's Grandpa calling from jail, but it's actually Pete's friend Ernie asking her out on a date. 

He tells her he'll take her to Fairville and they'll paint the town red. Tammy, naturally, thinks that means they're going to paint houses. Nobody corrects her. 

When I win the lotto, I'm buying that car. I saw one on Kijiji out in Alberta this past summer and I'll never have the money for it in this lifetime, but a girl can dream! 

Pete and Barbara are just getting back, conveniently, from a stroll around the grounds when he spots Ernie driving Tammy away.

Ernie stops a little ways up the driveway to talk. Kiss, I mean... 

...but before he can plant one on Tammy, Pete shows up in his car to crash their date. 

"Tammy's my responsibility! That means hands off," Pete tells him. 

Ernie insinuates that Pete already took Barbara from him, that he shouldn't have a say about Tammy, but he drives off anyways. 

And Tammy's mad because she wants everyone to stop treating her like a child; she says she's old enough to know what's what, and that she wanted to go with Ernie. He tells her she doesn't recognize a line when she's being fed one. Case in point: 

Pete: You're wonderful, Tammy. I'm crazy about you.

Tammy: You are?

Pete: Well, that's the line.

Tammy: Oh. You better please show me the rest, just so's I can protect myself.

Pete: Well...From the first moment I met you, I said, 'This is it. The real thing! You're not like the others. You're different.' And then the next thing you know, I try to kiss you."

She wants him to kiss her, because she fell for the line.

But Pete diverts attention by telling her that they'll need to get going if they want to get to town.

"Tickled with a straw!" Tammy crows. "Never knew what that meant til now."

I'm obsessed with this pharmacy, by the way. It's perfect. 

Just as Tammy's about to take a bite, Pete asks her if she likes the hot dog. Then she realizes what she might be eating, but he tells her that it's not an actual dog. 

"I reckon there's lots of things I ain't... I'm not rightly acquainted with."

Even the mannequin in the window at Clark's Emporium scares her. "I couldn't be more amazed if it had been a live one!"

Pete: Know something, Tammy? I'm having fun for the first time in a long while.

Tammy: Oh, I'm glad, Pete! I reckon all the folks at Brentwood Hall would have more fun if they didn't go around feeling scared al the time.

Pete: Scared?

Tammy: Miss Renie, she's scared to do the things she always wanted to do. Your Pa, he's afeard of coming out of his books, seeing the world. He's a fox dug himself a hole. If he'd come out of his hole, maybe your ma wouldn't be so scared.

Pete: Mother? Why, most people are afraid of her.

Tammy: Oh, she's the most scared of all, Pete.

Pete: Oh, now!

Tammy: That's why she keeps plucking at things around her.

Pete: Now what would Mother be afraid of?

Tammy: Well, it's dying she's scared of.

Pete: And me? What am I afraid of?

Tammy: You? Well, Pete, you're scared of being a failure. You're worried for fear things might not turn out the way you want. You're like driftwood out in the river, with the current pulling one way and the eddy going another.

Pete: Driftwood. Is that what I am?

Tammy: I reckon so. Til you come out of puzzling and take up your life.

Pete: Yes, I have been driftwood ever since the war. You make it sound so darned simple, Tammy!

Time continues to pass and Tammy continues to fit in with the family. She helps Pete in the garden and reads letters from her grandfather...

...but then Barbara's businessman uncle, Alfred, shows up with hopes of buying Brentwood Hall from the family. Barbara's all for it, but Tammy argues against selling. 

"There's two ways in which man comes nigh onto doing the work of God, the bringing of life. One's in the growing of things out of the soil, and the other's in having children."

Barbara retorts, "Naturally you're an expert on both, Tammy." Embarrassed, Tammy runs off to the barn to get comfort from Old Nan. 

Pete finds her there later, sleeping...

...she tries to get another kiss out of him, to no avail, so instead she just hugs him tighter as he carries her to her bedroom. 

The next morning, Tammy brings breakfast in bed to Uncle Alfred. They talk about Pete (who'd turned down his offer to buy the farm) and love (he doesn't have time for it); and then he offers her a tip for the breakfast she'd made him. Naturally, that's when Mrs. Brent calls for Tammy to come downstairs.

"I'II be right down, just as soon as I give Mr. Bissle his pants," Tammy says. 

"Tammy, come down at once," Mrs. Brent yells. "In a minute. He's gonna give me some money."

You can imagine how Mrs. Brent takes all that. 

Tammy and Oisa talk about Pilgrimage Week, and how they wear the finest clothes (except for Oisa. She's got to look the part and she's, rightfully, unenthusiastic about having to dress up as a slave every year).

Aunt Renie comes downstairs with her new dress on, one of her own concoction. It's... 

...something! 

Aunt Renie wants Tammy to have something nice to wear, and suggests that she wear Great-Grandmother Cratchett's dress. That she bears a striking resemblance to her is an added bonus. 

"I didn't know I was going to dress up from the skin out, drawers and everything," Tammy says. 

She's absolutely stunning, coming down the stairs to a crowded room. 

Pete rushes over to greet her...

...but a moment later, Barbara follows her down the stairs, and everyone else seems doubly impressed with her dress. 

Incluiding Pete and Ernie.

Tammy's been relegated to the drink table for the evening (the less she speaks, the better in Mrs. Brent's mind), but eventually some guests want to know who she is, so she starts to tell the story of Great-Grandmother Cratchett.

Tammy: We came a-walking all the way, with the wagon creaking loud and the oxen moving slow. We come over the mountains and down by the trace. Mammy and Pappy and me, and one crawling babe that had to be toted and some odd-sized sisters, two or three. That's how we come. Anyone in the mood for a drink?

Guest: Please go on. What happened?

Tammy: A sight of strange things happened. Powerful strange. My pappy was a musical man. He had him an old board fiddle strung with hairs from a horse's tail. His music was so sweet, it drawed the birds down from the trees. And they flew along with us, singing before and behind. That's what brought us our grief. Howdy, folks! Hep yourselves!

Guest: Well, tell us some more, sister. How could the birds make you trouble?

Tammy: Well, there was a robber in that country went by a musical name. Played the harp like an angel. And they called him Little Harp. Now, he noted the birds was all a-leaving him. The mocking bird, the jay, the little brown thrush and the sparrow, til the only thing left was the buzzards. When they lit out, he followed through the swamp til he came to the

edge of the trace. And there was all the birds a-roosting whilst we was a-sleeping! It were in the middle of the night by then and the campfire burning low. We lay on our blankets sleeping. Mammy and Pappy and me and one crawling baby that had to be toted and some odd-sized sisters, two or three. Now, Pappy used to hide his bag of gold in the same leather bag that he used for toting his fiddle. And Little Harp sneaked in whilst we slept and stole the leather bag! That's how Little Harp not only burgled Pappy's horse-hair fiddle but stole our treasure and left us all a-weeping with nothing, excepting this family gown my mammy fashioned for me. Well, I…I reckon that's all the telling of it.

Guest: You haven't told how you came to live in this house.

Tammy: That part was nigh onto a miracle for sure. We were penniless, but we made

out by nipping and tucking and selling fresh eggs. Then one day, I come up the driveway yonder wearing this very gown, for I owned no other. I was toting fresh eggs

in my bonnet. I come up the driveway singing. And the young man of the house, he come out and he took me by the hand and he said, ''I'II take the eggs, I'II take the bonnet, I'II take the gown and what's in it.'' And he kissed me then and there! And he made me into a fine lady and he carved this comb for my hair. That's how I come to this great house, and how I lived here happily ever after.

Even Mrs. Brent's impressed! 

Pete comes up to her afterwards and is on the verge of revealing his feelings for her when Barbara appears (watching from the back of the room) and asks him to come help her with her group. 

Which leaves Ernie with an opening. He tells her that when he asked her out the last time, it was just for a laugh, but this time it'd be for real. She asks if he has feelings for Barbara, and he says yes, but that he stepped aside for Pete. "You'd be wishing all the time I was Barbara. And I'd be wishing you was Pete," she tells him as she turns him down. 

That night, a powerful storm wakes her up and she rushes out to the garden to find Pete struggling to cover his Brentwood #6 tomatoes. 

Pete: It's no use, Tammy!

Tammy: No!

Pete: They're done for!

Tammy: No, no, Pete! There's gotta be some left! There's bound to be! Why did it have to come like this, Pete? Why?

Pete: It just did.

Tammy: Maybe there! Along the side of the barn! Please, God, let there be some! He's gotta have some!

Pete: Never mind, Tammy!

Tammy: We can set 'em out again, Pete! The sun'll bring 'em back to life! If they got any innards, they'll make out!

Pete: I'm slow at figuring things out, Tammy, but this is plain enough even for me to understand! I was crazy to think I could make this place pay for itself!

Tammy: Don't give up, Pete! You mustn't!

Pete: You told me once I was afraid of being a failure! Well, you're right!

Tammy then goes to check on Old Nan, and collapses into the hay, sobbing. 

The next morning, around the breakfast table, the Brents are congratulating each other on a great evening, all thanks to Tammy. Pete announces that he's ready to sell the house to Uncle Alfred, and Aunt Renie reveals that she's moving to New Orleans at the end of Pilgrimage Week to become a painter. 

Just then, Oisa comes to tell them that Tammy has taken off with Old Nan. 

Pete tells Aunt Renie that he's going to bring Tammy back from the swamp, but Aunt Renie has a cold hard truth for him: "If you don't know by now that Tammy's in love with you, you're just plain stupid, Peter. Even for a man. You'll only break her heart again by bringing her back. Unless, of course, you're ready to do something about it."

Pete's ready to do something about it, so he rushes out to his car... 

...but then Barbara shows up, with Ernie in tow, to gloat about some of Tammy's misfortune. Turns out she's on the cover of the newspaper this morning, for her grandfather's antics. 

But Pete has his own bombshell: he's not in love with Barbara the way he ought to be. He says they don't have "the kind of love Tammy calls the ''til-death-do-us-part'' kind. So he takes off, back to Tammy, and leaves Barbara behind with Ernie (who deserve each other, and I don't mean that meanly; they have good chemistry together, and neither one is entirely bad. They're just wrong for Pete and Tammy). 

Here's the front page, for what it's worth, if you love looking at movie newspapers as much as I do! 

There are so many perfectly staged shots in Tammy and the Bachelor, and this is one of my favourites. The lush gardens and immaculately kept lawn; that perfect pink car; Barbara's perfectly coiffed hair (if anyone has a tutorial on how to replicate that, send it my way!); and the gorgeous blue sky shining behind them. 

Back at the swamp, Tammy stares into the pond again, and dolefully says to her reflection and Old Nan, "I reckon I'll just get lonesomer and lonesomer for the rest of my living days."

But a voice replies from above her, "You don't ever have to be lonesome again, Tammy." It's Pete! 

Not only is Pete there, but he reveals that he brought Grandpa along... 

...who'd been let out of jail early because he'd become an overnight sensation from the newspaper coverage, and his sermons were causing jail crowding. Tammy asks why he doesn't come over to them, and Pete replies, "Well, I told him you and I had some unfinished business."

And they both live happily ever after, and we pretend that the sequels (starring both Sandra Dee and Debbie Watson) never existed, and everybody's happier for it! 

THE END! 

Now, ignore the fact that there were sequels: this is a perfect movie on its own, no need to ruin the illusion with Tammy Tell Me True!