LEAVE IT TO BEAVER: LUMPY RUTHERFORD (TV)
Summary
One in this comedy series about the Cleaver family -- Ward and June and their two sons, Wally and Theodore, known as "the Beaver."
Wally and Beaver have been having trouble getting home from school lately: a bigger, older boy named Clarence Rutherford, nicknamed “Lumpy,” has been preventing them from taking the route by his house, forcing them to go the long way home. While contemplating how to defeat Lumpy, the boys tell Ward about their problem. He recounts a similar story from his childhood and told them how he dealt with it: by luring his bully into a trap involving barrel hoops.
Despite Ward’s assertion that the boys won’t act on this story, they nevertheless recreate the trap in front of Lumpy’s house. When they attempt to lure out Lumpy, his father comes out instead and is caught in the trap, injuring him. Wally and Beaver run away before they can be caught.
Wally and Beaver hide out in their room, hoping to avoid the Rutherfords. However, Ward and June have invited them over for dinner. They find out the Rutherfords are coming over and fret about what to do. While Mr. Rutherford is busy showing Ward and June photos from his recent trip to South America, Ward tries to get the boys to come downstairs to say hello. Mr. Rutherford mentions he was attacked by “hoodlums” and reveals he has one of their caps. Ward recommends taking the matter to the police, and he agrees.
Wally and Beaver come downstairs, trying to disguise their identities with bandanas and cowboy hats. When they reveal their faces, Mr. Rutherford doesn’t recognize them and they go back upstairs. When Mr. Rutherford tells Ward and June the specifics of the trap he fell into, they realize what has happened and excuse themselves.
June is angry at Ward for causing the entire affair, and he goes upstairs to talk to Wally and Beaver. Wally and Beaver confess, but Ward blames himself and advises the boys to not always take his advice when he recounts stories from his youth. He explains the situation to the Rutherfords and they leave, satisfied. The episode ends as Beaver asks Ward about why people like Lumpy pick on smaller kids; Ward advises him to learn to live with and befriend such people instead of fighting them. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 24, 1958 7:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:24:31
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: B:12378
- GENRE: N/A
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1957-1958; ABC - 1958-1963
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Harry Ackerman … Executive Producer
- Joe Connelly … Producer, Writer
- Bob Mosher … Producer, Writer
- Dan Nathan … Associate Producer
- Norman Tokar … Director
- Barbara Billingsley … Cast, June Cleaver
- Hugh Beaumont … Cast, Ward Cleaver
- Tony Dow … Cast, Wally Cleaver
- Jerry Mathers … Cast, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
- Helen Parrish … Cast, Geraldine Rutherford
- Richard Deacon … Cast, Frederick Rutherford
- Frank Bank … Cast, Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford