| Bonanza episode | |
|---|---|
| “The Pure Truth” | |
| Season 5, Episode 23 #157 in Series | |
 | |
| Air date | March 8, 1964 |
| Production code | |
| Guest starring: | |
| Written by | Lois Hire |
| Directed by | Don McDougall |
| Episode Guide | |
| Previous Episode: Love Me Not |
Next Episode: No Less a Man |
| External links | |
 IMDbThe Pure Truth on IMDb | |
Summary[]
When Hoss is set up to take the fall for a bank robbery in another town, the help of an eccentric gold prospector appears to be all that stands between him and the real bandit's bullet.
Plot[]
It's the first day of spring, and Ben doses Hoss with sulfur and molasses with Adam and Joe's help. Hoss has had an exaggerated case of "spring fever" ever since he was young and becomes clumsy and dangerous to others while he has spring fever.
Joe and Hoss go to town to pick up supplies. Joe does most of the work loading the wagon because the spring fever tonic Hoss was given causes him to continually fall asleep. While in town, Joe talks to Sheriff Coffee and convinces him to let Hoss work for the sheriff while his deputy is away.
While Hoss works in the office, he accidentally slams Sheriff Coffee's hand in a drawer, badly hurting his hand. The sheriff doesn't know how he'll pick up a prisoner from another town with such an injured hand. Hoss decides to pick up the prisoner in nearby Rimrock to make it up to the sheriff. Not thinking clearly because of a strong case of "spring fever", he travels to the wrong town and is jailed as a bank robber.
After escaping, he hides out in the shanty of a local character named Loulabelle; everyone refers to her as "Looney", and she is indeed an eccentric old woman. However, she believes Hoss is innocent because he tells her "the pure truth".
Cast and Characters[]
The Cartwrights
- Lorne Green: Ben Cartwright
- Dan Blocker: Hoss Cartwright
- Michael Landon: Little Joe Cartwright
- Pernell Roberts: Adam Cartwright
Recurring
- Ray Teal: Sheriff Roy Coffee
Other[]
- Al Haskell: Townsman
- Betty Endicott: Brunette Townswoman
- Glenda Farrell: Lulabelle 'Looney' Watkins
- Herman Hack: Townsman
- Jay Lanin: Ward
- Lloyd Corrigan: Jesse Simmons
- Maudie Prickett: Middle-aged Woman in Bank
- Olan Soule: Herman
- Raymond Guth: Stagecoach Driver Al
- Stanley Adams: Sheriff Tate
Notes[]
Did you know?[]
- German episode title: "Hoss und die Frühjahrsmüdigkeit", meaning "Hoss and the Springtime Lethargy".
- This was the highest-rated episode of the series.
Goofs[]
- In the last scene as all of the Cartwrights are going upstairs, Hoss is the last to leave. He is seen going past the blue chair drinking his tonic. In the very next shot, he trips and falls over the blue chair which he's already passed.
Quotes[]
- "There's either been an earthquake, or he has just fallen out of bed."
- ―Adam Cartwright[src]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
