AKA "Love Me or Beave Me"
Mrs. Rayburn, substituting for an ill Miss Landers, asks for suggestions from the class for a theme for their next composition. The ideas the kids have for a topic include tigers and submarines, but Larry suggests the class write about their mothers and what makes them so great since Mother's Day is fast approaching. Mrs. Rayburn fine tunes that idea a bit and says the class should write a 50-word essay on what their mother's did before they married - Do realize at this time that when a woman married she usually gave up her career and became a housewife.
So Beaver interviews June and, by her own admission, she didn't have a very exciting pre-marriage life. Her only job was at a bookstore where she got fired after five days for getting her sales slips mixed up. She won a swimming contest once, and she also worked at the USO during WWII. That's about it. The next day the class reads their compositions. Judy Hensler's mother was a department store buyer, Richard's mother was a captain in the WACs, and even Larry Mondello's mother was a dental nurse, meeting Larry's father when he had cavities. Beaver is suddenly ashamed of his puny composition and when his turn comes says that the composition got lost. Mrs. Rayburn gives him another day to produce one.
So that night Beaver struggles with his composition. With his parents gone to some social event, Beaver goes downstairs to watch some TV and regroup. A Broadway star is recounting her life to a reporter. She talks about running away from home at 17, dancing in dives, being discovered by a gangster, and the gangster helping her get to Broadway. Beaver starts to write notes and decides this will be his composition.
The next day Beaver's description of his mother's single days pretty much sounds like the life story of Ruth Etting - and he throws in that his father was a famous tap dancer. The class is impressed, Mrs. Rayburn thanks Beaver and he thinks he's in the clear. And then he comes home that night to see his dad cooking dinner because Mrs. Rayburn has called June to come down to the school. Is the jig - or should I say production number - up? Watch and find out.
At the end, Beaver is saying that he feels foolish and is afraid that his classmates will razz him over his fake composition. But Larry Mondello is comforting. He says that the class knew the report was not true, but that it was like watching King Kong eat people at the movies. You know it's not true, but it sure is entertaining. Larry was the giver of much bad advice to Beaver, but he did have a good heart.
I went overboard on detail for this review because I remember clearly seeing this episode in reruns 50 years ago when I was a kid, because I could relate. My mom didn't have a youth worthy of an encyclopedia article, but she was a great mom and that made her tops in my book.
Mrs. Rayburn, substituting for an ill Miss Landers, asks for suggestions from the class for a theme for their next composition. The ideas the kids have for a topic include tigers and submarines, but Larry suggests the class write about their mothers and what makes them so great since Mother's Day is fast approaching. Mrs. Rayburn fine tunes that idea a bit and says the class should write a 50-word essay on what their mother's did before they married - Do realize at this time that when a woman married she usually gave up her career and became a housewife.
So Beaver interviews June and, by her own admission, she didn't have a very exciting pre-marriage life. Her only job was at a bookstore where she got fired after five days for getting her sales slips mixed up. She won a swimming contest once, and she also worked at the USO during WWII. That's about it. The next day the class reads their compositions. Judy Hensler's mother was a department store buyer, Richard's mother was a captain in the WACs, and even Larry Mondello's mother was a dental nurse, meeting Larry's father when he had cavities. Beaver is suddenly ashamed of his puny composition and when his turn comes says that the composition got lost. Mrs. Rayburn gives him another day to produce one.
So that night Beaver struggles with his composition. With his parents gone to some social event, Beaver goes downstairs to watch some TV and regroup. A Broadway star is recounting her life to a reporter. She talks about running away from home at 17, dancing in dives, being discovered by a gangster, and the gangster helping her get to Broadway. Beaver starts to write notes and decides this will be his composition.
The next day Beaver's description of his mother's single days pretty much sounds like the life story of Ruth Etting - and he throws in that his father was a famous tap dancer. The class is impressed, Mrs. Rayburn thanks Beaver and he thinks he's in the clear. And then he comes home that night to see his dad cooking dinner because Mrs. Rayburn has called June to come down to the school. Is the jig - or should I say production number - up? Watch and find out.
At the end, Beaver is saying that he feels foolish and is afraid that his classmates will razz him over his fake composition. But Larry Mondello is comforting. He says that the class knew the report was not true, but that it was like watching King Kong eat people at the movies. You know it's not true, but it sure is entertaining. Larry was the giver of much bad advice to Beaver, but he did have a good heart.
I went overboard on detail for this review because I remember clearly seeing this episode in reruns 50 years ago when I was a kid, because I could relate. My mom didn't have a youth worthy of an encyclopedia article, but she was a great mom and that made her tops in my book.
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