Do people really know that Hazel was really a comic strip character? Every weekend Hazel would show up inside the pages of The Saturday Evening Post. It was a single panel like Dennis the Menace so TV audiences weren’t ready for when the character took flesh in the form of Shirley Booth. She did more than just give flesh to ink lines. Booth gave the character charm and the force of a hurricane. Even when she overstep her bounds, she didn’t seem like a complete jerk to the Baxters. She has reason for her meddling ways. Hazel: The Third Season contains 32 episodes that remind us that the maid runs the house.
“Pot Luck a La Mode” makes Hazel save the day when the Baxters head out for a night of fun. Dinner guests arrive at the house on the wrong night. Instead of sending them home hungry, Hazel whips them up an amazing meal so Mr. Baxter’s new client doesn’t become a former client. “Dorothy Takes a Trip” has Mrs. Baxter go off on a vacation without her husband. Hazel swears she sees Mr. Baxter off with a strange woman. Is Mr. Baxter having an affair? Can Hazel afford to see little Harold’s dreams shattered that his old man is a cheater? Or is Hazel over reacting? It should be noted that there are quite a few episodes without Mrs. Baxter this season. Supposedly she was having family issues and not a contract dispute.
Football was a big theme with two major episodes dealing with Hazel knowing how to call the plays better than a male coach. “Hazel Scores a Touchdown” makes her bring together two prickly football team owners. She needs her pigskin fix. Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan’s Island‘s The Skipper) is the coach who has to worry about Hazel drawing up his plays. “Hazel and the Halfback” brings the surprise guest star Frank Gifford. Frank Gifford was a major NFL superstar with the New York Giants before he took over the microphone on Monday Night Football with Don Meredith and Howard Cosell. Before he married Kathie Lee Gifford, he had a shot at Hazel. Mr. Baxter wants Gifford to invest in a bowling alley that Hazel doesn’t like. She’s busy trying to get sneak him her special plays she uses for Harold’s pee wee team. Mr. Baxter can’t stand Hazel screwing with his new star client. He doesn’t want to look like a tackling dummy with bogus advice. Frank isn’t too bad as himself, but he’s not quite up to Howard’s guest bits on The Odd Couple.
“The Retiring Milkman” puts Hazel between the prickly investor Mr. Griffin (Howard Smith) and her favorite milkman (Sterling Holloway). Seems Mr. Griffin just bought the dairy and isn’t too pleased by the milkman’s ability to waste a day eating at the various houses on his route. Hazel doesn’t want her pal fired, but it’s hard to light a fire under his rump. Holloway should sound familiar to you as the voice of Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh.
“Scheherazade and Her Frying Pan” is a two part adventure that sends Hazel out to Malibu to hang with a friend. What she doesn’t know is her friend’s boss is a mobster. The guy is in a middle of an underworld struggle. Hazel gets taken hostage by the rival gangsters. Will she allow her self to be fitted for a pair of sensible concrete shoes? “The Countess” hints that Hazel might be royalty. Will she use her new title to get another raise from Mr. Baxter? “Campaign Manager” provides this boxset with its government approved amount of Harold Gould (Rhoda). She wants Mr. Baxter to run for office, but will he really kiss strange babies for a job? Gould has a bit part of a TV announcer. Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H*) has a bigger role in “Let’s Get Away from It All.” Hazel and the Baxters chip in to help at an Italian restaurant when the owner’s wife is about to give birth. Mr. Baxter isn’t too thrilled to be moonlighting. “Maid for a Day” has Hazel give tips to Mr. Baxter’s sister on being a maid. She’s been cast in a play and needs tips to look authentic. Can she really match Hazel’s energy?
Hazel: The Complete Third Season keeps up the energy of the maid that ruled them all. Hazel just knows how to walk that thin line that lets her push the buttons on the Baxters without getting fired. She has the amazing ability to do her job and everybody else’s work. Mr. Baxter ought to just stay in bed all day and let her make things click. Frank Gifford’s guest bit should be watched with a couple glasses of wine like his wife’s schtick on The Today Show.
The Episodes
“Pot Luck a La Mode,” “An Example for Hazel,” “Dorothy Takes a Trip,” “You Ain’t Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” “Cheerin’ Up Mr. B,” “Piccolo Mondo,” “Hazel Scores a Touchdown,” “George’s 32nd Cousin,” “The Baby Came C.O.D.,” “All Hazel is Divided Into Three Parts,” “The Vanishing Hero,” “Call Me Harve,” “The Retiring Milkman,” “Hazel’s Nest Egg,” “Hazel and the Halfback,” “Hazel and the Model T,” “Hot Potato a la Hazel,” “Scheherezade and Her Frying Pan,” “The Fashion Show,” “George’s Ordeal,” “The Reluctant Witness,” “Democracy at Work,” “The Countess,” “Hazel’s Midas Touch,” “Everybody’s a Comedian,” “All Mixed Up,” “Arrivederci, Mr. B.,” “Such a Nice Little Man,” “Campaign Manager,” “Let’s Get Away From it All” and “Maid for a Day.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The color transfers are a bit on the bright side which seems normal for the early days of color television. The details do pop when the go on location. The view looks good inside a bowling alley from 1963. The audio is mono. The levels are fine going between the huge sound of Hazel‘s theme music to Shirley Booth’s huge voice.
No bonus features.
Hazel: The Complete Third Season provides more of the domestic hurricane known as Hazel. She’s the maid that knows how to not only keep a house, but the entire neighborhood. She has a pull on everyone she meets. The third season keeps up her ability to clean up messes including her own.
Shout! Factory presents Hazel: The Complete Third Season. Starring: Shirley Booth, Don DeFore, Whitney Blake and Bobby Buntrock. Boxset contents: 32 episodes on 4 DVD. Released: May 15, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
