> Thank you for your contribution to a a clean wholesome portrayal of American life and a positive influence on my childhood. <
Yes. ‘Leave It To Beaver’ and ‘The Rifleman’ were morality plays as much as anything else. And as you noted, they had a positive effect on those who watched them.
‘The Rifleman’ could have done with a bit less shooting, though. Just my opinion, and no big deal in the overall scheme of things.
I remember that at the end of each episode Ward Cleaver would explain the moral to the story to Wally and Beaver. The actor Hugh Beaumont was an ordained Methodist minister in real life.