Beaver Finds a Wallet

Beaver was arguably at his best when paired with his portly pal Larry Mondello. But this episode is different in that Larry doesn't get Beaver in trouble as was his custom. Instead, the two boys discover a wallet on the sidewalk containing $89 and as good boys should, bring it to the police office. If nobody claims the wallet within ten days, the two boys can have the wallet and split the money! As it turns out, the owner of the wallet - a young lady named Miss Tomkins - shows up at the police station at the very same time as Beaver shows up to claim the wallet after ten days! Without spoiling the plot, suffice it to say that Miss Tomkins turns out to be not quite an exemplary human being.

People often think of LITB as a "sanitized" show, but in fact the less attractive side of human nature (both child and adult) was often highlighted. In this respect the series was like the paintings of Peter Brueghel, in which adults and children indulge in childlike vices. Here, Miss Tomkins appears on the surface to be a nice and attractive lady, but there's something subtle in the provocative way she's posed that tells us there's perhaps something not quite wholesome about her.

One of the things I love about LITB, particularly in the middle seasons, was the distinctive comic rhythm, a rhythm created out of the ordinary hubbub of daily home life. We see this early on this episode, when June tries to get various people to go to the supermarket for her. Another thing I like about this episode is that we see the good, loyal side of Larry. When the police officer asks who found the wallet, Larry tells the truth: that Beaver found it while he (Larry) said it was "a hunk of junk." Beaver puts his arm around Larry and the two are solidified in their friendship.

Beaver and Larry Mondello find a wallet on the sidewalk containing 89 dollars. They go to the police station to turn it in. The big surprise here being that Larry, usually the devil on Beavers shoulder, sans pitchfork and horns, customarily urges Beaver to do the wrong thing. This time he actually is on board with turning the wallet in. Maybe this level of theft would make Larry uncomfortable, but I digress.

The police say that if nobody claims the wallet in ten days, then the wallet is Beaver's. On top of that, Ward urges Beaver to put an ad in the paper mentioning that the wallet has been found. The day that the wallet is to be Beaver's, he goes to the police station to receive the unclaimed property. Unfortunately for him, on the bench right next to him, is the actual owner of the wallet.

She does not look the part of the person Beaver was told to visualize when going the extra mile to reunite the lost money with the rightful owner - that being a widow with four children who needs to buy food and pay rent. I'm not arguing that the money belongs to the rightful owner regardless of wealth, I'm just saying what you would need to say to a young boy who is anticipating a windfall based on the rightful owner never showing up.

Back to the rightful owner - She is young, sharply dressed, and says she has been out of town for awhile so she only just now found out about the wallet being found. She promises Beaver she is so grateful for the return of the wallet that she is going to go out and buy the best present a little boy could want and send it to him. So Beaver sits out by the mailbox day after day - but no present ever arrives. This woman has her wallet, probably forgot she ever promised Beaver anything, and has gone back to her life. If you think about it, she could have given Beaver ten dollars on the spot if she wanted to reward him, but she didn't. How will what has turned out to be a bummer of an episode so far work out? Watch and find out.

I like how this episode made the woman claiming the wallet a complete blank page. Was she a jet setter? Was she an average worker, perhaps a secretary, who had to accompany her boss on a business trip? Something else entirely? The only thing we know for sure is that she broke an important promise to an honest little boy.

One more thing - At one point the cost of a clock radio in 1960 is mentioned as being about 18 dollars. I looked online, and you can still buy one for 18-50 dollars. But 18 dollars in 1960 is worth 190 dollars! How is it that clock radios don't cost in the neighborhood of that price? It's because that clock radio in 1960 was American made. Today they are all cheap stuff made overseas and not made to last. Sometimes the comparisons between today and 1960 can be interesting in economic terms.

A fantastic episode on the complex reality of what was then America and the morally complex interlocking shift in human nature. Not everyone is as ethically grand as the Beaver is. Great lessons here by Ward and June especially with Ward buying a gift and pretending it's from the lady something that cost him 16 dollars and 89 cents "A small price to pay if it restores his faith in humanity." This is the final episode of the season that I can watch in the UK as unfortunately not every episode is avaliable here but gee Wally if this weren't the best season of the 3 so far and we've officially crossed the half way threshold.

Master of soap operas, Mathilde Farro, wrote this poignant episode, and nine others to her credit. She was behind soaps like GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Beave and Larry find a wallet filled with lots of money. Naturally, they have to turn it in, and there could be a big, fat reward. I agree with the last reviewer, not everyone was as good as Beave, and probably why he had friends like Larry!

A lady called Miss Tompkins (played by Valerie Allen) finally, finally claims the money and promises Beave a reward.

He gets nothing. And it takes Ward to restore Beave's faith in one and all by purchasing a gift for him, pretending it was from Miss Tompkins. Truly, it's something all our parents would do, and we would do for our kids who faced a really trying time in their lives. This is tough on Beave.

Hugh Beaumont, who became a minister, once again probably had a hand in this special episode. It has that feel about it. Actress Valerie Allen, quite popular on tv, was married to movie star, Troy Donahue.

About 10 years later this story was revamped by THE BRADY BUNCH --only the guy who lost the wallet was a good guy. Something to cheer about.

Not to be missed. SEASON 3 EPISODE 30 remastered. Classic color dvd box set cover.

Andy Griffith ripped off this storyline almost wholesale and yet still didn't deliver as well as this one, with its poignant little ending, and that wonderful little twist of the knife in the coda. Again and again the show illustrates with gentleness and humor the importance of morality in a thankless world. First rate TV.