User Reviews

The boys are off to school early, but each need 20 cents for some school drive. They stop to talk with Ward who has decided to paint the trash cans, but instead offers Wally 50 cents a can. Ward forgets to pick up the paint, and when Wally is talking with Eddie Haskell, Eddie says his father paid three dollars to have his cans painted. Wally is struck by Eddie's words that he should hold out for more money. At dinner, Wally hits up Ward for the extra money, but hits a Ward wall: Ward is not paying Wally three dollars. Wally leaves the table and retreats to his room leaving a fuming Ward. Beaver offers to do the job for nothing but Ward figures Beaver should get the dollar that was offered to Wally.

Upstairs Wally is trying to improve his grip for baseball, and see if he can pump Beaver for information on what happened after he left the table. Beaver knows that Wally wants to know about painting the trash cans; but now that Beaver has struck a deal, he decides to leave Wally in the dark.

Next day and Beaver is out painting the cans and himself. Ward is pleased with Beaver for being responsible. When Ward comes out to check on Beaver's job, he shows Beaver how to clean the rust off of cans before painting them. Wally is on his way home from playing baseball when he finds Beaver painting the cans. Not fair, this was his job as Wally made a deal with dad. Wally threatens to sock Beaver but Beaver threatens him with paint. Wally again retreats to his room yelling that the world is unfair. When Beaver comes in, he says if Ward gives the job back to Wally then he won't speak to his father ever again.

At dinner neither boy is talking to one another because of the trash cans. Ward decides to award one can to each boy. As the boys are painting together they develop a peace and things are going fine until Eddie comes by and announces there is a fire at the lumber yard. They run off leaving the job behind. When Ward comes home he decides he might as well paint the cans himself, until June tells him about the fire and off he goes. Once a boy always a boy says June.

When the "three kids" return home from watching the fire, the cans are painted. Beaver says June should get the dollar. June has already chosen her reward, a new hat from the hat shop.

That night Wally is working on his glove, and the boys ponder the cost of their mother's hat and why their dad went off to see the fire rather than paint the trash cans. A clever twist but I was looking towards a more practical realization for Wally. Eddie Haskell is and always will be an instigator looking to cause problems between parent and child and between friends. Perhaps Wally needs to hit a few more bumps in the road placed there by Eddie before he has his epiphany.