"Father Knows Best" (1954) TV series 1954-1960

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

3 October 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot:

The popular radio show comes to life in this hit sitcom about a wise family man, Jim Anderson, his common-sense wife Margaret and their children Betty...

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | Sibling Rivalry | Mother Son Relationship | Teenage Boy | Fictional City

Awards:

Won 6 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 14 nominations

Cast

Robert Young	...	James 'Jim' Anderson (117 episodes, 1954-1960)
Jane Wyatt	...	Margaret Anderson (116 episodes, 1954-1960)
Billy Gray	...	James 'Bud' Anderson Jr. / ... (104 episodes, 1954-1960)
Elinor Donahue	...	Betty 'Princess' Anderson / ... (103 episodes, 1954-1960)
Lauren Chapin	...	Kathy 'Kitten' Anderson / ... (103 episodes, 1954-1960)

Also Known As:

I Told You So (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

30 min | USA:30 min (203 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Recording) | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

The show took place in the town of Springfield. Even though they never specified the exact state in which the town was located, several times, characters mentioned Altoona, an actual city in Pennsylvania.

Quotes:

Kathy: Aww! Turn Blue.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Laverne & Shirley: Mother Knows Worst (#1.15)" (1976)

Soundtrack:

Waiting

My favorite show from the 50's, happy to finally see an episode on TV land

I was so pleased today, being a baby boomer, to turn on TV land and see three hours of 50's television. From 9am to 12pm I saw, Burns and Allen, the Honeymooners, an hour episode of the Lucy-Desi comedy hour, Hazel, and last but not least an episode of Father Knows Best. Kudos to TV land for this three hour bonus which is supposedly going to happen every sunday morning all summer long. Why does it only have to happen on Sunday mornings? I want more of these shows from my childhood.

Father knows Best was one of my favorites. As has already been said by others, the show had wonderful values, laughter and pathos. Jane Wyatt was always my favorite TV mother. Why has she never been included in specials about favorite tv moms? Yes, she always dressed nice and wore pearls but I remember the particular episode when she was wearing a long shirt and pants to clean the house and she had a smudge of dirt on her face. That was when Jim was bringing home a women who was a famous author, someone he had been friends with. You never would have seen June Cleaver with a smudge of dirt on HER face. Jane (Margaret) was always there for her kids but she was so very human too. She lost her temper several times and once told her kids that they were brats. She made faces behind their backs once when she wanted to clobber them. She did what I never saw any other tv mother do, but what our own real mothers would do.

The whole cast was pretty wonderful. Bring back this show to tv again. There are plenty of baby boomers who would like to see it again and maybe it would be nice for it to get a whole new audience of a new generation.