Madge Blake Movies

Two tourists, portrayed by the comic duo Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, are talked into working for the good guys to keep art thieves from stealing the Venus di Milo at the London World Fair. Minor entry in the comic spy category. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

It is "Martian Mother's Day", and Martin (Ray Walston) is depressed over being so far away from his own mother. His spirits are lifted when he encounters Miss Cora Darling (played by Batman's "Aunt Harriet", Madge Blake), who is an exact lookalike of his mom. Martin vows to perform a good deed for his "surrogate parent" Cora, but his plan backfires, plunging the dear old lady into some serious trouble! Featured as Cora's sister Dora is Sara Haden, best remembered as Aunt Milly in MGM's "Andy Hardy" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marion Lorne makes her first series appearance as Samantha's dotty Aunt Clara. On this occasion, Clara and Sam are offended by the picture of an ugly witch on the advertisements for the Halloween candy manufactured by Darrin's new client, Mr. Brinkman (Shelley Berman). Combining their powers, the two ladies endeavor to "persuade" Brinkman to adopt a more politically correct approach. Written by Bernard Slade, "The Witches Are Out" was originally telecast on October 29, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Applying for a driver's license, Martin (Ray Walston) is unable to provide copies of his fingerprints--mainly because he hasn't any. Thinking quickly, he "borrows" the print of the man standing next to him in line. Unfortunately, that man turns out to be notorious jewel thief Brian Henley (Howard Morton)...and when Tim (Bill Bixby) writes an in-depth article about Henley's latest heist, both he and Martin face some serious prison time! Madge Blake, later seen as Aunt Harriet on Batman, is here cast as a giddy, bejeweled dowager. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 234th and final episode of Leave It to Beaver is also the series' first "clip show," comprised of highlights from the past six seasons. While doing a bit of cleaning around the house, June (Barbara Billingsley) comes across a little windup toy that belonged to Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) when they were kids. This sets June and Ward (Hugh Beaumont) to reminiscing about the various adventures undertaken by their boys in their younger days. Before long, the older Cleavers are paging through a family scrapbook, full of photos conveniently taken at crucial points in several past episodes. (A question: who snapped the pictures, and how did they know that something funny was abut to happen?) Showcased in this episode are scenes from "Beaver Gets 'Spelled," "New Neighbors," "My Brother's Girl," "The Shave," "Beaver Runs Away," "Larry Hides Out," "Teacher Comes to Dinner," and "Wally's Election" (a clip from "Beaver and Andy" was removed just before this episode aired). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this entertaining comedy by Charles Walters, everyone seems to get in on the act, even the dog and especially the four overactive kids in a wildly challenging family. David Niven co-stars with Doris Day as Lawrence and Kate Mackay, distinctive parents struggling with home, life, and family. Lawrence opts for leaving his job teaching at Columbia University in New York for a post as a drama critic for a Gotham newspaper, bringing new problems to the pile the family already owns. First, they are forced to move out -- far out -- to the countryside with their brood and canine. And next, while Kate handles home, hearth, and hellions, Lawrence proceeds to alienate one of his best friends with a shattering review. That unhappy beginning to his new career also brings in one of the actresses damaged by his cutting remarks (Janis Paige), who wreaks her own form of havoc on poor Lawrence. In the meantime, Day gets to sing some songs which add to the light-hearted attitude of it all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Beaver (Jerry Mathers) is among the charter members of the Bloody Five, an exclusive boy's club -- so exclusive that Beaver's pal Larry Mondello (Rusty Stevens) is not permitted entry. In a pique, Larry informs Beaver that he's forming his own, "neater" club, which already has a huge waiting list Fascinated by Larry's word-pictures, Beav quits the Bloody Five in favor of his pal's new organization, little suspecting that the membership consists of one person: Larry Mondello. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Larry (Rusty Stevens) can't convince his mother (Madge Blake) to give him money so that he and Beaver (Jerry Mathers) can go to the carnival. Reasoning that if he "finds" the necessary funds everything will be all right -- thus he raids his mom's reserve in cash, tosses it out the window, and behold, it is "found money." Off to the carnival go the innocent Beaver and the guilty Larry, little imagining the horrendous fate awaiting them when they get home! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Impulsively removing a cap from an ink bottle, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) accidentally ruins some of his dad's business papers (yes, Dad does have a job!) As a result, Beaver is grounded, forbidden to leave the house all weekend. At the goading of pal Larry (Rusty Stevens), Beaver sneaks out to attend a movie. Which of course leads to the inevitable crisis -- how is The Beav going to explain the fact that he's won a new bike in a contest held at the movie house? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ward (Hugh Beaumont) gives the boys five dollars to buy their mom June (Barbara Billingsley) a couple of birthday presents. While Wally (Tony Dow) purchases a wallet, Beaver buys a garishly decorated blouse. Rather than hurt her son's feelings, June pretends that she loves the outlandish gift -- and that's when Beaver asks June to wear the blouse at her next Woman's Club meeting! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trouble ensues when Beaver (Jerry Mathers) invites his pal Larry (Rusty Stevens) to spend the weekend at the Cleaver house. Inevitably, the boys get into a fight, and Larry angrily runs out into the street and back to his own home. Only one problem here -- Larry's mom and dad are out of town (in Cincinnati, no doubt). Veteran character actor Frank Sully plays a perplexed cab driver in this episode, which was originally scheduled to air on June 25, 1958. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Loving You was the most autobiographical of all Elvis Presley's movies, and, not coincidentally, features the most naturalistic, easygoing performance of his early career. He plays Deke Rivers, a truck driver with a penchant for singing and a raw animal magnetism where women are concerned. He attracts the business interest of publicity agent Glenda Markle (Lizabeth Scott), who sees a potential gold mine in Deke. She hires him to appear with a band that she handles, fronted by aging country & western singer Tex Warner (Wendell Corey), who used to be romantically involved with Glenda and is now a client. Pretty soon he's pulling in bigger crowds and generating more excitement than Tex did during his best days (which drives the older singer to start drinking again), but also a lot more controversy, too. Deke is so provocatively sexual a presence on-stage that some citizens in the southern and border states where the band is working think that what he does is immoral. Girls can't keep away from him, their boyfriends despise what he symbolizes, and their parents are aghast, even as concert promoter Carl Meade (James Gleason) smells a fortune to be made from this boy. Glenda parlays these disputes and a ban on one of Deke's performances into a national television event. Amid all of this, Deke reveals the private, vulnerable side that no one ever knew -- that he's not even Deke Rivers (it was a name he took off a gravestone), but an orphan named Jimmy Tompkins, and that he's never had a home. He also reveals that he's attracted to Glenda, mistaking (with her encouragement) her interest in his talent with a personal involvement, but he's also drawn the the band's female singer, Susan Jessup (Dolores Hart), who could genuinely love him, and offers him a caring family of her own that would accept him. Deke and Glenda's conflicts are eventually straightened out, and Deke gets to say his piece and sing his music on network television. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide