The first hour-long network Western series telecast in color, Bonanza was also the granddaddy of all "property" Westerns, future examples of which included The Virginian, The Big Valley, and The High Chaparral. The series took place during and after the Civil War in Virginia City, NV. Lorne Greene starred as Ben Cartwright, silver-haired owner of ...
Not many media pundits gave Bonanza much of a chance when the hour-long Western series inaugurated its first season in the fall of 1959. Sure, it was filmed in beautiful color; and yes, the acting was superb, the writing terrific, the production values first-rate. But how could NBC hope to compete against Bonanza's principal Saturday night ...
Stella Stevens guest-stars as Ann Croft, a sheltered deaf-mute girl. Joe Cartwright tries to teach Ann sign language, only to be thwarted by the girl's fiercely overprotective father Albie (Albert Salmi). In the course of John Furia Jr.'s teleplay, Ann ends up saving her father's life, and also falls in love with Joe (the kiss of death for any ...
Although Bonanza had failed to make much of a dent in the ratings of its CBS competition during its first season on NBC, the full-color Western series returned to its Saturday night "death slot" opposite Mason for its second season. Evidently, NBC's persistence paid off: by the end of season two, Bonanza had climbed to 17th place in the overall ...
Considered to be a witch, gypsy girl Tirza (Susan Harrison) has been condemned to death by her own tribe. Taking refuge on the Ponderosa, Tirza falls in love with Joe Cartwright, who is determined to prove to one and all that the girl is not the sorceress she appears to be. Cult film director Hugo Haas appears as tribal leader Zirka, with Arthur ...
Among the most popular TV Western series ever, Bonanza starred Lorne Green as Ben Cartwright and Michael Landon, Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts as his sons Little Joe, Hoss and Adam. In the episode "Bade Without Honor," first aired in 1960, a stranger arrives in town; he says he's a Deputy Marshall and needs Jackson Blaine, a friend of the ...
Three army deserters -- Sutton (Joe Maross, Tyler (Grant Williams), and Mertz (James Parnell) -- take refuge on the Ponderosa, beating Little Joe senseless. Outraged, the Cartwrights join a military posse under the command of relentless Captain Bolton (Chris Alcaide). The supporting cast includes Gloria Talbott as Nedda, Dayton Lummis as Colonel ...
The ugly consequences of bigotry are examined in this episode of Bonanza. Gene Evans plays Andrew Fulmer, who runs for mayor of Virginia City on a "hate all outsiders" platform. Backed up by hired thugs, Fulmer targets the town's Chinese population for his most violent persecution. The hostility reaches a fever pitch when, after trying to protect ...
David Ladd, the son of movie idol Alan Ladd (and a future film executive in his own right) guest-stars as young Billy Allen, left all alone in the world by the death of his mother. Hoping to snap Billy out of his melancholy, Hoss Cartwright becomes close friends with the boy. Billy's loyalties and emotions are rent asunder when his outlaw father ...
Young Billy Walker (Wesley Lau) is accused of murdering the wife of Marshal Dowd (Claude Akins). Walker's employers, the Cartwrights, hope that Billy will get a fair trial, but it soon becomes obvious that Dowd intends to kill the boy before the case can be heard. Thus it is that Adam and Hoss appoint themselves escorts when Dowd transports Walker ...
The Cartwrights object to Todd McKaren's (Don Dubbins) plan to sell his family's land to ruthless miner Len Keith (Robert Simon), pointing out that the region's water supply will be polluted. McKaren's father Andy (Rhys Williams) likewise opposes the sale, if only to break up the romance between Todd and Keith's daughter Virginia (Merry Anders). ...
Written by William Raynor and Myles Wilder, "The Blood Line" opens as Luke Grayson (played by former B-western star Allan Lane) goes on a violent drunken rampage, forcing Ben Cartwright to shoot and kill the man. Grayson's son Todd (David Macklin), newly arrived from the East, swears vengeance against Ben and the entire Cartwright clan. The ...
The Cartwrights play host to former big game hunter Lord Marion Dunsford (Edward Ashley) and his wife Lady Beatrice (Hazel Court). Having grown to abhor violence and bloodshed, Dunsford is now an object of contempt and ridicule to his wife, who prefers the company of "real men" like Adam Cartwright. Jealous over Beatrice's growing attraction to ...
Charles Bronson guest-stars as Harry Star, a halfbreed who is regularly subjected to the bigotry of the townsfolk. Feeling that Harry has been unjustly persecuted, Ben Cartwright hires the man as a ranchhand. What Ben doesn't know, but the audiences does, is that Harry is a member of a gang of horse thieves, who intend to exploit Ben's trust by ...
James Coburn guest-stars as Ross Marquett, an old friend of Adam Cartwright. But Ross' friendship abruptly and unexpectedly turns sour when he accuses Adam of fooling around with his wife (CeCe Whitney). The otherwise easygoing Marquett's behavior becomes increasingly erratic over the next few days, culminating in tragedy. Also appearing are Harry ...
Ben and Adam Cartwright are convicted of murder and sentenced to the gallows. Rushing to their defense is a secretive stranger named Lassiter (Vic Morrow). Grateful but bewildered, the Cartwrights try to find out why Lassiter is willing to help them, whereupon they learn that the stranger's own parents had been lynched years before. Also appearing ...
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