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| Eve Arden |
Beginning as a radio show, Our Miss Brooks was transferred to TV with most of the same cast for four seasons from 1952 - 1956 [a feature film was released immediately thereafter]. Eve Arden played teacher Connie Brooks, who dealt with an acerbic principal, Mr. Conklin (Gale Gordon, who later became the bane of "Lucy's" existence), had some interesting students such as Walter (Richard Crenna), as well as a big crush on fellow teacher Mr. Boynton (Robert Rockwell), who was also pursued from time to time by Miss Enright (Mary Jane Croft, who also appeared with Lucy). Her landlady was the lovable Mrs. Davis (Jane Morgan). Many episodes are on retail DVD, and a few can be viewed at the Internet Archives. The series, bolstered by Arden's great expressions and the droll delivery of Gale Gordon, was very popular in its day. For its 4th and final season the show got rid of most of its regulars, moved Miss Brooks to a new location, and then brought everyone else back when ratings began to dip. Too late to save the show.
Arden followed up Brooks with her second, less successful sitcom, The Eve Arden Show (1957- 58), which lasted just one season. 4 episodes are available on a retail DVD, but these can also be seen/downloaded for free on the Internet Archives. In this Arden played author and widowed mother of twin girls, Liza Hammond. Hammond's mother was Frances Bavier, previously on It's a Great Life and later Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show. Allyn Joslyn played George, who booked Liza on various lecture tours. In one episode, Liza deals with her stage fright while addressing a women's group. In another, her head winds up on a sexy body on the cover of her latest book. Her daughters hero-worship another mother during a PTA "white elephant" sale, and in the final episode one of the girls gets sick as Liza leaves for Washington D.C. Arden and the rest of the cast are all quite good, and the scripts are generally of the B or B+ quality, although the last episode is much less successful.
Years later Arden appeared on another successful sitcom, The Mothers-in-Law.
Verdict: Arden is always interesting in whatever she does. ***.
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