Our Miss Brooks, Vol. 1

Our Miss Brooks was a highly popular radio sitcom that was eventually adapted for both television and film. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who specialized in playing the wisecracking friend. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for the 1945 film Mildred Pierce. Since her skill with the wicked one-liner was beginning to lead to typecasting, Arden signed on for the lead in radios Our Miss Brooks to find a new image. The series centers on Connie Brooks, a sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks dotes on nerdish student Walter Denton, played by Richard Crenna, and frequently locks horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin, played by Gale Gordon. Many plot lines revolve around Miss Brooks longing for Philip Boynton, the schools bashful biology teacher. The radio series lasted until 1957, having already made a successful jump to television in 1952 where Arden won a Primetime Emmy for Best Female Star in a Regular Series. Episodes include Snap Magazines Model American Teacher; Peanuts, the Great Dane; Chaperone for the Cereal Bowl Game; Connies Letter to Sandy Clawssss; Professorship at State U; and Making Dinner for Mr. Boynton.