The fifth season of the American Western television series Bonanza premiered on NBC on September 22, 1963, with the final episode airing May 24, 1964.[1] The series was developed and produced by David Dortort, and season five starred Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon. The season consisted of 34 episodes of a series total 431 hour-long episodes, the entirety of which was produced in color.[2] Season five was aired on Sundays at 9:00 p.m. It ranked #2 in the Nielsen ratings, the highest rated Western for the 1963-1964 season.[3]
Synopsis
Bonanza is set around the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada and chronicles the weekly adventures of the Cartwright family, consisting of Ben Cartwright and his three sons (each by a different wife), Adam, Eric ("Hoss"), and Joseph ("Little Joe"). A regular character is their ranch cook, Hop Sing.
Pernell Roberts had been unhappy with the show from the beginning and had threatened to leave the show multiple times. To plan for a possible early departure of Roberts, Guy Williams was cast as a potential substitute character, cousin Will Cartwright. Roberts ultimately completed the term of his six season contract and Williams was only used for the single season.[4]
Hoss takes a liking to a woman (Gena Rowlands) whose good looks have only led to unhappiness and a questionable choice of professions. Hoss asks her to be his wife and believes she can change even after she tries to seduce his brother Adam.
Bushwhacked, Joe wanders into a seemingly deserted town and collapses. He awakens and Louise (Davey Davison) tends to his wound, telling him he is in Martinville. Louise's father (Stacy Harris) and others enlist Joe's help to combat a terrorizing outlaw gang, but the town's sheriff's widow (Dorris Dowling) warns Joe to leave while he can. At the conclusion of a mighty battle, Joe's family finds him alone in a deserted town with no signs of life. Did Joe rally the town's citizens, or did he have a supernatural encounter?
Note: The real Calamity Jane and her family didn't reach Virginia City, Nevada until 1866, at which time she was only 14 years of age. Also, the time-frame of this episode was during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, 1861–1865 (see season five, episode five, "The Toy Soldier" which aired two weeks earlier).
Adam becomes attracted to Laura (Kathie Browne), a widow who's unwilling to tell her daughter Peggy (Katie Sweet) the bad news about her father, Frank Dayton (Wayde Preston), being dead.
Believing their father to be dead after he goes missing while tracking poachers, the Cartwright boys set out to find the men who did it. Robert H. Harris, Phillip Pine and James Best guest star.
Hoss brings home a strongbox filled with gold, claiming it belongs to leprechauns. A newly arrived Irish professor confirms the mythical creatures' presence and the whole town goes searching for them. Sean McClory, Robert Sorrells and Clegg Hoyt guest star.
Ben competes with an old rival to win the railroad's lumber contract, but he soon questions his fitness to run the Ponderosa after an accident wounds him and kills a ranch hand. Jay C. Flippen guest stars.
The Cartwrights protect dance-hall girl Lila Conrad (Patricia Blair) from the friends of the man she killed in self-defense and from self-righteous Judge David Knowlton (Andrew Duggan) intent on saving her soul.
The Cartwright boys compete for the attention of a visiting señorita (Marianna Hill): Adam relies on his charm and guitar, Hoss and Little Joe opt for a bull fight.
Ben's marriage to widow Katherine Saunders (Teresa Wright) is jeopardized by the widow's son being accused of murder.
151
17
"Alias Joe Cartwright"
Lewis Allen
Robert Vincent Wright
January 26, 1964 (1964-01-26)
Joe is mistaken for an Army deserter who looks similar to him and has only a stubborn career army sergeant (Keenan Wynn) to help him avoid being executed.
152
18
"The Gentleman from New Orleans"
Don McDougall
William Bruckner
February 2, 1964 (1964-02-02)
Hoss befriends a flamboyant, sword-brandishing newcomer from New Orleans (John Dehner) who claims to be Jean LaFitte.
Laura Dayton (Kathie Browne) is told by a handsome grifter that she'll receive a large sum from her deceased husband's insurance, but it's actually part of a ruse to cheat her out of her money.
154
20
"Bullet for a Bride"
Tay Garnett
Tom Seller
February 16, 1964 (1964-02-16)
Taken by feelings of guilt, Joe proposes to Tessa Caldwell (Marlyn Mason) he blinded by accident on a hunting trip.
155
21
"King of the Mountain"
Don McDougall
Robert Sabaroff
February 23, 1964 (1964-02-23)
Hoss tries to stop Big Jim Leyton (Slim Pickens) and his fiancée's father from killing each other.
156
22
"Love Me Not"
Tay Garnett
Frank Cleaver
March 1, 1964 (1964-03-01)
A girl (Anjanette Comer) who's been held captive by the Paiutes for many years falls in love with Ben when he takes her to the Ponderosa.
157
23
"The Pure Truth"
Don McDougall
Lois Hire
March 8, 1964 (1964-03-08)
As acting deputy, Hoss is sent to bring in a prisoner, but he ends up in the wrong town and accused of robbing the bank. Glenda Farrell, Stanley Adams and Lloyd Corrigan guest star.
Note: This was the highest-rated episode of the series (source: Nielsen Media Research and quoted in numerous books).
158
24
"No Less a Man"
Don McDougall
Jerry Adelman
March 15, 1964 (1964-03-15)
The citizens of Virginia City believe Sheriff Roy Coffee (Ray Teal) is too old to stop a raid from the Wagner gang and they demand his resignation.
Ben hears his nephew Will (Guy Williams) has been murdered in Pine City, only to learn Will is alive and on the lam from counterfeiters whose engraving plates he swiped (First episode of Will Cartwright).
160
26
"The Saga of Muley Jones"
John Florea
Story by : Alex Sharp and Robert V. Barron Teleplay by : Robert V. Barron
March 29, 1964 (1964-03-29)
Muley Jones (Bruce Yarnell), a distant cousin of the Cartwrights with a voice that can shatter glass, visits the Ponderosa. Meanwhile, the sheriff is looking for two moonshiners: Eskey (Jesse White) and Yuri (Strother Martin).
161
27
"The Roper"
John Florea
Peter Packer
April 5, 1964 (1964-04-05)
Will (Guy Williams) is taken hostage by outlaws who robbed Ben and killed three Army soldiers. He tries to save Ben and his sons, the doctor (John Hubbard), and the wife of one of the outlaws (Julie Sommars).
162
28
"A Pink Cloud Comes from Old Cathay"
Don McDougall
Lewis Clay
April 12, 1964 (1964-04-12)
Hoss receives a Chinese mail-order bride (Marlo Thomas) by mistake. Her militant ideas ignite a workers' rebellion and threaten the completion of a Virginia City railroad project.
Black opera singer Thomas Bowers (William Marshall) comes to Virginia City for a concert, but is suspected of being a runaway slave; some people want him arrested or worse.
165
31
"The Dark Past"
Murray Golden
William Bruckner
May 3, 1964 (1964-05-03)
Bounty hunter Dev (Dennis Hopper) appears to be haunted by a mysterious incident from his past.
166
32
"The Pressure Game"
Tay Garnett
Don Tait
May 10, 1964 (1964-05-10)
Adam is pressured by Laura Dayton (Kathie Browne)'s aunt Lillian (Joan Blondell) into proposing, but he's unwilling to marry her.
167
33
"Triangle"
Tay Garnett
Frank Cleaver
May 17, 1964 (1964-05-17)
As Adam secretly builds a home for his bride-to-be Laura (Kathie Browne), a love triangle ensues when Will (Guy Williams) falls for Laura Dayton.
168
34
"Walter and the Outlaws"
Ralph E. Black
Lois Hire
May 24, 1964 (1964-05-24)
Old prospector Obie (Arthur Hunnicutt) asks Hoss to help him rescue his dog from gold thieves.
Release
Season five aired on Sundays from 9:00pm–10:00pm on NBC.[11]
