My Little Margie

The 126 episodes of the screwball situation comedy "My Little Margie" originally ran from 1952-1955 CBS and NBC. The "Vci Video" release "My Little Margie-Vol. #1" contains six of these episodes (150 minutes). I have listed them below with their original airdates. Rather than six consecutive episodes these span the entire time period that the show ran.

The characters are somewhat strange for the period as back then sitcoms were almost entirely about traditional nuclear families (Ricardos, Nelsons, Rileys, Andersons, etc.). This is a notable exception as it features Gale Storm as 21-year old Margie Albright who lives with her widowed father Vern (Charles Farrell). Vern is the standard ineffectual dad of the 1950's. He works for an investment firm and is very much under the thumb of his boss George Honeywell (Clarence Kolb). Their working relationship is very much like the Darrin Stevens- Larry Tate one in "Bewitched" as Vern panders shamelessly to Mr. Honeywell and to the firm's perspective clients. This dynamic makes for some nice comic moments.

Vern also spends a lot of time searching for romance and when Margie is not causing him embarrassment she is trying to keep him out of trouble with the ladies. Some of the best episodes have Margie teaming up with Mrs. Odetts (their busybody neighbor played by Gertrude Hoffman) to keep Vern from falling for the legion of wily widows in their town.

Margie has a boyfriend, Freddie Wilson (Don Hayden) but if there ever was a romantic side to their relationship the spark went out when the series began. Part of the problem is that Storm was 30 years old when the series started and dressed like a teenager trying to affect a grown-up look. This got worse with each year and I did not really appreciate Storm until she started acting her age in her next series, "The Gale Storm Show" (a/k/a "Oh, Susanna").

Volume # includes: Margie's Phantom Lover 28 Oct 1953, The Missing Link 25 October 1952, Hillbilly Margie 12 Feb 1953, Vern's Mother-In-Law 2 Feb 55, Trapped Freddy 12 March 1953, Buried Treasure 2 April 1953.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Ohmygosh! Am I ever old now! But then, of course, we must also consider the alternative. You know, Schultz; if it's getting old that bothers you try just thinking about this premise. And pray tell, just what is this alternative? Yeah, that's it, Schultz! The opposite is NOT getting old; which is dying young. One of the "perks" of getting old is that of being to remember occurrences of a relatively long time ago.

That brings us down to (or up to, for those on the West Coast & Pacific Islands) today's "victim", MY LITTLE MARGIE (1952-55). Who or What, you might be saying if you're say under 55.

As hard as it is to believe, MY LITTLE MARGIE sitcom, at the time of its original running on CBS (later NBC), was right up there with all time perennial favourite TV Classic, I LOVE LUCY; which, ironically, the MARGIE Show originated as a "Summer Replacement" Series. (Remember them?)

SIDE BAR! A Summer Replacement Series was just what it sounds like. A series that would be shown in June, July August and maybe the 1st two weeks in September; during which time the regular show would actually go on sabbatical during the Summer vacation! And as a further example of the "stranger than fiction" category, MY LITTLE MARGIE came on as a temporary Summer replacement for I LOVE LUCY! Unbelievable, ain't it?

Now back to our regularly scheduled dissertation!

As for background on the MARGIE Series, it is extensive and well connected to many fine and close relatives on its family tree. The Series was a co-production of Roland Reed Productions with Hal Roach Studios. Mr. Hal Roach the Greater (Sr.) was listed as Producer. Hal Roach's association with film comedy dated back to ca. 1908, when Mr. Roach had worked as an extra, freelancing all around Hollywood. It was during this period that Hal became acquainted with another aspiring Actor by the name of Harold Lloyd. The 2 became fast friends and when Hal came into a small inheritance, which he was to use as the start-up fund$ for opening his own Studio, he remembered Lloyd's ambition, his determination, his talents and his potential.

So, from this humble beginning Hal Roach Studios became the A#1 place to create comedy. Besides the early Harold Lloyd, Roach gave us funny business from Will Rogers, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, 'Snub' Pollard, Patsy Kelly, Thelma Todd, Zasu Pitts, the TOPPER feature films with Roland Young, The Sgt. Doubleday & Sgt. Ames Series with William Tracy and Joe Sawyer.

Now, Television commanded the attention of Roach Studio with Series such as RACKET SQUAD (1951-53), TROUBLE WITH FATHER aka THE STU ERWIN SHOW (1950-55) and AMOS 'N' ANDY (1951-53). It was to this early TV scene that MY LITTLE MARGIE was born.

The premise was simple, but effective. Vern Albright (Charles Farrell) was a widower of about 50ish. He has this 21 year old girl, Margie (Miss Gale Storm), whom he has had to raise all by his self for some years. They live in a luxury Apartment Building, one with elevators and all. Both felt that they had problems, one with the other. For while Vern worried about raising his little girl, Margie had apprehensions about her Pop's being an attractive, youthful and very eligible Male.

A typical episode involves interplay between the Albrights and neighbors, the lovely Roberta Townsend (Miss Hillery Brooke) as Vern's love interest. Some other plots involved interplay with the octogenarian with the 16 year olds attitude, Mrs.Odetts (the amazing Gertrude Hoffman), Margie's beau Freddie Wilson (Don Hayden), Charlie the Elevator Operator (Willie Best) or with Vern Albright's company, the Investment Firm of Honeywell & Todd with Mr. Honeywell (Clarence Kolb) and Mr. Todd (George Meader). As we said an episode would involve one or perhaps all of these elements. And, just for good measure, a lot of physical comedy, consisting of prat-falls and assorted other bits of slapstick, was injected into the proceedings.

The remarkable thing is that a little, snot-nosed, Red-headed kid of then 5 years old (Me) can still recall the announcement and preview that was shown at the conclusion of that week's I LOVE LUCY episode. I recall that it would have to have been either a Monday or a Thursday evening, because theses were the old Shopping Nights in Chicago in those pre-Shopping Mall days. The stores in the shopping areas stayed open until 9:30 or 10:00 P.M., with even the Parking Meters ran until 9! Well, me Pop was home, but busy watching the 3 youngest Ryan kids, Rose Mary (2 ¾ ) , Jim (1 ½ ) and the nearly month old, little Bobby. Mother Ryan and older sister, Joanne (9) had gone out for the weeks major shopping with our Uncle Wal & Aunt Fran, who had the "luxury" of owning a car then.

When they returned with the weekly supply of vittles and various odds & ends, I proudly announced of the coming, new show of MY LITTLE MARGIE (I even got the title right!), both Ma and Joanne thought me to be making that up. And being that Dad was busy watching, bathing and getting the younguns ready for beddy-bye, he was of no help! The old man was just too damn busy!

Now Doctor, tell me please, just what was the cause of my being like this today? Was it my being a Redhead, being born a Scorpio, the Holy Cross Nuns at St. Theodore School, that so-called Little League "Coach" or was it my Mother and Sister's disbelief in MY LITTLE MARGIE?

They don't make them this sweet and pure anymore. Even "Family Matters' and "Full House" weren't as innocent as this show.

This starred former "B movie" queen Gale Storm and major Silent Screen star Charles Farrell. They make quite a TV pair those two, almost like a husband and wive, but they're father and daughter. Get this, they spent ALL their vacations together which is kind of weird even back in the 50's.

Gale Storm plays Margie Albright. Margie is nearly 30, not married, no job, lives at home, AND still getting an allowance! She spends her time whining about how little money she gets, scheming to find ways of making more money or helping her Dad out of a jam. All this usually gets her into a jam.

Her Father, Vern Albright, is played by Charles Farrell. He works for Honeywell & Todd, an investment firm. Vern is always getting the firm new clients and trying to become a partner in the business. Mr Honeywell will not let that happen. How about Mr Todd?? You never get to see him. There is a cast of characters to add to the fun. Hilary Brooks(The Enchanted Cottage, Fuller Brush Man,...) as Vern's on/off girlfriend, Don Hayden as Margie's on/off boyfriend, and Gertrude Hoffman as crazy old Mrs. Odetts.

I use to watch this show when I was a kid. They showed repeats of it after church on Sundays. I thought it was neat how they started off the show with their pictures talking. My husband thinks the show is one of the best ever made and laughs like crazy when we watch his "My Little Margie" VHS box sets(!). I think that the show is an interesting and sweet, and that my husband needs to get out more......

I watched this program as a 9 year-old or so and remember just a wonderful fuzzy warm feeling. It had a distinctive quality theme. Gale played a well meaning happy daughter to Charles Farrell. Every one in the cast portrayed really NICE PEOPLE, above all the lunacy that developed. Not a mean spirited act in the whole program so 'as a kid' this just made me feel good and secure and positive. Fortunately the show is available on video, almost all 126 episodes. Gale has a wonderful website and she's as young and perky as ever. I watch the episodes with the same enthusiasm today as before.

In hindsight, I think "My Little Margie" was a TV sit com version of the Frederick March and Teresa Wright characters in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (if Al Stevenson and Peggy had been on speed). Charles Farrel played a vice president at Honeywell and Todd Investment Counselors. He played Vernon Albright as a guy who would really prefer to apply his considerable financial expertise in the back room with the financial ledgers, but who always seemed to find that his main job was in making a good impression on the rich matron client of the week so that she would give her account or keep her account at Honeywell and Todd. The more he would try to maintain a proper image, the more Margie would get him into some madcap situation in which they were doing things like running through a haunted castle and swinging fireplace pokers at strange characters in medieval armor who were emerging from a huge fireplace and clanking down the hallways. Situations would reach a fever pitch of hysteria; but as Gale Storm always pointed out to Farrel at the end, "It all worked out. And Dad always shrugged with a sigh of a smile, "Well, that's my Little Margie."