Leave It to Beaver (TV Series) The Party Spoiler (1962) User Reviews

Yes, suits and ties...

[pmike-11312 · 7/10 · 2 May 2022]

A mildly humorous ep. With Beaver playing a rather childish and bratty boy instead of a 14 year old (as stated elsewhere). The writers weren't quite ready to let Beaver mature....

It's amazing how some commenters have no clue that there was a whole, big world that existed before they came along. YES. People dressed up when they attended concerts, sports events...even the movies (horrors!). And they did so when they went to dinner or parties at other's homes. People actually showed courtesy and respect for others and tried to present themselves in the best possible light. The world didn't start with Millennials and GenZ-ers - and it was a better place in many respects.

Beaver the Trickster

[MichaelMartinDeSapio · 10/10 · 20 April 2016]

This elegantly made episode is a surprising high point of LITB's final season. Wally is organizing a party at home for himself and his friends, and June and Ward are lending their hand in the preparations. Amidst all the hubbub, Beaver feels ignored and neglected; to make matters worse, Wally acts like a haughty jerk and tells Beaver flat-out he's not invited to the party. (Believe me, Wally is downright unlikeable in this episode!) Gilbert Bates - that snake in the grass who always gets Beaver in trouble - convinces Beaver to sabotage Wally's party by planting tricks from a novelty store all around the house - rubber cheese, fake spiders, the works. But Wally, on the encouragement of Ward and June, makes an eleven-o'clock decision to invite Beaver to the party after all. You can imagine the spot Beaver is in now!

The writing here is top-notch, with an imaginative reconciliation scene for Beaver and Wally and a funny surprise coda. Season 6 had a new cinematographer, Jack MacKenzie, and his style is noticeably different: more chiaroscuro lighting, and more extensive use of closeups and tracking shots. The episode looks stunning.

An even bigger surprise is that we get to see the inside of Ward and June's bedroom - a sacred precinct that was scrupulously avoided throughout most of the show's run. The couple sits there watching television as the youngsters dance the Twist downstairs, and the camera cuts between them and the youngsters. Perhaps with the series heading towards the end and the Cleaver boys growing more mature, the writers felt they could afford to be a bit more daring. Yet the decorous conventions of the era were still in force: twin marital beds, and June shown lounging on the bed with one foot on the floor.

Ward's Sound Advice and Guidance

[sherryp-14911 · 10/10 · 27 November 2023]

I know it sounds very childish and immature for Beaver to react the way he did. But at least it was harmless. Kids were more innocent and immature in those days. I could see my 14 year old brother doing that in 1962. He always did pranks like that. But he died in a traffic accident when he was 14, so he never grew up.

Kids today are too mature by age fourteen. No comparison between 2023 and 1962. Innocence is a fleeting thing nowadays, confined to toddlers.

I sure wish I had someone like Ward and June Cleaver to steer me the right direction when I was young.

I love the LITB show-imagining how things should've been.

What was it Joan Rivers said? Oh, grow up.

[pensman · 6/10 · 26 May 2017]

Wally will be hosting a party, he has learned well to ask permission when both parents are preoccupied: June, phone; Ward, football game. The guest list is growing and June is busy preparing, and Beaver isn't invited. To be fair, Wally is a senior in high school, and Beaver is still in grade eight. No brother out there would consider inviting a brother that much younger to a high school party. Ward and June will be home, but upstairs. No false coming down from Ward to look for his pipe in the den.

Beaver is sulking. Gilbert stops by and explains how he managed to upset his sister and ruin an evening she was having at home with boyfriend; then logically, Beaver should upset his rat brother's party. After a moment's hesitation to run over rational thought, Beaver is onboard. June and Ward put pressure on Wally to invite Beaver to the party; with reluctance Wally agrees to ask him. We now have to ask, which is it? Is Wally way too nice, or does he cave in too quickly. And this is time for both Ward and June to step up and explain to Beaver why he wouldn't be welcome at a high school party.

By then the rubber cheese is in a sandwich, soap candy mixed with good candy, and a circuit upsetter is plugged into the record player outlet. Almost forgot, the fly in the ice cube needs to planted later. Won't this be fun. How did they miss itching and sneezing powder when they were at the magic shop?

The stage is set, and the invitation is given and accepted. Oh no, there are few things to undo. But Ward is hovering around. Beaver goes down in his bathrobe to get some items, but the guests have arrived early. He ducks into the closet and has a narrow escape. Lumpy gets a soap filled candy piece. When Beaver is asked to bring in some sandwiches, he has a chance to grab the rubber cheese; but Eddie gets to it first. Eddie and Lumpy serve punch to a girl, and she gets the bug in the ice cube. Then a rubber spider is discovered. There goes the record player. Are those kids actually twisting? Wally starts to get the blame, but Beaver confesses. Beaver says it was a mistake; but Wally's not in the forgiving mood right now.

The party is over, the boys aren't speaking to one another. Since Wally won't listen, Beaver tries to get conversation going by speaking to himself in the mirror. A decent technique to get Wally to listen; Wally forgives Beaver and Beaver offers to shake on it. Perhaps we can excuse the joy buzzer during the handshake.

Not the strongest of episodes, but it is the last season, and the ideas are no doubt running thin. It is disappointing to see the now lanky Jerry Mathers we see in the opening credits act like Beaver from season three.

I do recall the local "magic-shop" that sold an abundance of jokester equipment including soap that turned hands and face black, cigarette loads that exploded when the glowing tip reached it, and the best of all—the dribble glass. These "fun-provoking" practical jokes were the rage in sixth grade. These fun jokes did produce some very warm behinds from laughing parents. Those joy-buzzers were as useless as the X-Ray glasses. See right through clothes if you're wearing them. Effective? Ask any highly disappointed 10-12-year-old boy who shelled out $2.89 plus tax.

DON'T GET MAD, GET EVEN!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 25 October 2023]

True, it's not fair, it's not right... but when you're a kid there's no rules. Beave isn't invited to Wally's party, so the only thing to do is mess it up good. I do agree with the last reviewer, and there's a point to be made. If Beave had party, would he really have invited Wally, along with Eddie and Lumpy?

Anyway, the brotherly love goes south and Beave, with some nasty ideas from Gilbert, naturally, rig the food with rubber cheese sandwiches, the old fake bug in the ice cube routine and gooey mystery chocolates. If you're a movie buff, this rich material was obviously borrowed from the THREE STOOGES. Watching Eddie and Lumpy consume the goodies is classic.

10 Stars.

Series veteran Dick Conway, who passed in 2002, wrote this gem, later to do many great episodes for PETTICOAT JUNCTION. He began writing stories for the LIFE OF RILEY tv series, starring William Bendix.

Note the bedroom scene with Ward and June holed upstairs, and yes -- two beds, due to the tv codes back in the day. I think this was the only episode where we actually got to see the folks bedroom anyway.

One kooky episode, and the crew probably had a blast. Barbara Billingsley said in later years she could never remember a day when anyone didn't have a good time on the set. Everyone got along and it showed.

From SEASON 6, EPISODE 14 remastered dvd box set. 2011 release. The color cover is a must for collectors. Too bad the series was not in color.

Dysfunctional Beaver

[StrictlyConfidential · 3/10 · 20 January 2021]

(IMO) - Not only was Beaver a cry-baby (which he proved to be in other episodes) - But, he was also a sorehead, too (which he proved to be in this episode).

You know, I totally doubt that if Beaver were giving a party he'd invite Wally to it. And I also doubt that if Wally wasn't invited to Beaver's party that he'd take some sort of retaliation against his brother like Beaver did to him.

I really think that the scriptwriters could've come up with a better story-line than this to entertain its audience 'cause this episode was pretty dismal story-telling.

Now Beaver tampering with food

[vitoscotti · 3/10 · 24 August 2021]

Jerry Mathers is 14 1/2 here playing a complete moron. The writers will strike gold. Then, revert back to a gullible, moron Beaver script like this one. Even Eddie & Lumpy couldn't save this stinker. Lumpy tried with some "go cat go" groovy dancing. Still suits & ties for a casual house party. But Wally now listens to happening music. No more squaresville Wally.

Beaver the Spoiled Brat

[coreycitn63 · 3/10 · 16 March 2023]

Wally wants to throw a party for his friends and girlfriends and Ward and June agree that Wall should be able to throw the party. Enter the Beaver who expects to be invited but outright Wally tells him he is not invited. Wally is totally in the right cause he is a high school senior and could be one of the last parties that he will have before entering college. Beaver feeling slighted he meets up with his friend Gilbert Bates. Gilbert tells Beaver to sabotage the party with cheap gags which the Beaver does. Wally relents with the encouragement of Ward and June and invites Beaver. At the end the real rat of the episode is the Beaver cause he acted like a baby and not a teenager about to enter high school.

Twisting the Night Away

[KeatsTV · 20 June 2023]

Wally Cleaver is throwing a teenage house party, dress code NOT optional! The days leading up to the party, all anyone can talk about is Wally's party. June is making snacks and Ward is hauling in stuff in a box, all for Wally's party. Beaver has taken notice of all the attention he's not getting and it's starting to take affect. The final straw is Wally telling the Beav that's he's not invited; I don't blame him.

Feeling left out and neglected for once in his life, Beaver is bummed but not overly sore. When he discusses the issue with fellow baby of the family and junior instigating troublemaker Gilbert Bates, the tide turns. To get back at Wally, Gilbert suggests Beaver get back at his older brother by sabotaging the party with gags from the Magic Shop and Beaver agrees.

Just before the party gets started, the Cleavers suggest Wally invite Beaver to the party; maybe he'll just want to get dressed up in a suit and tie and come down for about 10 minutes to grab some snacks. And so it is, Beaver is invited but now that he has been invited Beaver needs to take back the gags before the party gets started. No such luck. Lumpy bites into a soap filled chocolate, Eddie bites into a cheese sandwich that has a piece of square shaped Swiss cheese inside; Wally later bites into a sandwich that is triangular in shape; June really went all out with those different shapes. Eddie pours a cup of punch for a female classmate, he then somehow manages to put in the fake ice cube with the bug inside without looking; the final pranks sees the teens get down to some serious age appropriate twisting only to stopped by a gag Beaver put in the record player's cord. Sort of musical chairs without the chairs or endless giggles!

Up in their bedroom, Ward is trying hard to relax and watch TV. June meanwhile sits on her bed not knowing what to do with herself because she has no life outside of her kids and although they're all in the same house, she can't spy on them. Geez.

As the crew starts to gang up on Wally for the childish pranks, Beaver comes clean and admits he's behind the gags. Beaver later tells his brother that he didn't like being ignored and then not invited to Wally's party which is a great way to express how he was feeling. Because Beaver has such terrible friends, he went about it the kindergarten route in telling his family how he truly felt. This episode could have gone in another direction entirely, it was not very well thought out.