Michael Landon writes and directs a tale of sin, forgiveness, a broken family, a dying mother, and her child. I think it may be the saddest Bonanza episode I can recall, and not a dry eye will be found anywhere on screen or in front of it by the time it's over.
The plot itself is perhaps not original (and the only reason I gave 9 stars rather than 10), but the way this episode explores themes of family, forgiveness, absolute love versus conditional love, and death, is way above the norm. However what I really wanted to comment on were the direction and cinematography, which were a magnitude or more above the typical Bonanza episode - or any typical television episode of that era.
I think both the themes in this episode and the cinematography were influenced by "The Searchers" in particular.
Two scenes stood out to me.
The first one occurs about ten minutes in and we are treated to a framed shot of Will Geer which reminded me of the closing shot from "The Searchers" where we see once and for all how far John Wayne's character has isolated himself from his kin. The plot here is different, but it's the same theme - and a similar shot - for guest star Will Geer. You'll recognize the shot when you see it, and I think it was magnificent. Here Geer is literally surrounded by his family (and Ben Cartwright) but totally isolated from them.
The second one occurs a little more than 50 minutes in, and here we see a reverse zoom shot of Geer alone through an open door, in his cabin home, while a storm is occurring outside. Now he is not only emotionally isolated, but physically isolated as well.
Several other sophisticated photography techniques are employed in various other scenes, and the overall effect kicks this episode up a notch. It's like we're watching Michael Landon stretch his directorial muscles and see what he can achieve.
Bottom line: I highly recommend this episode not just for Bonanza fans, but for all fans of good cinema.
The plot itself is perhaps not original (and the only reason I gave 9 stars rather than 10), but the way this episode explores themes of family, forgiveness, absolute love versus conditional love, and death, is way above the norm. However what I really wanted to comment on were the direction and cinematography, which were a magnitude or more above the typical Bonanza episode - or any typical television episode of that era.
I think both the themes in this episode and the cinematography were influenced by "The Searchers" in particular.
Two scenes stood out to me.
The first one occurs about ten minutes in and we are treated to a framed shot of Will Geer which reminded me of the closing shot from "The Searchers" where we see once and for all how far John Wayne's character has isolated himself from his kin. The plot here is different, but it's the same theme - and a similar shot - for guest star Will Geer. You'll recognize the shot when you see it, and I think it was magnificent. Here Geer is literally surrounded by his family (and Ben Cartwright) but totally isolated from them.
The second one occurs a little more than 50 minutes in, and here we see a reverse zoom shot of Geer alone through an open door, in his cabin home, while a storm is occurring outside. Now he is not only emotionally isolated, but physically isolated as well.
Several other sophisticated photography techniques are employed in various other scenes, and the overall effect kicks this episode up a notch. It's like we're watching Michael Landon stretch his directorial muscles and see what he can achieve.
Bottom line: I highly recommend this episode not just for Bonanza fans, but for all fans of good cinema.
