Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Powerful

Great Film overall

Excellent but underrated film

Some people criticize shows from the '50s for being too clean cut and unrealistic, they think they don't really represent what life was like back then, and often dwell on misogynist themes - and while I don't disagree that there could be tones of that present in shows from that era, I don't think it's fair to dump a show like Father Knows Best into that category. On the surface it looks like any other show from that time, but when you actually dive in and invest some thought into the series, you realize that the stories are rich with morals - morals that still apply to us just as much now as they did then, and characters that are far more one dimensional than they may seem at first. You find a father who truly loves his family, and does everything he can to make sure they have a good life. He may quite often save the day with his wisdom, but his wife is just as smart, and has just as much power when it comes to running the household as he does. They seem like equals, and quite often it's pointed out that her job is far more rough than his. Robert Young and Jane Wyatt played their roles beautifully, and deserve a lot of praise. The young actors who played the children deserve a lot of credit as well, because they really seem genuine and believable. Instead of looking like they're struggling to deliver scripted lines, they have emotion and an honesty to them that make you feel like this is a real family you're watching. There are a few episodes where they may have gotten a touch stereotypical with their characters, but it was often rounded out by showing that they possess all the good qualities of their parents, and are well on their way to becoming well rounded adults. Is this show perfect? No. Again, there are a few episodes where it's a little frustrating just how stuck in the '50s some of their thinking really was, but I feel like even those episodes can be forgiven when you realize how honest the writing was. Overall it's a wonderful show with great writing and great actors, that manages to teach you something special in every single episode.

This show was easily the most cloying and nauseating of the classic 50s sitcoms. The story lines tended toward the obvious and sentimental and created a sitcom world even more difficult to live up to than most of its contemporaries. Other than Jane Wyatt, the cast's personal lives were anything like what was portrayed on screen, which probably should be an endorsement of their acting talent---Robert Young was a heavy alcoholic. Elinor Donahue was in an unhappy teen marriage, Lauren Chapin had an abusive, troubled childhood that went ignored by cast and crew (she later went on to prostitution, drug addiction and irritating religious evangelism--at least she's alive), and Billy Gray was developing a substance abuse problem. What's sadder is that people viewed the cast as role models (and apparently still do). Ozzie & Harriet holds up better (esp. the shows from the 50s) because it was based on real life and despite Ozzie's talky authoritarianism in real life, there was real warmth. Donna Reed occasionally tried to transcend the sappy conventions of the genre, didn't portray her TV hsband as an idiot and was more or less the same person whe appeared to be on screen.In its early years, "Leave it to Beaver" actually tried to capture a child's frame of reference of family life in a away that no show achieved until "The Wonder Years", although later years were filled with tired scripts. The people who idealize this show are obviously in a dream world. Average families were nothing like this in the '50s--people who had their eyes open in this era saw abuse, infidelity, teen pregnancy, alcohol if not drugs, etc. And like most shows, father only appeared to know best and it's unclear what was worse--the passive-aggressive role consigned to women or the nitwit role (softened a bit here incomparison with, e.g.,, "Make Room for Daddy") for the father.

The town was Springfield but we were never told the state. I always pictured the setting to be a very long way from either coast. Maybe Ohio, Indiana or Iowa. Wherever it was, it was far away from any of the country's real problems of the time.There were no civil rights issues, no murders and no rapes in Springfield. Everyone was white, which was the norm for television of this era. Springfield was a make-believe fantasy by today's standards, but back then, it was the majority of real America.With that said, I watched the show every week and wished I was a member of the Anderson family. Having belonged to a somewhat volatile family, I had the 30-minute escape every week to be a part of a caring, loving clan.The kids had the normal 1950s problems of a white, middle-class family. Robert Young as the patriarch, Jim Anderson, showed an understanding that was not only appreciated by the rest of the family, but by the viewers, too. He was right up there with Andy Taylor and Ward Cleaver as the fathers America loved at the time.Corny? To some it might be, but to many others, including myself, it was the family we wanted but never had.

It's ironic that culture commentators today, including many teachers, who seem never to have seen a single episode of this series, will refer to it as a frightening illustration of fifties complacency, patriarchal dominance, and even racism. In fact many of the episodes explore issues of male egotism, parental arrogance, and conformist nastiness in an effective way. Of course, it all ends well because it is a comic drama about a tolerant and loving family with solid values (and Father was often the one who had to be reminded of this). Robert Young in frustration complained that it was never meant to be a sermon or sociology lesson -- but this carefully written and popular series was bound to tell us something about our values, and despite current malcontents, the values illustrated by Father Knows Best were generally very good.