THE HORSE TRADERS
Episode First Shown:
Hoss and Joe are trying to make some fast money selling
horses to a livery stable. They meet Meena Calhoun, who they have met before,
and her fiancé Virgil Potts. The Cartwrights find out that Meena’s father and
her fiancé have bought both livery stables in
For me, this was a
dud script which was only redeemed by the comedic brilliance of Michael, Dan
and Victor French. Guest stars Ann Prentiss (Meena Calhoun), Dub Taylor (Luke
Calhoun) and George
Morgan (Virgil Potts) either seem to have no talent for comedy or were badly directed
or both. Luke Frizzell is amusing as Dusty Rhoades but his part in the episode
seems a bad fit.
The premise of the story is never clearly enough explained to the viewer,
namely that Meena's two prospective brother-in-laws acquire two livery stables
and can consequently rig the prices against horse
sellers like Hoss and Joe. Only when Hoss and Joe set up their own livery
stable is the scam exposed. For example, because the viewer can't read the
small writing on the price boards clearly it is very
hard to see how the price rigging has happened.
My thoughts kept going to "The Hayburner" as another horsey episode and
"The Wooing of Abigail Jones" for additional comedic comparison. Luke
Calhoun who provides the money for the livery stable purchases
by the Potts boys simply isn't funny and you can't hear his lines much of the
time. In comparison the stable owner in "Hayburner" is a dry,
confident comedic foil to Hoss and Adam. Luke just doesn't give
Hoss and Joe the reactions they need to work with.
In "Abigail Jones" Abigail is so funny in her moonstruck passion for Adam
and she and Adam are great together. Meena just isn't funny with anyone.
Virgil Potts, supposedly besotted with Meena, is about as funny as a plank of
wood and just as dense. He simply does nothing. Now in "Abigail Jones"
both the besotted character of Hank Myers and the
inexperience of Vaughn Monroe as an actor come together to make Hank appealing
and funny.
Now for the redeeming parts. Hoss and Joe's latest enterprise of a small horse
trading business is filled with some lovely Hoss 'n' Joe lines and expressions
though I don't feel that Hoss was given enough
of the comedy and, at times, Dan looks bored to me. There is one interesting
scene where it's Joe that says "Dadburnit" and not Hoss. I wondered
if Michael stole Dan's line because they were both bored? Lorne does his best as "Ben the Straight
Man" but Hoss and Joe aren't given enough "Funny Men" lines to
make Ben's role work at the same time.
Joe is wonderful in his classic range of expressions and quick thinking and
Michael has good Joe comedy material to work with.
Victor French is wonderful as Jesse Potts and gives a terrific "lovable
rogue" performance. There is a terrific scene where he and Joe are trying
to outbid and outwit each other watched by Hoss with some delightful
"baffled Hoss" expressions.
When I watched that scene, I was certain that this was what clinched Michael's
later decision to cast Victor as Isaiah Edwards in "Little House".
Victor's Jesse Potts is a dead ringer for Isaiah Edwards!
For the Joe fans there is enough to make the episode worth viewing but I think
it would be quite disappointing for the Hoss and Ben fans.
Hilary
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