The Darling Baby

The Darling Baby – The Andy Griffith Show – the Darling clan returns, with Charlene’s newborn baby, looking for a betrothed for her. Opie?

The Darling Baby – The Andy Griffith Show season 5

The Darling family returns to Mayberry seeking a future husband for their 3-month-old daughter. To Andy’s horror, they choose Opie, and he finds he will have to scare up a little witcraft to get out of this one. Original airdate: 12/7/1964

The Darling Baby begins normally enough. The Darling clan has come down from the hills into Mayberry, after the birth of Charlene’s baby daughter.

Sheriff Andy Taylor: [Addressing the Darling boys after meeting their newborn niece] You boys must be pretty proud to be uncles?
Briscoe Darling: [Explaining after the boys remain silent with a blank stare] Oh, they’re too choked-up to say anything.

But, the reason that they’re in town is to find a future husband for the baby! They spend the day trying to find a suitable future husband for her to be betrothed to. A fruitless day, so they visit Sheriff Taylor that night, to play some music before bedtime. Charlene sings There is a Time, to the music of her brothers. Frankly, one of the most beautiful songs played in the entire series.

Briscoe Darling: [to Charlene, after Andy asks for her to sing] Well sing that love song that I like so well.
Charlene Darling Wash: Oh that one makes you cry, Pa!
Briscoe Darling: Well, I’ll fight it! [but he loses the battle]

But then Opie comes down, and Briscoe Darling decides on the spot that he’s the perfect future husband! That evening, back at the Taylor residence, the entire Darling clan is there again — for the engagement party! Andy sings Ebo Walker with them, as Barney Fife is getting drunk on “mulberry squeezings”. Don Knotts does a very funny drunk bit, by the way.

But Andy has an ace up his sleeve. When its time for the signing of the agreement, he uses invisible ink, making the Darlings that its witchcraft! Chasing them away …

Briscoe Darling: Lets git outta here. You got witchery in your house.
Sheriff Andy Taylor: Just a little on my Mama’s side. Don’t hold it against me.
Briscoe Darling: Don’t touch me, it might be catchy.

And the end, all’s well, and the Darling family visits at the sheriff’s office, everything’s mended, and Andy sings “Stay all Night, Stay a Little Longer” with them, ending the episode.

Songs in The Darling Baby

• There Is A Time
  • Written by Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne
  • Performed by Maggie Peterson, The Dillards, and and Andy Griffith
• Ebo Walker
  • Performed by The Dillards and Andy Griffith
• Stay All Night, Stay a Little Longer
  • Performed by Andy Griffith and The Dillards.

Cast of characters

• Andy Griffith (A Face in the Crowd; No Time for Sergeants) … Andy Taylor
• Ron Howard (Village of the Giants; The Music Man) … Opie Taylor
• Don Knotts (The Incredible Mr. Limpet; The Apple Dumpling Gang) … Barney Fife
• Frances Bavier (The Day the Earth Stood Still; The Stooge) … Aunt Bee Taylor
• The Dillards … The Darling Family
• Denver Pyle (Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee; The Dukes of Hazzard) … Briscoe Darling
• Maggie Peterson (The Darling Fortune) … Charlene Darling Wash
• Doug Dillard (Divorce Mountain Style) … Doug Darling (as The Dillards)
• Rodney Dillard… Rodney Darling (as The Dillards)
• Mitch Jayne (Mountain Wedding) … Mitch Darling (as The Dillards)
• Dean Webb (The Darlings are Coming) … Dean Darling (as The Dillards)

Trivia

• Charlene Darling Wash’s daughter is named Andelina, named after Andy, because he helped the Darling family so much.
• Maggie Peterson (Charlene Darling) originally auditioned for the part of Ellie Walker.