5 Forgotten '60s Sitcoms That Still Hold Up Today
by Jeremy Smith · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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The television sitcom has been with us since the 1940s, but the form wasn't perfected until the 1950s with the premiere of "I Love Lucy." Then came "The Honeymooners," "Leave It to Beaver," "Father Knows Best" and the raucously funny "The Phil Silvers Show," which gave us military conman Sgt. Bilko. The half-hour format quickly became a favorite of TV viewers, leading networks to seek out other popular comedy personalities around whom they could build a ratings smash.
The 1960s brought us two of the greatest sitcoms in the history of the medium ("The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show"), but networks allowed creators to get a little zanier with their concepts. There were fun fantastical shows like "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie," and downright awful ones like "My Mother, the Car." There was also "Gilligan's Island," which became a syndication juggernaut after lasting only three seasons.
Many of these sitcoms have held up on their own terms, while others have curdled like month-old milk. And then there are series that, while popular in their day, have faded from view. They may be a little old-fashioned or corny, but their charms remain intact. Here are five sitcoms that still work as their creators intended.
McHale's Navy
The wacky World War II exploits of PT-73 on "McHale's Navy" were practically a mirror military image of "The Phil Silvers Show," which just so happened to be produced by the former's creator, Edward Montagne. The wartime setting could've easily been deemed insensitive by veterans and those affected by the conflict (i.e. the entire country), but a terrific ensemble cast led by Ernest Borgnine as the scheming, fun-loving Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale somehow make it all feel blithely innocuous (except for one episode where they disguise themselves as island savages).
Almost all of the episodes find McHale and his motley crew pulling one over on commanding officer Captain Wally Binghamton (Joe Flynn), who wants them all court martialed. Caught in the middle of these hijinks is Ensign Charles Parker (Tim Conway), who's been charged with shaping up these incorrigible fellas. That McHale actually likes Parker (while clocking him as a useful patsy), makes Borgnine's character far more likeable than Silver's Bilko. "McHale's Navy" ran for four seasons on ABC, leaving behind 138 episodes for you to enjoy. It's a wonderfully silly early showcase for the great Conway, who would go on to be a master of nice-guy television and film comedy. Yes, there was a 1997 film adaptation starring Tom Arnold that squanders the brilliance of Tim Curry and Bruce Campbell.
The New Phil Silvers Show
In 1963, CBS decided to reunite with their Sgt. Bilko star for "The New Phil Silvers Show," in which the comedy star played Harry Grafton, a scheming factory foreman who uses his position to run all manner of shady enterprises – typically at the expense of his naive co-workers. This proved to be a problem for the network, as viewers weren't keen on watching Grafton take advantage of vulnerable, good-hearted blue collar folk. As a result, the series only lasted one season, and Silvers never led a network sitcom again.
There are a couple of "The New Phil Silvers Show" episodes on YouTube. Visually and aurally, they're both dreadfully low quality, but if you can stomach the poor presentation, you'll find that Silvers was in peak perfidious form. 1960s television viewers weren't wrong: the show is much more mean-spirited than "The Phil Silvers Show." In the episode titled "The Birthday Boy," Grafton surveils a group of factory workers who are collecting money; he doesn't know why they're pooling cash, but he does know that he wants to use it to fund his own surprise birthday party. When we find out what the money's for, Grafton looks like a monster (though he slightly redeems himself). It'd be nice for someone to restore the full 30-episode run, but how many Phil Silvers fans are out there nowadays?
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Humorist Jean Kerr scored a surprise publishing success with the release of her essay collection "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" in 1957. The book recounted her experience as a busy journalist and playwright scrambling to raise four children while her husband works as an English professor. One of the book's best pieces, "The Kerr-Hilton," colorfully related the challenge of maintaining a spooky old house in Larchmont, New York. MGM primarily used that article as a springboard for a feature film, and wound up with a 1960 hit starring Doris Day and David Niven. Five years later, NBC tried their luck with a sitcom adaptation, and the "Daisies" chain snapped.
I remember watching the show in syndication as a kid, and I loved two elements: the big, weird house with bizarre architectural features (a feature that kept me watching mediocre sitcoms like "Silver Spoons" and "Webster"), and the Old English Sheepdog named Ladadog. What I didn't get as a child was that Pat Crowley's portrayal of a literary talent who took a good-enough approach to housekeeping was low-key rebellious. The series is long-gone from syndication, and never received a physical media release. As a result, it's unavailable to stream.
Family Affair
Created by the "My Three Sons" team of Edmund L. Hartmann and Don Fedderson, "Family Affair" was the proto-"Diff'rent Strokes." Brian Keith's wealthy bachelor Bill Davis is forced to adopt the children of his slain brother and sister-in-law; he's not cut out for fathering, but, over five seasons, he finds his patriarchal groove.
"Family Affair" is not a laugh riot. Far from it. The series is cozy and emotionally tender. Its breakout character was Buffy (Anissa Jones), who toted around a doll named Mrs. Beasley (which became a huge marketing hook and a must-have toy). Also great was Sebastian Cabot as manservant Mr. French, whose rich baritone and benevolent demeanor gave the show its compassionate center. It's possible this show won't play well with people who aren't familiar with its pop cultural imprint, but I can't think of many sitcoms that were so determinedly square. It's a singular sitcom in that way. Not funny, not sharp, but unabashedly poignant. I remember it warmly for these qualities. It was refreshingly kind.
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
"The Courtship of Eddie's Father" was, like "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," a book that became a film that got comported into a sitcom. The difference here is that the film was directed by legendary filmmaker Vincente Minnelli, which should've raised expectations for the series. Alas, Minnelli was on the downside of his career in 1963, and the chemistry between Glenn Ford and Shirley Jones was tepid at best. Not even the pluck of future Oscar-winner Ronny Howard as the bereft kid left to live with his widowed pop could enliven this would-be heart-melter.
The sitcom wasn't revolutionary, but it was awfully nice. Miyoshi Umeki transcends stereotype as housekeeper Mrs. Livingston, and Bill Bixby is winning as widowed magazine publisher Tom Corbett. As for his son Eddie, Brandon Cruz is a total scene stealer as a cute-as-a-button kid trying to find Tom a new wife. Though it only lasted for three seasons, it became quite popular in syndication, while its theme song, "Best Friend," written and performed by Harry Nilsson, is a pop cultural touchstone. "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" is a bit like "Family Affair" in that it's not going for belly laughs. It just wants to put a smile on your face.