Country Girls (18 Sep. 1974)

Mean Nellie Oleson snubs Laura and Mary for wearing homespun dresses on their first day at school and, when Laura later complains, Caroline reminds her to be kind to Nellie to win her ... See full summary »

Director:

William F. Claxton

Writers:

Blanche Hanalis (developed for television by), Laura Ingalls Wilder (based upon the series of books "Little House" by),

Stars:

Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Michael Landon	...	Charles Ingalls
Karen Grassle	...	Caroline Ingalls
Melissa Gilbert	...	Laura Ingalls
Melissa Sue Anderson	...	Mary Ingalls
Lindsay Greenbush	...	Carrie Ingalls
Sidney Greenbush	...	Carrie Ingalls
Richard Bull	...	Nels Oleson
Scottie MacGregor	...	Harriet Oleson (as Katherine MacGregor)
Charlotte Stewart	...	Eva Beadle
Alison Arngrim	...	Nellie Oleson
Tracie Savage	...	Christy Kennedy
Jonathan Gilbert	...	Willie Oleson
Robert Hoffman	...	Sandy Kennedy
Georgia Schmidt	...	Mrs. Grandy

Storyline

Mean Nellie Oleson snubs Laura and Mary for wearing homespun dresses on their first day at school and, when Laura later complains, Caroline reminds her to be kind to Nellie to win her friendship. But Caroline forgets her own wise words, loses her temper with Nellie's haughty mother, store owner Harriet Oleson, and impulsively buys dress fabric she can barely afford. Later, Laura struggles to write an essay for the Visitors' Day program and Caroline must decide what to do with the expensive fabric. When Visitors' Day arrives, their love for each other helps both mother and daughter solve their problems.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance | Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ed Friendly Productions, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[repeated line]
Nellie Oleson: Country girls.

User Reviews

Introducing Nellie Olsen!

We get to meet Nellie Olsen in this episode. As all LHOTP fans know, Nellie is a selfish brat and take after her mother. Her younger brother, Willie, can be sweet but Nellie usually talks him into going her way and going against the Ingalls girls.

This is another one of those memorable episodes. Laura and Mary start school and meet lovable and pretty Miss Beadle. Laura instantly falls in love with her and declares that she is the prettiest woman she'd ever met (with the exception of her mother). Caroline meets Mrs. Olsen who shows her true colors right off. Lord only knows why mother and daughter took a dislike to the Ingalls family, but Mrs. Olsen refused to buy Carolien's brown eggs at the same price as the white. Caroline quickly puts the woman in her place, however.

I recall watching an interview of Melissa Gilbert once and she commented on the hand smacking Mary did to her. When you watch it, it looks like it hurts. Well guess what, it did! Melissa Gilbert said that Melissa Sue Anderson really let her have it and she rubbed her hand on camera because it was smarting!

So, if you want to see how the whole Laura-Nellie rivery thing started, watch this episode!

By the way, we also learn where the famous blue go-to-meeting dresses came from as well!