The premise
Pete Marshall is sent as a replacement to the mountain district town of Plainville when a public opinion surveyor who went there goes missing. Visiting the hillbilly family of Mamie Fleagle, Pete begins to suspect that she and her two sons have murdered the surveyor. Pete also believes that Mamie is slowly poisoning wealthy Grandma Fleagle, who has put a vital clue to her fortune in a nonsensical embroidered sampler.
Horror Vault's take
When a public opinion surveyor vanishes in a remote mountain town, his replacement Pete Marshall finds himself embedded with the wildly dangerous Fleagle clan — a hillbilly family whose peculiar menace grows harder to laugh off with every passing hour. Poisonings, a cryptic embroidered sampler holding the key to a hidden fortune, and a murderous matriarch make this household anything but hospitable. Equal parts screwball comedy and genuine menace, the film delivers laughs that curdle just enough to keep viewers on edge.
Content: Poisoning Depicted, Violence, Threat Of Murder
Cast
Fred MacMurray
Pete Marshall
Helen Walker
Claire Matthews
Marjorie Main
Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson
Jean Heather
Elany Fleagle
Porter Hall
Mr. Johnson
Peter Whitney
Mert Fleagle / Bert Fleagle
Mabel Paige
Grandma Fleagle
Barbara Pepper
Bonnie Fleagle
Francis Ford
Lee - Old Townsman (uncredited)
Harry Allen
Old Deaf Townsman (uncredited)
Si Jenks
80-Year-Old Townsman (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin
Vic Hardy (uncredited)
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