The point of departure of the series was the discovery by Jed Clampett of oil whilst he was "shootin' at some food." Being a poor mountaineer, Jed probably owned only his humble abode. Any property on which he hunted probably belonged to someone else or to the state. Therefore, oil discovered on that property would not belong to him. Therefore, the whole television series is based on a false premise.
shareMy guess is that the land was originally homestead land that got passed down to Jed. Homestead land is taxed at an extremely low rate as long as the homesteaders do something with the land. Even if Jed himself wasn't necessarily making a "good go of it" he might have been grandfathered in.
I have a bigger problem with him missing that critter in the opening credits. Jed and Jethro were shooting flies off the mansion boarder walls smeared with jelly at 100 yards away later in the series. And you want us to believe he missed a rabbit from 20?
K/H D
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Not a bad explanation. We'll have to ask the scripwriters is that was their intention.
Jed never should have missed that critter, but then again if he had hit it, he never would have precipitated the whole premise of the series: "...up through the ground came a bubblin' crude, oil, that is. Black gold. Texas tea."
Oil is called Texas tea? I never knew that. I always thought the song said "Texas T", as oil being the richness that puts the T in Texas. Good to learn something new today!
Anyway, I'm sure the oil company wouldn't have given all that money for the rights to drill on Jed's land if it first didn't make absolutely sure Jed was the legal owner of the land. So the show wasn't based on a false premise.
"Truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
If the Clampetts were sharecroppers, then the land didn't belong to them. Of course, Paul Henning and company weren't thinking about that sort of thing.
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
A "sharecropper" wouldn't be paid for the mineral rights to his land.
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Did they ever specify which state the Clampetts were from? Granny mentioned she was from Tennessee. But they never specified the state from which the Clampetts moved to California. They did refer to nearby towns such as Joplin, Branson, Springfield, Tulsa and Silver Dollar City, all of which are in or near southwest Missouri. Granny told a police officer that her family was from Taney County which is in southwest Missouri. Early episodes also contained several references to Eureka Springs which is in northwest Arkansas. All of the communities are in the Ozark Mountains. The show's creator and producer, Paul Henning is from Independence, Missouri.
Has oil ever been discovered in the Ozarks?
When I was really little I thought the Clampetts were from West Virginia or Kentucky and wondered how their truck made it all the way to Beverly Hills. I guess Missouri was closer.
Eureka Springs is real close to the Missouri border and in the general vicinity of all of those. They make it out like it is a rather long drive to Eureka Springs; long enough for it to be an awful special trip.
Episodes showing them "back home" took place in Silver Dollar City. Shed was a fixture in Silver Dollar City for years.
In the first episode (The Clampetts Strike Oil), the oil company guys are flying over the swamp in question and one of them says, "That's the biggest oil reserve in East Texas". It is possible they are near the Texas border, maybe Arkansas, but Henning grew up in Missouri.
shareI'm still gonna go with they were from TN. That Ozark stuff came from the movie.
Granny was from TN, and she was always wanting to go "back home" to the cabin, so it's safe to assume that wherever the cabin was was home to Granny, which was TN.
Create a society in which you would like to live, not knowing what you're going to come into it as.
She may have been from Tennessee, but that doesn't mean she couldn't move in with Jed to help raise Elly Mae, after her daughter passed away. Granny's daughter (Jed's wife) was named RoseEllen.
shareGranny was from Tennessee. But in the first episode of the show "The Clampetts strike oil" while the oil industry people are in the helicopter, they mentioned that is the biggest oil strike in "East Texas". That means they are probably in the corner of the state of Texas closest to Arkansas
shareGranny was from Tennessee. But in the first episode of the show "The Clampetts strike oil" while the oil industry people are in the helicopter, they mentioned that is the biggest oil strike in "East Texas". That means they are probably in the corner of the state of Texas closest to Arkansas
The "wildcatter" to Mr. Brewster, while riding in the chopper:
"From the tests and surveys, I'd say that's going to be one of the richest pools SINCE East Texas."
Well, first of all, despite what other sources have said, the Clampetts are from the Missouri Ozark Mountains, not the mountains of East Tennessee. Paul Henning, the creator and producer of "The Beverly Hillbillies" was from Missouri and when he created the show there were a lot of references to Missouri in it. (Bugtussle is a town in Missouri.) It wasn't until later that with the popularity of the show and of the Bluegrass Artists Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (out of Nashville) started appearing on the show (and the producers using Flatt and Scruggs tunes as background music) that the writers started dropping references to Tennessee into the show. There also references to West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Texas in the show; so it became real confusing to the show's audience where exactly the "Hillbillies" where from. But Henning always, from the very beginning, always intended Jed and his family to be from Missouri.
A parody version had "and up from the truck came Granny in the nude."
shareYes, yes, we must ask the scriptwriters what their intentions were -- doesn't matter that the show was based on a great premise, was a real phenomenon through the Sixties and highly popular.
shareWell, Jed apparently rushed to take the shot, so it could have compromised his accuracy, or the critter could have seen him and moved right before he pulled the trigger. There could also have been an issue with his rifle or ammo, such as the rifling in the barrel getting filled with lead over time, causing the bullet to tumble off the mark. Additionally, if the critter was a small one, then it could have passed all the way through (the hit being off-camera) and struck the ground some distance away. Whatever the reason, I guess in the context of the story it could be considered an act of fate. It doesn't necessarily mean that Jed doesn't or can't have the skill he demonstrates later on, under more favorable conditions (time to aim carefully, targets that aren't aware of him, properly functioning rifle).
shareAgree 100%! There is nothing inconsistent about extremely poor people owning land. Especially mountain land, which in those days was considered almost worthless - farm land being much more valuable. You also make a good point about Homesteading. I know that in the real late 1800's north Alabama was still allowing Homesteading, where you got land for free just by claiming it. My Great Great Grandfather got about 180 acres that way - I have a copy of the deed. He was certainly dirt poor.
The inconsistency here is that Jed missed that shot in the opening of the show. In every instance otherwise, where any Clampett was shooting, they never missed anything. Well, except for when it took Jethro 2 shots to cut the telephone wires at the Drysdales because his mind was on their pretty maid rather than feuding as it should have been! :)
That was a hill rabbit,and the flies were Beverly Hill flies,so they were bigger and slower
shareThe pilot didn't show him shooting at anything, some geologist was wildcatting and found that the swamp was full of oil.
The Scruggs and Flatt theme song didn't appear until the second episode.
No no -- Jed was willed the property -- it's all his -- all 200 acres. The land was passed down to him from his grand daddy, Clive Clampett of the Crooked Fork Clampetts, who rose to riches right after the War Between the States.
I believe it. If Jed could inherit a castle all the way over in England, it's very consistent for him to have a couple hundred acres in the US.
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Regarding the lyrics, I used to argue at school about the line "Shooting at some food", which I thought was "shooting up some food" as in "rustling up". I was wrong, of course.
I was also wrong when I thought they said "Up from the ground came a bubblin' crew", ie The Clampetts were a bubbling crew (a lively group) who came "up from the ground" by virtue of their newfound wealth. I guess I overthought it.
I'm a Prick With a Fork.
About him missing the critter yet a crack shot later on shooting at targets on the mansion wall, in one case he was shooting at a fixed target, the other a moving one. I am also confused about whether oil was discovered by him missing the critter or the oil company "wildcatting" on the land.
share Good discussion.
1) I always thought the "shooting at some food" mentioned in the theme song happened sometime before the events in the pilot episode. Jed struck oil, THEN someone from the oil company found it.
2) I also assumed Jed owned the land where the oil was found, because the hilly land was so poor for farming, no one else would want it. It's just not worth anything. That land was probably handed down from generation to generation. It's been Clampett land for years.
3) What I don't understand is why the OK Oil Company didn't just buy the land outright. We're led to believe they're somehow leasing the land from Jed, and continuing to pay him a percentage of the oil profits. Why didn't they just buy the land from him in 1962, and avoid splitting the profits with him over the next nine years (and beyond, presumably)? Clearly, from the pilot episode, Jed had no idea the oil was profitable. It wouldn't have been hard for the oil company to pay Jed a pittance, then just take the oil for themselves. Good thing Mr. Brewster was an honest, decent man.
3) Because Jed didn't want to sell his land, and the oil company was able to work out a deal where they could extract the oil without buying it.
share1) That's right, Jed and his family definitely knew about the oil well ahead of time, but they just didn't think it was worth anything to anybody, and couldn't afford to have it pumped out (and disposed of).
2) In the show's canon, Jed owned the land outright, and there are a variety of ways in which this could be plausible in the real world (already discussed), especially since the land wasn't worth much (without the oil).
3) According to the pilot episode, the oil company did buy Jed's land, but they were only going to pay him in accordance with how much oil they could pump out of it. In the real world, such things cannot be known with certainty from the get-go, either, so as far as I can tell they arranged to share the risk with Jed by paying him a percentage for the oil (perhaps not totally realistic, but it makes enough sense for the show to get by on). Otherwise, Jed would risk underselling to them and they would risk overpaying to Jed (in theory, because the latter would not have happened in practice in this case). Yes, Brewster is an honest, fair man, but then again there can be great risk in taking full advantage of and totally screwing over the "little guy" just because the latter is currently ignorant. Drysdale proves that there are all kinds of ways to be unscrupulous without actually literally stealing people's money (even he wouldn't dare), and even if Brewster weren't quite so honest, he probably wouldn't have outright stolen Jed's land and oil (unless he was a hardcore white-collar criminal, and those usually end up in prison eventually).
Owning land doesn't automatically mean you own the rights to the mineral extraction rights below it. You can own one without the other, or both, and the boundaries don't have to correspond to each other. You have to assume the Clampetts owned the mineral rights to all or part of their land.
Oil companies usually employ land management companies to secure the right to drill. It's a complicated business. Companies typically sign a lease with the mineral owner, and pay them an upfront lease bonus for the right to extract the mineral. They also have to negotiate with the actual surface land owner(s) to gain access to the property. The mineral rights oil lease will have a fixed term (usually several years) where they have the right to drill during that period. If it expires without drilling, they have to negotiate a new lease if they are still interested. A mineral lease will also have an agreed percentage that's paid if and when minerals are successfully extracted and sold on the market. That's when the money starts to roll in, as the mineral rights owners get a check every month as extraction takes place. Typically the percentage is between 18% and 20% of the market value of whatever's taken out of your property.
Also realize that when a company drills, the pool(s) they are extracting from will usually cross multiple properties and multiple mineral owner's properties, and the oil company must do the above negotiation with all of the owners before drilling. As a mineral owner, you share the rights with the other "pooled" leaseholders that cover the entire area being extracted. So unless you own the rights to the entire pool, this will be divided with the others based on your percentage of the area to which you own the rights.
Oil extraction is heavily regulated in most states, with a strict and defined process. The company has to demonstrate to the state commission responsible for all of this that they've coordinated this and have secured the appropriate rights to drill before a single rig shows up.
Most companies don't want to own the land outright because once production declines to the point where it's no longer profitable to pump, they would have to dispose of it. I'm sure they get all kinds of tax benefits as well from just leasing rather than buying outright.
It's not like its shown in most movies where you just go drill a hole in the ground and oil shoots up.
I believe the Clampetts owned all of the swampland where the drilling took place. It was probably leased out, as in a future episode, a new contract had to be signed between Jed Clampett and the OK Oil Company. The Clampetts still owned the land, as they had become homesick for winter weather and returned to the old cabin for a visit.
shareI agree with your thoughts on how the oil was discovered. Jed missed the rabbit and released the oil some significant time prior to the pilot episode. Jed already knew there was oil there. Remember he even mentioned it to the oil wildcatter after Elly captured him and brought him back to the cabin. The wildcatter told Jed that his company would like to pump the oil out and Jed said, he'd like that too but he couldn't afford to pay for it.
shareWhat I don't understand is why the OK Oil Company didn't just buy the land outright. We're led to believe they're somehow leasing the land from Jed, and continuing to pay him a percentage of the oil profits. Why didn't they just buy the land from him in 1962, and avoid splitting the profits with him over the next nine years (and beyond, presumably)? Clearly, from the pilot episode, Jed had no idea the oil was profitable. It wouldn't have been hard for the oil company to pay Jed a pittance, then just take the oil for themselves. Good thing Mr. Brewster was an honest, decent man.
Exactly. That is the real false premise.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. Samuel Beckett
According to the pilot episode, the swamp was already filled with oil by the time the oil company guy had gone wildcatting there, and the Clampetts were aware of this. The opening scene, though not accurate to the early episodes in every way, depicts how it happened some time ago. The guy had actually come by the cabin earlier to ask Granny for permission to hunt varmints on their land, which she granted him for a laugh because she knew that there wasn't anything there but oil.
What I wonder is whether Pearl knew about the oil (probably did), and if so then why she apparently didn't think that it was worth anything (seems to be significantly more worldly than her kin).
I disagree - it was very common for poor people in the South to own their own land for decades because the value wasn't that much pre-1970's, plus it had likely been in their families for many decades. Note the country singers who grew up in poverty in the 1930's and 1940's like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, their families own their own homes ("shacks" rather like Jed) and several acres of land.
shareTalk about nit picking.
Oh gravity thou art a heartless bitch
Wrong! In the episode "The Girl From Back Home", Jethro is supposedly tricked into thinking he is supposed to marry Essiebelle Crick, an overweight woman he does not love, but who he wrote letters to. Jed learns it is all a scheme, set up by her father, to get a share of the Clampett millions. Jed tells her father, sarcastically, that he will give Jethro and Essiebelle his house as a wedding gift> The father believes he means the mansion, but Jed tells the father, "not my Beverly Hills mansion, my shack back in the hills and an acre of property it sits on." Hence it is entirely possible, that Jed DID own the land where they struck oil. Please pay more attention to the show.
shareI'm not sure about that but the missing the shot at the food is a little unbelievable since in a later episode we saw Jed and Jethro shooting flies at long range. If I remember correctly they even shot the flies by ricocheting the bullets off of something else before hitting the fly. Hard to believe that he would miss an easy shot at some game animal.
shareAs I recall from the storyline, Flatt and Scruggs wrote the Beverly Hillbillies theme song about how Jed became a millionaire. Even though the opening credits imply that Jed shot for food and missed and oil started gushing out and Jed became rich instantly, we can surmise it didn't happen that way.
Jed probably never missed his shots, because if he missed he and his family would go hungry that day. The swamp he owned was likely full of oil to begin with. I don't know how the OK Oil heard about the oil in his swamp, but once they did they investigated. The storyline that Jed was shooting at some food and out through the ground came a bubbling crude, was likely a legend that came out that Flatt and Scruggs capitalized on, with Jed's blessing.
Could be. But the opening credits make it look like the shot is what caused the crude to come out. And after that there weren't no wildcats around because the area was full of oil.
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