The Lost Watch

(*Beaver quote*) - "Gee, Wally, if there was a fight, could you beat up Lumpy Rutherford?"

There's a baseball game happening and the guys playing leave their wallets, jackets and watches with Beaver and Larry for safe keeping.

When they come to reclaim their belongings Lumpy Rutherford (the bully) says that his watch is missing and he gives Beaver 48 hours to find it.

Beaver panics over this and goes to some pretty desperate measures to get the money to pay for the watch.

There's a story within this story that's fascinating. It begins with Beav and Larry at the ballpark hoping to join the game with the older guys. What they get is stiffed with the job of taking care of wallets, coats and watches. When the game's over, yes, there's something missing. Did you think it would be anything else? An expensive watch that belongs to hot head Lumpy.

He demands Beave return it -- or pay him $15 bucks ASAP. By the way, the fifteen smackers would equal over 160 dollars today, and thats a lot of money, even for adults. What is Beave gonna' do? The first question, and it's hilarious, is to ask Wally for protection.

Frank Bank is memorable playing Lumpy, however, producers and writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher made him a bit too mean. And was it a good idea? Originally, Lumpy was to be the neighborhood bully, but the bad guy image would eventually wear itself out. In later episodes, you notice a switch where Lumpy -- all of a sudden -- became more of a stooge!, and the possibilities were endles with a this type of character. Frank played it for what its worth, possibly inspired by the Three Stooges. When the series ended, he became a successful stockbroker.

What Connelly and Mosher did not change was the personality of Fred Rutherford, Lumpy's egotistical, know it all dad, played to the hilt by Richard Deacon. His character stuck and was 100 percent fun.

The only debit, and I have mentioned this many times, Fred should have been the father of Eddie, who was just as slick as he was.

Catch character actor Jonathan Hole as the bank teller, always cast as stuffy professionals, seen in BEWITCHED and HERES LUCY, many other sitcoms for decades.

Best of SEASON 2 EPISODE 5 remastered dvd box set. Released 2206 and 2014. Super blue cover with Beave.

Beaver and Larry go watch "the big kids" play baseball. The fellows all pile their wallets, jackets, and watches on Beaver for him to watch while they play. After everybody has gathered their stuff, after the game, Lumpy asks for his watch from Beaver, but Beaver doesn't have it. Lumpy threatens to thrash him or even call the police if his fifteen dollar watch is not returned. All through the next few days this giant fellow menaces the boy. He calls him at home and threatens him, he jumps out behind shrubbery on Beaver's way to school and threatens him. It's all quite hard to watch him bully Beaver, who is convinced he lost this expensive watch.

Beaver feels like he can't tell his parents because of the talk around the house about watching things in your trust and not losing stuff. But then Beaver tries to cash a savings bond his aunt got him so that he can buy Lumpy a new watch and taking the bond gets the attention of Beaver's parents. Ward is livid about what's happened, but Clarence/Lumpy is also the son of his business partner, Fred Rutherford, and so Ward needs to proceed cautiously.

Lumpy Rutherford was initially introduced as a guy two years older than Wally and Eddie, often a bully, less so to Wally as Wally began to get a growth spurt. But he must have been left back a couple of times because at the end of the series the three are graduating together. Lumpy transitions to the not too bright, sometime partner in crime to Eddie Haskell, and the three - Wally, Eddie, and Lumpy are pretty much the three musketeers by graduation.

Gee Dad you said I should go to jail if I lost someone's property. I didn't know it was YOU. That's different. Hard to believe Ward was a preacher in real life.

Actually it isn't as sad as that is. And folks wonder where todays "My kid ain't nebber done nuffin'" comes from.

Beaver and Larry go over to the ballpark, hoping the big boys will include them in the baseball game but, of course, that doesn't happen. Instead, everyone dumps their wallet, watches and jackets to Beaver for him to hold while they play. When the game is over, Lumpy demands his wrist watch which Beaver says he doesn't have. Lumpy threatens him, gives him "48 hours or else" to find that wristwatch.

Beaver, as usual, doesn't tell his family, just lies about the situation or evades talking about it but everyone knows something is bothering him. Two days later, Lumpy catches up with him again on the way to school and tells Beaver that if he doesn't have the watch or $15, sell something, because he wants the money or he's going to the police.

It's a pretty good episode only because Lumpy (Frank Bank) is such a jerk -and a bully-thug that he's always interesting to watch. The only bigger jerk is his father, Fred Rutherford (Richard Deacon), probably the biggest nerd I've ever seen on TV.