The Andy Griffith Show: Season 1

1960 · 32 episodes · ★ 8.4

What Season 1 of The Andy Griffith Show

Andy Taylor is the sheriff of Mayberry, a small town in North Carolina where not much happens. A widower, he raises his son Opie with the help of his aunt Bee, who acts as a mother to both of them. Andy goes after moonshiners and outside criminals, but he spends much of his day mediating disputes between neighbors using plain common sense. His deputy, Barney Fife, is enthusiastic and well-meaning, but so clumsy that every case turns into a small disaster Andy has to fix.

32episodes

Oct 3, 1960aired

May 22, 1961latest episode

13.3 hrtotal runtime

Season 1 Episodes

1x01 The New Housekeeper
Oct 3, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 7.9
Sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie are in need of a new housekeeper. Andy's Aunt Bee looks like the perfect candidate and moves in, but her presence causes friction with Opie.
Directing: Sheldon Leonard · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Mary Treen, Frank Ferguson, Cheerio Meredith
1x02 The Manhunt
Oct 10, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 8.2
Andy and his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, offer to help track down an escaped convict, but the captain of the state police scoffs at the small-town sheriff's help.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Hal Smith, Ken Lynch, Mike Steen, Cheerio Meredith
1x03 The Guitar Player
Oct 17, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 8.0
A gifted guitar player (James Best) who has self-doubts about his musical talent gets a chance at stardom -- with a little push from Andy.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: James Best, Dub Taylor, Henry Slate, Jonathan Hole
1x04 Ellie Comes to Town
Oct 24, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 8.0
When Mayberry's local pharmacist falls ill, his niece Ellie Walker steps in as a temporary replacement -- and creates turmoil with the town's resident hypochondriac.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Elinor Donahue, Cheerio Meredith
1x05 Irresistible Andy
Oct 31, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 8.0
It's the annual church picnic, and when Andy invites Ellie to the event, he begins to suspect that she has marriage on her mind -- so he hastily arranges for three of Mayberry's most eligible bachelors to lavish attention on her.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Robert Easton, Elinor Donahue, Harry Antrim, Ray Lanier
1x06 Runaway Kid
Nov 7, 1960 · 25 min
Andy must intervene -- and risk breaking a promise to Opie -- when he discovers that one of Opie's young friends has run away from home.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Arthur Stander · Starring: Dennis Holmes, Donald Losby, Pat Rosson
1x07 Andy the Matchmaker
Nov 14, 1960 · 25 min
When Barney's bumbling law enforcement techniques are questioned, Andy and Ellie decide to stage a fake robbery -- a scheme that turns Barney into a real hero!
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Arthur Stander · Starring: Elinor Donahue, Amzie Strickland, Jack Mann
1x08 Opie's Charity
Nov 28, 1960 · 25 min
Andy is dismayed when Opie refuses to contribute money to the school charity drive -- but there's a secret reason for Opie's apparent selfishness.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Arthur Stander · Starring: Stuart Erwin, Lurene Tuttle
1x09 A Feud is a Feud
Dec 5, 1960 · 25 min
Andy hopes to finally bring peace to two of the county's longtime feuding families, the Carters and the Wakefields -- by arranging a duel between the two patriarchs of the quarreling clans!
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Arthur Hunnicutt, Chubby Johnson, Claude Johnson, Karyn Kupcinet
1x10 Ellie for Council
Dec 12, 1960 · 25 min
It's a battle of the sexes when Ellie Walker decides to become the very first woman to run for a seat on the Mayberry city council -- and the town's horrified menfolk decide to sabotage her newfound political career.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Hal Smith, Frank Ferguson, Elinor Donahue, Mary Treen
1x11 Christmas Story
Dec 19, 1960 · 25 min · ★ 9.2
Mayberry's local "Scrooge," storeowner Ben Weaver, manages to have harmless bootlegger Sam Muggins thrown into jail on Christmas -- but the Mayberry folks manage to celebrate Christmas with Sam in a most unusual way.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Margaret Kerry, Elinor Donahue, Will Wright, Sam Edwards
1x12 Stranger In Town
Dec 26, 1960 · 25 min
Ed Sawyer, a mysterious stranger, arrives in Mayberry and disrupts the lives of the townspeople because he appears to know everyone's name, intimate details about their lives, and other startling facts about them.
Directing: Don Weis · Writing: Arthur Stander · Starring: George Dunn, Walter Baldwin, Bill Erwin, Phil Chambers
1x13 Mayberry Goes Hollywood
Jan 2, 1961 · 25 min
Lights! Camera! Chaos! A Hollywood producer chooses idyllic Mayberry as the backdrop for his next movie, and the entire town goes into a frenzy as they gear up for the anticipated glamour, fame and fortune.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Benedict Freedman, John Fenton Murray · Starring: Howard McNear, Dan Frazer, Jonathan Hole, Dick Elliott
1x14 The Horse Trader
Jan 9, 1961 · 25 min
Andy performs some slick dealing with an antique dealer to get rid of the town's old worthless cannon. But when young Opie later mimics his father's shady deal to obtain a pair of roller skates, Andy has second thoughts about his own wheeling and dealing.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Elinor Donahue, Max Showalter, Dick Elliott, Pearl S. Cooper
1x15 Those Gossipin' Men
Jan 16, 1961 · 25 min · ★ 9.2
Aunt Bee, accused by Andy of being a hopeless gossip, sets out to prove that the men of Mayberry are even bigger rumormongers than the women.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Howard McNear, Mary Treen, Harry Antrim, Phil Chambers
1x16 The Beauty Contest
Jan 23, 1961 · 25 min
The Mayberry town council wants to end the annual Founder's Day celebration with a beauty contest, with Andy chosen to pick the winner. The result is pandemonium as candidates of all shapes and sizes descend on the hapless "judge."
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Howard McNear, Frank Ferguson, Elinor Donahue, Elvia Allman
1x17 Alcohol and Old Lace
Jan 30, 1961 · 25 min
Opie comes home talking about a "flower-making machine" owned by sisters Clarabelle and Jennifer Morrison, the spinsters who run the local flower shop. Andy and Barney do a little investigating -- and discover the contraption is actually a still and the kindly sisters are in the moonshine business!
Directing: Gene Reynolds · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Howard McNear, Hal Smith, Gladys Hurlbut, Charity Grace
1x18 Andy, the Marriage Counselor
Feb 6, 1961 · 25 min
Mayberry newcomers Fred and Jeannie Boone are constantly causing domestic disturbances with their fighting, so Andy decides to play marriage counselor to the bickering couple -- with disastrous results.
Directing: Gene Reynolds · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Jesse White, Claudia Bryar, Forrest Lewis, Norman Leavitt
1x19 Mayberry on Record
Feb 13, 1961 · 25 min
A New York City record promoter arrives in Mayberry, intent on making a recording of the region's local folk music, but Andy becomes wary of the stranger and suspects he might be a con artist seeking some fast cash.
Directing: Gene Reynolds · Writing: Benedict Freedman, John Fenton Murray · Starring: Howard McNear, George Dunn, Elinor Donahue, Hugh Marlowe
1x20 Andy Saves Barney's Morale
Feb 20, 1961 · 25 min
When Andy has to leave Mayberry for the day to testify in a court case held in a neighboring town, Deputy Barney Fife is left in charge of the sheriff's department -- and he proceeds to arrest everyone in Mayberry!
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Howard McNear, Hal Smith, George Dunn, Dick Elliott
1x21 Andy and the Gentleman Crook
Feb 27, 1961 · 25 min
A notorious, nationally known con man dubbed "Gentleman Dan" becomes a hero of epic proportions to Aunt Bee, Opie and Barney when he is held for two days in the Mayberry jail.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon · Starring: Hal Smith, Dan Tobin, Mike Steen
1x22 Cyrano Andy
Mar 6, 1961 · 25 min
Andy makes an earnest attempt at matchmaking to help Barney win the heart of his girlfriend, Thelma Lou. Things go fine at first -- until barney misinterprets Andy's efforts and thinks he's trying to steal her away!
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Elinor Donahue, Betty Lynn
1x23 Andy and Opie, Housekeepers
Mar 13, 1961 · 25 min
Aunt Bee must leave Mayberry to care for a sick cousin, but not before scolding Andy and Opie for their messy housekeeping habits. The two are determined to clean house before she returns -- a project that suddenly accelerates when she phones to say she'll be coming home earlier than expected!
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Hope Summers, Rory Stevens
1x24 The New Doctor
Mar 27, 1961 · 25 min
Andy must make a hasty, ill-advised marriage proposal to Ellie Walker after he becomes convinced that the new, handsome young doctor in town is trying to steal his girl.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Elinor Donahue, George Nader
1x25 A Plaque for Mayberry
Apr 3, 1961 · 25 min
The Women's Historical Society is all set to throw a celebration in honor of the last living descendant of a Revolutionary War hero named Nathan Tibbs, who has been traced to Mayberry. But their excitement turns to horror when they discover that the intended honoree is the town drunk, Otis Campbell.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon · Starring: Hal Smith, Joseph Crehan, Isabel Randolph, Dorothy Neumann
1x26 The Inspector
Apr 10, 1961 · 25 min
When a state inspector arrives in Mayberry to check the jail and courthouse, Andy and Barney are shocked to discover he's a by-the-book stickler for rules and regulations. Things look shaky until Andy is able to demonstrate the "Mayberry way" of fighting crime.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Tod Andrews, Hal Smith, Ray Lanier, Jack Prince
1x27 Ellie Saves a Female
Apr 17, 1961 · 25 min
Ellie Walker takes pity on a shy tomboy named Frankie Flint and is determined to give a "Cinderella" makeover to the young girl -- much to her gruff father's displeasure.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Frank Tarloff · Starring: Elinor Donahue, R.G. Armstrong, Edris March, Robert McQuain
1x28 Andy Forecloses
Apr 24, 1961 · 25 min
Andy, faced with the unpleasant task of serving an eviction notice on a family who has fallen on hard times, tries desperately to come up with a way for the tenants to keep their home.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon · Starring: Hope Summers, Will Wright, Sam Edwards, Margaret Kerry
1x29 Quiet Sam
May 1, 1961 · 25 min
Barney is convinced that the new, mysterious farmer in town warrants further investigation. Andy finally agrees to pay a visit to the man's farm -- and finds himself drawn into a predicament he never imagined he'd find himself in.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: James Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum · Starring: Howard McNear, Hal Smith, William Schallert, Eric White
1x30 Barney Gets His Man
May 8, 1961 · 25 min
Barney's reputation as a deputy soars when he inadvertently helps capture Eddie Brooke, an escaped convict. But Brooke vows to escape again and head straight back to Mayberry to exact his revenge.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Ben Gershman, Leo Solomon · Starring: Barney Phillips, Betty Lynn, Mike Steen, Burt Mustin
1x31 The Guitar Player Returns
May 15, 1961 · 25 min
Mayberry's famed hometown musician -- Jim Lindsey (James Best) -- returns for a visit in his flashy convertible and fancy clothes. But despite all the trappings and signs of showbiz success, Andy senses that all is not well in the life of the popular performer.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Howard McNear, James Best, Elinor Donahue, Phil Chambers
1x32 Bringing Up Opie Season Finale
May 22, 1961 · 25 min
After being scolded by Aunt Bee, Opie decides to run away from home -- a plan that quickly turns into a series of eye-opening, and sometimes dangerous, adventures for Opie and a scare for both Aunt Bee and Andy.
Directing: Bob Sweeney · Writing: Jack Elinson, Charles Stewart · Starring: Hal Smith