I will always say the one-liners on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER were the absolute best. Also, as I got older, I began to watch Mr. And Mrs. Cleaver more than the Beave and Wally! The quips and the surprised looks between Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley were priceless. Behind the scenes, Hugh Beaumont was not always thrilled with his role, so when he looked baffled --he WAS baffled! Of course, he also directed many of the episodes... so what can you say?
This is another episode all of us kids at heart could relate to; the proverbial cat that wanders to your home and stays and stays. The cat is called Bootsy, which Beaver makes the big mistake of giving it too much TLC, and is rewarded with a life-long friendship. Now how to get rid of it? Bootsy also happens to have an owner, a senior named Mrs. Prentiss (played by Grace Wallis Huddle) who would appreciate her companion back.
Now what? Get a dog?
There's lots of memories here, and somewhere along the way it's happened to all of us. An interesting footnote is that Grace Huddle was actually a distinguished voice actress, and the mother of comedian Sue Ann Langdon. Huddle later taught at Texas A & M, among many other colleges, and may have been a voice teacher at Universal, which probably got her the role in the first place.
Also watch carefully; Beaver and Gilbert are talking on a street corner and a car races by them. Really fast! Typical California driver! The guy should have slowed down, ya think?? Where was the director? David Butler, whose career went back to the 1920s, and even directed Shirley Temple, missed that one by a mile!
SEASON 5 EPISODE 5 CBS dvd box set.