Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963): Season 2, Episode 31 - Beaver's Sweater - full transcript

While window shopping, Larry and Beaver see a unique Eskimo sweater costing $12.98 that Larry says his father is going to buy for him. Larry convinces Beaver to try and get his parents to buy him one as well so that they can look like twins, or failing that to buy it himself with the $25 he has in the bank, money which is supposed to be used for his college education. Initially, Ward is reluctant to let Beaver get the sweater, but June talks Ward into letting Beaver buy the sweater. They somewhat regret it as they think the sweater ugly. Beaver also begins to regret it as beyond Larry not getting one yet, Larry and Beaver see that Judy Hensler has the exact same sweater. Beaver has to figure out how to get rid of the sweater and make up a plausible explanation to his parents why he no longer wears it.

Leave It To Beaver.

Starring Barbara Billingsley,

Hugh Beaumont,

Tony Dow...

and Jerry Mathers...

as the Beaver.

Hi, Mom. Hello, Wally.

What happened in school
today? Oh, nothing much.

Oh, Mr. Hatfield, our algebra
teacher, got a new secondhand car.

That's nice. Yeah.

Tooey said he would've
got a new one, but he's



scared to drive a better
car than the principal.

Oh, I don't think
that's the reason.

Hey, Mom. What's
that? Coconut cake.

Looks kind of like a sheepdog.

Well, now, Wally,
you don't have to eat it.

Oh, well, gee, Mom.
I didn't mean that.

Didn't think so.

See Beaver on the way home?

Uh-uh. Some of the guys said
they saw him with Larry Mondello.

They were over on Grant
Avenue standing looking in a ditch.

Now, why in the world would anyone
want to stand around looking in a ditch?

Well, gee, Mom, a
couple summers ago...

you and Dad went way out of your
way just to look into the Grand Canyon.

Hey, Larry. Look at that
fellow lying around all in pieces.



You know, if he was all put together,
he'd kind of look like our gym teacher.

Yeah.

Only our gym teacher
wears sneakers.

Yeah. And he doesn't
have a hole in his stomach.

Hey, Beave! Look
at the neat tiger!

Yeah!

But tigers aren't that flat.

They are when you
take the tiger out.

Yeah.

Hey, Beave!

There's the neat sweater
I was tellin' you about.

Boy, that is a neat sweater.

That's the kind you'd wear
if you were lumberjacking.

Yeah. My father's
gettin' me one.

He is?

Why don't you get your
father to get you one, Beave?

He's mad at me from last week, for
losing my underwear in gym again.

But, gee, Beave.

If we both had 'em, we'd look
like a couple of real Eskimos.

Yeah!

But I don't think my
father'd give me 12.98...

just to look like an Eskimo.

I'm gettin' my father to take
me down tonight and buy mine.

Hey! I almost got 25 whole dollars in
the bank. Maybe I could buy it myself.

Is it really your money?

Or is it the kind of money your pop puts
in the bank and just says it's your money?

- Sure, it's my money.
- Can you spend it?

Sure.

But my dad says
I should save it.

Spend it on somethin' important.

That's just another way of
telling you you can't spend it.

Yeah, Dad. It's in
the window at Kirby's.

And it's got Indian
pictures on it...

and totem poles, and it's
got a regular turtle's neck.

Well, sounds like an
interesting sweater.

Hey, Beave. What's
it made out of?

Uh, polar bear, I think.

Aw, you can't make
sweaters out of polar bears.

You could make anything out
of a polar bear— if he was dead.

How much is this
sweater, Beaver?

Only 12.98. With the
tax included in. Well,

that's quite a bit of money
for a boy's sweater, Beaver.

Anyway, you already have two or three
sweaters, and your jacket's almost new.

I don't think you really
need a new sweater, Beaver.

I don't think we should
lay out $13 just on a whim.

Oh.

What's a whim?

Well, a, uh—a sudden impulse
for something you don't really need.

Oh.

Well, I could use my own
money. The $25 I got in the bank.

Hey, Beave. I thought you
were saving that to go to college.

Larry says he's never heard of
a college you could go to for $25.

Well, that's just the start, Beaver.
The idea is to add a little each year.

Oh. Does that mean I
can't buy the sweater?

Well, I don't think you
should, Beaver. It would

be different if it were
for something sensible.

Yes, sir.

May I be excused? Certainly.

Me too? Uh-huh.

Don't worry, Beave.

I'll give you one of my old
sweaters that's all beat up.

Dear,

I think we should let
him have that sweater.

Oh, now, June.

Ward, when I was about his age, I
saw an opal ring in Sutter's window.

I used to go down and
look at it twice a week.

It was cheap and flashy, but...

I wanted it more than
anything else in the world.

After I'd saved the money
for it, my father convinced

me that I should spend
it on something sensible.

A pair of galoshes.

Well, I doubt that that
ruined your whole life.

For quite a while it did.

Oh, but, June, an Eskimo
sweater with totem poles on it...

and made out of polar
bear skin, uh, uh...

Please, dear?

All right. In memory of the opal ring,
you take him down and let him buy it.

I have to go.

Ward. Yeah.

Dear, I know you're in a
hurry, but the Beaver didn't

want you to go until you'd
seen his new sweater.

All right. What's it like?

Well, it's unique. Uh,
Beaver, Wally, I'm going.

Where's the Beaver? Oh, he's
upstairs putting on his new sweater.

Oh, fine. I'm waiting
to see it. Yeah. Uh...

Hey, Dad. Please
don't laugh, huh?

What do you mean? Well, uh...

Well, just try not to.

Doesn't he look nice?

Oh. Oh, yes.
That's a real dandy.

Mom sewed my name in it and everything,
so no one'll swipe it at school.

- You're wearing it to school?
- Sure, Dad. That's why I bought it, so me
and Larry could have the same sweater.

That's real Indian
junk on there, Dad.

Yeah. Yes. I'll be it
is. Uh, real Indian junk.

Isn't it just a
little big for you?

It was the closest to his size.

Well, if the sleeves get
messy, I can just roll the dirt up.

Yes. Well, here. Now,
you two run along to school.

Sure, Mom. Okay, Mom.

Hey, Wally. You ought
to get one of your own.

You could start an
Eskimo club at your school.

Come on, Wally! I'll race ya!

June, how could you? Dear, I tried
to interest him in something else.

I showed him leather jackets, car
coats, something called a duffle coat,

but he wanted that
Eskimo sweater...

just as much as I
wanted the opal ring.

I suppose so. But it's the first sweater
I ever saw you could part in the middle.

Boy, Beaver. Boy!
That's really neat.

You almost look like
a real Eskimo even.

Yeah. My mom took me down to
the store and got it with me last night.

She let me use a hunk
of my college money.

Boy, Beaver. You look
like almost a movie star.

Yeah?

Hey, Larry. How come you
didn't get your Eskimo sweater?

Well, my pop was gonna
take me to the store last night,

but my brother came over with
his wife and my new baby nephew.

Yeah? Well, what
does he look like?

My father says he looks tired.

How could the baby look
tired? He's brand-new.

No. He said my
brother looks tired.

Every night he's up
with the baby. What for?

On account of he hollers.

Well, why does he holler?

To get my brother
up, I guess. Oh.

Hey, Larry, when are you
getting your Eskimo sweater?

Tonight maybe.

Unless somebody comes over.

Hey, Beaver. Aren’t you gonna
wear your sweater in to class?

Uh-uh. I don't want
to get it dirty studyin'.

Hey, Beaver. Look!

It’s Judy!

What are you starin' at?

Nothin', Judy.

Well, you better not stare at
me, or I'll tell Miss Landers.

Tell her what, Judy? I'll just tell her
that you were staring at me. That's what.

Gee, Beaver. Judy’s got
the same sweater as you.

Yeah.

You know somethin',
Beaver? What?

You went and
bought a girl's sweater.

Yeah. And with my own money too.

Hey, Beaver. Where are my
books? On the desk, Wally.

What's the matter with you?

You look like
you're all "swole" up.

Who? Me, Wally?

Hey. How come you
got two sweaters on?

On account of at recess you can't
play games unless you got a sweater on.

Yeah. But you got your new sweater
on. Why do you need another one?

If I tell ya, you promise
you won't tell anybody?

Yeah, but it sure must be
somethin' awful if I can't tell anybody.

It sure is.

It's a girl's sweater.

Boy! That's really awful.

You sure? Sure I'm sure.

Judy Hensler's got one
just like it. And she's a girl.

Wow. Well, why are
you wearing it at all?

'Cause Mom and Dad would be
mad at me for spending all that money.

Boy, Beaver.

I hide it in the park
on the way to school,

and then I go to school,
and then I wear it home.

Who knows besides you
that it's a girl's sweater?

Just you and Larry Mondello.

You think he's gonna tell?

Well, he took a
Scout's honor on it.

Yeah, but he's not a Scout.

I know. That's
what's bothering me.

Yeah. Well, tomorrow's
Saturday. Maybe something'll

happen to the sweater
over the weekend.

Yeah.

You know, Wally,

if I lived in South America, maybe
I'd be walking through this jungle...

and this great big
panther would jump out...

and claw the
sweater all to pieces.

Well, sure. But he'd
claw you all to pieces too.

Yeah.

There's always
somethin', isn't there?

Dear, Wally wants to know if
you'll have this restrung for him.

Well, how in the world did that
happen? He hit a baseball with it.

Now, why would a boy
Wally's age do a thing like that?

Well, he said Tooey tossed him a
baseball, and he said it was a tennis ball.

Oh. Well, I'll see.
What are they doing?

They're going to the movies. Wally's
meeting Tooey, and Beaver's meeting Larry.

Now, fellas, don't sit
through everything twice.

Okay, Dad. Hey,
Beaver. Wait a minute.

You going out in just
a shirt? Isn't it a little

chilly for that? Not for
kids, it's not. Is it, Wally?

Uh, no. Uh, it says
in biology that young

people don't feel the
cold like old people do.

Oh, thank you very much.

Beaver, it'll be quite cold coming home.
You go up and get your new sweater.

But, Mom. Go on. Do
what your mother says.

Yes, sir.

Hey, Dad. Do you think
you can get that fixed?

Well, I will this time. But I should
take it out of your allowance.

Well, gee, if you took
everything out of my

allowance that you should
take out of my allowance,

well, I wouldn't have
any allowance at all.

How true.

Aren’t you boys going
to the movies a little

early? They don't start
for at least an hour.

Well, yeah, but there's
a rumor goin' around

that every 10th guy
in line gets in free.

We're gonna space ourselves
out and see if one of us hits it.

Okay, Wally. I'm all set. Wait
a minute, Beaver. Come here.

I'll put that on for you.
Thanks a lot, Mom.

Sure. Over your head.

Get your arms through it.

There.

Doesn't he look nice, Ward?

Oh, uh, yes. Beaver, uh, you look
like you just stepped out of an igloo.

- Thanks a lot, Dad.
- Come on, Beave.

Boy, that sweater.
Oh, now, Ward.

All right. But how could a kid prefer
something like that to a college education?

Hey, Wally. Well,
what am I gonna do?

All the guys at the movies
will see me in a girl's sweater.

Well, I could loan
you my jacket.

Gee, thanks, Wally.
At least I can wear it...

until I get in where it's dark.

June.

Hey. I had a great game.
You should have seen...

Oh, am I glad you're
home. What's the matter?

I want you to go up
and speak to those boys.

Well, what did they do to
spoil my game? Beaver came

home from the movies
without his new $13 sweater.

Well, he had it on when
he left. What happened to it?

I can't get anything out of him.

Well, did you ask Wally? Can't
get anything out of him either.

Boys, would you come down here?

I can understand him
losing his cap, but how

could a boy lose a
sweater right off his back?

I don't know, but I'm
getting pretty tired of their

being careless
with their things.

Uh, hi, Dad. Uh,
you want to see us?

- Yes.
- Hi, Dad. Did you have
a nice game of golf?

Yes. Thank you. Uh, sit down.

Now then. Beaver, I want to
find out exactly what happened.

Now, uh, first you came
down without your sweater.

Then we sent you upstairs
to put your sweater on.

You put your sweater on,
and you went to the movies.

Then you came back from the
movies without your sweater.

Gee, Dad, you already
know what happened.

We want to know how it happened.

Well, uh, first me and
Wally went to the movies,

and the lady made
me pay 30 cents,

but she made Wally pay 60 cents,

on account of he's a junior.

Didn't she, Wally? Yeah, Dad. Yeah,
he's right. That's just what happened.

Fine. Now go ahead, Beaver.

Well, uh, then I
bought some popcorn,

and I said hello to a couple of guys,
and then I went in to see the movie.

Uh, Beaver,

did you have your sweater
on when you sat down?

Uh, yes, sir.

And did you have your
sweater on when you got up?

Uh, no, sir.

What happened between the time
you sat down and the time you got up?

There were two whole features.

Uh, all right, Wally.

You were there. Can you
tell me what happened?

Well, gee, Dad. I
wasn't sittin' with him.

You weren't sitting with him?

Well, no. I never
sit with him. What if

somebody saw me
sitting with my kid brother?

All right. I've had enough of this.
Now, what happened to that sweater?

Well, I think
somebody took it off me.

- Who somebody?
- Well, uh, some boys.

Some boys sat down and just took
the sweater right off your back, huh?

Uh, is that what
happened, Wally?

Well, gee, I don't know.
I was sittin' in back.

Well, you see, Dad, there were
these two big guys, and they sat down...

and they started tuggin' on the

sweater, and the
sweater started comin' off.

And one of 'em wanted it. Hello?

Yes. This is Mrs.
Cleaver speaking.

I see.

Oh, you did? Where was it?

Well, for goodness sakes.

We'll come down and get
it later. Thank you so much.

Good-bye.

Was that about my sweater, Mom?

Yes, it was. The theater manager
found it with your name tape in it.

He did?

It was stuffed down
behind the candy machine.

All right, Theodore. You
better go on up to your

room while your mother
and I talk this over.

Yes, sir.

I just don't understand it. He was
crazy about that sweater. And...

Do you want something,
Wally? Uh, yeah, Dad. Uh...

I think I know why Beaver
ditched the sweater.

Well, why didn't
you tell us before?

Well, on account of I
promised Beaver I wouldn't.

And I didn't think I would.
But now I guess I should.

Wally, what possible
reason could a boy have...

for deliberately losing a $13 sweater
that he bought with his own money?

Well, uh, he bought
a girl's sweater, Dad.

A girl's sweater?

Yeah, Mom. Well, anyway, Judy Hensler
came to school wearing one just like it.

All right, Wally. Thanks.

Okay, Dad.

Well, how do you like that? He
finds out he bought a girl's sweater,

and he calmly goes out
and throws $13 away.

Well, I suppose he
felt he couldn't wear it.

He was so desperate. Guess it
was the only thing he could think of.

Well, he could have come to us and
told us he'd bought a girl's sweater.

Dear, when a child his
age takes a stand with

his parents and then
finds out he's wrong,

it takes more maturity than he
has to come to them and admit it.

Yeah, I guess you're right.

Yeah. I—I guess
everyone's entitled...

to at least one opal ring
sometime in his life, huh?

Come on. Let's go
up and talk to him.

Yeah.

But, gee, Wally. Why'd you
have to go and squeal on me?

Well, it was for your
own good, Beaver.

You weren't gettin' anywhere with
that bologna about those two big guys.

Yeah.

Well, Beave, you've had a
pretty tough time, haven't you?

You mean about the
sweater? Huh, Dad?

Yeah. Wally told us.

Anyway, it's all over
now, and after supper

we'll drive down to the
theater and pick it up.

Gee, Dad. Are you
gonna make me wear it?

Of course we're not.
We'll find someone we

can give it to who can
get some use out of it.

Yeah. Maybe we could give
it to some little girl Eskimo.

Maybe we can, Beaver.

You know, Dad, I wished
I'd have listened to ya.

Then I wouldn't have
spent 13 whole dollars.

Well, Beaver, both your father and I knew
that it wasn't the right kind of sweater.

We tried to discourage you.

But, gee, Mom. If
you knew it was wrong,

why'd you go ahead and
let me buy the sweater?

Well, uh...

Well, Beaver, I'm afraid it
was just one of those things.

You see, uh, sometimes parents
love their children so much that,

well, in order to make 'em happy
they let them do the wrong thing.

Well, come on, fellas. You
get washed up for supper.

It's gonna be in about
15 minutes. Okay, Mom.

Hey, Wally, that's pretty good.

Somebody lovin' somebody so
much they let you mess yourself up.

Yeah. But if I were you,
I wouldn't try it too often.

That's pretty neat, Beave,
your father gonna give

that girl's sweater away.
Yeah, it sure is, Larry.

Boy. Once when it was rainin',

my pop made me wear
my sister's galoshes,

the ones with the
white fur around the top.

Gee, Larry. Did he really
make you wear 'em?

Yeah.

You know, sometimes I don't
ever think my pop was ever a kid.

Gee. He must have been a kid.

It's the only way you
can get to be a grown-up.

Hey, Beaver. Here
comes Judy with that

creepy sweater. Let's
give her the business.

Uh-uh. Let's not.

She's the meanest girl in
the whole school. Why not?

I don't know. I just kind of
sort of remember the way I felt.

Yeah.

What's the matter? Jealous?