Eddie, the Businessman

Ice cream stored in an outdoor dock not at freezing temperatures. Then, ice cream put in a trunk to melt. A good episode past the logic holes. Hogan's Heroes' Howard Caine plays another rat. Eddie livens up yet another episode.

Hugh Beaumont, with all his years playing movie detectives back in the 40s, was the right choice to direct this story. It's a rare episode, that combines both comedy and some high drama, and I think one of the best of the final season.

Wally and Eddie land jobs at the local ice cream company, thanks to Ward who knows someone in management. They're working the loading dock and everything should go well --until Eddie wants to cozy up to the foreman, played by Howard Caine (from HOGANS HEROES). Eddie feels he can get ahead with lots of BS and flattery --except the guy is a crook! You have to admit, Eddie had met his match.

The foreman is actually stealing and selling ice cream on the side, and setting Eddie up to take a big fall. Pretty good stuff from writer Dick Conway, who has both Eddie and Wally learn a hard lesson about human nature at its worst. Hugh Beaumont hit all the right notes here.

Howard Caine, a very popular tv actor, is perfect for this role. Don Haggerty plays Mr. Worden, frequently cast on BONANZA.

PS: Look for the ice cream in the refrigerator. LOTS.

Yes, I agree. When all is said and done, Eddie finally admits he was stupid. A series first!

SEASON 6 EPISODE 6 remastered/Universal. 6 dvds. Released 2011.

"This is America - the land of opportunity! Let's move onward and upward to a job where we can take it easy!" - Eddie Haskell

It's notable how many of Wally's after-school jobs involved ice cream: at various times he sold ice cream out of a cart ("Wally the Businessman") or delivered it from door to door ("Wally's Weekend Job"); and here Wally and Eddie - thanks to a good word from Ward - both get jobs working at the Mayfield Dairy Company, where ice cream is made. This has the makings of a delicious occupation, but Eddie's wise-guy impulses kick in. The IMDb plot summary puts it well: "Eddie has thoughts of grandeur above the manual labor they are asked to perform for the job." Ever the social climber, Eddie seeks to gain advancement by buttering up the loading-dock foreman and doing what he thinks are special favors. Will the boys' jobs be jeopardized as a result?

With all these dirty doings on the docks, the plot for this episode occasionally made me think of the film classic "On the Waterfront." In fact, at one point Ward essentially tells Wally to put his nose to the grindstone and keep quiet, as with Terry Malloy in that film. Things certainly threaten to turn serious for our heroes, and at episode's end a repentant Eddie has learned a lesson he won't forget. Eddie's twisted version of the American dream is shown for what it is.

Eddie Haskel in a rare scene. Actually admits to being a big stupid dope. And Wally tells him his Dad has been saying that for years and Eddie actually laughs at the statement which is also rare for Eddie. This was a very good episode that lets Eddie Haskel be the brunt of stupidity instead of Beaver for a welcome change. That Eddie Haskel always adds a good amount of humor into any episode he's in. To me the final season is the best one and really shows the full develoment of all the characters. I am so looking forward to the rest of the season 6 episodes. Wonder if my channel is going to start over with season one at the end of this one as I started watching the show at the start of season 2 about 5 or 6 months ago..

I've seen this episode a number of times before starting from the original broadcast in 1962, and I'm watching it again right now on FETV. Eddie Haskell figures prominently in this episode, so you know right from the start something is going to go wrong and someone is going to get sucked into something that's actually Eddie's fault. In this episode Ward's helps Wally and Eddie get a job at his friend's dairy loading milk trucks that made home deliveries. What I like about this episode is that is involves a very serious predicament for Wally and Eddie rather than a petty problem at school or in the neighborhood. If nothing else, it's worth watching just to see Eddie doing what he does best.