Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Preferred Citation
History
Scope and Content
Related Material
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Title: Collection of scripts for
Our Miss Brooks
Collection number: PASC 60
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4.0 linear ft.
(9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1950-1956
Abstract:
Our Miss Brooks started on radio in 1948 and was successfully transferred to television beginning in 1952 (it ran on both media, with largely
the same cast, for several months in 1952). The series ended in 1956. The program revolved around Connie Brooks, an English
teacher at Madison High School. Collection consists of radio and television scripts for the series.
Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Collection of scripts for
Our Miss Brooks (Collection PASC 60). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
History
Beginning on radio in 1948,
Our Miss Brooks was successfully transferred to television beginning in 1952 (it ran on both media, with largely the same cast, for several
months in 1952). Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton, and frequently locked horns
with crusty, cranky principal Mr. Conklin. Many of the program's episodes, however, revolved around Miss Brook's unrequited
desire for Philip Boynton, the school's biology teacher.
The program had enjoyed good ratings on radio and only enlarged its audience when it moved to TV. And while some professional
educators criticized the series, others celebrated Miss Brooks and Eve Arden's work: she got teaching job offers, fan letters
from educators, was made an honorary member of the National Education Association and, in 1952, was given an award from the
Alumni Association of the Teachers College of Connecticut for "humanizing the American Teacher." Said Arden of her on-screen
alter ego: "I tried to play Miss Brooks as a loving person who cared about the kids and kept trying to keep them out of trouble,
but kept getting herself in trouble."
Obviously, Miss Brooks encountered enough trouble to sustain the series for over 150 episodes, but, unlike many other female
comics on TV at that time, Miss Brooks' forte was not the wild antics that were the norm of Lucy or the lopsided logic that
was the domain of Gracie Allen. Instead, Miss Brooks humor was achieved by her own sharp, observing wit and by her centered
presence in the midst of a group of eccentric supporting players--dimwitted, squeaky-voiced student Walter, pompous Conklin,
and the others. Miss Brooks was always the source of the jokes, not the butt of them.
In 1955, ratings were beginning to wane, and the series was overhauled. Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin were moved out of Madison
High to Mrs. Nestor's Private Elementary School. For a time there was no Mr. Boynton for whom Miss Brooks would pine, but
there was a muscle-bound PE teacher, Mr. Talbot, who longed for Miss Brooks. This was an important turnabout in the overall
premise of the show: now Miss Brooks was the pursued rather than the pursuer. (Mr. Boynton did turn up again in early 1956
just in time for the series to be canceled; in a film version of the series released by Warner Brothers in 1956, Miss Brooks
and Mr. Boynton finally did tie the knot and presumably lived happily ever after.) (From
The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television http://www.museum.tv)
Scope and Content
Collection consists of radio and television scripts for the series
Our Miss Brooks. Includes radio scripts (April 1950-April 1956, numbers 82-336 with some gaps) and television scripts (February 1952-April
1955, numbers 1-100).
Related Material
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Radio scripts.
Television scripts.
Television writers--United States--Archival resources.