User Reviews

This television film was one of two attempts by Dan Blocker to somehow get away from his public persona as "Hoss Cartwright" on BONANZA by playing a lead role. Ironically this television film and the comedy THE COCKEYED COWBOYS OF CALICO COUNTY were both still Western films, but Blocker was in the lead role - not one of several stars in a weekly series. As such he demonstrated that he could hold up a film by his own abilities. Unfortunately within four years of this film he was dead at far too young an age, by an aneurysm. A sad loss of well honed talent.

The story of SOMETHING FOR A LONELY MAN is about a man redeeming himself before his townspeople. Blocker played John Killibrew, a blacksmith who was trying to regain his self-respect and the friendship of the town that now despises him. He had influenced his neighbors to move to a location for a new town, saying that it was going to be a great success because he feels that the railroad is going to stop at that town. But it is bypassed by the railroad. The town still exists, as the others are not in a position to leave it, but everyone blames Killibrew for the failure of their lives' dreams.

He tries to improve himself by learning to read - going to the local schoolhouse where he is helped by the schoolteacher Mary Duren (Susan Clark). But while this helps him feel a little better about himself, he still can't avoid the anger of the other citizens.

Then one day he happens to see a crate fall off the train that bypassed the town - and fall into a deep nearby creek. Before it sinks the crate breaks, and reveals it contains a very powerful steam engine. The story is taking place in 1870 or so, so that the steam engine is the cutting edge of the modern technology of that age. If Killibrew can raise that steam engine, it can be of great use to the town.

But that requires the assistance of the other citizens, and anything that Killibrew is involved in is tainted by his involvement. He tries to get the town leaders to listen to him - in particular the town's banker Sam Ball (John Dehner). Ball quickly reiterates the common view of anything, idea or action, that Killibrew gets involved in. He would be a fool to get involved. But Duren sees the big fellow is sure this is a good idea - and encourages him to try to raise the engine. But when Killibrew decides to raise the engine by his own actions alone, he starts being noticed by the rest of the towns people. Now that he is determined to go it alone Ball begins reconsidering his viewpoint - though not his view of Killibrew as a stumble-bum. Maybe, thinks Ball, the engine can be salvaged without Killibrew's involvement.

The film showed Blocker to best advantage, not only with his reacting to the town's ostracism and dislike, but his decision to go it alone, and his gratitude (and growing affection) for Clark. There were also scenes that reminded us about how effective Blocker was in performing stunts, as he did several scenes under water in the creek where the engine had been sunk. Clark is good as Blocker's biggest booster and support. And Dehner gave one of his patented sleazy, intelligent villains - out to control the future of the town. For a television western it was pretty good, and certainly worth watching. It is not revived on television too frequently, which is too bad, for it does remind us how fine a performer Dan Blocker really was.

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!

The comic themes of this TV movie western makes it seem cartoonish and never really provides any tension or danger in the struggles that a town goes through to get the railroad near to them. Once again, as he was for years on "Bonanza", Dan Blocker is the big hearted oaf, the blacksmith of a town he helped create, and now out of favor because the railroad that is being built will not be going anywhere near it, like that is his fault.

So because of his good nature and determination, he causes school teacher Susan Clark to fall in love with him, and she encourages him to pursue his dream by going out to change things. They end up being responsible for bringing a train engine into the village, aided by a group of friendly natives led by Iron Eyes Cody, and having several adventures as they make their way through the wilderness.

There's a cute encounter with a mama bear and her cub (more curious than dangerous), as well as the shotgun wedding demanded by Clark's family. Character actors Henry Jones and Edgar Buchanan are among the others in the cast.

Being one of the first official TV movies (a genre that only started two years before officially outside of a few experiments), it has not held up well as far as the print that I saw, faded greatly and dreary, and the script isn't optimum. While Clark and Blocker aren't exactly a realistic romantic couple, they are amusing together, and there are a few minutes among the silliness that are genuinely funny.

But as far as comic westerns go, it isn't all that good, although I can say that if I had to wander through the wilderness trekking a steam engine I'd want someone like Susan Clark tagging along in assistance. A few surprises along the way are a plus, one involving the steam engine that is rather bizarre.