One of my all time favorites.

Just what I expected

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are several reasons this series worked well, even though it is evident in a lot of episodes that ABC did not invest much money in the production. The First reason is the now late Patty Duke. In this show she gets to play both sides of being a teenager, wild and crazy, and prim and proper. As in real life Duke had a split personality disorder of sorts, she makes this work to her advantage here.The supporting cast is another strength here. William Schallert and others really helped bring this over. The show has a feel much like the original Disney Film - The Parent Trap- because it has a strong mother and father and 2 teenage girls who are really related, though not twins like the Disney movies, and they get into all kinds of trouble.The teaming of Sidney Sheldon and William Asher (Bewitched meets I Dream of Jeannie) is a part of the success here too. While the writing is sometimes lacking, the direction and production are as good as any 1960's sitcom. It really did not hurt that Duke had won an Oscar before this got going as well. The late William Schallert's Martin Lane character never hurt this show either. Somehow, if Patty and Cathy got into something too deep he would come along and fix things.

WE ARE ALL familiar with that oft used standard plot which has been labeled "the Evil Twin" threat. In it, a double for some character suddenly appears and does awful and ungodly acts; which are in turn blamed on the innocent hero/heroine.AND IT DOESN'T matter that the "twin" is not a true twin or even any Blood Relative at all. There are only two qualifications necessary:1) That the perpetrator of bad deeds looks like the protagonist.2) That the double be evil.IN THE CASE of this series, THE PATTY DUKE SHOW, the "Evil TWIN" idea is turned on its ear.* Instead of being anti-social and harmful, the double is benevolent and helpful. In taking the whole premise to an even higher level, the "Double", Brit, Cathy Lane, is a refined and highly sophisticated lady. "Cousin", Patty Lane is a quintessential example of what the World views as a typical American airhead. AS WELL WE all know, both characters are portrayed by the very talented Miss Patty Duke; with a little help from split screen photographic special effects and a stand in for rear view photography. But, photographic tricks not withstanding, it is Miss Duke's ability to become another on screen person that makes the whole thing work.JOINING IN AND offering the best of support are the other principal players: the solid, dependable William Shallert (Martin Lane-Father), lovely & statuesque, Jean Byron (Natalie Lane-Mother)and Paul O'Keefe (little brother, Ross).ALTHOUGH THIS PARTICULAR series was not one of our favourites, it was watched regularly and we did find it to be more than just a trifle amusing. Some of the episodes even approached that favored comedy genre of the 1930s,known as "Screwball." NOTE: This same format was reworked into the two future series: DOUBLE TROUBLE and SISTER, SISTER; but in both cases, real life identical twins were featured.

The Patty Duke Show stands as a testament to the acting ability of Patty Duke, who truly created two completely different characters as Patty and Cathy Lane. The stories, written in the main by Sidney Sheldon are heartwarming and typical of early 1960s sitcom scripts. William Schallert and Jean Byron were wonderful as Martin and Natalie, and wasn't Jean Byron one of the most gorgeous of all sitcom moms? Paul O'Keefe was suitably mischievous as little brother Ross, and Eddie Applegate was fine as the slightly oafish Richard Harrison, Patty's boyfriend (most of the time). Patty Duke herself was going through some really rough times during the filming of this show, and only in recent years has she been able to embrace what a good show it was and how truly good her performances were in it. How she escaped winning a best-actress Emmy for this show is beyond me. To this day there are those who still think that two actresses played these roles. Other actresses tried to emulate playing dual roles on their series, but Patty was absolutely the best at it. It must have been grueling work to essay two parts on a week-to-week basis. The series was filmed in New York for it's first two seasons because of the more relaxed child labor laws which allowed the producers to work Ms. Duke more hours than would have been possible if the show were filmed in California. The Patty Duke Show is fondly remembered by those who grew up watching it. It certainly holds up better than the current crop of sitcoms will in the future. And the theme song is maybe one of the all-time best.

I grew up on this really cute series as a teenager myself, and only wish today's adolescents had more programs of its quality and sense of genuine fun. The Patty Duke Show is shades of Hayley Mills's Parent Trap. In fact, every young girl's heroines back then were Patty Duke, Hayley Mills, and Sally Field (star of Gidget & The Flying Nun). The teen magazines were full of this trio of stars.The series portrays the story of two identical cousins, Patty and Cathy Lane. Cathy, the daughter of a globe trotting journalist, comes to live with her aunt & uncle, Martin & Natalie Lane. They have a daughter, Patty, who's the same age as Cathy and the absolute spitting image. However, aside from looks, these two teenage girls are completely opposite in personality, taste, and life experiences.Patty Duke charmingly captures the dual roles of the cousins and manages to make the viewer think that there are actually two different teenagers here. There are some great special effects for that era when the 'two of a kind' cousins appear together on screen. Whether realistic or not, the show had a great story idea with a variation on the identical twins with contrasting personalities theme. Making them cousins with totally different childhood experiences, the screenwriters could make this pair of lookalikes seem really diverse.In fact, their personality and culture clash forms the basis of the series. Since Patty and Cathy are such polar opposites, they have trouble understanding each other. The urbane, sophisticated Cathy is a quiet and serious young lady, who has been living in Scotland with her father and has traveled abroad in Europe. Patty is a typical peppy, outgoing, and very social American teenager living in Brooklyn Heights. Cathy is studious and scholastically excellent, while Patty receives average grades and is more concerned with fashions, fads, friends, fun, and sleepovers than with schoolwork. Cathy's taste in music runs to classical ('the minuet and ballet Russe') while Patty likes to bop around to the rock & roll music of that era. Even their taste in food...well, Cathy prefers gourmet cuisine such as the elegant Crepes Suzette, while Patty chooses hot dogs, ice cream, and junk food. However, although jealousy and conflict arise (always humorously conveyed of course), it's much like a sibling relationship. Underneath it all, the cousins really do care about one other and sometimes even conspire together to pull off pranks or get themselves out of scrapes. (Typically Patty gets into the scrape and Cathy must help her out of it!) Also, the cousins are not actually that different in some important ways. Patty desires popularity and Cathy at least some sense of acceptance. And of course both young ladies are interested in BOYS. Patty would accurately be described as boy crazy, while Cathy conveys her interest a bit more subtly. The girls don't always go for the same type, but in one episode, the pair are actually rivals for the attentions of the new boy next door. I note among the episode list that once there's even a double date, have forgotten the details, but would predict some sort of switcheroo or mix up. Patty's father, Martin Lane, is managing editor of a fictitious New York newspaper, the New York Chronicle, for which Cathy's father (Martin's brother) works as a foreign correspondent. The two brothers are identical twins, presumably explaining their daughters' close physical resemblance. Cathy's father wants her to complete high school in the States before returning to Scotland.The father in this series really stands out in my mind these many years later. William Shallert is absolutely wonderful in the role of Patty's father, Martin Lane, the classic kind & caring American dad who's often at his wit's end over his teenage daughter's antics. This actor also plays Cathy's father in a few of the episodes. I don't remember the mother, Natalie Lane, but that isn't to say the actress wasn't competent. It's been quite a few decades!Overall, it was wonderful programming that the teenagers of that era could relate to. No sex and drugs on screen back in the Good Old Days. However, many of the classic teen story lines are featured, including parties, dating, school football stars, teachers, baby sitting, kid brothers, and peer rivalry. Patty spars with her own younger brother, Ross, and must also cope with an annoying school rival, Sue Ellen. Probably most young viewers preferred the extroverted chatterbox, Patty, but personally, being shy and bookish myself in those days, I identified more with the introverted, academic Cathy. The Patty Duke Show was very popular among all my own school friends and quite deservedly so. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find it in re runs, but suspect that even some of today's teens might still get a kick out of it.