Rusty Stevens Movies

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, Rovi

Tired of his oafish nickname, Lumpy Rutherford (Frank Bank) gets even by saddling Beaver (Jerry Mathers) with a derisive nickname of his own: "Freckles." Not surprisingly, Beaver becomes quite self-conscious about this designation, to the point that he wants to remove his freckles by any means possible -- including obscuring them with his mom's makeup, and even applying sandpaper. Fortunately, our hero is mollified by the example of one Clyde Appleby (Stephen Wootton). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When his school holds a pet fair, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) gets neurotic over the fact that everyone owns a pet except him. To save face, he brags that he owns the talking parrot that he recently saw in the window of the local pet store. Of course, Beaver is certain that he can back up his boast by talking his dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) into purchasing the parrot. But Ward isn't exactly made of money, and the best he can do is to bring home a hamster -- and boy, will Beaver get the business this time! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Against their better judgment, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) allow Beaver (Jerry Mathers) to ride his brand-new bicycle to school. On the way home, Beaver meets a young boy (Paul Engle) who begs him to let him have just one ride -- and he'll be right back. Minutes pass, and then hours, and finally Beaver reaches the sobering conclusion that he will never see that boy, or his bike, ever again! (This episode would later be reworked into the 1997 feature-film version of Leave It to Beaver). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Given money by his parents to purchase a pet, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) is advised by Larry (Rusty Stevens) to pocket the dough when the boys see a note in the supermarket offering a monkey named Stanley free to anyone willing to take it. Sure enough, Stanley is installed in the Cleaver household, much to the dismay of dad Ward and mom June. But since the name of this series isn't "Leave It to Stanley," one can assume that Beav's simian pal will not be a permanent resident. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wally (Tony Dow) considers himself the luckiest teen on Earth when the wealthy and "sophisticated" Myra (Pamela Beaird) agrees to date him. There's only one problem -- Myra has made clear that she would like Wally to purchase an orchid for her corsage. This of course, requires more money than Wally has ever seen in his life -- and his dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) isn't about to lend it to him. This was the first Leave It to Beaver episode directed by Norman Abbott, a future fixture of such '70s sitcoms as Sanford and Son (and incidentally, fans of the first Back to the Future will instantly recognize the exterior of Wally's high school). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fascinated by the neat Eskimo sweater that he's spotted in a store window, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) begs Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and June (Barbara Billingsley) to buy it for him. Although his parents don't feel that the sweater is appropriate for him, Beaver won't take no for answer. What our hero doesn't know is that the sweater is not designed for boys, but for girls -- a fact that comes crashing down upon him when Judy Hensler (Jeri Weil) shows up in school the next day wearing the exact same sweater! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wally (Tony Dow) tries to weasel out of attending a cotillion with Mary Ellen Rogers (Pamela Baird) -- not because he doesn't like her, but because he can't dance. Upon learning that Mary Ellen has signed them up for a cha-cha contest, a frantic Wally buys a dance record and spends his after-hours practicing in his bedroom. This, of course, is a source of great amusement for Beaver (Jerry Mathers), who is so merciless in his needling of poor Wally that he precipitates a potential disaster! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Larry (Rusty Stevens) are placed in charge of their classroom's cookie fund. Enter older kid Roger (Danny Richards Jr.), who cons three dollars out of the boys by weaving an elaborate sob story about his starving sister. Of course, when Beav and Larry approach Roger the next day and demand their money back, he pretends he's never seen them before -- and when this ploy fails, the versatile fibber warns our heroes that he'll sic his "gang" on him if they rat him out! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

David Manning (John Collier), an old friend of Beaver's who now lives several miles away, invites Beaver (Jerry Mathers) to his birthday party one week in advance. Alas, by the time seven days have passed, Beaver has forgotten all about the party and has gone of on a photo-taking excursion with Larry (Rusty Stevens). Frantically, Ward (Hugh Beaumont), June (Barbara Billingsley), and Wally (Tony Dow) scour the town in search of the absent Beaver, who will ultimately be forced to make a difficult decision to avoid hurting David's feelings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi