Leave It to Beaver | | Cast : | Christopher McDonald, Janine Turner | | Director : | Andy Cadiff | | Studio : | Universal Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | August 22, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | April 12, 2005 | | Language : | Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 06, 2005 | | Summary | Groovy Movie | Content
 | Okay, YUP-it's corny. HELLO-its based on a very popular show from the 50s and 60s, which I happen to love. Forgive the cheese factor every once in awhile and enjoy this family film! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 06, 2004 | | Summary | You'll Love the Cleavers! | Content
| "Beaver" was one of many classic TV shows from the Golden Age of Television. The show debuted in October of 1957; Beaver was 7 years old and his big brother Wally 12. The show came to a close in 1953 when Wally was 18 and about to enter college and Bever was 13 and ready to enter high school. The series is timeless in its depiction of the joys and sorrows of a little boy.
Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver was cute and really acted like an honest-to-goodness young teenager. Jerry Mathers as the Beaver was cute but a bit trying as he aged on the series. He grew up quickly and at one point he was almost as tall as his Mom and Dad! As the Beave grew older and taller, the focus of the show turned to Wally who was growing into a handsome and muscular young man. Wally's adventures - his first job, his school dances, his girlfriends, etc. - were considerably more interesting than re-hashes of Beaver's predictable escapades and problems. Wally's adventures gave the show a new lease on life as it approached it last years.
Hugh Beaumont and Barabara Billingsley as the Cleaver Dad Ward and Mom June are a story in themselves. I don't remember discovering exactly what Dad did for a living. He had an office "downtown" and a "den" at home where he occasionally worked. But I don't remember ever being told exactly what he did. I'm guessing he sold insurance. He grew up on a farm and June apparently was a childhood sweetheart.
Mrs. Cleaver reminded us time and again that she grew up with her aunt Martha and attended a boarding school. Like other TV moms of the 50s she dressed in pearls, earbobs, and crisp, attractive frocks while housecleaning. Her hair and her makeup were perfect. Ma Cleaver appeared to have few interests outside the home like charities, church, animal shelters, bake sales, etc. She was always at home slivering carrots, pouring glasses of milk, or tidying the kitchen. In the evenings she sat beside her husband on the living room couch. He read the newspaper and she mended what appeared to be male clothing while both chatted about the boys. Of all the characters on the show, Mrs. Cleaver had the least depth. She was simply present to take care of the day to day necessities - like laundering - and to keep her men fed and running at peak performance.
Interestingly, none of the Cleavers watched TV.
The Cleavers lived in several different houses over the lifetime of the series and in each house the boys always had their own bathroom. The bathroom wasn't out in the hallway but just off their bedroom - like a master bedroom and bath. This bathroom arrangement was really peculiar. It meant that there were at least 5 bathrooms in each of the Cleaver houses: Mom and Dad probably had their own bathroom as part of the master suite and Beaver and Wally had their own bathroom as part of their bedroom suite. There was probably an upstairs guest bedroom and bath - this is where Aunt Martha would have stayed when she visited - and then there must have been a guest bathroom in the upstairs hallway and possibly a downstairs "powder room" for guests and the convenience of the family when they didn't want to run upstairs. I'm guessing the downstairs powder room was tucked somewhere at the back of the main hallway or tucked into a corner of the kitchen. I reckon 5 bathrooms for a family of 4; this was most extravagant and luxurious in the 50s.
The Cleaver boys spent a great deal of time in their bedroom. Whenever they rushed into the house after school, they usually asked to be "excused" from Mom and Dad's presence and hurried to their bedroom. Wally sat at a desk doing his homework while Beave lay in bed daydreaming or playing with a toy plane, a cowboy pistol, a comic book, etc. The amount of time these boys spent in their bedroom was very peculiar.
The Cleaver boys had several friends: Beaver had Larry Mondello, (a fat little boy), Gilbert, Whitey, and many more but the most memorable were two snippy, snooty girls in his class. Wally had Lumpy and Eddie Haskell as pals. Eddie is one of TVs most beloved and best remembered characters. His Slick Slimy approach to Mom and Dad Cleaver was the most orignal touch on the series. Other memorable regulars included Gus, (an elderly fireman), Aunt Martha, Mr. Rutherford, and Mary Ellen Rogers, a cute classmate of Wally's.
In an early episode, Beaver explains that he got the name Beaver from his brother Wally who, as a 4 year old, had trouble pronouncing his baby brother's name Theodore. Wally pronounced the name Theodore as "Tweeter" until Ma and Pa Cleaver refined the name to Beaver. The name Beaver is meant to suggest a perky, toothy, happy-go-lucky kid. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 06, 2004 | | Summary | Leave it to the Beave!!! | Content
| "Leave It to Beaver" was one of the most popular TV shows of the late 50s-early 60s.
Beaver was the youngest member of a 50s family called the Cleavers that included Dad (Ward), Mom (June) and big brother (Wally). When the show began in 1957 Beaver was 8 and his brother Wally 12.
Tony Dow as Wally Cleaver was perhaps the most likeable and most believeable of the Cleavers. He was teen-cute and acted like an honest-to-goodness, normal 50s teenager. Jerry Mathers as the Beave was cute too but a bit of a drag as he aged on the series. He grew up quickly and at one point he was almost as tall as his TV Mom and Dad! The producers should have quit while they were ahead.
Hugh Beaumont and Barabara Billingsley as the Cleaver Dad (Ward) and Mom (June) are another story. Dad grew up on a farm and apparently he and "June" were something like high school sweethearts. I don't remember discovering exactly what Dad did for a living. He had an office "downtown" and a "den" at home where he occasionally worked. But I don't remember ever being told exactly what he did. I'm guessing he sold insurance. He spent an extraordinary amount of time however counseling, guiding, and mentoring his boys over every little thing. He was the perfect 50s dad.
Mrs. Cleaver was a wonderful fantasy character. She reminded us in a number of episodes that she grew up with her Aunt Martha and she went to boarding school. Like other TV moms of the 50s she dressed in pearls, earbobs, and crisp, attractive frocks while housecleaning. Her hair and her makeup were perfect as she went about dusting the tops of china closets and making waffles. Ma Cleaver appeared to have few interests outside the home (like charities, church activites, animal shelters, bake sales, etc.) She was always at home tending her men by pouring glasses of milk, buttering toast, and tidying the kitchen. She was never shown doing truly laborious housework - like sorting dirty laundry or mopping floors. Her household tasks were light and ladylike (slivering carrots, polishing the silver, etc.) After the dining room table was cleared in the evening and the dishes were done, she sat beside her husband on the living room couch. He read the newspaper and she sewed buttons onto what appeared to be male clothing while both chatted about the boys.
Interestingly, none of the Cleavers watched TV.
The Cleavers lived in several different houses over the lifetime of the series and in each house the boys always had their own bathroom. The boys' bathroom wasn't out in the hallway but just off their bedroom - like a master bedroom and bath. This bathroom arrangement was really peculiar. It meant that there were at least 5 bathrooms in the Cleaver house: Mom and Dad probably had their own bathroom as part of the master suite and Beaver and Wally had their own bathroom as part of their bedroom suite. That's two bathrooms. There was probably another upstairs "guest" bedroom and this bedroom must have had its own bathroom as well. That makes three bathrooms. (This guest bedroom was where June's Aunt Martha would have stayed when she visited.) And then there must have been a bathroom in the upstairs hallway and possibly a downstairs "powder room" for guests and the convenience of the family when they didn't want to run upstairs. That makes 5 bathrooms. I'm guessing the downstairs powder room was tucked somewhere at the back of the main hallway or tucked into a corner of the kitchen.
The Cleaver boys spent a great deal of time in their bedroom. Whenever they rushed into the house after school, they usually asked to be immediately "excused" from Mom and/or Dad's presence and hurried to their bedroom. Wally sat at a desk doing homework while Beave lay in bed daydreaming, kid-worrying, or playing with a toy plane, a cowboy pistol, a comic book, etc. The amount of time the Cleaver boys spent in their bedroom was very peculiar. Beaver was very, very occasionally seen on the telephone in the living room however.
The Cleaver boys had several friends: Beaver had Larry Mondello, (a fat little boy), Gilbert, Whitey, Gus (an old fireman down the street), and many more but the most memorable were two snippy, snooty girls in his class. Wally had Lumpy and Eddie Haskell. Eddie is one of TVs most beloved and best remembered characters. His Slick Slimy approach to Mom and Dad Cleaver was the most orignal touch on the series.
Other notable minor characters were Mrs. Cleaver's maiden aunt Martha, Lumpy's Dad Mr. Rutherford, and Mary Ellen Rogers, a teen classmate of Wally's.
Almost everyone (including his mom) called little Theodore Cleaver "Beaver" or "The Beave." (Exceptions were Aunt Martha and Miss Landers, the Beave's teacher.) According to one of the earliest episodes, Theodore received his nickname from his older brother Wally who, as a 4 year old, could only pronouce "Theodore" as "Tweeter." It was Ma and Pa Cleaver who refined "Tweeter" to "Beaver." The producers intended the name to suggest a perky, toothy, happy little kid. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 25, 2004 | | Summary | Great movie! | Content
| This is a good movie to see, especially after seeing the original Leave it to Beaver series that were made in the 1950s. But there were some things wrong like some of the girls were wearing miniskirts and nobody wore miniskirts until 1965 or in the late '60s. And also in the movie, I saw Wally (Erik von Detten) was kissing his girlfriend Karen (Erika Christensen). And Wally wasn't kissing any of his girlfriends in the original Leave it to Beaver series except in this one episode that was made in February 28, 1963, "Box Office Attraction", Wally's girlfriend Marlene Holmes was kissing Wally. But anyway, this movie is 10x better than "The Sandlot." You can see my review on that movie too. So it is a great movie but I still like the original series of Leave it to Beaver that was made in the '50s. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 03, 2004 | | Summary | Leave it to Beaver | Content
| Why does everyone expect this to be a TV-show clone? For gosh sakes, it would be critcized for being too akin to the TV show because it wouldn't be original. I think those people need to open their horizons.
Leave it to Beaver is an incredibly well done film. It is true to the series only in bits and pieces, but it really shines anyway.
The acting is superb. It's all excellent. No actor/actress in the film did even one thing wrong with their roles. It was truly an improvement over most Disney films.
The storyline and plot is, like most Disney films, toned down and simplified for younger kids. Their is truly only two full plots: Wally and Karen's jumbles, and Beaver's main story. See, that keeps it enjoyable for all.
The script and words themselves were written in clear, direct language. As such, Beaver has a bit of a lyspy voice, but it can be forgiven. He was young. Again, the movie's actual talk was toned down mostly for younger ones.
The movie really doesn't have SFX to talk about. Like most Disney films, it focuses on charm. It certainly chose well.
All in all, they did a great job! |
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