 Mother, why did daddy switch to Postum? Your father says there's no caffeine in Postum. Nothing to spoil your sleep. And your father knows best. Yes, it's Father Knows Best transcribed in Hollywood starring Robert Young as father. A half-hour visit with your neighbors, The Anderson. Brought to you by Instant Postum, the good tasting drink that's entirely caffeine-free and by Post's 40% brand flakes, America's largest selling brand flakes. Anderson, one of the most attractive things about the White Frame House on Maple Street is the fact that the current taxes are all paid on it. That is, they will be paid as soon as he mails the check for the last installment. Yes, sir, this certainly beats paying rent. I tell you, Margaret, buying this house was the best thing we ever did. I'll never understand why they sold it so cheap. They must have been out of their minds. Oh, they were probably trying to make a deal before the rainy season set in and we found out the roof leaked. Oh, well, that was just a minor thing. What's important in the house is its foundation. Have you ever taken a look at those joists? To tell the truth, no, I didn't even know we had any. And we've got copper water pipes throughout. I tell you, there's something you don't see in the houses they're building nowadays. Copper water pipes. Maybe that's all they could get then. Mother! No, sir, Margaret, you talk about a home being a man's castle. Mother, I think you'd better call a plumber for that hot water faucet. Oh, hello, Father. What's this about the hot water faucet? It seems there's a slow leak in the castle. Oh, that's nothing to call a plumber for. New wash will fix that up in just a jiffy. You mean you're going to do it yourself? Certainly. That's one of the joys of home ownership. Where are my wrenches? Do you know, Margaret? You just have one. It's in one of the pantry drawers. The children use it for cracking walnuts. Mother! Walnuts. Fine way to treat a good wrench. Mother, has Ralph called me? Not that I know of. Doesn't that Ralph ever get tired of calling up here? Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, Father. Ralph and I had an awful fight and I told him never, never, never to call me again as long as he lives. Good. I can't understand why he hasn't called. Well, don't worry, Betty. He will. You can bet on that. Well, I'd better get at that faucet. The one in the kitchen? Yes, Father. Hello, kitten. What are you cooking up? Want to help me pull it? Well, not now. I've got a little repair job to do here. That is if I can find the nutcracker. I mean the wrench. I'm making this taffy chocolate flavor. Well, that's different at least. Have you seen that big wrench? Oh, wait. Here it is. You know why I'm making it chocolate flavor? I don't know. Would you like chocolate flavor, probably? No. You're not even warm. Guess again. I have the slightest idea. Pretty good leak there. That's not tough to fix. Guess again, Daddy. Kitten, I haven't time to guess anything right now. Do you give up? Yes, I give up. I'm making it chocolate flavored so when I'm pulling the taffy, it won't show the dirt. Isn't that smart? Oh, that's brilliant. Did you break the faucet, Daddy? No, I forgot to shut the water off first. There. Now let's see. I'll shut it off somewhere under the sink here. When I want to shut the water off, I just use the faucet. Well, it's a little different. I have to set it off farther back so you can work on the faucet. Kathy, don't bother me. Now, this darn thing is rusted. Come on, loosen up there. Dad. What I need is a bigger wrench. Dad. I can hear it. No excuses, Dad. Blast the thing to get rusted like this. Dad. What is it, bud? Mom said you were in the kitchen. I'm glad to get that information. Thank you. That's okay. Dad, guess what I'm making? I don't care what you're making. Dad, I want to show you some snapshots I took with that little dollar camera of mine. Well, I can't look at them now, bud. I'm busy. This is the one that I took of you beside the mailbox. Too bad I chopped your head off. Let's see it. It's good at the mailbox. See it, Dad? Bud, for goodness sakes, I can't look at pictures under the sink here. I want to see pictures. You're not in them. They're mostly of Dad and Claude Masner. I don't care. Ouch, bud, you're kneeling on my leg. Oh, excuse me, Dad. Let's... Well, here's one of them. It's upside down. No, he's hanging by his knees. Can't you kids hear the phone ringing? Betty will get it in the other room. There's a lot of clamps on the phone. Well, she's moved then. Looks like the only way you can get anything done around this place is to do it yourself. Hello? Oh, yeah, just a minute. Betty? Who is it, Daddy Ralph? I have a good mind to have this thing disconnected. Betty! Donning, father. Didn't you hear the phone ringing, Betty? Yes, but I didn't want Ralph to think I was anxious. I suppose it fell a never to call her up again as long as he lives. The least she can do is let the phone ring three or four times before she answers it. Oh, indubitably. Hello? Miss Anderson. What do you care to discuss? Dad. Well, if you have anything to say on the subject, you may go ahead and say it. But please keep it down to 25 words or less. And don't worry about literary style. Dad. Yes, Ralph, I'm listening. Dad, do you want to see this snapshot of Claude? But I haven't time now. He's hanging by his knees. Good. Well, now, isn't that a shame? I can't shut the water off here anyway. I've got to crawl into the house and turn it off there. No, you better stay here and watch your chocolate taffy. Here's sorry, Your Majesty. I'm leaving right now. Come on with him, too. I might, if I feel like it. Come on, kids. Here's a pretty good picture, Dad. All right, Ralph. You go ahead. I think this is a picture of Mom. It's upside down. She's kneeling down, planting some flowers. Let's see, that crawl hole used to be about right here. With all these darn bushes growing here. Wait, this looks like it. Yeah, this is it. Gosh, it's kind of dark under there, Daddy. Yeah, but would you run in and get me a flashlight? No, OK. Cathy, will you sort of hold these bushes back while I crawl through there? All right. Then you hand me the wrench after I get inside. OK, Daddy. Darn those stickers on these bushes. You ripped your shirt, Daddy. I know it. You don't have to tell me. You should have put on some old clothes. Look, kitten, you just... just hand me the wrench. OK, Daddy. Here you go. Thanks. You're getting your pants all dirty, Daddy. I can't help it. They need to go to the cleaners anyway. Go in and tell Bud to hurry up with that flashlight. I can't see a thing under here. Here he comes. I'm hurrying. Where's Dad? Under the house. Here, give me the flashlight. No, I'll take it under to him. Bud, you don't have to crawl under here. Just hand me the flashlight. I want to see what it looks like under here. Well, now that you're under here, you can hold the light for me. As soon as we find the water valve. Right over your head there. Yeah, yeah, that's it. Now hold the light on that, and I'll give it a couple of twists with the wrench. OK. Oh, brother, another rusty one. I think it's coming now. Daddy! I'm busy. Daddy! Why? Maybe I better get a plumber. Yeah, I'll get one, Dan. I'm getting out of here. Well, wait, we just about got this whipped. Another turn ought to do it. I think you broke the valve handle right off. Well, you should have held the light steadier. Huh? This is just great. I got the water turned off, but now I can't turn it back on. Should have called a plumber in the first place. Well, let's get out. Kind of creepy under here. OK. Anyway, I can fix that faucet now. Save that much of a plumber's bill at least. No. Daddy! Don't bother me, kitten. I have to go inside and work on that faucet. Well, I just wanted to know if you're about done, so you can help me pull the taffy. I can't pull any taffy today. I have enough troubles of my own. Oh, no, is he still on the phone? I wonder. I wish he'd get a job in Alaska. Hand me the wrench, bud. Oh, I don't know. Something blew up in the basement. What was that noise? I'm not sure, Margaret, but I think it must have been the hot water heater. Oh, dear, did you shut off the water under the house? Certainly. Oh, you should have turned off the gas in the water heater first. The gas man told me that with an old-fashioned water heater like we've got... Why did they ever put in a cheap, old-fashioned heater like that in the first place? That's the trouble where there's places cheap all the way through. Do you really, Ralph? Plumbing's no good. Roof leaks. Whole darn house is falling to pieces. We must have been insane to buy it. Daddy, get off that phone. I want to make a call. Who are you going to call, Jim? Betty, hang up. Yes, Father. Now, where's the phone book? Jim, what are you going to do? I'm going to call the real estate man and put this shack up for sale. Jim, you're not... I am. If we can unload it for a big loss, I'll consider us lucky. With a broken valve and then an exploding water heater, no wonder Jim's nerves are on edge. And while we're on the subject, here's Ed Prentiss with a calming word or two about your nerves. Ed, say, friend, how do you feel these mornings? Full of zip are all tense and jittery, ready to snap at family and friend alike. Well, you know what your trouble could be? Coffee nerves. That's right. Coffee nerves and sleepless nights brought on by the caffeine in coffee or tea. You see, it's a well-known scientific fact that caffeine is a drug, a nerve stimulant. And while many can handle the caffeine in coffee, others, and this could mean you, suffer sleepless nights, jittery nerves. What's the answer? Well, you don't have to give up enjoying a good hot mealtime drink to get rid of coffee nerves. Just make your drink postum instead. Delicious instant postum. Because postum is totally without caffeine. No wonder so many folks have switched to postum. No caffeine, no coffee nerves. And postum lets you sleep. Get a jar of instant postum tomorrow. And see for yourself. Drink postum exclusively for 10 days. And then check up. See if you aren't sleeping and feeling one whale of a whole lot better. You like postum. Delicious instant postum. Well, at the moment, there is a very high possibility that the White Frame House on Maple Street and the Anderson family have come to the parting of the ways. Jim's attitude toward the beloved old domicile suddenly changed from hot to cold. He's not only willing but eager to explain his point of view to one and all in strong, definite terms. Like this. Of course I know what I'm doing. It's just a simple matter of plain facts and good sense. This shack we got stuck with is ready to fall to pieces. We've got to get out from under before it falls on us. Oh, it's not that bad, Jim. Have you been down in the basement since that hot water heater exploded? Well, yes. Looks like the day after a remnant sale in a dog and basement. Did you see what it did to all your canning? Yes, I did. We have the only furnace pipes in town decorated with strawberry jam. Oh, that can all be cleaned up. Daddy? What is it, kitten? I don't want to move away from Patty Davis. Oh, you make new friends? Not like Patty. She's been my lifelong friend for several weeks now. Well, you can go over and visit her once in a while. Yes, bud? If we're going to sell the house, I'll need some money to buy some more film so I can get some pictures of it. I don't know why anybody would want any pictures of this broken down rabbit hutch. Well, Betty, come on. Let's go out in the kitchen and start dinner. Regardless of what happens around here, we've got to go on eating. I'll be there in a minute, Mother. I'm expecting Ralph to call back. Ralph? What's he got to call back for? Well, I had to hang up on him when you called the real estate man. Six months ago, Ralph called here, but he didn't have anything to say. And he's been calling three times a day ever since to repeat it. Come along, Betty. All right. I know one thing. When we get in our new place, we're not going to have a phone. At least not as long as that Ralph is in town. Daddy, can I... I don't know. Kitten, maybe. How big will my room be? Well, how can I tell? I haven't even seen the house yet. Look, Kitten. Dad. What color is it? I don't know. Dad, don't you understand, Kitten? I've got our house up for sale, but... Dad, how about money for the film? But don't bother me now. Well, how can I take pictures of the house with no film? Kids, will you please stop heckling me? I've got enough on my mind right now. Oh, that's all I need is to have Ralph call again. I'll get it, Daddy. No, let me handle it. I'll put a stop to this nonsense. Is that for me, father? Hello? Now listen here, Ralph. Huh? Oh, excuse me. I thought you were somebody else. Is that for me, father? Yes, that's right. It's for sale. Seven rooms. Yes, it has a fairly good size basement. It's bigger now than it ever was. Oh, yes, good furnace. Decorated with store very preserves. Oh, well, that'll be fine, Mrs. Dudley, is it? Oh, Smedley. Hurry up, father. I'm expecting a call from Ralph. That's right. 607 Maple Street. All right, Mrs. Smedley. Goodbye. Wow. What do you know about that? Margaret? What was it, father? It might be the next owner of this lean-to we're living in. Did you call me, Jim? Yes, Margaret. Our first prospective buyer is on her way over here. Right now? Yes, sir. Isn't that wonderful? Wonderful? Well, that's awful. Huh? Well, we can't let anyone see the house looking this way. It's a mess. Come on. We've got to straighten up the furniture. Well, she's not buying the furniture. She's buying the house. Well, I don't care. I don't want anyone to think I keep house like this. What difference does that make? Nobody we know never even heard of her. Mrs. Smedley. Come on, girls. We've got to fix this place up in a hurry. You too, bud. Holy cow. What are you going to do about that basement? Well, I'll try to keep her out of there. As a matter of fact, I'll explain to her that the house needs a new water heater and then I'll put in a new one. Oh, Jim, couldn't you have told her to come tomorrow? Oh, no. You've got to jump at every chance to unload it. Oh, dear. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised our real estate man is sending anybody over at all. He actually tried to talk me out of putting it up for sale. Said I was making a big mistake. Well, maybe he's right. Oh, no. He was just covering up the fact that we got stuck when he sold us the house in the first place. Oh, my heavens. Is that her already? Could be. She was coming right over. I'll go to the door. Oh, dear. She'll think I'm the worst housekeeper in the world. Well, what do you want me to do? You want to start scraping strawberry preserves? No, it's too late now. Maybe it'll be good to get out of this old raffle trap of a house. And this is the living room here, Mrs. Medley. Oh, yes. And oh, excuse me, this is my wife, Margaret, Mrs. Medley. How do you do? How do you do? I'm sorry the place is in such a mess, but you know how things get torn up when you're trying to move. Yes, I know. And these are the children. Betty, Kathy, Bud. How do you do? Well, I guess you want to see the rest of the house. There, that's the dining room in there. Yes, I can tell. What style of house is this? Just what would you call it? Mommy calls it a rattle trap of a house. Crafty. Well, it's a nice, comfortable house. For me. Mm-hmm. What I want to know is, is it well built? Well, it's got copper pipes. That'll give you an idea. You don't find those in many houses nowadays. And it has joys. I wonder if I could go down in the basement and take a look at the foundation. Well, yes, certainly. But maybe you'd rather see the upstairs. It's got some nice-sized bedrooms. My husband told me to be sure and check foundation. You know, in an old house like this, one has to make certain that everything is well preserved. Well, you see the furnace pipes. They're well preserved. Yeah, strawberry. Well, come along. We'll have a look. The basement door is back this way. I must tell you that things are kind of torn up down there. You see, I'm putting in a new water heater. Did the old one go out? Parts of it did. Oh, but some of them haven't landed yet. Oh, wait a minute. Let me look at this kitchen. Oh, what a wonderful, large kitchen. And so cheerful. Oh, yes. It is a wonderful kitchen. And so conveniently arranged. Oh, I like this. It's really been a pleasure to work in it. Real livable. I think it's the best room in the house. Oh, I don't know. That den is hard to beat. You know, there's a certain charm to this house that you don't very often find anymore. The more I see of it, the better I like it. Well, we've certainly been happy here. Yes, we certainly have. Oh, my goodness, is that clock right? Yes, I think so, quarter to seven. Oh, dear, I've got to meet my husband back at the real estate office. And I'm late now. You don't want to see the rest of the house? Well, frankly, this kitchen alone has sold me on the house. I just love it. However, Mr. Smedley is looking into the house right now. But I think I can convince him that this is the house for us. I see. I'll tell you what we'll do. I'll hurry back to the real estate office and we'll talk it over and I'll call you right back. Well, all right. And if you don't hear from us in ten minutes, you'll know we decided on the other house. Ten minutes, huh? Goodbye. And thank you so much. It's all right. Margaret. Yes, Jim. She's liable to buy a house. She's liable to buy our house. Yes, I know. Wasn't that the idea? What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? I don't know. We can't leave this place. I don't understand why you ever thought of selling it in the first place. Lee, it wasn't my idea. This is home, Margaret. This is our home. This is where we've raised all our children. Look at those marks on the kitchen doorway. The complete record of how tall the kids were growing. You can't just walk out on things like that. Well, maybe she won't take it. Oh, yes she will. She was completely sold on it. Why didn't I make her go down and look at the basement? Yeah, maybe she doesn't like starberry preserves. If we move, Daddy, I just know I'll never see Patty Davis again. Yeah, we can't break up the kids' friendships. We'll probably move clear over on the other side of town. And it'll be too far for Ralph to come to see me. Well, that's the only advantage I can think of the most. Maybe her husband will like the house he looked at. That's just wishful thinking, Margaret, and you know it. Maybe we could move in with the Davises. Well, that's just about where we're going to have to do. There's really not any good houses available right now. Hooray! We can't very well build a place. That costs too much, and it takes time. I don't know what we're going to do, Margaret. Well, I don't either. After this, you'd better let me handle things. Let you handle them? Jim, this was your idea. Don't you remember? Uh, what time is it getting to be? Is that ten minutes up yet? Oh, no. It's hardly half gone. It's exactly five minutes and 43 seconds. I've been keeping track. This is like waiting for zero hour. Daddy, I've got an idea. Yes, kitten? Let's cut the telephone wires. Oh, no, we couldn't. Or... No, we couldn't. Couldn't we? No, that's... Well, they just find out the line was out of order. Six minutes and 51 seconds. Will they give us time to pack? Well, it's got to go to West Coast first. But even so, that doesn't give us much time to look around. Maybe they won't call. Only two minutes and 39 seconds to go. Can't you speed that watch up, bud? Just think of all the flowers we've planted here. And that lilac bush. And the catalpa tree. Betty was exactly one year old when we planted it. One minute and 44 seconds. These are the longest minutes I've ever spent. I wonder if she'll take good care of the camellias. One and 11 seconds. You'd think if she was going to call she'd have done it by now. She's still got time. It's not official until the time's actually up. How much to go, bud? 37 seconds. Your watch must be slow. They won't call now. I know they won't. Oh, don't answer if they do. 14 seconds. 13, 12... Isn't that close enough? 9, 8, 7... Hold your breath. 4, 3, 2... We've made it! I guess you have to answer it, Jim. Yeah, I guess so. Hello. Why, hello there. Gee, it's good to hear from you. Here, Betty's for you. It's good ol' Ralph. Here's a good tune to remember when you're marketing this weekend. For goodness' sake, eat post-brand flakes. Yes, at the grocers, let this melody remind you that new post-40% brand flakes are good. And so good for you. They're good because something wonderful has happened to brand. You see, new post-brand flakes now have a delicious magic oven flavor. A new crisp texture that many people prefer to any other cereal. And post-40% brand flakes are good for you because they contain the important keep-regular benefits that brand is famous for. So, tomorrow, buy new post-40% brand flakes. America's largest-selling brand flakes. I think you'll agree, they're good and good for you. Well, the White Frame House on Maple Street has safely passed its crisis now and is resting easily under the loving care of its rightful owner. It's the next day now, and Jim has just returned home. Like this. Margaret, I'm home and have I got news. What did you say, dear? You know that house sale we almost made yesterday? Don't tell me that's on again. Well, but I dropped in at the real estate office to tell our broker to take our house off the market permanently and he started to laugh and then called in his secretary. And do you know who she is? Well, now how would I know who his secretary is? It's Mrs. Smedley. What? She wasn't a customer at all. He just sent her over to throw a scare into us. He teaches a lesson, he said. Well, he certainly did. After all, that was a pretty silly idea selling the house. It certainly was. Gee, honey, I hope you never get another idea like that. Join us again next week when we'll be back with Father Knows Best starring Robert Young as Jim Anderson. Until then, good night and good luck. From the makers of post-40% brand flakes, America's largest selling brand flakes, and instant post-ums, the drink that's entirely caffeine free. In our cast were Ted Donaldson, his bud, Dorothy Lovett, Mary Lee Robb, Helen Strom, and Isabelle Jewel. It comes in a red, white, and blue box. What is it? Hot post wheat meal. It has the picture of Roy Rogers on the package. What is it? Hot post wheat meal. It's packed full of whole wheat nourishment. What is it? Hot post wheat meal. It has a rich, delicious, nut-like flavor. What is it? Hot post wheat meal. Cooks in just three minutes. Another member of the famous post family. What is it? Hot post wheat meal. It's the best hot cereal you ever ate. Father Knows Best was transcribed in Hollywood and written by Paul West and Roswell Rogers. This is Bill Foreman speaking. Tonight played Truth or Consequences on NBC.