This is the strangest episode of Father Knows Best ever made, and with good reason -- it was never intended to be aired on television. Rather, it was done on behalf of the United States Department of the Treasury, in order to sell United States Savings Bonds, and was shown in schools, churches, and union meetings, amongst other gatherings. To say that it is message-laden is an understatement, as Jim Anderson (Robert Young) and his wife Margaret (Jane Wyatt) try to convince their children the importance of the freedoms for which America stands, and -- growing from that premise -- the reasons why Savings Bonds are important. But amid the extremely didactic script there are some interesting elements to be found -- as a result of the fact that this episode was outside the official run of the show, it offers some edges to the characters and the performances that would not have found their way into regular episodes; in that regard, this episodes can be regarded as the equivalent, in this context, of the 1960's-vintage "imaginary issues" of Superman comics, and Marvel's "What If" series, which explored storylines and elements of characterization that stood outside of any other continuity. There's also some surprisingly good writing at the end, when Jim Anderson finally lays it on the line for his daughter Betty (Elinor Donahue) about what all of the freedoms of which she's been deprived really mean; and an even better moment when, as scripted, Young and Wyatt step out of character to make their pitch -- you suddenly appreciate just how good their acting on the show was. The appearance by AFL-CIO head George Meany at the very tail-end of the show, as a sort of teaser, was gratuitous and unnecessary, however.
by Bruce Eder
review
