My summary quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Essays on Self Reliance" is a recurring theme in this made for TV movie, and in the way it was presented in the story, one could take it as a statement or a question. No doubt in my mind that John Killibrew took it as a personal challenge, with a belief in himself that he could take on the whole world if need be, to prove to the citizens of Arcana that he had a lot of good to offer.
As a kid watching 'Bonanza' during it's original run on TV, Dan Blocker was my personal favorite Cartwright. He had a home spun natural exuberance and his size made him a formidable opponent for anyone trying to take advantage of the Ponderosa. This picture was filmed somewhat more than mid-way during Blocker's tenure with the series, and features a cool handful of Western film character actors that will be familiar to followers of the genre. The most notable include John Dehner, Warren Oates, Dub Taylor, and everyone's favorite crusty old sidewinder, Edgar Buchanan.
I don't recall any particular Bonanza episode in which Hoss Cartwright might have had a romantic interest, but if he did, it probably would have looked a lot like the situation that develops here between his character and Susan Clark's Mary Duren. At first ambivalent and missing all the signals, Killibrew eventually comes around to discover an attractive woman who admires his persistence and courage. Saddling her with three no account brothers was just the recipe to provide some comedic moments during Killibrew's quest to recover a submerged steam engine that was waylaid during the opening minutes of the story. Was it my imagination, or did Susan Clark get better and better looking as the story progressed?
Needless to say, John and Mary emerge as winners in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Arcana, with John redeeming himself over a miscalculation made a decade earlier that cost the town some misfortune and civic pride. The picture ends with a celebratory hootenanny and the opportunity for John and Mary to finally make good on their honeymoon. And to think, unlike many of his conflicted moments from the Bonanza TV series, Dan Blocker made it through the entire story without a single 'dad-burn-it!
As a kid watching 'Bonanza' during it's original run on TV, Dan Blocker was my personal favorite Cartwright. He had a home spun natural exuberance and his size made him a formidable opponent for anyone trying to take advantage of the Ponderosa. This picture was filmed somewhat more than mid-way during Blocker's tenure with the series, and features a cool handful of Western film character actors that will be familiar to followers of the genre. The most notable include John Dehner, Warren Oates, Dub Taylor, and everyone's favorite crusty old sidewinder, Edgar Buchanan.
I don't recall any particular Bonanza episode in which Hoss Cartwright might have had a romantic interest, but if he did, it probably would have looked a lot like the situation that develops here between his character and Susan Clark's Mary Duren. At first ambivalent and missing all the signals, Killibrew eventually comes around to discover an attractive woman who admires his persistence and courage. Saddling her with three no account brothers was just the recipe to provide some comedic moments during Killibrew's quest to recover a submerged steam engine that was waylaid during the opening minutes of the story. Was it my imagination, or did Susan Clark get better and better looking as the story progressed?
Needless to say, John and Mary emerge as winners in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Arcana, with John redeeming himself over a miscalculation made a decade earlier that cost the town some misfortune and civic pride. The picture ends with a celebratory hootenanny and the opportunity for John and Mary to finally make good on their honeymoon. And to think, unlike many of his conflicted moments from the Bonanza TV series, Dan Blocker made it through the entire story without a single 'dad-burn-it!