Wikia

Ellie Saves a Female

Original airdate	April 17, 1961
Cast	Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife Ron Howard as Opie Taylor Elinor Donohue as Ellie Walker Edris March as Frances "Frankie" Flint R.G. Armstrong as Farmer Flint Bob McQuain as a Jenkins boy
Directed by	Bob Sweeney
Written by	Frank Tarloff (credited as David Adler)

SummaryEdit

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.

PlotEdit

Frances "Frankie" Flint is the daughter of a local farmer. When she comes into Walker's Drugstore admiring the make-up and perfume, Ellie decides to find out why she's so shy and so unadorned. It turns out that Frankie is an only child and the only help her father has to tend his farm. Therefore, she's more accustomed to wearing work clothes and dressing more like a boy instead of like a girl. Ellie decides to give Frankie some things like makeup and perfume, despite Andy's warning that it would be butting in. Andy drives Ellie out to the Flint farm, where she is rejected by Farmer Flint. After learning what happened, Barney brags that he would have stood up to Mr. Flint and got some results. Ellie puts Barney to the test and before he knows it, he is on his way to the farm. Barney confroned Farmer Flint with the same results, so he decides to sneak Frankie away and brings her back to town. Ellie and Frankie show up at the courthouse, and neither Andy or Barney recognize Frankie. Thanks to Ellie, some cosmetics, and a new hairdo, Frankie is transformed into a beautiful lady. When Andy and Ellie take Frankie back home, her father doesn't recognize her either. He admits that she is beautiful, but proceeds to explain that Frankie is the only help he has on the farm. Andy then suggests to Mr. Flint that Frankie the farmhand might be decent help, but that he's not utilizing his daughter to her full potential. His theory is that if Frankie were to get married, then there would be a son-in-law to help on the farm. Farmer Flint eventually sees Andy's point.

Trivia/NotesEdit

The farmer is played by R.G. Armstrong, one of Andy Griffith's real-life mentors and best friend.
After Ellie sprays Andy with Midnight Madness perfume, Barney has fun picking on Andy. It's normally the other way around in the series with Andy poking fun at Barney.
A candybar cost 5 cents.