Andy and the Woman Speeder (TAGS Episode)

Episode Info

Andy and the Woman Speeder

• S2.E3
• Filmed: 35
• Aired: 35
• Original Air Date: 1961/10/16
• Writer(s): Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart
• Director: Bob Sweeney

Plot Summary

Andy arrests beautiful big-city woman Elizabeth Crowley. By the time she reaches trial, Miss Crowley has used flattery and bribes to turn the witnesses for the prosecution--Opie, Floyd, and Barney--against Andy. After winning the case, Miss Crowley sees the error of her ways and promptly speeds out of town intentionally so Andy can arrest her again and allow her to pay the fine she deserved in the first place.

Summary

In "Andy and the Woman Speeder," which aired on October 16, 1961, as the third episode of Season 2, Sheriff Andy Taylor faces an unusual challenge when Deputy Barney Fife tickets Elizabeth Crowley (played by Jean Hagen), a sophisticated and headstrong woman from Washington, D.C., for speeding through Mayberry. Convinced that the town operates a speed trap, Elizabeth refuses to simply pay the fine and demands her day in court, setting the stage for a battle of wits.

The case unfolds in Mayberry’s courthouse, where Andy doubles as justice of the peace. Elizabeth pleads not guilty and employs her charm and cunning to undermine Andy’s authority. She flatters Barney, comparing him to Frank Sinatra, and tempts Opie with a shiny autographed baseball, while also appealing to Floyd the barber’s vanity. Her tactics work: Barney, Opie, and Floyd—key witnesses to her speeding—begin to waver, reluctant to testify against her. Andy, however, remains steadfast, finding her guilty of speeding and sentencing her to a $10 fine or two days in jail. When Elizabeth also insults Andy’s judicial dignity (despite his casual flannel shirt), he tacks on a $20 fine for contempt, bringing the total to $30. Defiant, she chooses jail over payment.

Elizabeth’s time in the Mayberry jail becomes a comedic ordeal. She complains about the accommodations, prompting Andy to quip about getting pink towels to meet the legal requirement for a female prisoner’s matron (though no matron appears). Her presence disrupts the town’s rhythm, with Barney growing agitated and the townsfolk buzzing about the outsider. Yet, Andy’s calm persistence begins to wear her down. Rather than assigning her community service (as I mistakenly suggested earlier), Andy lets her sit out her sentence, confident she’ll come around.

The turning point comes when Elizabeth, after winning over the witnesses and technically "beating" the system, reflects on her actions. In a surprising twist, she deliberately speeds through Mayberry again, ensuring Andy catches her. This time, she pays the original fine, acknowledging her wrongdoing and Andy’s quiet victory. As she departs, Andy invites her to return someday—"a little slower, of course"—and she leaves with a newfound respect for Mayberry’s unassuming sheriff. The episode wraps up with Andy and Barney back at the courthouse, Barney perhaps exaggerating his role in the resolution.

Odd Facts Known by Few

• Floyd Lawson caught three trout and two perch while fishing. Barney caught a frog.

• Elizabeth Crowley, the speeder, said Barney reminded her of Frank Sinatra.

• Barney imitates Frank Sinatra by singing the first lines of One For My Baby.

• This episode has a storyline similar to the pilot episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" aired on "The Danny Thomas Show" season 7 episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith." It's also one of the few where Andy is stubborn about doing things by-the-book rather than Barney.

• This is the only episode in which Mayor Pike served as a judge or held a mayor's court.

• Andy says that by law a female prisoner must have a matron, but it doesn't happen a few years later in Prisoner of Love.

• The paintings Aunt Bee put in the jail cell for Elizabeth Crowley were various dancer paintings by Edgar Degas.

• The Degas picture Aunt Bee hangs in Ms. Crowley's cell (with the larger of the two ballerinas in the foreground) is the same one the Baxters have in their living room in Seasons 1-4 of the popular 60's sitcom "Hazel."

• The map behind Andy's desk is a map of North Carolina on the top with what appears to be a map of Tennessee below the N.C. map.

• In a scene near the end of the episode, the rear view mirror is missing in the close-up shots but visible in the long shots.

• Actress Jean Hagen seemed a shoo-in to win the best supporting actress Academy Award for her hilarious performance as Lina Lamont in 1952's "Singin' in the Rain", but was beaten out for the award by Gloria Grahame for "The Bad and the Beautiful". Though nominated twice for an Emmy Award as Danny Thomas' first TV wife on his popular comedy series, "Make Room for Daddy" (renamed "The Danny Thomas Show" after the first three seasons), Jean became disenchanted with the rather colorless wife-and-mother role and left the series after four seasons. Marjorie Lord replaced her as Danny's perky second wife.

• FYI - Guest star Jean Hagen is not related to series composer and theme music whistler Earle Hagen.

Quotes

Andy Taylor: Well, that's a fine day's work. You've outsmarted justice and you've made a mockery of this court and you've turned three people against me that I would have sworn would never leave my side. Oh, I can understand a shiny, autographed baseball turning a little boy's head, but I am a little disappointed in Floyd and I'm *real* disappointed in my deputy. He's a law officer and ought to know better. Congratulations, ma'am. Been quite a day's work.

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Elizabeth Crowley: I am going to win this case. If not here, I'll appeal to a higher court. If necessary, I'll take it to the Supreme Court!

Andy Taylor: Suit yourself, lady, but you sure are takin' the hard way back to Washington.

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Character List

• Andy Griffith - Andy Taylor
• Don Knotts - Barney Fife
• Ronny Howard - Opie Taylor
• Frances Bavier - Aunt Bee Taylor
• Howard McNear - Floyd Lawson
• Dick Elliott - Mayor Pike
• Jean Hagen - Elizabeth Crowley