"The Big Valley" The Fallen Hawk (TV Episode 1966) Poster

(TV Series)

(1966)

User Reviews

Review this title
4 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
Heath feels responsible for a friend's injury.
kfo949417 January 2013
When an old friend of Heath's, Ward Whitcomb, comes over to the ranch to borrow money from Heath again, Heath thinks of a way that he can earn the money instead of giving it to him every now and then. He asks Ward to break a stallion that has been a chore to ride. During the ride, Ward gets thrown off the horse into the fence where he becomes paralyzed.

Heath now feels like his to blame for the injury and the fact that Ward and his wife, Nora, will have a difficult time for the remaining of their life. Heath starts coming over to the house talking with Nora which only leads to jealousy from Ward and now the story really heats up.

This was a nice story with some fine acting from the guest cast. Perhaps not the most interesting topic but was played out well. Nice watch for viewers.
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Average Episode with good acting
summerfields13 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Ward, an old ne're-do-well buddy of Heath's just doesn't know when to quit asking for hand-outs: they both get more than they bargained for.

The acting of the married couple (Marlyn Mason and the recently late Peter Haskell) is really good and Lee is in fine form here: looking great and having enough natural charm to win over a dozen women: in certain shots, he looks like the handsomest man in California!.

The scene where the preacher confronts Victoria with the 'subject of Heath' is great: Ms Barkley calls him "a self-righteous bigot" and asks him to leave her home.

The carriage scene in which Nora and Heath (just departing from Church) are seen talking of a bird's call is charming. Lee's impish/boyish grin is universally appealing.

Not a great episode but then most every show of this remarkable series is worth watching.

Again, as in many episodes, I never saw the likes of the very competent guest stars again.

Amazing.

An interesting footnote: I happened to look up Peter Haskell (who plays Heath's conniving buddy here) on the IMDb bio section. He had just died three hours priorly...
4 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Heath's guilt
bkoganbing11 July 2016
There are any number of Big Valley episodes where the childhood of Lee Majors is part of the story. Putting it bluntly he had some dubious good luck in being the illegitimate son of a western tycoon. That allowed him to claim a legacy that other kids growing up where he did never could.

Somehow given what we see of Lee Majors in the Big Valley I think we can assume he would have made his way in the world. But I think he feels a tad bit guilty about that lucky break.

Which explains why he's forever helping people like Peter Haskell though Haskell knows he can guilt trip him and does. As here when Majors just a bit irritated at this guy with his hand out tells him to earn the money breaking a bucking horse. When Haskell is thrown he suffers a crippling injury.

Does Lee Majors have responsibility for him and is this some kind of lifetime guilt trip Haskell will be putting him on again and again? There's also the matter of Haskell's wife Marlyn Mason who sees in Heath Barkley what her husband ought to be like.

Some interesting questions asked in this Big Valley story.
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Really jumped the shark this time.
qormi13 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Nora and her husband struggle for the gun. The gun goes off and she is shot. He lays her on the couch, thinking she is dead. Heath comes by, tells the man his wife is still alive, then beats him up. The next day, Nora is all dressed up and Heath gives her a buggy ride to the train. Okay... this woman was shot in the chest or stomach... no blood, no doctor, nothing. Full recovery.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed