Bröderna Cartwright Justice (1959–1973) Online

It must be understood, that this was the old West.

Occasionally, a reputable citizen then, could, and needed to, pursue the truth, in determining who the criminal is.

There were dozens of Bonanza episodes like this, plus one must remember that Sherriff Coffey was not present.

Of course Little Joe had every reason to pursue this.

He didn't hurt Horace, only sought the truth.

Further, no one seems to have seen just how sickening the Horace character was, almost mentally ill.

1. He knew the girl was engaged to Joe.

2 He was so messed up, to think that somehow he owned Sally, just because he wanted her, though she did nothing to encourage this.

That landlady has got to be one of the weirdest, and dysfunctional characters in any Western, knowing Horace was so unstable, but constantly defending him.

A perpetual liar, she was.

But the ending was so empty.

We did not fully see what happened and there was no justice.

This episode should be titled "Vengeance" instead of "Justice". Little Joe is no hero here. He transpires hatred and thirst of vengeance. Nobody is entitled to torture a person psychologically and physically like Joe does with Horace, less so without any proof. The presumption of innocence is valid for anyone until proved guilty. The one that really acts with justice is the landlady, because she realises the loneliness of Horace and tries to make up for it with her love.

Another Cartwright involved woman bites the dust in this Bonanza story. It's Shirley Bonne, daughter of town banker Roy Roberts who Michael Landon has already bought the ring for. She works as a teller at her father's bank along side Beau Bridges who is shy and retiring and really can't summon up the courage to ask her for a date.

But later Bonne is killed and the chief suspect is Bridges. However his landlady Lurene Tuttle alibis him to the max. That's not however cooling off public opinion against Bridges and Deputy Sheriff Bing Russell has a nasty homicide to solve.

Bridges gives a fine multi-layered performance as the shy kid with some nasty secrets. Tuttle is also good as the landlady who sees Bridges as a substitute for her own dead son who would be the age of Bridges had he lived.