Hazel - The Complete First Season
by William D. Russell
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Actor: Alan Hale Jr., Bobby Buntrock, Don DeFore, Shirley Booth, Whitney BlakeDirector: William D. Russell
Brand: Sony
Writer: Edward Kirsch
Writer: James B. Allardice
Writer: James Fonda
Writer: Jim Allen
Writer: Keith Fowler
Writer: Louella MacFarlane
Writer: Peggy Chantler Dick
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Black & White, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 898 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Hazel - The Complete First Season
DVD Review: Shirley Booth Stars in One of the Early '60's Biggest TV Hits
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't think I'd seen a HAZEL episode since the early 1970's when I was ten or so before buying this DVD set. I had always enjoyed the show, mainly because of the superb actress Shirley Booth, who was always good and appealing in everything she ever did. What surprised me is how genuinely funny HAZEL was! I was expecting something along the lines of a gentle little drama masquerading as a sitcom ala FATHER KNOWS BEST, OZZIE AND HARRIET, DONNA REED, and other "family comedies" shows of the period. HAZEL, however, is full of hilarious comments and situations - there's not an episode on this DVD that didn't make me laugh!
Miss Booth stars as an irrepressible maid who is not only a full member of the household she is employed with but something of the grande dame (emphasis on dame) of the neighborhood - often pitching in and working in neighbor's homes!! Hazel knows everybody and everybody knows Hazel. Greeting everyone with an earthy charm (and often a plate of food), Hazel never met a situation she didn't take a personal interest in and try to fix - occasionally with temporarily diasterious results. It's hard to think of another actress who could pull off this surprisingly complex role, certainly not the wonderful Thelma Ritter whom reportedly was the first choice. Ritter would have been in keeping with the caustic Hazel of the single panel SATURDAY EVENING POST cartoons but she could have never played this television Hazel, who is warm, empathic, and generous and whose wisecracks are never malicious barbs (when Hazel makes a remark about her boss' expanding waistline it's out of concern, not a fat joke). Shirley Booth's Hazel is the beloved middle-aged lady who seems not to understand when to back off, but whose intentions are so good you always forgive her and whose common sense is so strong more often than not she's on the money.
The whole cast is wonderful - incredibly beautiful Whitney Blake (a Kim Novak lookalike) as "Missy", whom Hazel has cared for since childhood, Don DeFore as Blake's husband, George Baxter, who at times resents Hazel's "helping" hand, and little Bobby Buntrock as their son Harold. Also of note in semi-regular roles are character actresses Maudie Prickett (as Hazel's best friend, neighborhood maid Rosie) and Norma Varden (as the elderly, affluent next-door-neighbor utterly incapable of doing anything for herself).
Yes, HAZEL evokes a happier era when life was more comfortable and less complicated for many (minorities and people of less affluence might disagree) but still this was almost half a century ago and the world does move on, sometimes for the better but not always. It's a bit bittersweet to me watching this program and knowing all the major cast have now gone on like the very era itself but the warm humor and vivid friendliness of this wonderful program makes revisiting the world of the Baxters a very delightful experience. I can't wait for Season Two - and the later ones as well.
Description of Hazel - The Complete First Season
HAZEL:THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD MovieHooray for Hazel! Shirley Booth stars as the irrepressible housekeeper Hazel in the endearing family TV series that ran from 1961 to 1966. A brilliant character actress, Booth wisecracks her way through Hazel's life, solving the problems of her employers, the often-befuddled Baxter family, as well as of the community (busting a shoplifting ring, finding homes for stray dogs, exposing a group of financial swindlers). All this Hazel does with her cheerful working-class enthusiasm, without getting so much as a stray wrinkle in her crisply pressed maid uniform (complete with little head thingy). When she gets into her own scrapes, she shrugs them off with Brooklynese cracks like, "Looks like I'm in the soup again!" The show is a perfect snapshot of early 1960s America, complete with frozen-in-time décor (did everyone have that same print of the little-girl ballet dancer framed in their living room?) and a lovely leisurely pace. Hazel can make an entire episode out of one single premise, as when Mr. Baxter decides that an unlisted phone number might cut down on the number of crank phone calls. And who wouldn't be nostalgic for a time when middle-class households had a working dad, a mostly-stay-at-home mom, perfectly behaved kids--and live-in housekeepers? Part of the appeal of Hazel, though, is that it's clear her life is much broader than her occupation. She knows everyone in town, from the balloon guy at the local park to the most powerful judge on the bench--all of which eventually comes in handy. And did we mention she's a cham-peen league bowler? Booth won two well-deserved Emmys for her portrayal of Hazel. The boxed set includes all 35 25-minute episodes, and you won't want to miss a one. I'm talking to youse! --A.T. Hurley
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