| Bonanza episode | |
|---|---|
| “Enter Mark Twain” | |
| Season 1, Episode 5 #5 in Series | |
 | |
| Air date | October 10, 1959 |
| Production code | |
| Guest starring: | |
| Written by | Harold Shumate |
| Directed by | Paul Landres |
| Episode Guide | |
| Previous Episode: The Paiute War |
Next Episode: The Julia Bulette Story |
| External links | |
 IMDbEnter Mark Twain on IMDb | |
Summary[]
Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City as a reporter at the "Territorial Enterprise". The Cartwrights and Clemens quickly become allies to fight a crooked judge running for office.
Plot[]
Samuel Clemens arrives in Virginia City to write for the Territorial Enterprise. His stories are humorous, but when he writes about a wild man found on the Ponderosa, the ranch is overrun with the curious. Adam finds "Josh," Clemens' pen name, and orders him to retract the story. The retraction is actually a story about the wild man dying and sinking to the bottom of Lake Tahoe. The Cartwrights are not amused.
While out riding, Adam sees a darkly clad person on the Ponderosa. He pursues the unknown trespasser into a box canyon. The trespasser tries to climb the canyon wall, but falls and is knocked unconscious. Adam takes him home slung over the front of his saddle. When home, the trespasser is rushed into the bunkhouse.
Later Hop Sing comes into the house, fussing and fuming, while the Cartwrights are eating supper. He has been sent to help the young man Adam found, to bathe and change into clean clothing. Hop Sing announces to the surprised Cartwrights “the he is not a he, but he is a girl!” Joe teases Adam that he needs help if he can’t tell a boy from a girl. It turns out that the “wild man” seen on the Ponderosa is actually a scared teenage girl, Rosemary. She and her father, who was prospecting for silver, were attacked at camp and her father killed.
Meanwhile, Virginia City is having an election and Judge Jeremy Billington is running for re-election. He's campaigning hard, even though he never loses. The Cartwrights have also discovered men surveying on their property. When they discover the surveyor works for the railroad and that Billington has been seen with the railroad supervisor, they realize that a land grab is about to be made and approved by a crooked judge. Sam has also decided that he wants to write meaningful articles and conspires with the Cartwrights to bring down the judge. His hilarious articles make Billington a laughingstock.
Despite being attacked, he continues to write. The Cartwrights come into town to defend Sam just as he's under gunfire. A gunfight ensues even as Sam writes his next article. But suddenly it occurs to him that his pen name isn't right. As the bullets fly around him, and the Cartwrights encourage him to write, Sam decides to call himself Mark Twain. The Cartwrights win the gunfight, Twain writes his article, Billington loses the election, and Rosemary is sent by stagecoach to relatives. The Ponderosa is safe from a land grab.
Cast and Characters[]
The Cartwrights
- Lorne Green: Ben Cartwright
- Dan Blocker: Hoss Cartwright
- Michael Landon: Little Joe Cartwright
- Pernell Roberts: Adam Cartwright
Recurring[]
Other[]
- Anne Whitfield: Rosemary Lawson
- Arthur Lovejoy: Dr. Ephraim Lovejoy
- Bill Clark: Townsman
- Dorothy Green: Minnie Billington
- Edmon Ryan: Daniel Lash
- Herman Hack: Townsman
- Howard Duff: Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain
- John Litel: Judge Jeremy Clarence Billington
- Lane Bradford: Lash's Foreman
- Patrick McVey: Bill Raleigh
- Percy Helton: Blurry Jones
- Robert Carson: Marshal
Notes[]
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Did You Know?[]
- This is the first of three "Bonanza" episodes featuring Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain.
- Howard Duff's wife, Ida Lupino, was the guest star in The Saga of Annie O'Toole.
Quotes[]
- "Minnie, how many times have I spoken to you about talking to strange men?!"
"I wasn't talking to him." (pause) "He was talking to me."" - ―Judge Jeremy Clarence Billington and Minnie Billington[src]
- "They [500 curious people] ruined a few bales of hay and scared the wits out of a herd of cows. We had to rescue four of them out of the duck pond."
- ―Adam Cartwright[src]
- "Well Adam, if you don't know a boy from a girl...."
"Shut up!" - ―Little Joe and Adam Cartwright[src]
