![]() ![]() Otis (Hal Smith), the unrepentant town drunk, was trained to let himself into his jail cell after a Saturday night bender and to let himself out on Sunday morning. Town barber Floyd Lawson (Howard McNear) was a font of misinformation and the forerunner of Cheers' Cliff Clavin. Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) and his cousin Goober (George Lindsey) came right out of the "bumpkin" tradition that had been developed years ago in films, popular literature, and comic strips. Most of these characters were "hicks," playing comic foils to the sagacious Andy. The townspeople, and the ensemble of actors who portrayed them, were crucial to the success of the show. The directorial style of the series was also strikingly distinct, employing a relaxed, almost lethargic tone appropriate to the nostalgic settings of front porch, sidewalk, and barber shop. Over the years the writers fleshed out the geography and character of the town with a degree of detail unusual for series television. Mayberry was based upon Andy Griffith's real hometown, and perhaps this was partially responsible for the strong sense many viewers got that Mayberry was a real place. When he wasn't at the Sheriff's office, Andy, a widower, was applying his old-fashioned horse sense to the raising of his young son Opie ( Ronny Howard), a task he shared with his Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier). Neither sophisticated nor worldly-wise, Andy drew from a deep well of unpretentious folk wisdom that allowed him to settle domestic disputes and outwit the arrogant city folk who occasionally passed through town. On The Andy Griffith Show, he played Sheriff Andy Taylor, the fair-minded and easygoing head lawman of the Edenic small town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Andy Griffith's homespun characterizations were already well-known to audiences who'd seen his hayseed interpretations of Shakespeare on The Ed Sullivan Show and his starring roles in the films A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958). Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas designed The Andy Griffith Show to fit the image of its star. Genial and comparatively innocuous, these shows were just right for a time when TV was under frequent attack by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congressional committees for its violent content. The success CBS achieved with The Andy Griffith Show provided the inspiration for a string of hits such as The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and Hee Haw. The trend began when ABC debuted The Real McCoys in 1957, but CBS became the network most associated with lt. Sheldon Leonard produced both shows for Danny Thomas Productions.Īn early example of television's "rural revolution," The Andy Griffith Show was part of a programming trend which saw the development of comedies featuring naïve but noble "rubes" from deep in the American heartland. The series pilot originally aired as an episode of Make Room For Daddy, a popular sitcom starring Danny Thomas. In its eight years on the air, from 1960 to 1968, it never dropped below seventh place in the seasonal Nielsen rankings, and it was number one the year it ceased production. This is an episode of Season 4 where Opie Taylor is absent.The Andy Griffith Show was one of the most popular and memorable comedy series of the 1960s.This episode is available on DVD without the laugh track but is usually broadcast with it.This is one of only two episodes where a female is shown smoking, the other being Convicts-at-Large.This episode is very sensual and unique and was possibly the most unusual episode in the entire series.In Andy and the Woman Speeder Sheriff Taylor says that, by law, a female prisoner must have a matron.Perhaps it was decided that the lack of a name added to the sense of mystery. The unnamed prisoner was given the name Angela Carroll in an un-produced script.The title is from the 1931 song "Prisoner Of Love" with music by Russ Columbo and Clarence Gaskill and lyrics by Leo Robin popularized by Perry Como.He returns to the courthouse to check on things and arrives just in time to prevent her escape. He realizes that perhaps Barney is under the same seduction as he himself was. He can't get the image of her out of his mind. A female prisoner tries to work her magic on Andy and Barney.Īndy is taken in by the charms of a seductive The Female Prisoner. ![]()
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