Father Knows Best

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.

As a child of the Sixties I grew to love and appreciate the Andersons. I enjoyed watching and listening to the dialog and reactions by each of the members of the family. I truly came to understand what was definitely "right" and what was "wrong" in decision-making. I became apart of the family when I came running home from school and plop down in front of the TV and tune in. I really wish that I could have lived there in Springfield and have a family like the Andersons. To me they were the epitomie of the way a family was supposed to be. I actually learned some "habits" and values that I stole from the series. To this day, working as a teacher in my mid 40's, I find myself whistling the theme song between classes, at lunch, etc. I remember thinking about some of the situations that Bud and his sisters would get into and how they would resolve them. I would then apply to my own life. Maybe that is why I probably have had a 'wonderful life'. Thank you, Mr Tewksberry, for this indelible imprint on my life!

The series "Father Knows Best" started out on radio in 1949 on NBC and from there it remained one of the top radio programs of its day which lasted five years on radio until 1954,when it was produced for television by Eugene B. Rodney and its star,Robert Young,under the production company,Rodney-Young Productions. It wasn't until 1954,when NBC introduced this series based on the radio plays that were developed for television and it became one of the biggest hits of the era,right up there with some of the greatest family comedies of their day,"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet","Leave It To Beaver",and right besides classics of that era including "I Love Lucy", and "The Honeymooners".

"Father Knows Best",made it astounding premiere on NBC-TV on October 3,1954 and from the first episode was a surprise hit. It also during its run on NBC,was one of the top ten shows of its day,making it one of the most watched shows during the network's impressive run. It ran on NBC from 1954 until 1958,and then went to CBS from 1958-1960,with the last episode of the series that ended on February 29,1960. It ran for six seasons(1954-1960) producing 203 episodes all in classic black and white and was produced by Rodney-Young productions in association with Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television. However,it aired again in repeated episodes on CBS from 1960-1965 and again in repeats in daytime television for ABC from 1965-1967 and from there episodes were aired again in daytime syndication until 1980. The series was produced by not only Eugene B. Rodney but also under the production values of Peter Tewksbury and William D. Russell. Tewksbury after his stint on "Father Knows Best" would go on to produced other great family shows like "My Three Sons",and "Nanny and the Professor",and also would serve as executive producer of "How To Marry A Millionaire",television series based on the classic motion picture starring Marliyn Monroe. William D. Russell would go on to become the head producer for a number of Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures television shows including "Dennis The Menace","Hazel","Bewitched","The Flying Nun","Gidget",and "The Donna Reed Show",not to mention "The Farmer's Daughter",while serving as executive producer for other shows outside as well including the family shows,"The Eve Arden Show",and "Family Affair",and "Bachelor Father",not to mention the riveting courtroom drama,"Perry Mason",for which he was also one of the writers for Raymond Burr's classic series.

"Father Knows Best" was a grand portrait of family values in 1950's America. Jim Anderson(Robert Young),was an insurance salesman for a large company,who was the breadwinner in the home,while his lovely wife Margaret Anderson(Jane Wyatt),was basically the stay-at-home mom who took care of the kids and the household while Mr. Anderson was at work. The Anderson children of course consisted of the oldest daughter Betty "Princess" Anderson(Elinor Donahue)and the son,James "Bud" Anderson,Jr. (Billy Gray),and the baby of the family,the youngest of the Anderson clan,Kathy "Kitten" Anderson(Lauren Chaplin). They all lived in a nice double style house in a residential quiet neighborhood in fictional Springfield,USA which was a small town but was never told about the state or the setting of the show from which the Anderson's live. Maybe either in Ohio or Indiana or Iowa in the heart of Midwestern America. In each and every episode there was some situation that came about and from there it was up to the father to solve to crises before it got out of hand. In perspective,this was a caring loving clan who were their for each other in times of crises and knew how to take care of their situations as well since this was a family-oriented show that ran for about an half-hour. The kids themselves had the normal 1950's problems of a white-middle class family with the oldest son "Bud" or sometimes the baby girl "Kitten" get into a situation or two when the father is not around. Everyday problems were handled in a caring and sensitive manner. There was never in any of the episode where the parents lost their temper to the children since the problems were treated with immense attention. It may have been corny in parts,but don't you wish it was the family we wanted but could never had?

Robert Young's character as the patriarch,Jim Anderson was magnificent to watch and it shows in the number of Emmys this show received during its six year-run on network television along with his co-star Jane Wyatt as well as understanding and sometimes caring and lovable mother who was there in times of trouble the children were having. Jim Anderson (Robert Young) showed an understanding that not only appreciated by the rest of the family,but by the viewers too who tuned in each week. He is right up there with some of the TV's best dads including Andy Taylor(Andy Griffith),Ward Cleaver(Hugh Beaumont),Steve Douglas(Fred MacMurray),and Ozzie Nelson(Ozzie Nelson),not to mention Ben Cartwright(Lorne Greene)as the fathers America loved at the time. This was a show that was brought back to television in later years after its repeats ended in syndication in 1980,were brought back on cable television in the mid-1980's on Nick-At-Nite and again most recently on TV Land. Also to note it has been picked up for the American Life TV Channel as well. Worth seeing it again if the powers that be at Sony-Columbia Pictures Home Video get the chance to bring this show on DVD to relive the golden age of the 1950's. And "Father Knows Best",was that show.

Critics of this type of show are quick to point out how "unrealistic" it was. After all no episode dealt with drug addiction, teen pregnancy,dropping out of school, or any of the other "relevant" topics that pass for entertainment today. Instead this program concentrated on the, now passe, issues of family love, warmth, charity, and decency. I challenge any parent, of whatever generation, to contrast an episode of this show with any "Married with Children" or the majority of today's teen oriented sitcoms and decide which world view they would wish for their children. Perhaps this show and others of its era (e.g. Andy Griffith) was overly hopeful in its portrayal of family and community, but isn't it better to aspire to the values of Father Knows Best than succumb to the spirit of the age we live in?

I owned a 16mm Film Library for over 45 years.I have a number of FTB episodes in my collection.Growing up in the 50's it was one of my favorite TV shows.Bud(Billy Gray) was my favorite character on the show. Had a chance to meet Laurin Chapin(KATHY) when she came to our town for a Christian Womens Club function. I even got her to autograph one of my 16mm print episodes in which she was the main focus "ADOPTED DAUGHTER"..She was a very Nice and Cordial person.

I know kids today look at these old TV episodes and laugh and think they are cornball. That's too bad;cause maybe if Television shows of today still had some morals and ethics our youth of today would also have the same...S.M.