You have to credit series director Norman Tokar for doing a fine job with this episode, and with a touch of the dramatic, no less. This is the stuff all us kids grew up on back in the day and loved it.
I would tag this another TOM SAWYER-like episode; Beave and Larry take a little side trip to Friends Lake (actually famous Franklin Canyon Park) and get themselves mixed up with a couple of high school creeps who stole a boat. The guys cleverly ditch the boat with Beave and Larry --and they get arrested in about a minute or less.
Producers and writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher no doubt got this idea from real life, very common to have older kids dupe younger kids in all kinds of situations. It's also a poigant story because Wally and Beave had a falling out, not really talking to each other -- until Beave really needs Wally to bail him out of this mess. Another lessons to be learned story, masterfully done, and Mr. Cleaver seems to endorse the strategy.
The eternal question, though; what is Mrs. Mondello going to do with Larry? Truly, this is a rare episode where Larry gets a taste of what it's like to be in Beaver's well worn shoes.
Look for famous Frank Gerstle, playing the police sergeant, which seemed to be his calling in Hollywood. He appeared in scores of movies and tv shows, popular on PERRY MASON. And yes, Franklin Canyon Park is famous, the setting for classic movies and tv shows (ANDY GRIFFITH), boasting 600 acres of land with some incredible hiking trails.
10 stars for sure. From SEASON 3 EPISODE 7.