Brief Holiday

Episode aired Jan 16, 1957
TV-G
30m

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

YOUR RATING

Vivi Janiss and Jane Wyatt in Father Knows Best (1954)

Comedy Family

Margaret gets tired of all the housework and demands of the children, expecting her to do their every whim. She decides to take a day off and go into town. She browses the stores and has her... Read allMargaret gets tired of all the housework and demands of the children, expecting her to do their every whim. She decides to take a day off and go into town. She browses the stores and has her picture drawn by a street artist.Margaret gets tired of all the housework and demands of the children, expecting her to do their every whim. She decides to take a day off and go into town. She browses the stores and has her picture drawn by a street artist.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.2/10

YOUR RATING

2User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews2

8.258

Featured reviews

9MichaelMartinDeSapio

Margaret Takes a Break

We all need to take time out from the daily grind once in a while and do something pleasurable and refreshing. That's exactly what Margaret does in "Brief Holiday." She is tired of catering to the children's every whim - cooking for them, fixing their clothes, feeding their pets. On the spur of the moment she decides to leave her domestic duties, take the afternoon off and go to a ritzy part of town, where she buys a hat, eats lunch at a French restaurant and has her portrait painted.

When she returns home, the entire family treats her like an oddball for acting so out of character. Jim's imagination runs wild as he wonders why Margaret suddenly ran out. Is she tired of him? Has he been an inadequate husband? Margaret for her part feels frustrated that Jim doesn't credit her simple and honest explanation for her actions. How can she make Jim understand?

This is another FKB episode with a profound and timely point. It reminds us of the importance of breaking out of our regimented lives, reconnecting with what is joyful and meaningful - in short, the importance of holiday.

The tony part of Springfield looks a little too much like a low-budget Hollywood "Parisian" set. Otherwise, an admirable episode.

8agbell1936

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Trivia
Margaret expresses her frustration with Jim, especially when he adds to all the chores with which the kids have burdened her, by saying "et tu, Brute?" She's reciting a line from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" (Act III, Scene 1). The phrase literally mean 'even you, Brutus', which are the final words Julius Caesar says before he dies from multiple stab wounds inflicted by several men, including his supposed good friend Marcus Brutus.