Father Knows Best

Father Knows Best, which began life as a radio series in 1949, evolved into a CBS television sitcom in 1954. An archetypal representation of 1950s ideals of family life, it came to be regarded as an important influence on American family values. Actor Robert Young (the only member of the original radio cast who continued his role on television) starred as Jim Anderson, an agent for the General Insurance Company, who lived with his wife, Margaret, and their three children at 607 South Maple Lane in Springfield, a wholesome Midwestern suburban community. Jane Wyatt co-starred as Margaret Anderson, and their offspring—17-year-old Betty (called "Princess" by her father), 14-year-old Jim Jr. (or Bud), and Kathy, the baby of the family at age nine and fondly known as "Kitten" to her dad, were played by Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin respectively. The stories revolved around the various exploits of the Anderson family, whose problems were neatly solved in each 30-minute episode by listening to Father (and, by extension, Mother) and doing the right thing.

Although critically acclaimed, the show's initial season on television in the Sunday 10:00 p.m. slot was considered a ratings failure, and CBS canceled it in the spring of 1955. Despite the ratings, the cancellation brought protests from viewers, who demanded not only the return of the show but an earlier time slot to allow the youngsters to watch it. This audience reaction brought a response from NBC, who picked up the show, aired it earlier, and were rewarded with a hit. Robert Young decided to leave in 1960, but such was the show's popularity that CBS, in a highly unusual move for network television, aired re-runs in prime time for two more years.

The most remarkable episode of Father Knows Best, however, was never seen on television. In a move that pointed toward the national importance it had assumed in its healthy depiction of family life, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned a special episode in 1959 to be distributed to schools and civic organizations throughout the country. Titled "24 Hours in Tyrantland," the story disseminated a masterful piece of Cold War propaganda through the plot device of Jim Anderson being asked to head Springfield's U.S. Savings Bond drive. Delighted at being charged with this worthwhile task, Jim decides to enlist the help of his family in the campaign. Predictably, Margaret is entirely supportive, but the kids, caught up in other concerns, are less than enthusiastic. Upset by their unwillingness to help, Jim strikes a bargain: he gives them each the cost of a U.S. Savings Bond, but decrees their home a Communist state for 24 hours. If, he tells them, they can stand to live in "Tyrantland" for 24 hours, they can keep the money to use however they choose. If they don't make it, they have to use the money to buy a bond and help him in the drive. Throughout the day, "tyrant" Jim works them to the bone and taxes them into poverty, while they repeatedly assert the unfairness of the situation. Jim reacts to their complaints as would a man who has no concept of fairness. The children make it through the 24 hours, but, just when time is up and Betty is about to go out on her Saturday evening date, Jim turns back the clock an hour. The tyrant is all-powerful; he can even reverse time. This is too much for Betty, who breaks down and sees the error of her ways. She is now proud to help sell bonds, and her siblings follow suit.

Over a 20-year period from the 1970s, reruns of Father Knows Best have frequently been seen on television, offering a nostalgic reminder to the baby boomers who came of age watching this almost perfect suburban family. Like many a sitcom of its period, it came to acquire the camp appeal of the quaintly outmoded, particularly in its treatment of gender issues. Women knew their place in the Anderson family (and in 1950s America), and in the rare instances when they momentarily lose sight of that place, some revelatory incident gently nudges them into submission, because "Father knows best."

—Joyce Linehan