Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Our Miss Brooks w/ Eve Arden

A) 2/4/51 Puppy Love

B) 4/1/51 New Dresses

Eve Arden starred as Connie Brooks, a competent, fair-minded school teacher with a dry wit who is often privy to the pranks of her pupils. Gale Gordon, was stuffed-shirt Principal Osgood Conklin, a pompous and tight-fisted character in charge of a school full of mischievous, plotting students. The success of Our Miss Brooks rested on the basic realism of the situations as well as the deft humor. As the wisecracking schoolmarm who went weak at the sight of Mr. Boynton, the bashful biology teacher (played by Jeff Chandler and Robert Rockwell), Arden found a character that exploited her full range of talents as a comedienne. CBS originally wanted Lucille Ball for the starring role, but she was unavailable. They auditioned Shirley Booth (Booth would later find fame as TV’s Hazel) but Arden was simply a natural for Connie Brooks and today it’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Eve Arden brilliantly communicated the wit and sarcasm of Miss Brooks and the interplay between the various cast members succeeded in bringing out the comedy in every situation. Whether the episode focused on scheming student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) or Principal Conklin blowing his top, the double-edged zingers spiced up the scripts. Our Miss Brooks came to CBS radio in 1948 and lasted until 1957 and made a seamless transition to television.