Warbonnet
first shown
'Joe is stranded in the desert when his horse breaks a leg.
He falls unconscious from heat stroke, and is cared for by Paiute Chief Red
Cloud. After he recovers, he goes into town, where he meets Frank Ryan. Ryan,
the most powerful man in town, showers Joe with hospitality. Joe feels indebted
to both Red Cloud and to Frank Ryan. So when Red Cloud challenges Frank to a
fight to the death, Joe tries desperately to keep peace. Fifteen years ago,
Frank took Red Cloud's warbonnet. Now Red Cloud is an old man and he must
regain his honour before he dies.'
Guest Stars: Chief Dan George as Red Cloud, Forrest Tucker as Frank Ryan, Linda Cristal as Teresa, Patrick Adiarte as Swift Eagle, M. Emmet Walsh as Mattheson, Russ Marin as Sheriff, John Wheeler as Hill, Lee De Broux as Elias, Linda Gaye Scott as Saloon Girl.
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This is a very good episode - one of those away set away
from the Ponderosa. Joe finds himself desperately trying to keep the peace between
Red Cloud (played by Chief Dan George) who is a chief from a Paiute
reservation, and Frank Ryan (played by Forrest Tucker) who is the most powerful
man in the town of
There are excellent from performances from the three principle actors –
Michael, Chief Dan George and Forrest Tucker, both in their individual parts
and in their interactions with each other. Also noteworthy are Patrick Adiarte
as Red Cloud's grandson and Linda Cristal as Teresa, Ryan's girlfriend.
The story is very well structured, leading the viewer scene by scene to the
significance of Red Cloud's warbonnet, the increasing guilt of Frank Ryan and
Joe's attempts at resolution.
After Joe's mare breaks a leg, he is stranded in mountainous desert and collapses
from heat and exhaustion. A Paiute boy, Swift Eagle, steals Joe's gun and
leaves him for dead. Swift Eagle has seen the oppression of the Paiutes by
White men and hates all Whites. The boy's grandfather, Red Cloud, knows what
has Swift Eagle has done,
confronts him and cares for Joe compassionately. There is a delightful use of
humour to build rapport. Red Cloud, with a wry smile, observes that the White
man has lost not only his horse but his hat, jacket and wallet……..Joe's
"incompetence" being implied. Joe grins back and a connection is
made.
Swift Eagle takes Joe into the town of Mills where he meets Frank Ryan, the
town's most powerful man. Ryan generously provides Joe with a variety of help,
including an amusing visit to the barber's where Joe's expressions confirm the
closeness of the shave!
While Joe is sending a wire to Ben he notices that Red Cloud has entered town,
accompanied by Swift Eagle. The Indians make their way to the saloon where Red
Cloud retrieves a warbonnet (his own, stolen by Ryan) from the wall. He also
challenges Ryan to a duel of honour. Soon a fight breaks out when the elderly
man is beaten as is the boy.
Joe, furious at the cruelty, comes to their aid and promises to keep them in
his custody. Because of racism the Indians cannot stay in the hotel.
Meanwhile Ryan's former girlfriend, Teresa, tries to persuade him not to fight
Red Cloud, especially as she alone knows exactly how Ryan stole Red Cloud's
warbonnet. There is a very good scene where the two discuss this issue and why
Teresa, who loves Frank, will not resume a relationship with him until the
warbonnet issue is resolved. Teresa's strength is admirable and she too, being
Mexican, knows the effects of racism.
Joe ties to persuade both Red Cloud and Ryan to drop the duel. The former is
totally committed to the duel and the latter, while having doubts, allows his
henchmen and the sheriff to capture Joe and lock him in jail.
There is a very dramatic final scene where Red Cloud with a lance and Ryan with
a sabre confront each other in the main street. Joe can only shout helplessly
from the jail and beg Ryan to stop. As the two protagonists near each other,
Ryan suddenly breaks the sabre over his knee and confesses to Red Cloud and the
whole town how he stole Red Cloud's warbonnet. In a former battle between the
cavalry and Paiutes, Ryan's friends held Red Cloud down while Ryan stolen his warbonnet
in this cowardly way. Red Cloud acknowledges Ryan's apology and accepts his
warbonnet.
In the final scene Red Cloud, wearing his magnificent warbonnet, proudly rides
out of town followed by Swift Eagle and with Joe riding at the rear. The
victory is bitter-sweet, however, because Joe's task is to escort them to the
confines of their reservation.
In this episode, racism towards the Native Americans is tackled in terms of the
theft of the warbonnet, the "imprisonment" of the Paiutes on a
reservation, the fact that no hotel will accommodate Red Cloud and Swift Eagle
and the teenage Swift Eagle's inability to trust White people as a result of
such oppression. It is also touched
on towards Mexicans in the relationship between Frank and Teresa – a White man
and a Mexican woman. Also, unlike some of the earlier Bonanza portrayals of
women, Teresa is strong woman who will not resume her relationship with Frank
until he rights his past wrongs.
The many changes of locations – from wild, stony mountains (filmed in Bronson
Canyon) to the town streets, to the saloon, telegraph office, the jail etc. add
interest to the story. There are some unusual camera angles which made me
wonder if Michael had had some input. For example a low level view of horses
struggling up very steep mountain
slopes, the view from the telegraph operator's desk, past Joe, into the street
as Red Cloud comes to town and the camera, moving to the speed of the horses at
Red Cloud's departure.
The one part that I would question is the resolution at the end, not between
Red Cloud and Ryan, but the role of the unpleasant sheriff. I thought that he
might start firing a gun towards Red Cloud to warn him off and maybe kill him.
I actually think that would have been a more realistic and powerful ending with
Red Cloud regaining his warbonnet but losing his life. But perhaps the studios
wanted an ending of redemption for Ryan and justice for Red Cloud, possibly
with regard to the sensibilities of issues between Whites and Native Americans.
(It may be recalled that Chief Dan George was actually Native Canadian, a
member of the Salish people.)
I would definitely recommend this very good episode - one which holds the
viewer's interest all the way through.