Mother, is Maxwell House coffee really good for the last drop?
Well, your father says so, and father knows best.
Yes, it's Father Knows Best transcribed in Hollywood starring Robert Young as father.
A half hour visit with your new neighbors, the Anderson family.
Brought to you by Maxwell House, the coffee that's always good to the last drop.
In an average town, Springfield, on an average street, Maple, lives an average American family,
the Andersons.
The husband, Jim, is very much in love with his wife, Margaret, and they're both quite
fond of their three children, Betty, Bud, and Kathleen, which I should say is an average
way for parents to feel.
On this particular morning, which is an average sort of day, the Andersons are ready for an
average sort of meal, breakfast.
Well, they're supposed to be ready, but you know how it is.
The average mother calls...
Jim, your breakfast is on the table.
And the average answer is...
Mother, I can't find my scale.
Kathleen, come in and start your breakfast.
Oh, breakfast.
Don't you understand, Mother?
This is a crisis.
How can I go to school without my scale?
Eat your breakfast, dear, and we'll look for the scales later.
Oh, but I have looked for them.
I've looked just everywhere.
They've simply varnished.
Vanished, Kathy.
Oh, what am I going to do?
You're going to eat your breakfast.
I'll run out to the garage and see if you left them there.
Don't use too much sugar on your cereal.
Look way in the back, Mother, near the magazines.
Oh, no.
That's all you ever get around here is oatmeal.
Never mind, Mother.
Daddy found them.
Who left them?
Oh, no.
Never mind, Mother.
Daddy found them.
Who left those skates on the stairs?
Good morning, Daddy, dear.
Oh, I want to speak to you, young lady.
What about Daddy?
Skates.
How many times have I asked you not to leave your skates on the stairs?
Oh, is that where they were?
Golly, I looked simply everywhere and I couldn't find them.
Good morning, dear.
Did you have...
Jim, what did you do to your skates?
I came down the stairs on them.
Doesn't that look bad?
Let me see.
Oh, Jim, you poor chimp.
Isn't it wonderful, Mother?
Daddy fell down the stairs and found my skates.
I did not fall down the stairs.
Please, Jim, hold still.
How can I fix your skates?
I want to have that child telling people I fell down the stairs.
I tripped over a compound of skates.
Is that the only place you can find to leave them?
Well, she's very sorry, dear.
Aren't you, Kathy?
Hmm?
Oh, oh, sure.
Um, Daddy, I...
Uh, not now, Kathy.
Have some coffee, Jim.
It'll make you feel better.
Oh, but it's important, Mother.
It's the most important thing in my life.
What is?
It's really nothing, dear.
It's just...
All right, Kathy, stop looking like Ingrid Bergman and tell me what it is.
I need two dollars, Daddy.
I'm desperate.
Two dollars?
What for?
Wings.
What did she say, Margaret?
She said wings.
That's what I thought.
Why does she need wings?
Well, I have to be an angel.
I told them I would.
I just have to be.
And they cost two dollars.
It's the school play, dear.
Kathleen said she'd be an angel.
Well, I can see they're certainly not casting to type.
Uh, Kathy, you get an allowance, don't you?
If you can call it that, a quarter.
When I was nine years old, I had to work for every penny I got.
I couldn't walk up to my father and say,
I want two dollars for wings.
Were you an angel?
I most certainly was not.
Well, then you didn't need wings.
But I promised I'd be an angel.
All right, then find a way to sprout wings without my two dollars.
Oh, but, Daddy, I'll be just ruined.
Oh, Mother, can't you?
We won't discuss it any further, Kathy.
Your father knows best.
Oh, I faced them without wings.
They were counting on me.
Morning, everybody.
How's... what's happened to the squirt?
Oh, just a minor tragedy.
Drink your orange juice, Bud.
Hey, Dad, I was just...
Bud, not now.
Let your father read the paper.
But I was just going to tell him...
What now, dear? Please.
But I have to.
Gosh, just about how much time have I got left?
You don't mind if I get in on this, do you?
How much time for what?
Well, Dad, we're going on a picnic tomorrow.
A whole bunch of it.
Fine, have a good time.
He can go on picnics and I can't even have wings.
You treat me like an orphan around here.
Nobody even loves me.
Oh, Kathy, stop being dramatic.
Everyone loves you.
Sure, but not $2 worth.
Kathleen, your brother's not asking for $2.
Your brother's not asking for anything.
Except permission to use the car.
Except permission to use the...
Except what?
Well, that's what I was asking you.
You see, we're all going out into the country,
and I told everybody...
You are not going to use the car.
Oh, but Dad, if I don't, how am I going to go?
You have a bicycle, haven't you?
When I was 15, I was traveling all over the state on my bicycle.
With a girl?
I'll be an outcast, that's what I'll be.
I'll be poisoned with every hunk of date bait in the school.
Me and a bicycle.
Well, you'd better eat your eggs before they get ice cold.
What a time to think about eggs.
Dad, how would it be if I...
No.
What, is this going to...
No.
But you don't even know...
No, whatever it is, no.
Fine, the way I'm treated around here, you'd think I was an orphan.
Copycat, I said it first.
Quiet, Furt, you did not.
I did so.
You did not.
I did so.
Both of you, be quiet.
Margaret, why can't we ever have a peaceful breakfast in this house?
I'm sorry, dear.
I don't think it's asking an awful lot.
When I was a boy, we had wonderful breakfasts, quiet breakfasts, peaceful breakfasts.
We had respect for our elders.
Sure, but you didn't have a kid sister like the Bratz.
I'm not a Bratz.
You're a Bratz if I ever saw one.
I am not.
You are so.
I am not.
You are so.
Quiet!
Good morning, Mother.
Good morning, Father.
What's the matter with her?
You're late, Betty.
I know.
I was looking out the window at a bird.
It was sitting on an egg.
Gosh, how'd you ever tear yourself away?
Dear Bud, such a lovable little moron.
Betty, dear, you sound so strange this morning.
Is anything wrong?
Wrong?
Oh, Mother, how can you even say that?
In this lovely, wonderful world, how could anything be wrong?
Hey, Pop, you better hide your wallet.
This one's gonna be a pimp.
Father, if you don't do something about that child.
Betty, if you don't mind, I believe I can manage my family without your assistance.
Kathy?
Yes, Daddy?
I believe I am as well qualified as you to recognize the devious roots employed by your sister
in leading up to the announcement that she needs a new dress.
You're all very amusing, but I don't need a new dress.
Dear, are you sure you feel all right?
I feel fine.
Betty, you don't want any money?
No, Father, why?
You don't want to borrow the car?
Of course not.
Well, at least there's one sensible child in this family.
Betty, I'm proud of you.
Thank you, Father.
Yes, sir.
What this country needs is more children who leave their fathers alone at the breakfast table.
I think I'll have another cup of coffee, Margaret.
All right, dear.
There you are.
Thank you.
Well, Betty, what's the good word in your little world?
Oh, just the most wonderful thing has happened, Father.
I'm going to be married.
Oh, dear!
I think.
You're gonna be fine, Dad.
Just fine.
Well, stop beating me on the back or I'll never be all right.
Oh.
Uh, Bud, you're going to be late for school.
Oh, I get it.
Come on, Cathy.
Come on, where?
You're going to school.
Well, I don't have to leave for ten minutes.
Oh, that's what you think.
See you later, everybody.
Stop fooling me, you brute!
I have to get my escape.
Mother!
All right, Betty.
All right, Betty. Now what was that newsy little item you dropped into the middle of my coffee?
Oh, you mean about getting married. Isn't it wonderful?
Betty, you wouldn't mind giving us a little more information, would you?
You know, just in case we want to get in touch with you later.
I don't know what you mean, Father.
Well, just for a start, who is it?
Who's who?
The boy, my prospective son-in-law. What's his name?
Billy. He's wonderful.
Betty, not Billy Smith.
Just wonderful.
Which one is he?
You know, Jim, he's the one who hates football players. The one Betty thinks is aesthetic.
Aesthetic? It's the one I think it is. That's a new way of spelling anemic.
Father, Billy's delicate. You have to be delicate if you have a beautiful soul.
That's exactly what this family needs, somebody with a beautiful soul.
Margaret, I have to get down to the office.
Explain to Betty that she'll be happier if she waits. Make certain. You know, the usual woman and woman talk.
All right, dear. Oh, you don't have to worry about us, Father.
Billy and I talked it all over last night, and we both decided against the hasty marriage.
We intend to wait. That's fine. I'll be home at the usual time, dear.
All right, Jim. We're not going to be married till Saturday.
And if you need it...
Saturday? Saturday night.
We were going to make it in the afternoon, but we decided to go to the baseball game first.
Jim, this is an emergency. Put your hat down.
I'll put more than my hat down.
Betty, this is the most ridiculous piece of conversation I've ever heard.
Father, you mean you don't approve?
Now, there's the first intelligent remark you've made since you got up.
I most decidedly don't approve.
I don't understand. You've always liked Billy's father.
You mean Hector Smith? Of course I like Hector Smith. He's one of my best clients.
Why don't you marry him?
But he is married.
Betty, your father and I have always thought...
Just a moment, Margaret. I'll handle this.
Betty, you're 17 years of age. You're in your first year at the university.
You will not marry Billy Smith or anyone else until after your graduation. That's fine.
Graduation? But that's four years. I'll be over 21.
The best years of my life will be gone.
Well, darling, we can always have Bud push you up to the altar in a wheelchair.
You're laughing at me and I think you're horrid.
You've forgotten what it is to be young and in love.
You don't seem to understand that things are different now.
Oh, Betty, nothing is any different. Things like that don't change.
They do, too. Things change all the time. People change, customs change.
Everything changes, only you won't admit it.
Darling, why don't you listen to your father?
Things are no different now than they were when we were your age.
Even then, boys and girls didn't rush headlong into marriage. Not until they were ready for it.
You bet they didn't. They listened to their fathers.
Why, when I was courting your mother, I remember...
Mother, how old were you when you married father?
Well, mother, I was 17.
But that was different.
Why?
Because things were different in those days. The people were different. The times were different.
You said they weren't.
Well, they were. Some of them were. Some of them weren't and some of them were.
Only the ones that weren't were more than the...uh...Margaret.
Um, Billy, don't you think it would be a nice idea if Billy and his family were to have dinner with us tonight?
Oh, mother, would you? Really?
Margaret, I don't want the Smiths for dinner tonight or any other night.
I think the idea of a dinner for the Smiths is not only ridiculous but unnecessary.
I forbid the marriage and that's that.
Oh, Jim, you know you like having people in for dinner.
I'll call the Smiths and see if they can make it at 7.30.
Margaret, I tell you, there's not going to be any...7.30.
Well, that's the fashionable hour, dear.
We'll eat at 6.30 or there'll be no dinner.
Well, just as you say, dear, I suppose father knows best.
Sure, we'll go along with that. Father knows best about lots of things.
But when it comes to coffee, really good coffee, mother doesn't take a back seat for anybody.
Mother knows what a wonderful difference a really good cup of coffee like Maxwell House can make.
Now, maybe you've wondered why there's such a difference in coffees and why it is that only one coffee,
Maxwell House coffee, gives you that heartwarming good to the last drop flavor.
Well, I'll tell you, anybody who's ever been in the kitchen knows what a recipe is.
And that's just what we've got, the one and only recipe for good to the last drop flavor.
It's mighty closely guarded, this recipe, and we've perfected it through more than half a century's experience in blending fine coffee.
Of course, there's an act to it, too.
And along with the recipe, our Maxwell House people have the know-how
to blend the particular coffees it calls for just so and roast them to the peak of flavor and goodness.
Yes, sir, our Maxwell House coffee is unmatched for flavor the world over.
And that's the reason more people buy and enjoy Maxwell House than any other brand of coffee at any price.
So naturally tomorrow, I hope you'll be enjoying all that wonderful fragrance and flavor of Maxwell House,
the coffee that's always good to the last drop.
It's been a long day for the Anderton.
The specter of a fair young child married and gone before her time has hung like a pall throughout the day.
It would have, that is, if the Andersons hadn't been so busy.
Jim, you see, had a hectic day at the office.
Margaret? Well, Margaret has been very busy cooking an extra special dinner for the Smiths.
And if there's one thing Margaret can do, it's cook.
Yes, sir, Margaret, if there's one thing you can do, it's cook. That's what I always say.
You see, now we can proceed. Proceed.
Well, thank you, Hector. Would you care for another piece of pie?
Oh, Margaret, please, I've already had two helpings.
You had three.
Cathy.
You know, a lot of people think that pie is fattening. I was reading an article just the other day...
Jim, it's not that we don't enjoy your informative little talk,
but I was under the impression that this dinner had, shall I say, a more or less definite purpose.
Oh, you mean... Oh, sure, yeah. You know, I had a long talk with Hector before dinner.
Jim, dear, I hate to interrupt, but don't you think it would be a good idea if Bud took Cathy to the movies?
In the middle of the week, I certainly do not. Oh, yeah, I see what you mean.
Bud, how would you like to take Cathy to the movies?
Oh, boy!
I wouldn't. I can't think of anything I'd rather do less.
Well, that's fine. Now, here's a dollar. Have a good time.
Oh, Dad, do I have to?
Yes, you have to.
That'll be enough of that, Kim.
Bud, I'm surprised. You ought to be glad to take your sister to the movies.
I'd rather go with a gorilla.
Boy, you don't know what she's like. She never even looks at the picture.
She sits around backwards and stares at the people.
Well, they're funnier. I like to look at their faces.
All right, Bud, get going and come home right after the show.
If I'm still alive. Good night, everybody. Come on, squirt.
Stop pulling me! Why do you always have to pull me?
Lovely children.
Well, they mean well. I think.
Mother?
Yes, baby?
Mother, Billy and I have been talking. Billy, you tell them.
Would it be all right if we went to the movies?
Oh, no.
I should say not. We're here for a purpose, a very definite purpose.
Frankly, I think the whole thing is perfectly idiotic.
Imagine discussing a ridiculous subject like marriage with these children.
We're not children, Mother. We're quite adult.
We have adult minds, adult bodies, adult passions.
William!
Elizabeth, as I said before, Hector and I had a long talk just a little while ago, right, Hector?
Right.
We both feel that open discussion is the only sensible procedure in a matter of this sort, right?
Right.
Hector, stop being so agreeable.
Right. Aye. I mean, yes, dear.
Margaret, Elizabeth, Hector and I have agreed on what we consider a very sound solution to the entire problem.
We have decided to permit Betty and Bill to be married immediately.
Daddy! Jim! No!
Holy cow!
Mother, isn't it wonderful?
I don't know.
Yes, sir. Nothing like marriage and responsibility to set a man straight.
Where did you kids figure on living? After you're married, I mean.
Oh, I see.
Well, we sort of figured...
Mother, couldn't Kathy move in with Bud? Then Billy and I can't...
Oh, that's ridiculous, Betty. You've got to have a home of your own, a place for your roots to take hold and grow.
Right, Hector?
Right. Well, guys, that'd be kind of expensive.
And my allowance...
Oh, don't worry about your allowance, Billy. Married men don't go around taking allowances from their fathers.
They don't.
Why, of course not. They're too proud to be supported by their fathers.
I'm not.
Why, of course you are. You work, you sweat, and slave, but you'll come home every week with a juicy pay envelope for your little wife.
Oh, isn't that sweet?
But I don't know how to do anything.
Well, that's not so. Poets make a living, and, oh, Mother, he writes the most beautiful poetry.
I'm sure he does, dear.
Billy, recite the one about my hair. It's just wonderful.
Oh, Betty.
Well, it is.
Raven tresses on a lofty brow, swept by the winds of time. Isn't that beautiful?
Well, you could get a small house, a poet-size.
Say, Jim, I saw an apartment advertised the other day. Be just right for the kids. A hundred and a quarter a month furnished.
Of course, that's without utilities. You know, gas, electricity, telephone.
And food. Don't forget food.
That's right, and laundry, and cleaning.
Oh, they won't have to worry about that, Jim.
Don't you remember when we were first married, I did all our laundry, and cleaning, and cooking.
I'm sure Betty will want to do at least that for Billy. Won't you, dear?
I guess so.
Why, of course. There won't be much money for new dresses, or having your hair done, or...
Oh, Father, you can be so juvenile at times, really.
You older people ought to get straightened out on the simple facts of life before you start fooling around with psychology.
Jim, your mouth is open.
Uh, now, see here, both of your kids...
Just a moment, Jim. Betty, exactly what do you and Billy intend to do?
Well, we'll just have to wait until we're financially self-sufficient. Right, Billy?
Right.
Well, Betty, about how long do you figure it's going to take you and Billy to become financially independent?
Oh, a few years.
That gives us a little time to look around for a wedding present, eh, Hector?
Yeah, that's right, Jim. A couple years, it's a long time. A lot of things can happen.
Oh, Hector, how about another cup of coffee?
Thank you, Margaret. I think I can use one.
You know, Margaret, I'm very relieved. I'm so afraid of hasty marriages.
Oh, don't mind us, Mother. Just go on talking as if we weren't here.
Oh, I'm sorry, dear. It's just that I was so afraid you were going to make the same mistake I did.
I wouldn't exactly say you'd made a mistake, Elizabeth. Hector's a pretty nice guy.
Oh, well, thanks, Jim.
You can send me a check in the morning.
Well, I suppose I have been fairly fortunate. But of course, people aren't always that lucky when they marry beneath them.
No, I suppose not. But when they, uh, what?
Elizabeth, we'd better go. It's getting late.
No, no, no. Wait a minute, Egg. What was that crack you made, Elizabeth?
Well, after all, my mother was a stuyvesant, and I certainly have a right to expect that...
In other words, you think Betty isn't good enough for your son.
Oh, I'm sure that isn't what Elizabeth meant, Jim.
No, but that's what she said. Well, isn't that what you said, Lizzie?
Don't you dare call me Lizzie.
Why not? If you can say my daughter isn't good enough for that puny excuse of a son.
Now, just a minute, Jim.
Writing poetry. What makes you think he's such a bargain?
My boy has a fine head on his shoulders.
What shoulders?
I've seen better heads on a small beer.
This is what comes from slumming.
Slumming? Now you listen to me, Elizabeth Smith.
Your mother may have been a stuyvesant, but my father spent half his life picking your father out of the gutter.
Oh!
Bendy, he wasn't lying down because he was tired.
I think I'm going to faint. Hex, I'm going to faint.
Go right ahead, dear. I'll catch you.
You ought to be ashamed of setting my mother with your vulgar insinuations.
Vulgar? Why, you little pipsqueak, if you were my son, I'd vulgar you so hard you wouldn't sit down for a week.
Well, fortunately, I'm not your son. Peasant.
Peasant?
Don't you dare call my father a peasant, Billy Smith. Don't you dare.
Well, that's what he is.
He is not.
He certainly is.
Well, I'd rather be a peasant than a pipsqueak.
Don't you call me a pipsqueak.
I will if I want to. Pipsqueak?
Peasant.
I never want to see you again as long as I live.
Well, you won't if I can help it.
You're just the nastiest creature I've ever met in my whole life.
I am not.
You are so.
I am not. I am nothing other than a peasant.
Hex, oh.
Just a minute, dear. Say, Jim, I'm sorry I lost my temper, Hex.
That's all right.
Say, Jim, that thing about picking Elizabeth's father out of the gutter, is that true?
Sure it's true. Why?
Ha ha ha ha ho.
Oh, wait till she pulls that stivus and stuff on me again.
Well, thanks for a lovely evening, folks.
Come on, Lizzie.
That's right.
Yes, dear.
And Billy?
Yes, Father?
Come on, pep squeak.
The Andersons will be back in just a moment.
Quite a family, the Andersons.
And like every family, there's apt to be a family crisis now and then.
But you know, it's amazing how it helps just to sit down and discuss things over a steaming good cup of Maxwell House coffee.
And when you take that first heartwarming sip of Maxwell House, I know you're going to say it's the best doggone coffee you ever tasted.
Now, maybe that's all you care about, and I wouldn't blame you much.
But if you run the family budget, here's something else you'll be glad to know.
It's the value you get in every pound of Maxwell House.
You see, cup for cup, our Maxwell House coffee costs just a fraction of a penny more than the lowest priced coffee sold.
Now, when you can get so much more flavor and goodness for so little more per cup, you just know Maxwell House is today's coffee pie.
So it makes pretty good sense to ask your grocer for the best in coffee drinking pleasure.
Ask him for Maxwell House coffee, always good to the last drop.
Well, we started with breakfast and we might as well finish the same way.
Let's drop in at the Andersons at breakfast time the very next morning.
The average children are still getting dressed.
The average mother is racing around the kitchen and the average father...
Jim, where are you going?
I gotta rush, dear. Can't stop for breakfast. Just time to catch the bus.
The bus? But I thought you said...
Never mind what I said, but just tell Bud if he gets one scratch on that car, I'll brain him.
All right, dear.
I'll be home at the usual time. Be a good girl.
I'll try, dear.
Oh, Jim, where'd you put the car keys?
The keys? Oh, they're on the dresser on top of Kathy's two bus.
Oh, Jim!
Now what's the matter?
Remind me to tell you, you're an angel.
I'm a dope.
You are not.
I've got witnesses.
Oh, well, why should I argue? After all, father knows best.