-Look what Mom had put
away for us, Tommy.
She says give you one of them.
-Oh boy!
-So here's yours.
-Hey, you gave me
the little one.
-Gee wiz, Tommy.
You're not very grateful.
It's free!
-I'm grateful, all right.
But my mom always says when
you share with somebody,
you should always give
them the biggest piece.
-Yeah, your mom's right.
Because that's what my
mom always says, too.
So here.
Take them both.
-Both of them?
I don't want them both.
-OK, then you can share
one of them with me.
And don't forget what
your mother always says!
[theme music]
-And we've got to scope around
and watch this whole prairie.
And remember, if any of us
Indian scouts spots a wagon
train, we'll whistle
like a quail, see?
Like this.
[whistling]
-What are we playing, Buzzy?
-We're Indian scouts!
Apaches.
You guys want to be one?
-Sure!
-Now Dennis, when I whistle
like this-- [whistling]
--that's a signal for a pow-wow.
And that means everybody come in
right away because I need you.
-Yeah, he needs us!
-But whenever anybody
whistles, we always
got to whistle
back the same way.
Because that way, the enemy
thinks its just birds, see?
-I don't know how to whistle.
-Don't know how to whistle?
-Well, not yet.
-Criminy, Dennis.
How do you expect
to be one of us
Indians if you
can't even whistle?
-Well, all Indians
don't whistle.
-Well, we do.
Don't we, Apaches?
-Yeah!
-Look, Dennis.
Just go like this. [whistling]
-I don't feel like it right now.
-Well, I'll tell
you what you can be.
You can be a sheep herder.
They don't have to whistle.
All they have to
do is get scalped.
-I don't even want to
play your silly old game.
But I tell you one
thing, Buzzy Hampton.
When I get ready
to whistle, I'll
whistle better than you do.
-Come on, g*ng.
-[blowing]
[blowing]
-Heh heh heh.
Look, pucker your mouth.
Now blow.
[whistling]
-[blowing]
-[whistling]
-[blowing]
-See?
My dumb old mouth
won't whistle at all.
All it does is just blow.
-Well, you're a
little young, honey.
Lots of boys your age
can't whistle yet.
You'll learn.
-Sure you will.
It'll just come to
you all at once.
-If I don't learn any faster
than this, I'll be an old man.
I'll probably be shaving, even.
-Well, I don't think
you'll be that ancient.
Anyway you've got a few
days before your beard
gets in your way.
-Yes, and don't forget.
Buzzy Hampton's a lot
older than you are.
-I'm not going to wait
until I'm as old as Buzzy.
I'm going to learn
to whistle today
if it takes me the
rest of my life.
Anyhow, I'm not the only kid in
the world that can't whistle.
-[whistling "jingle bells"]
-Hey!
How do you do that?
You're not supposed to whistle.
You're not big enough.
How old are you?
Three?
-[whistling "jingle bells"]
Jeepers.
He's not even big
enough to talk yet.
But he can whistle.
-You always cut above
a butt, you see.
Well, like here, for instance.
You see, never cut too far back
on the bush, or you'll k*ll it.
-That's what I'd be afraid of.
-Oh, it could happen.
-For instance, if
I cut it down here,
it'll just k*ll it completely.
-Hi, Mr. Wilson!
-Oh!
Oh, for-- don't holler
in my ear, Dennis!
-I didn't holler,
did I, Mrs. Wilson?
-No, dear.
You just startled him.
-All, right, Dennis.
What do you want?
-Well, I've got a problem.
-Oh, so have I. Lots of them.
Why don't you go over in
the park with the other boys
and bother everybody instead
of just bothering me?
-That's what the
problem is, Mr. Wilson.
They won't let me
play Indian because I
don't know how to whistle.
So if you'll teach me how--
-Whistle?
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
-I'm just got to learn.
All I can do so
far is-- [blowing]
And-- [blowing]
Stuff like that.
-You'll learn, dear.
-I sure will if Mr.
Wilson teaches me.
Because you can do
anything, can't you?
-Well, anything I
feel like doing, yes.
But, well, I don't feel like
teaching you to whistle.
I'm-- I'm too busy.
-Well, George, why don't
you explain to the child?
You see, dear--
-No, no, Martha!
Don't you tell him anything.
Great Scott!
-Dad says all I have to do
is just pucker and blow.
But I can blow real fine.
But I don't know
how to pucker right.
-Dennis, you know, when I was a
boy trying to learn to whistle,
they told me to eat something
sour to make my mouth pucker.
-Won't you-- What?
It's what they told me.
-Sour?
Like what?
-Oh, like, um-- oh pickles, sour
grapes, or maybe sour lemons.
-Gee, that's swell, Mr. Wilson!
I'll try everything sour
and puckery I can find!
-Ha ha, good!
And take your time about it.
-And when I learn to
whistle real good,
I'll come over every night
and whistle you to sleep.
-Well, I hope he does.
You ought to be ashamed
of yourself, George,
telling him to eat
something sour.
-Well, she started it!
He opened up an
old wound that I've
been trying to forget for years.
In fact, I had forgotten
about it until he came over.
-I think it's absolutely silly.
-Silly?
Well, how do you
think I feel about it?
Here I am, a grown
man who can't whistle.
-Oh, so what if
you can't George?
It isn't important.
-Children whistle!
Mailmen whistle!
Even parakeets whistle!
But not George Wilson.
[whistling]
It's just humiliating.
-Oh, George.
-As a child, I couldn't whistle
for my dog like the other boys.
At the movies, when everybody
whistled and stamped their feet
at William S. Hart, I just
sat there like a big lump.
Do you know what they called
me all through the third grade?
A dumbbell.
-Well, children.
-Duh.
I can still hear them.
Georgie is a dumbbell!
Georgie is a dumbbell!
-But darling, that
was years ago.
So don't hide it
like a guilty secret.
-Well--
-Admit it, chuckle
over it, and forget it.
-What?
And be the laughingstock
of the whole town?
Never.
Now, I don't want to hear any
more about whistling, Martha.
Never.
I've got work to do.
-[whistling]
-Dah.
I'm going in the house
and lie down for a while.
[door closing]
-Mom, what have we
got that's puckery?
Real puckery?
-Puckery?
Sure.
Mr. Wilson says
if I eat something
sour to pucker my mouth with,
it'll help me learn to whistle.
-Oh, I think Mr.
Wilson was joking.
-No, honest!
That's how he learned.
-Well, I have some
pickles in there.
They're pretty sour.
-Oh, I tried those things.
They're no good for
whistling at all.
I wish you wouldn't
buy that kind anymore.
-Oh, I won't.
If they're not good
whistling pickles,
I can get my money back besides.
What are you doing?
-A lemon.
[groan]
Boy, is this sour.
[blowing]
Sure is hard to get the
right kind of pucker.
-I don't think that's
going to help much.
But you'll learn.
You'll be a fine
whistler someday.
-Where'd you get
the calender, Mom?
-From Mr. Quigley's
grocery store.
That's a famous old picture
by a very famous artist.
-I know.
Tommy's folks have one and
Tommy told me the name of it.
"Whistler's Mother."
-That's right.
-I wonder how old her little boy
was when he learned to listen.
-Dennis, that particular
Whistler was a painter.
-If I can just find the
right kind of something sour,
I-- Hey, I know where to go!
Sure, he'll have everything!
Bye, Mom!
-Goodbye, dear.
-You're looking splendid
today, Mrs. Elkins.
Simply splendid.
-Well, thank you.
I must say, you're feeling good.
-Never felt better.
I just read this
new book, and it
gave me a whole new viewpoint.
Yes, sir.
It's great to be alive.
It was, at least.
-Too sweet.
-Dennis, what are you doing?
-Oh, hi, Mr. Quigley.
I want to buy something
soon as I find it.
I've got the money, all right.
-There you are, Mrs. Elkins.
Always a pleasure to serve you.
Good day.
-Good day.
-Dennis, leave my fruit alone.
What are you trying
to do, ruin me?
-Oh no, Mr. Quigley.
I just sampling for sour stuff.
I've got the money, all right.
-Sampling for sour stuff?
-Yeah, I'm trying
to learn to whistle.
-Whistle?
I've got to find something sour
to pucker my mouth up with.
But so far, I haven't
found the right thing.
-It isn't because
you haven't tried.
-There's little bitty
green strawberries
that you to keep in
the bottom of the box.
They're pretty sour, all right.
-Yes, yes, Dennis.
-But I need something
even puckerier than that.
-If you want something sour,
I've got just the thing.
These little cherries
were picked too green.
They're never going to ripen up.
Eat them, if you
want something sour.
-Gee!
Wow, Mr. Quigley!
-No, no!
Not here.
Too messy.
Take them home and eat them, OK?
-Gee!
Swell, Mr. Quigley!
-I'll charge it to
your father's account.
All of it.
Dennis!
Now, Quigley, it's all over.
You feel fine.
Great.
Never felt better.
[laughing]
Well.
[laughing]
[footsteps]
-Oh, hello, Quigley.
Out of tea.
-Well, well, George.
How are you?
It's nice to see you.
Say, you're looking wonderful.
-Oh?
I've got a cramp in my shoulder.
I've been hunched in a
doorway for minutes waiting
for Dennis to get out of here.
-Dennis Mitchell?
Oh, you shouldn't
let him worry you.
-Well, what's happened to you?
The last time I was in here, you
are carrying him out that door
by the seat of his pants.
-Oh, that sort of ill
temper is all behind me.
You know, I have been
reading a book that has just
changed my whole
outlook on life.
I tell you, that book
has done wonders for me.
-Huh?
Don't hide your
frustrations, it says.
Drag them out, talk about
them, and you get rid of them,
it says.
-Well, it sounds like a sort
of do-it-yourself psychiatry.
-Exactly.
And it works.
I never felt better in my life.
-Hm., Well, I've got
problems, of course.
But there's one
particular thing that's
plagued me since childhood.
Oh, I haven't talked about it
because, well, it's just silly.
People would laugh at me.
-George, believe me.
No one's going to laugh
at your frustrations.
How can we laugh at
other people's problems
when we all have
problems of our own?
-Well, look at me, Quigley.
I am moderately successful.
I'm retired I'm -- well,
I'm over years old.
-Oh, at least, yes.
-And I have never learned
to do one simple thing
that most children learn in the
first grade-- how to whistle.
I can't whistle a note.
-Whistle?
Oh, you're kidding.
-Nope.
I can't whistle
at all. [blowing]
-You mean you can't--
[laughing] A man your age,
and you can't even--
[laughing] Oh, that is rich!
-Oh!
-I never heard
anything so ridiculous.
Imagine that--
-I knew I shouldn't trust
a secret to a jackass!
[laughter]
-It's not funny, Mr. Quigley!
Here, I don't like
your old cherries!
Mr. Wilson, wait for me!
Hey, I didn't know you couldn't
whistle either, Mr. Wilson.
I thought everybody
in the world could
whistle when they got
as old as you are.
-Well, now you know.
-I'm sure sorry for you.
Because I know how you feel.
Believe me.
Make you feel kind of
stupid, doesn't it?
I know.
Because I feel silly not
being able to whistle.
And I'm just a kid.
-Yes, yes.
-And if I was as big
adult as you are,
I'd really feel stupid.
-All right, Dennis.
Never mind!
-I sure know how you feel.
Oh, hi, Mr. Corrigan!
-Hi there, Dennis!
Good afternoon, Mr.Wilson.
-Oh.
-What?
What's the matter with him?
-He doesn't feel good.
Because he's over years
old and he doesn't know
how to whistle.
-[laughter]
-Dennis!
Never mind!
For Heaven's sakes!
-Did you learn yet, Dennis?
Can you whistle?
-Well, not quite, Tommy.
[blowing]
I can almost whistle.
And me and Mr.
Wilson are going to--
-Ha!
Everybody can whistle
but you, Dennis!
-Ha yourself, Buzzy!
Everybody can not
whistle but me!
Tell them, Mr. Wilson!
-Oh, I-- I will not.
Confound this gate.
-(SINGING): Dennis
is a dumbbell!
Dennis is a dumbbell!
-(SINGING): Dennis
is a dumbbell!
-(SINGING): Dennis
is a dumbbell!
-I am not!
-He's no more of a
dumbbell then you are,
you little-- all right,
you get out of here!
All of you out of my yard!
Go on!
Go someplace else!
You too!
Out!
Out!
Go on!
Um, let's you and
I go in the house
and see if we can
find some cookies.
What's so great about
whistling, anyway?
If you learn, OK.
If you don't, OK.
Who cares?
-Sure.
Who cares?
-So let's just forget it, now.
Huh?
I got some things here
I want to show you.
We won't even mention the
word "whistle," right?
-Right.
-Look at this book
I just got-- brand
new addition of
"Birds of the World."
Every bird you can
think of is in here.
-Boy, they sure are pretty!
-Ah, these are
tropical birds, Dennis.
Talking birds, most of them.
There's a parrot.
-I know parrots.
-A cockatoo, and this
one's a myna bird.
-What's this one, Mr. Wilson?
Does he talk too?
-No, no, Dennis.
That's a Peruvian Bushbird.
He has a high shrill whistle.
And when he whistle--
-He's not as big as my
first, and he can whistle.
-He's not even as big
as Quigley's nose,
and I'll bet he can whistle
better than Quigley.
D'oh.
That's enough of birds, huh?
I tell you what, Dennis.
Let's take a look at
my stamp collection.
-OK!
Boy, I'll bet this
is the swellest stamp
collection in the whole world!
-Ha ha ha.
Well, it's a pretty
good one, all right.
You see, these are all
commemorative stamps, Dennis.
Now, here's the
th anniversary
of the steam engine.
-I'm going to be a captain
on a steamboat someday.
-Oh!
Well, I'll bet you'd
be a darn good one.
Now, this Alaska stamp here--
-Hey, here's that lady in
the rocking chair again!
-Oh yes, that's
"Quigley's Mother"--
uh, "Whistler's Mother."
Oh, Dennis.
Great Scott, what is
the matter with us?
You know, we're just
being ridiculous.
I tell you what.
Let's watch a little television.
-Oh boy, the cartoons are on.
They're real funny!
-Heh heh heh. good!
Let's have ourselves
a few laughs.
Sit here and laugh it up while--
TV (OFFSCREEN):
And this has been
"Pop Johnson's Cartoon Party,"
brought to you by the makers
of Johnson's Party Pop,
the pop you kids all love.
And now, let's hear our theme
song that reminds us of pop.
Johnson's Party Pop, everybody!
-[whistling]
-Isn't that great?
And now remember,
I want all you good
whistlers to join
us here tomorrow
for another great
"Johnson's Party Pop Party."
There will be free gifts
and prizes for everybody.
So don't--
-I don't want to watch anymore.
I better go home, I guess.
-[sigh]
I-- I guess so.
-Think I'll go back to
Mr. Quigley's and get
those sour old cherries.
I just got to learn
to whistle some way.
-[blowing]
Oh--
-I sure hope I know how
to whistle tomorrow.
Gee wiz!
-I'm sure will, son.
-Good night, dear.
-Night, son.
-Hey, I meant to tell you
what happened a while ago.
I was having a banana to
kind of rest my mouth.
And look what came loose!
-A tooth!
-I've been expecting that one.
-Oh, you take it right up
and put it under your pillow.
Maybe the good fairy will
leave you some money for it.
-OK.
But you know what I wish the
good fairy would do instead?
-Teach you to whistle.
A dime.
Boy, the good old fairy
didn't forget after all.
Sure is a lucky way
to start the morning.
Maybe this is going to
be my day to whistle.
[whistling]
[whistling]
Hey, mom!
[whistling]
Dad!
Listen!
[whistling]
And you want to hear this
one again? [whistling]
-Ha ha ha ha!
Can you do this one? [whistling]
-[whistling]
-[laughter] That's wonderful!
I told you you'd
be a fine whistler.
It's that lost
tooth that did you.
-Oh no!
Losing my tooth didn't
teach me how to whistle.
It's these sour
cherries that did it.
-It is?
-Sure!
They puckered up my
mouth just right,
just like Mr. Wilson
said they would.
-Mighty smart man, Mr. Wilson.
-He sure is!
-I'm going to go
over there right now
and teach him how to whistle!
-Hm.
Oh, isn't it pleasant out
here in the mornings, Martha?
-Yes, George.
It's so calm and peaceful.
-Just like the country--
-[whistling]
-So that's going to start again.
-Hi, Mr. Wilson!
It's me, Dennis! [whistling]
-Oh!
-Oh!
You too now, huh?
-And it's all because
of you, Mr Wilson!
-Me?
-It's these sour
cherries that did it.
They puckered up my
mouth just right,
just like you said they would.
And all at once, I can whistle!
-Martha, I-- I thought something
like that just might work.
-Oh George, you
just told him that.
-It sure works, all right.
-Well, you can see how it
could have a scientific basis.
To whistle, you have
to pucker your mouth,
and something sour
aids puckering.
-Try these things, Mr. Wilson.
They're the puckeriest
things you ever tasted!
-Heh heh heh.
You see, Martha?
I just happen to have
an invented mind.
And it struck me-- Oh!
Oh, I bit down on a pit.
Oh dear.
There goes a filling.
I lost a filling.
-Oh dear!
-Gee, I'm sorry it
hurts, Mr. Wilson.
-Well, it isn't the tooth
that hurts so much, Dennis.
It's the $ for a new filling.
-But Mr. Wilson, I--
-Now, never mind, Dennis.
-But now that you've
tried the cherries,
maybe if you just
try like I did.
You look pretty puckery.
-Oh, all right.
But look, all I can do
is blow. [whistling]
-You did it, Mr. Wilson!
You did it!
Whistle again!
-[whistling]
-That was good, George!
-Ho ho!
-[whistling]
-[whistling]
[laughter]
Say, this is fun, Dennis!
Let's try a tune together!
-OK!
And I know just the tune.
-That's swell, Dennis.
Buzzy said that when
you learn to whistle,
you could be Apache scout, too.
So come on!
-No thanks, Tommy.
You tell Buzzy I
haven't got time
for that kind of
silly stuff today.
-Silly stuff?
-Me and Mr. Wilson have got
some important practicing to do.
You know the song I mean?
-Oh ho ho, I certainly do!
[WHISTLING "POP GOES THE
WEASEL"]
-[WHISTLING "POP GOES THE
-Hello, Martha!
[theme music]
02x10 - Dennis Learns to Whistle
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Follows the Mitchell family – Henry, Alice, and their only child, Dennis, an energetic, trouble-prone, mischievous, but well-meaning boy, who often tangles first with his peace-and-quiet-loving neighbor, George Wilson, a retired salesman, and later with George's brother John, a writer.
Follows the Mitchell family – Henry, Alice, and their only child, Dennis, an energetic, trouble-prone, mischievous, but well-meaning boy, who often tangles first with his peace-and-quiet-loving neighbor, George Wilson, a retired salesman, and later with George's brother John, a writer.