Penny (Karen Sue Trent) & Eddie (Ken Osmond) make the episode outstanding. A rare instance of Beaver having normal conversation with a female classmate. Shame there isn't more in the series.
7 Reviews
Penny & Eddie showcase
vitoscotti1 July 2021
Neither fast nor furious
pensman19 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I knew Ward's parents had money. Ward reminisces about his older brother who went away to boarding school when he was living in Shaker Heights. What triggers the memory this time is Eddie selling a beat-up coaster car to Beaver on the installment plan: twenty-five cents a week. Luckily only for eight weeks. It was Eddie who sold the car, so there was the possibility those installment payments could have extended for years. Ward is happy to see Wally and Beaver doing something together, and acting like brothers. Ward claims it's important to keep that relationship alive. Unfortunately, when you get older you tend to drift apart, and the only mutual activity is sending one another Christmas cards.
After working on the project together, the coaster car looks pretty good; but it's missing wheels. But Penny Woods, the icky girl in Beaver's class, has offered Beaver the wheels from her old doll carriage. June is somewhat excited to hear Beaver is calling on a girl, but Wally confuses June when he says it's just because he's interested in her wheels. Mrs. Woods, Penny's mother, pretty much has the same reaction as did June: happy as it appears the kids are growing up. Just not yet, as both the Beaver and Penny are glad no one is seeing them together; it would be a little creepy.
Beaver has a problem. He forgot his tools. To get the wheels home, the carriage has to travel along all the way home. When June tells Wally that Beaver is pushing the doll buggy down the street alone, Wally takes off to save the reputation of the family. Almost too late. Beaver has garnered some strange looks from the adults who have seen him, and endured teasing from girls his age. And two men, after seeing Beaver pushing the carriage, bemoan this new generation of sissy boys.
Then June makes a major error, she tells Eddie about the doll carriage. Eddie offers to look for Beaver because Mrs. Cleaver wouldn't want some bigger boy to clobber Beaver. When June asks Ward what he would have done as a boy seeing another boy with a doll carriage; he responds, clobber him of course. I don't know how a ten-minute trip has turned into an hour excursion pushing that carriage through every street, but it has. When Beaver sees Gilbert and Richard heading his way, he tosses the carriage in a ditch behind him. Gilberts sees the carriage and retrieves it, commenting it has the wheels he needs for the coaster car his dad is building him. Beaver just watches in humiliation and despair as his coaster wheels go off in front of him; Gilbert has no issues about pushing it home.
Now Wally and Eddie arrive but the cavalry is too late, the Indians have made off with the loot. Wally warns Eddie not to tease Beaver; but Wally (and us) are super surprised: Eddie feels sorry for the little guy. Eddie remembers when an adult babysitter sent him to kindergarten with a home permanent in his hair. He was humiliated. Wally is stunned at the admission; and at Eddie the compassionate. Back at home, Ward recalls being made to wear a red velvet jacket an aunt bought for him to wear to church. At least it didn't show the blood recalls Ward. June also remembers being forced to wear some bows she hated. Ward decides to just buy the wheels Beaver needs so Wally and Beaver can complete the car.
Beaver and Gilbert are checking each other's cars out when Penny comes swooping in on her bicycle. It's true, Beaver gave Gilbert the wheels from her carriage. She wouldn't be surprised to learn Beaver even sold Gilbert the wheels. And why? Because Beaver is a rat, a large crummy RAT, a spooky RAT. As she rides away, Gilbert says she's really dopey; for a girl, she is about the worst. Beaver is somewhat surprised at being excoriated by Penny; he was at her house a few days ago and she was actually nice. Gilbert says he brought the rant upon himself for even talking with a girl. Yeah, Beaver agrees, but in a couple of years he might try talking to her again.
A good episode with some reminders about how some families drift apart over time. The writers stayed away from Pollyanna sentiment; and I will take a cue from them. Many of us (dirt old one's anyway) can likely recall when girls went from objects of derision having cooties, to objects of attention. I feel confident in attributing that to Playboy Magazine and the centerfold. Not that Beaver, Gilbert, or Richard would have an issue hidden away; but I bet old bashful Harry had a subscription.
After working on the project together, the coaster car looks pretty good; but it's missing wheels. But Penny Woods, the icky girl in Beaver's class, has offered Beaver the wheels from her old doll carriage. June is somewhat excited to hear Beaver is calling on a girl, but Wally confuses June when he says it's just because he's interested in her wheels. Mrs. Woods, Penny's mother, pretty much has the same reaction as did June: happy as it appears the kids are growing up. Just not yet, as both the Beaver and Penny are glad no one is seeing them together; it would be a little creepy.
Beaver has a problem. He forgot his tools. To get the wheels home, the carriage has to travel along all the way home. When June tells Wally that Beaver is pushing the doll buggy down the street alone, Wally takes off to save the reputation of the family. Almost too late. Beaver has garnered some strange looks from the adults who have seen him, and endured teasing from girls his age. And two men, after seeing Beaver pushing the carriage, bemoan this new generation of sissy boys.
Then June makes a major error, she tells Eddie about the doll carriage. Eddie offers to look for Beaver because Mrs. Cleaver wouldn't want some bigger boy to clobber Beaver. When June asks Ward what he would have done as a boy seeing another boy with a doll carriage; he responds, clobber him of course. I don't know how a ten-minute trip has turned into an hour excursion pushing that carriage through every street, but it has. When Beaver sees Gilbert and Richard heading his way, he tosses the carriage in a ditch behind him. Gilberts sees the carriage and retrieves it, commenting it has the wheels he needs for the coaster car his dad is building him. Beaver just watches in humiliation and despair as his coaster wheels go off in front of him; Gilbert has no issues about pushing it home.
Now Wally and Eddie arrive but the cavalry is too late, the Indians have made off with the loot. Wally warns Eddie not to tease Beaver; but Wally (and us) are super surprised: Eddie feels sorry for the little guy. Eddie remembers when an adult babysitter sent him to kindergarten with a home permanent in his hair. He was humiliated. Wally is stunned at the admission; and at Eddie the compassionate. Back at home, Ward recalls being made to wear a red velvet jacket an aunt bought for him to wear to church. At least it didn't show the blood recalls Ward. June also remembers being forced to wear some bows she hated. Ward decides to just buy the wheels Beaver needs so Wally and Beaver can complete the car.
Beaver and Gilbert are checking each other's cars out when Penny comes swooping in on her bicycle. It's true, Beaver gave Gilbert the wheels from her carriage. She wouldn't be surprised to learn Beaver even sold Gilbert the wheels. And why? Because Beaver is a rat, a large crummy RAT, a spooky RAT. As she rides away, Gilbert says she's really dopey; for a girl, she is about the worst. Beaver is somewhat surprised at being excoriated by Penny; he was at her house a few days ago and she was actually nice. Gilbert says he brought the rant upon himself for even talking with a girl. Yeah, Beaver agrees, but in a couple of years he might try talking to her again.
A good episode with some reminders about how some families drift apart over time. The writers stayed away from Pollyanna sentiment; and I will take a cue from them. Many of us (dirt old one's anyway) can likely recall when girls went from objects of derision having cooties, to objects of attention. I feel confident in attributing that to Playboy Magazine and the centerfold. Not that Beaver, Gilbert, or Richard would have an issue hidden away; but I bet old bashful Harry had a subscription.
Wally to the rescue...
AlsExGal9 March 2024
... along with the softer side of Eddie Haskell.
Eddie Haskell has a damaged coaster car that he sells to Beaver, with Wally supervising the purchase to make sure Eddie does not cheat Beaver in the sale. They return home and start working on the car when they realize it will need new wheels. Penny, the rather cross successor to Judy Hensler, has surprisingly offered her old baby buggy to Beaver so he can use the wheels. But Beaver goes to her house without the tools to remove the wheels, so he vacantly decides to push the buggy back home. However, he soon regrets this decision as he is stared, pointed, and laughed at by passerby's young and old.
Meanwhile, Wally learns of what Beaver has decided to do and goes out to meet him in route, to prevent him from being "clobbered" by some kid and to save the family name from disgrace. When Beaver runs into Gilbert and Richard, he decides to toss the carriage into a ditch to avoid further embarrassment. But Gilbert and Richard spy the abandoned buggy and decide to take it for the wheels that they need for their own coaster car that they are building. Beaver stands by helplessly as his dreams of his own car seem to go up in smoke. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
This episode had several nice small moments - Wally looking out for his brother, Penny and Beaver talking like normal human beings to each other but admitting they'd get "the business" from their friends if they were known to be talking to a member of the opposite sex, and Eddie Haskell actually feeling sorry for Beaver's embarrassment, remembering a time when he too was publicly embarrassed as a child. Probably the best moment, though, for me, came from Ward. He was remarking on how heartwarming it was to see his sons working together on the coaster car, and lamenting the fact that he and his brother, once so close, now had a relationship that was pretty much confined to sending each other Christmas cards.
As for the two older guys who, upon seeing Beaver walk down the street with the baby buggy, bemoaned the lack of masculinity in the next generation, all I can say is - Oh, fellas, just you wait!
Eddie Haskell has a damaged coaster car that he sells to Beaver, with Wally supervising the purchase to make sure Eddie does not cheat Beaver in the sale. They return home and start working on the car when they realize it will need new wheels. Penny, the rather cross successor to Judy Hensler, has surprisingly offered her old baby buggy to Beaver so he can use the wheels. But Beaver goes to her house without the tools to remove the wheels, so he vacantly decides to push the buggy back home. However, he soon regrets this decision as he is stared, pointed, and laughed at by passerby's young and old.
Meanwhile, Wally learns of what Beaver has decided to do and goes out to meet him in route, to prevent him from being "clobbered" by some kid and to save the family name from disgrace. When Beaver runs into Gilbert and Richard, he decides to toss the carriage into a ditch to avoid further embarrassment. But Gilbert and Richard spy the abandoned buggy and decide to take it for the wheels that they need for their own coaster car that they are building. Beaver stands by helplessly as his dreams of his own car seem to go up in smoke. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
This episode had several nice small moments - Wally looking out for his brother, Penny and Beaver talking like normal human beings to each other but admitting they'd get "the business" from their friends if they were known to be talking to a member of the opposite sex, and Eddie Haskell actually feeling sorry for Beaver's embarrassment, remembering a time when he too was publicly embarrassed as a child. Probably the best moment, though, for me, came from Ward. He was remarking on how heartwarming it was to see his sons working together on the coaster car, and lamenting the fact that he and his brother, once so close, now had a relationship that was pretty much confined to sending each other Christmas cards.
As for the two older guys who, upon seeing Beaver walk down the street with the baby buggy, bemoaned the lack of masculinity in the next generation, all I can say is - Oh, fellas, just you wait!
Breaking Out of the Mold
MichaelMartinDeSapio8 October 2015
When Beaver buys a used mini race car from Eddie Haskell, Wally promises to help him fix it up and Penny offers him the wheels from her old doll carriage. Beaver then faces an awkward situation when he has to push the doll carriage home across his neighborhood.
This episode takes a bit of nothing and builds it into something akin to poetry - whimsical, wistful, and lyrical. The theme - as in "Wally and Dudley" - is the social price one has to pay for being "different." Beaver doesn't realize there's anything wrong or unnatural about pushing the doll carriage home - until he encounters the snickers and incomprehension of passersby. Two little girls laugh at him: "Hey little boy, do you have your dolly in there?" A pair of men look askance: "I can remember when boys played with coasters & bikes. We're really in trouble with this younger generation. They've gone sissy on us." Wally philosophizes: "Gee Mom, guys always pick on someone that's different. Don't you remember how it was when you were a kid? A thing like this could put a curse on the whole family!""I hope nobody slaughters the young fellow," remarks Eddie when he hears of the incident. Later, Eddie surprises us by being supportive and understanding: after Beaver unwittingly lets his pals Gilbert and Richard make off with the carriage, he offers to try to get it back; he also tells a story of the mockery he endured when as a child he went to school with a "home permanent." This is one of several glimpses of Eddie's vulnerable side which we get throughout the series.
Stephen Talbot ("Gilbert" in the series) has commented that the episode is a meditation on the "rigid gender roles of the 1950s." I don't share Mr. Talbot's social liberalism or his interpretation of the '50's, but the episode certainly makes a statement about those who dare to break out of the straitjackets imposed by society. "You know, I've been thinking," June says, "Beaver being so embarrassed about pushing that doll buggy - wouldn't it be nice if we could teach our children to be above that?" "Oh, I don't know, June," replies Ward, "I don't think we ever get above being laughed at."
The scene of Beaver visiting Penny at her home is charming. Here we have two young people on the verge of discovering the beauty of the opposite sex but not wanting to admit it. In the final scene, Beaver reflects that he might try again with Penny someday. Penny's mother is played by Jean Vander Pyl, best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone in the eponymous cartoon series.
As an incidental note, for a long time the image of Beaver wheeling the doll carriage home reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Finally it occurred to me what it was: the Norman Rockwell picture "Salutation," in which a young boy pushes a baby carriage through the streets to the jeers of his baseball-playing friends.
This episode takes a bit of nothing and builds it into something akin to poetry - whimsical, wistful, and lyrical. The theme - as in "Wally and Dudley" - is the social price one has to pay for being "different." Beaver doesn't realize there's anything wrong or unnatural about pushing the doll carriage home - until he encounters the snickers and incomprehension of passersby. Two little girls laugh at him: "Hey little boy, do you have your dolly in there?" A pair of men look askance: "I can remember when boys played with coasters & bikes. We're really in trouble with this younger generation. They've gone sissy on us." Wally philosophizes: "Gee Mom, guys always pick on someone that's different. Don't you remember how it was when you were a kid? A thing like this could put a curse on the whole family!""I hope nobody slaughters the young fellow," remarks Eddie when he hears of the incident. Later, Eddie surprises us by being supportive and understanding: after Beaver unwittingly lets his pals Gilbert and Richard make off with the carriage, he offers to try to get it back; he also tells a story of the mockery he endured when as a child he went to school with a "home permanent." This is one of several glimpses of Eddie's vulnerable side which we get throughout the series.
Stephen Talbot ("Gilbert" in the series) has commented that the episode is a meditation on the "rigid gender roles of the 1950s." I don't share Mr. Talbot's social liberalism or his interpretation of the '50's, but the episode certainly makes a statement about those who dare to break out of the straitjackets imposed by society. "You know, I've been thinking," June says, "Beaver being so embarrassed about pushing that doll buggy - wouldn't it be nice if we could teach our children to be above that?" "Oh, I don't know, June," replies Ward, "I don't think we ever get above being laughed at."
The scene of Beaver visiting Penny at her home is charming. Here we have two young people on the verge of discovering the beauty of the opposite sex but not wanting to admit it. In the final scene, Beaver reflects that he might try again with Penny someday. Penny's mother is played by Jean Vander Pyl, best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone in the eponymous cartoon series.
As an incidental note, for a long time the image of Beaver wheeling the doll carriage home reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Finally it occurred to me what it was: the Norman Rockwell picture "Salutation," in which a young boy pushes a baby carriage through the streets to the jeers of his baseball-playing friends.
Major Inconsistency Ruins the Concept
LBoris021716 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This would have been a good episode--one where the viewer can harken back to their childhood and empathize with Beaver's embarrassment--but there is a major inconsistency that ruins the episode for me. Everyone in this episode is concerned about Beaver getting teased or even "slaughtered" for being a boy pushing a baby buggy. But when Gilbert and Richard come along and find the carriage Beaver has ditched, they don't seem to have any qualms whatsoever about taking the buggy and strolling off down the street with it. In fact, they recognize right away that the buggy is a great find since they can use the wheels for their coaster. Why wasn't this a good enough reason for Beaver to explain as to why he had the buggy in the first place? And why weren't Richard and Gilbert equally concerned about how it would look for THEM to be seen pushing the buggy down the street?
Beaver's Gone Sissy (!?)
StrictlyConfidential26 November 2020
(*June to Wally quote*) - "Beaver calling on a girl? Well, that's cute."
Beaver's bought the frame of an old coaster car from that dishonest scoundrel, Eddie Haskell.
All that Beaver needs to get this coaster rolling is a set of four wheels.
It seems that Penny Woods has an old doll carriage that has just the type of wheels that Beaver needs.
While pushing the doll carriage home Beaver encounters some unforeseen obstacles.
Beaver's bought the frame of an old coaster car from that dishonest scoundrel, Eddie Haskell.
All that Beaver needs to get this coaster rolling is a set of four wheels.
It seems that Penny Woods has an old doll carriage that has just the type of wheels that Beaver needs.
While pushing the doll carriage home Beaver encounters some unforeseen obstacles.
Buggy wheels
LukeCoolHand1 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This episode of Leave it to Beaver was OK but sort of bland. Penny, one of Beaver's school mates, give Beaver her old doll buggy so he can take the wheels off to put on his little car he's building. Beaver has to push it home and gets embarrassed doing it and when Gilbert and Richard are about to see him he pushes the doll buggy down a hill and partly into some bushes so they won't see him . Then Gilbert sees the buggy and takes it to his house and Beaver has to come up with a plan to get more wheels.
Not a very funny episode and I've seen a lot better, maybe the next ones will be better I hope.
Not a very funny episode and I've seen a lot better, maybe the next ones will be better I hope.
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