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HAZEL:THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD MovieHooray for
Hazel! Shirley Booth stars as the irrepressible housekeeper Hazel in the endearing family TV series that ran from 1961 to 1966. A brilliant character actress, Booth wisecracks her way through Hazel's life, solving the problems of her employers, the often-befuddled Baxter family, as well as of the community (busting a shoplifting ring, finding homes for stray dogs, exposing a group of financial swindlers). All this Hazel does with her cheerful working-class enthusiasm, without getting so much as a stray wrinkle in her crisply pressed maid uniform (complete with little head thingy). When she gets into her own scrapes, she shrugs them off with B! rooklynese cracks like, "Looks like I'm in the soup again!" The show is a perfect snapshot of early 1960s America, complete with frozen-in-time décor (did
everyone have that same print of the little-girl ballet dancer framed in their living room?) and a lovely leisurely pace.
Hazel can make an entire episode out of one single premise, as when Mr. Baxter decides that an unlisted phone number might cut down on the number of crank phone calls. And who wouldn't be nostalgic for a time when middle-class households had a working dad, a mostly-stay-at-home mom, perfectly behaved kids--and live-in housekeepers? Part of the appeal of Hazel, though, is that it's clear her life is much broader than her occupation. She knows everyone in town, from the balloon guy at the local park to the most powerful judge on the bench--all of which eventually comes in handy. And did we mention she's a cham-peen league bowler? Booth won two well-deserved Emmys for her portrayal of Hazel! . The boxed set includes all 35 25-minute episodes, and you wo! n't want to miss a one. I'm talking to youse!
--A.T. HurleyThe Complete First Season 1959 1960, All 32 Original Episodes The comic misadventures of televisionâs most well-meaning but misguided boy are back! The lovable Dennis Mitchell (Jay North) left a trail of chaos throughout his suburban neighborhood. Yet along with his friends and classmates Tommy (Billy Booth) and Margaret (Jeannie Russell), Dennis managed to pry his way into the hearts of millions from week to week. Based on the long-running comic strip by Hank Ketcham, this beloved CBS television series (1959 1963) stayed true to form, as Dennisâs youthful curiosity always managed to get him into heaps of trouble . . . especially with his crotchety old neighbor Mr. Wilson (Joseph Kearns). Herbert Anderson and Gloria Henry starred as Dennisâs parents who were always on hand with love and guidance but not necessarily the required supervision.
Here for the first time on DVD are all 32 un! cut episodes from the first season of Dennis The Menace!The first season of
Dennis the Menace, a black-and-white sitcom based on the comic strip by Hank Ketcham that ran on CBS from 1959 to 1960, featured an energetic, curious young boy who was simply a magnet for mischief. Dennis (Jay North) is essentially a good boy who always wants to be right in the middle of whatever's going on in his suburban neighborhood and has an insatiable desire to "help" his friends and neighbors. His loving, but exasperated parents (Gloria Henry and Herbert Anderson) never seem quite able to anticipate what kind of trouble Dennis might get into next, but one can bet that it will probably have something to do with their grouchy neighbor Mr. Wilson (Joseph Kearns). Whether it's planting flowers, pouring a concrete walk, camping out in the backyard, finding a buyer for a neighbor's house, or talking on the neighborhood (telephone) party line, Dennis always seems to inadvertently make a mess! of things. In some ways, this sitcom is surprisingly timeless! in its portrayal of a young boy and his abundant energy and overwhelming sense of curiosity, but details like the prevalence of cap guns and shooting games in Dennis's play, firecrackers tossed casually into the garbage and incinerator, and the stereotypical portrayal of a "woman's role" are startling reminders of how much has changed since the late 1950s and early 1960s. Bonus features include a 2010 interview with Henry and Jeannie Russell (Margaret) about everything from casting to the weekly shooting schedule and various troubles on the set; a 2007 audio-only radio interview with Henry and Russell; the 1960
Donna Reed Show episode "Donna Decorates," which guest-starred Dennis the Menace; and the original show promo, credits, and commercials.
--Tami HoriuchiPETTICOAT JUNCTION:OFFICIAL FIRST SEA - DVD MovieSongwriter Paul Simon said it best: Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance. Especially when that train is the Hooterville Cannonball ("the train tha! tâs loved by all"), whose heralding whistle sets this charming seriesâ classic theme song in motion. An instant hit in its first season,
Petticoat Junction, like
The Andy Griffith Show is the chance to spend quality time with "some decent folks." The series is set at the bucolic, but run-down, Shady Rest Hotel, remotely situated between Hooterville and Pixley (the Mt. Pilot to Hootervilleâs Mayberry). The Shady Rest has seen better days. The last time there were three guests at one time, someone observes, was when "Mrs. Pritchard gave birth to twins in the lobby." Widow Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet, the voice of Betty Rubble on
The Flintstones) runs the place with her three beautiful daughters, flirtatious Billie Jo (Jeannine Riley), bookworm Bobbie Jo (Pat Woodall), and pigtailed tomboy Betty Jo (Linda Kaye). Kateâs finagling Uncle Joe (Edgar Buchanan) complicates matters with ill-fated get rich schemes. Other colorful characters include Cannon! ball engineers Charlie (Smiley Burnette) and Floyd (Rufe Davis! ), more interested in lifeâs simple pleasures, like fishing, than running the train on time, and Sam Drucker (Frank Cady), the "self-described general store keeper, notary republic, and town wit." Throughout the first season, Kate and company thwart efforts by Homer Bedloe (Charles Lane), "the most ruthless man since Ivan the Terrible," to put the Shady Rest out of business and shut down the Cannonball, the antiquated steam train that time, and the C.F. & W Railroad forgot. Created by Paul Henning,
Petticoat Junction is not as widely syndicated or popularly known as his other series,
The Beverly Hillbillies and
Green Acres, but itâs a pleasure to rediscover. One episode for the '60s time capsule, broadcast just a little over a month after the Beatles appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show, is "The Ladybugs" in which Beatlemania hits the valley, and Uncle Joe transforms the Bradley girls into a girl rock group. Dennis Hopper, of all people, appears as a beat! nik in the episode, "Bobby Joe and the Beatnik." Vintage TV fans will have fun spotting Ken "Eddie Haskell" Osmond as a suitor for Billie Jo in "The Genghis Keane Story" (the same episode introduces future
Green Acres scene stealer Hank Patterson as pit-toting farmer Fred Ziffel); Sheila James (Zelda on
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) as a fellow Ladybug, and Steve Franken (Chatsworth Osborne, Jr. on
Gillis) as Homer Bedloeâs chip off the old block son, who has a change of heart after spending time at the Shady Rest in "Bedloe and Son." This set benefits from episode introductions and affectionate recollections by Kaye and Woodall. So, like the song says, forget about your cares, it is time to relax at the
Junction. As Bedloe, Jr. proclaims, "A fella could get used to a life like this."
--Donald LiebensonWhen Hazel and her beloved doll Eleanor are set upon by bullies, Hazel's mother comes to the rescue in a surprising way.