Beaver’s Jacket

[Scrabjan1]

Everything seems to work in this one except at the end. If Mrs. Rickover had sewn a name tag into his jacket how come she didn’t notice the jacket she got from the cleaners didn’t have a tag? She said she got back the jacket from the cleaners and noticed a dirty one (Richard’s) hanging in the closet. Wonder if the clean one was returned to Beaver quickly so she never noticed. Wonder if Ward offered to clean Richard’s jacket.

[stevea]

Someday I need to diagram this episode out. Follow those jackets!

Everybody talks about how Gilbert always bailed on Beaver. June sure bailed on Ward at the end of this episode!

[Cx]

I just watched it. Good catch on the name tag plot hole.

A couple of observations:

I notice Beaver's stammering when he gets busted is a habit he carried through his change of voice from a chirpy 8 year old to a pre-teen. Whenever he knows he's guilty and has to answer to somebody, he always does that trepidatious breathy "Hhhi Dad", or Hhhhi Mom or in this case "Hhhi Wally" when Wally sees him hauling the jacket in through the bathroom window.

I don't know if this would be a plot hole or a suspension of time awareness, but late in the episode at the breakfast table Ward spots ( through the window ) the jacket being pulled up by a rope. In the ensuing conversation of Ward's observation, the discussion with Wally of whether or not he did or didn't see it happening, to the time the jacket is shown clearly ( and stationary ) only to disappear in a final jerk upward was 14 seconds ( I timed it ). Come on! That thing should have been visible through the window for all of 3 or at most 4 seconds. Beaver knew he was under the gun time-wise, having been admonished for tardiness to breakfast, he wouldn't fiddle-fart around hauling that thing up.

I'd of wanted to smack Richard upside the head when he matter-of-factly admitted to Beaver that he threw him under the bus with the idea it was either him or Beaver ( as to who'd catch heat for having their jacket missing ) and that it sure as hell wasn't going to be him.

[stevea]

I never timed it but that jacket bobbed at that window for way too long!

Re smacking Richard upside the head: Beaver should have when he called Beaver to tell him he got his jacket back at the lost and found. "Listen, Beav, I'm doin' you a favor", etc. And Beaver goes along with him. Beaver should have said, Listen, Richard, you're the one who lost your jacket in the first place. So get your jacket over here tomorrow morning or you're gettin' a punch in the nose!

[Cx]

Originally Posted by stevea

I never timed it but that jacket bobbed at that window for way too long!

Re smacking Richard upside the head: Beaver should have when he called Beaver to tell him he got his jacket back at the lost and found. "Listen, Beav, I'm doin' you a favor", etc. And Beaver goes along with him. Beaver should have said, Listen, Richard, you're the one who lost your jacket in the first place. So get your jacket over here tomorrow morning or you're gettin' a punch in the nose!

Even that is letting him off too easily. Better to "blow the whistle" and tell all to both sets of parents. Richard would be one forlorn unit.

I remember a great movie line: "If you get my *ss in the gears, I'm gonna turn the flame up under yours!".

[stevea]

I forgot to comment on Beaver's uhhh, or um, or mmmm. I've noticed this and it's real obvious when his little brain is working up lies (great acting!). Uh or um...I think there's an epidemics. Uh or um...my father's visiting the president. Uh or um...my mother's got pneumonia.

[Scrabjan1]

Young Jerry Mathers was cute as a button.

The jacket in the window scene when both Ward and Wally are discussing it was a very stupid moment in the series. As you said if Beaver is in a hurry you don’t pull it up and let it dangle at the window. You would think Tony would have said ‘hey we can’t discuss that jacket as it sits there for all that time and doesn’t move it isn’t natural. It should go up like the first time when “Hugh” said he saw a shadow. Let’s get real!”

Richard calls Beaver to say that he got his jacket back from Lost and Found and will be bringing it in the morning. Both boys always wear the jacket home. Richard has given the jacket to Beaver in the am and Ward and June confront him to find it’s Richard’s jacket. After school Richard gets the jacket to wear home but his mother thinks it’s at the cleaners. If Richard were smart he would have had Beaver keep his jacket. So when Mrs. R gets the jacket from the cleaners there shouldn’t be another jacket in the closet. Beaver should have it. Richard couldn’t exchange them until she got it from the Keen Kleen Kompany. I guess there are a few holes.

I guess they needed June to get the call and bail on Ward. She says she has to start dinner but she was sewing. She did that before when she handed the phone to Ward to talk to Dudley‘s mother and Ward didn’t even know who she was. He said it’s like somebody walking in when you’re taking a shower.

[GrtGzu]

Also notice how June's attitude has been a bit more "snippy" since she has that stiff,-no-blowing-in-the-wind Jackie Kennedy wig on....

[CosmicCharlie]

Originally Posted by GrtGzu

Also notice how June's attitude has been a bit more "snippy" since she has that stiff,-no-blowing-in-the-wind Jackie Kennedy wig on....

Well Said !

[Cx]

Originally Posted by GrtGzu

Also notice how June's attitude has been a bit more "snippy" since she has that stiff,-no-blowing-in-the-wind Jackie Kennedy wig on....

Yeah. It's so stiff it appears to be of just one solid piece, rather than a bunch of hair follicles in mass formation. Kind of like the girls/women's hairdos on the old B&W puppet-mation show 'Davy and Goliath'.

[stevea]

Perfect comparison. It does look like the mother on Davey and Goliath (which by the way was in color, although most sets probably were black and white at the time). Stop-motion animation, must have taken forever to do, moving those puppets frame by frame.

[Scrabjan1]

I loved Davey and Goliath even though it was super religious.

[CosmicCharlie]

lol clay-mation ? was very entertaining to me

Geee Davey !

[stevea]

For the era this was an excellent program. I've collected most of them. Some of them have been changed or banned due to the content--I think I got one of them several years ago on VHS, called Down on the Farm or something similar. When TBN obtained these episodes they restored the original credits, which hadn't been shown for years.

D&G was produced by Arthur Clokey for the Lutheran Church--he was also the producer of Gumby, which I think is also stop-motion animation.

This series has probably never been properly remastered. It looks like 16mm circulated copies are still being used--assuming these were produced on 35mm negatives, hopefully those reels are still sitting somewhere, waiting to be remastered.

[Scrabjan1]

Oh loved Gumby and Pokey. One of my favorites and loved when they were in a toy store. Also was a big Popeye fan but only the really old ones with Bluto before Brutus. Also liked the dog, Droopy.