This show was one of the best-loved early television comedies, but the kinescopes made of the live episodes were thrown out after broadcast. This was a huge financial mistake that would finally dawn on the bean counters at CBS after the success of I Love Lucy (1951). CBS (and sponsor Maxwell House Coffee) finally relented to the added cost, and the series was committed to film at the end of production (ironically, not enough episodes were filmed to enable profitable rerun syndication). Sadly, while older fans remember this series fondly, most of the heart-warming stories of the Hansens' white house on Steiner Street are lost to posterity.
First telecast July 1, 1949. The last episode supposedly aired on July 27, 1956, but public demand brought it back for a brief period in 1957. Shown on CBS Friday nights 8:00 to 8:30. This was the first television series to be brought back due to viewer demand after cancellation.
Famous for the annual Christmas episode where Papa (Judson Laire) told daughter Dagmar how the animals were given the gift of speech each Christmas Eve as a reward for protecting Baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
The series was based on the book,"Mama's Bank Account" by Kathryn Forbes ("Katrin" as portrayed by Rosemary Rice in the series).