Meeting a small boy named Pepe starts a chain of events that take Cheyenne in a direction he hadn't intended. Heading for Tombstone, he's ambushed by two men he once sent to prison, but his life is saved when a stranger happens along. Unfortunately for the stranger, during the ensuing gunfight he is killed by a stray bullet and Cheyenne is left feeling as guilty as a man of honor would feel in the circumstances.
When he learns that the stranger who inadvertently saved his life was Pepe's father, Cheyenne escorts Pepe to Cantadora, Mexico, where the boy and his mother, Alita, live on the rancho of her father-in-law, Don Ignacio. Still full of remorse, Cheyenne offers to help the family recover from what he thinks has been a simple downturn in their fortunes, with crops being left untended because of the lack of money to pay workers. Observing his struggles behind a plow, Alita notes with some amusement that he's not a farmer. He replies, "Man ought to try everything, never know when it'll come in handy." This attitude explains why Cheyenne Bodie was capable of undertaking such a wide variety of jobs over the years; he had a work ethic unlike most of his contemporaries, another quality Clint Walker brought to the character.
Soon Cheyenne learns that the downturn in their fortunes is due in part to the reckless lifestyle of a hedonistic heir. As Don Ignacio says of his son, ""Don Bernardo loved life, but hated work." Cheyenne also learns from Alita that the man whose life he has been trying to replace was sadistic and abusive. However, a callous, self-indulgent wastrel isn't the only one who is to blame for the family's woes. Enter "the great Perez."
He's an arrogant, self-styled military hero who commands a ragtag band of minions and struts around demanding honor and taxes from oppressed villagers. There's even a statue of him in the town square, evidently not erected by adoring citizens. He just happens also to be Alita's father and Pepe's grandfather, but Alita despises him and Pepe seems afraid of him.
For all his efforts to help the family and despite hints of Alita's romantic inclinations, Cheyenne begins to realize that no matter what he does, he can't live another man's life, so he decides to move on. When he defies Perez, he's sentenced to death. But with the help of the local priest, he escapes and ends up giving Perez a taste of his own medicine.
Harold J. Stone pulled out all the stops in his portrayal of Perez; he looked like he was having fun. As Don Ignacio Rodriguez, Raoul De Leon was a sympathetic character, weary of the struggle to keep his rancho going and grateful that Cheyenne had stepped in to help, calling him "my son." Margarita Cordova was an appealing Alita, determined to defy her bully of a father and to persuade Cheyenne to stay. She summed up her feelings when she said to Cheyenne, "One good thing Don Bernardo did in spite of himself. Because of him I met you. Because of him I have learned that there are men of honor, men who are kind and good. For this I thank him." This poignant expression also sums up how well Clint Walker infused attributes of his own personality into Cheyenne Bodie, qualities that inevitably and positively affected deserving people he encountered as he roamed the West.
When he learns that the stranger who inadvertently saved his life was Pepe's father, Cheyenne escorts Pepe to Cantadora, Mexico, where the boy and his mother, Alita, live on the rancho of her father-in-law, Don Ignacio. Still full of remorse, Cheyenne offers to help the family recover from what he thinks has been a simple downturn in their fortunes, with crops being left untended because of the lack of money to pay workers. Observing his struggles behind a plow, Alita notes with some amusement that he's not a farmer. He replies, "Man ought to try everything, never know when it'll come in handy." This attitude explains why Cheyenne Bodie was capable of undertaking such a wide variety of jobs over the years; he had a work ethic unlike most of his contemporaries, another quality Clint Walker brought to the character.
Soon Cheyenne learns that the downturn in their fortunes is due in part to the reckless lifestyle of a hedonistic heir. As Don Ignacio says of his son, ""Don Bernardo loved life, but hated work." Cheyenne also learns from Alita that the man whose life he has been trying to replace was sadistic and abusive. However, a callous, self-indulgent wastrel isn't the only one who is to blame for the family's woes. Enter "the great Perez."
He's an arrogant, self-styled military hero who commands a ragtag band of minions and struts around demanding honor and taxes from oppressed villagers. There's even a statue of him in the town square, evidently not erected by adoring citizens. He just happens also to be Alita's father and Pepe's grandfather, but Alita despises him and Pepe seems afraid of him.
For all his efforts to help the family and despite hints of Alita's romantic inclinations, Cheyenne begins to realize that no matter what he does, he can't live another man's life, so he decides to move on. When he defies Perez, he's sentenced to death. But with the help of the local priest, he escapes and ends up giving Perez a taste of his own medicine.
Harold J. Stone pulled out all the stops in his portrayal of Perez; he looked like he was having fun. As Don Ignacio Rodriguez, Raoul De Leon was a sympathetic character, weary of the struggle to keep his rancho going and grateful that Cheyenne had stepped in to help, calling him "my son." Margarita Cordova was an appealing Alita, determined to defy her bully of a father and to persuade Cheyenne to stay. She summed up her feelings when she said to Cheyenne, "One good thing Don Bernardo did in spite of himself. Because of him I met you. Because of him I have learned that there are men of honor, men who are kind and good. For this I thank him." This poignant expression also sums up how well Clint Walker infused attributes of his own personality into Cheyenne Bodie, qualities that inevitably and positively affected deserving people he encountered as he roamed the West.
