I Married Joan S2-15 "Mothers-In-Law" 01/20/1954

"Mothers-in-Law" Director: John Rich. Writers: Jesse Goldstein, Phil Sharp, Sherwood Schwartz. Joan and Brad argue as to where they will spend their vacation. Brad wants to go to his Mother's in Cleveland; Joan wants to go to her Mother's in Saint Paul. They buy separate train tickets. They both have a change of heart and unbeknownst to each other go back to the train station and exchange their tickets and telegram their respective mothers of their cancelled visits. Strother Martin plays the ticket agent. When they discover that they switched, they again argue over which mother they should visit. In the meantime, Brad's mother wires and says that if Brad can't come to her she'll come to Brad. Joan agrees to stay an extra day just to greet Brad's snooty mother Florrie. Mother Stevens shows up and is trés rude to Joan. Norma Varden plays her--the giggly socialite who was almost strangled by Robert Walker in a parlor game gone very wrong in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" The doorbell rings again and Joan's down-to-earth mother Nellie shows up: "Surprise!" Mabel Paige, who played Mrs. Hansen in the "The Girls Go into Business" episode of ILL, among many other things, is Mother Davis. The two women instantly have a rivalry. Joan and Brad resort to desperate measures to right the situation. Trivia: During a scene Brad and Joan mention the brand "7up" by name and a bottle with logo is displayed--unusual for the time. Although Hal Smith, who usually plays Geraldine Carr's TV husband Charlie, is announced in the end credits, he does not appear in this version of the episode. William "Billy" Benedict, an IMJ frequent flier, makes an unbilled appearance delivering a telegram. According to IMDB, Mabel Paige passed away on February 9, 1954, just a few weeks after this episode aired. Geraldine Carr, Hal Smith, Mabel Paige, Norma Varden, Strother Martin.