Before Kevin McCallister rigged his house with booby traps in “Home Alone,” there was Miss Brodie, played by the irrepressible Carol Burnett on the legendary The Carol Burnett Show. This magnetic clip showcases her portraying a single lady living alone in an apartment surrounded by an imaginative and bewildering array of safety gadgets.
A hilarious, must-watch performance that inspired the renowned “Home Alone” franchise! You can’t help but chuckle as the scene unfolds with her wary neighbor, Harold Dorton (Jim Nabors), trying to navigate the elaborate booby traps, which include everything from a dog barking window alarm to a tear gas pen.
Who wouldn’t think twice before stepping into such an apartment? Miss Brodie, cautious as ever, verifies Dorton’s identity thoroughly before letting him inside, only to be greeted by the foot-mat alarm that leaves him startled.
But Dorton, charmingly played by Nabors, takes it all in stride. Even a hidden knife under the couch, an electrified door knob, and a tear gas pen don’t dissuade him from his mission – to ask out the intriguing Miss Brodie.
Despite the myriad of alarms and deterrents, there’s an undeniable connection between the two. Miss Brodie’s defense mechanisms may be unconventional, but Dorton’s fascination and persistence paint a picture of human resilience and affection.
In the end, this sketch provides a hilarious throwback. It underscores the ingenious comedy of Carol Burnett and Jim Nabors well before the “Home Alone” series popularized home defense hijinks. Their pioneering comedy sketches have undoubtedly paved the way for many others.
So here’s to the classics, to the preludes of our favorite childhood movies. To the Carol Burnett Show, which could have been the unofficial training manual for a certain mischievous boy left ‘home alone.’ To laughter, innovation, and, as Burnett would sign off with, “a little more song, a little less fight, a little more right, and a little less wrong.”
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