Overlooked Movies -- Our Miss Brooks

I may have mentioned before that Our Miss Brooks, both on radio and TV, was probably at least in part responsible for my choosing to become an English teacher.  I thought Eve Arden was great, and I still think so.  I wanted to be like her.

The radio show, by the way, outlasted the TV show, and it was on for about a year after this movie version was released.  I didn't listen to it in the later years, but I did watch the TV show right up until the end.

The movie is a curiosity, since it's both an origin story of sorts and an ending to the story, an ending which wasn't carried out on the radio or TV versions.  It begins with Miss Brooks arriving in town, getting a room at Miss Davis' place, and going to Madison High School for the first time, where she meets Stretch Snodgrass (Leonard Smith), Mr. Conklin (Gale Gordon), and Mr. Boynton (Robert Rockwell), with whom she's immediately smitten.

And here comes the sociology.  This is a true 1950s movie, in which Miss Brooks' one thought is that she wants to marry.  She's a good teacher and loves her profession, as is made clear, especially by a passionate speech she gives to Gary Nolan (Nick Adams), a reluctant learner and son of Lawrence Nolan (Don Porter), one of the richest men in town, the owner of the local newspaper (this was a long time ago, for sure).  It's also clear that Mr. Boynton wants a salary increase so he can marry Miss Brooks.  It's accepted without comment or question that she'll quit her job when she marries.  The guy is the head of the house and is required to have an income to support his family without the wife having to work.  

There are several complications in the plot, all of them fairly easily overcome, and in the end the shy Mr. Boynton [HUGE SPOILER] proposes marriage, and they're ready to move into their vine-covered cottage [END OF HUGE SPOILER].

I didn't find this movie as funny as either the radio or TV shows.  Gale Gordon never gets to go into a real rage, for example, and there aren't many jokes.  Eve Arden gets to play to the camera and do a good many double takes, but that's about it.  She never unleashes the kind of sarcasm she did in the other incarnations, or maybe I just missed it.  Still, I'm glad I watched, and if you want a quick glimpse into a bygone era, here it is.