Mary (Shelley Fabares) is running for class vice president at her school, and wants the family Stone to be on their best behavior. When her classmate and campaign manager, Gigi Perreau (as Cathy Robinson), comes over to plan a winning strategy, Jeff (Paul Peterson) and Alex (Carl Betz) wear ties to the dinner table. Donna (Donna Reed), however, is unmoved when she learns about Ms. Perreau's plan to "sell" Mary by emphasizing her good looks, and encouraging her to make flowery promises.
The episode starts with a cute scene featuring the perpetually hungry Paul Peterson - what can we make of his propensity to keep bananas in his pants pocket? - after this, he switched to apples - Alex offers a possibly more innocent explanation than you might be thinking: "Bananas flourish in a tropical climate." Well
It's obvious that Mary's opponent, bespectacled Melinda Bryon (as Betsy Cartwright), is quite cute, behind the over-sized glasses used to make her look "homely".
Ms. Reed appeared with guest-starring young Miss Perreau in "Green Dolphin Street" (1947); and, she not only kept in touch with her former child co-stars, but also offered them gainful employment. Another returnee, Jimmy Hawkins from "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), makes an uncredited second (of several) "Donna Reed Show" appearances - he delivers the funniest campaign speech (as George Haskell) . All in all, "Mary's Campaign" story is fairly typical sitcom material.
**** Mary's Campaign (3/18/59) Oscar Rudolph ~ Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Paul Peterson
