
A Man to Admire Full Episode – Bonanza, Season #06, Episode #11
Accused of murder, Hoss Cartwright entrusts his fate to renowned lawyer Whitney Parker (James Gregory). However, Parker’s once illustrious career has faded, as he now battles alcoholism. The Cartwrights struggle to keep Parker sober long enough to defend Hoss against the gallows. The ensemble features Michel Peti as Jamie, Hal Baylor portraying Durfee, William Mims as Evans, and Jason Johnson as the Doctor. Penned by Mort R. Lewis, “A Man to Admire premiered on December 6, 1964.
Discover the intricacies of the plot and intriguing trivia from this episode, or enjoy watching the full episode below.
Table of Contents
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Main Cast
In the eleventh episode of Bonanza’s sixth season, titled “A Man to Admire,” several recurring and supporting cast members appeared. Notable members of the cast include:
- Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
- Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
- Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
- Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
- James Gregory as Whitney Parker
- William Mims as Byron Evans
- Booth Colman as Flint Durfee
- Michel Petit as Benjie Lane (as Michael Petit)
- Hal Baylor as Ev Durfee
- Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
- Dave Willock as Deeter
- John Barton as Townsman (uncredited)
- John Bose as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bill Clark as Townsman (uncredited)
- Rudy Doucette as Townsman (uncredited)
- Betty Endicott as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Henry Faber as Townsman (uncredited)
- George Ford as Townsman (uncredited)
- Joe Garcio as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bern Hoffman as Sam, the Bartender (uncredited)
- Jonathan Hole as Dr. Kleiser (uncredited)
- Michael Jeffers as Townsman (uncredited)
- Jason Johnson as Judge (uncredited)
- Bob LaWandt as Court Clerk (uncredited)
- Norman Leavitt as Mr. Bartlett (uncredited)
- Martha Manor as Townswoman (uncredited)
- Billy McCoy as Townsman (uncredited)
- Bob Miles as Townsman (uncredited)
- Hans Moebus as Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)
- Ernesto Molinari as Townsman (uncredited)
- Joe Ploski as Townsman (uncredited)
- Victor Romito as Townsman (uncredited)
- Cap Somers as Townsman (uncredited)
Full Story Line for A Man to Admire
The Cartwrights enlist the help of troubled lawyer Whitney Parker to defend Hoss, who has been wrongfully accused of murder. However, Parker’s once illustrious career has spiraled into alcoholism. The Cartwrights are determined to keep Parker sober long enough for him to secure Hoss’s freedom from the gallows.
Full Script and Dialogue of A Man to Admire
Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your kind attention. Now, to continue with the demonstration you must remember one thing. Pocket billiards, sometime commonly referred to as pool, is a gentleman's game. Uh, it should, uh, be a very good game, uh, for you, ahem, gentlemen. [CHUCKLES] [CLEARS THROAT] Now, for my next shot, I would like to demonstrate one that requires all the science and skill of this wonderful game. It's called the bank shot. [ALL CHEERING] That fellow there sold me the table. He's gonna be staying in town a couple of weeks to demonstrate, and give some lessons. - Hoss, why don't you give it a try? - Oh, no, Sam, I'm all right. - Looks a little fancy for me. - Oh, come on, Hoss, try it. You heard him, Sam. Besides, didn't you hear the man say, it's a gentleman's game? Big game back east. That's where they invented it. Um, your pardon, sir, heh. For your information, the game of pocket billiards is not only the most honorable one but a very ancient one to boot. Certainly, it was known in Shakespeare's age. - Is that a fact? - Oh, yeah. Wasn't it Antony and Cleopatra act two, scene five, where Shakespeare has Cleopatra say, "Let us do billiards: come, Charmian." [CHUCKLES] To Shakespeare and you, sir. My name is Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright. Uh, Mr. William Shakespeare and Mr. Hoss Cartwright. My name is Parker, Whitney Parker. At times, my friends call me Whit. Upon other occasions, my legal opponents call me, heh, Half-Whit. [CHUCKLE] You... You're a lawyer. Hmm, that's what it says it in my diploma, yes. You, uh, figuring on hanging around Virginia City? Maybe. [MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY] I kind of like the looks of things around here. Now, that, gentlemen, is called the break shot. That starts off the game. Now, which one of you gentlemen would like to try to take this cue and put some of those balls in the pocket? Well, now, really, gentlemen, I'm offering you a great opportunity here to learn this game. It's an awful lot of fun, won't cost you one cent. I'm sure, gentlemen, that you... What, don't I have any takers? [ALL LAUGHING] I'm giving 2-to-1 he doesn't even hit that little ball with the stick. How about it, Cartwright? You, uh, got your big brother's permission to bet? Never mind my brother. How much do you wanna bet? Oh, make it 25 against your 50, you got a bet. Sure. I think I'd better show you how to hold the cue. Um, ahem, this is the cue, ahem. [ALL CHUCKLING] [CLEARS THROAT] [ALL CHUCKLING] [HOSS WHISTLING] You, sir, are a magnificent instructor. You have my highest recommendation. Fifty dollars, Mr. Durfee. You and this tinhorn are in cahoots. You're nothing but a dirty swindler, Cartwright. The bet's off. My compliments, sir, a beautiful break shot with nature's own cue stick, heh. If you should ever need any legal advice, Mr. Cartwright, please feel free to call on me. For you, my good man. Keep the change. Gentlemen, good day. Let's hope you never need a lawyer that bad, Hoss. Hi, Benjie. Hi, Mr. Cartwright. I haven't seen you in a long time. Well, I've been busy the last couple of weeks at the ranch. Hey, uh, Benjie, you wanna do me a big favor? Take a look at that right foreleg on that horse, man. He's been limping something fierce. You got such a good way with animals. Sure, just as soon as I... Here, here, here. Ain't no use in you fooling around something like this, when there's something important to do, like taking care of my horse. Can't find nothing wrong with him, Mr. Cartwright. I'll be doggone. Well, the old son of a gun is kind of moody, Benjie. I reckon you just done and moved the limp. I'll walk it out of him. Ah, look at him. I tell you about it being moody. See, now, he's in the mood to walk. Mr. Cartwright, you think I'll ever be big and strong like you? I don't know, Benjie, that sort of depends on how big your folks was. Well, my pa sure ain't big. My grandpa, he was a real big one they say, monstrous. [CHUCKLES] Well, in that case, Benjie, you concentrate on it real hard, I'd bet you one of these days you'll make it. I'll sure try, Mr. Cartwright. I'll bust my britches trying. - Well, I gotta go now. Bye-bye. - So long, Benjie. Watch this one, boys. And now I shall demonstrate a shot executed in the most difficult manner possible. Watch carefully. Gentlemen, thank you for the game. Why don't you fellas divvy these up between you? BOY: Oh, God. How're you doing, Mr. Cartwright? Howdy, Mr. Parker. How are you, sir? - Pretty, uh, fancy shooting there. - Huh? Oh, well, uh. I see you putting out your shingle already. Yes, yes, I thought I'd stay around for a while. Oh, by the way, that offer of mine still holds good. I think I can always manage to squeeze in another client. Oh, good. I, uh... I'm in need of a little advice, a matter of fact. I've just been called as a witness in a law suit. Is that so? Come on in. Tell me about it. You know, Hoss, since I last saw you, I've been pretty busy handing out free legal advice in between shooting some pocket billiards and, uh, heh, playing marbles with some future clients. You don't even keep the marbles. That ain't no way to get rich. Oh, no, no, no. Hold on. All my advice isn't free. Besides, I got a big case coming up. HOSS: "To Whit Parker, a companion of the Illinois 8th circuit. From his friend, A. Lincoln." - Yes, I was proud to be his partner. - Another lawyer, huh? Not just another lawyer, that's Abe Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln, leader of the Illinois Bar. [CHUCKLES] Oh, not the kind of bar that I've been frequenting lately. In old back east, there's some talk of him running for president. Oh, he's a great man, first rate marble player too. [CHUCKLES] Ain't never heard of a President of the United States being a marble player. [CHUCKLES] Well, he may be the first, if he's nominated. Yeah, he just loves to play marbles with those two boys of his, Willie and Tad, you know, and their friends. Bowls a good game of tenpins too, with those long arms of his, you know. [CHUCKLES] Well, what else is he good at, besides marbles and tenpins? Well, one thing, he'd tell you a joke make you split your sides laughing. [BOTH CHUCKLE] Well, take it from me. A man like that ain't gonna never be President of the United States. He ain't serious-minded enough. President's got to be serious and smart. Oh, he's smart, all right. He's smart. Just that the... Oh, he uses a joke, maybe to illustrate a point, you know, like, uh, when he and Mr. Stephen Douglas was having those debates back in Quincy, when they were both running for United States senator. Heh, I remember one time he said, "Mr. Douglas..." He says, "That argument of yours is about as thin as the soup you'd get from boiling the shadow of a pigeon that's been starved to death." Heh. Heh, that is a good one. Hoss, I brought you in here to talk about your case and here, instead, I'm talking about Mr. Lincoln. I'm afraid that's an old habit of mine. Sort of nasty business. It involves the Durfee brothers. - The Durfees? - Yeah. Remember that fellow that tried to welch you on that bet with me - that day when me and you first met? - Yeah. Yeah, I know the Durfees. - What about them? - Well, that one's Ev. Now, he ain't nothing but a bully. But his brother, his brother, Flint, he's the smart one. Sometimes a little bit too smart. For years, he's been trying to wrangle the water rights off of old Nat Sheldon. And those water rights are about the only thing that was worth leaving that Nat left his family. And now Flint Durfee is trying to steal them from him. Steal them? Heh, that's a pretty strong statement, Hoss. Well, not in this case, it ain't. See, I know Flint Durfee. Flint Durfee has hired me to be his lawyer. You got yourself a pretty rotten case then, Mr. Parker. I'm not the kind of lawyer who's gonna get mixed up in anything shady. You have now. Well, now, you, uh, seem to know more about this case than I do. Yeah, I probably do. Look, Mr. Parker, about three weeks ago, I rolled out to Nat Sheldon's place. Nat's been sick for several days. I found him laying there on the sofa in his parlor with a pen still in his hand. And Flint Durfee, pocketing a piece of paper while his brother Ev looked on. That piece of paper signed over the water rights to the Sheldon place to Flint Durfee for nearly nothing. He'd been sick. He was clear out of his head. Now Nat's dead and Flint Durfee is watering his herd on the Sheldon place. Tomorrow, I'm gonna be in court backing up young Nat Sheldon's case against that fraud. [DOOR CLOSES] I've never asked you to use what little brains you've got, only your muscles. - You can't even use those. - But, Flint... All you had to do was throw those squatters off our land. That's all, just throw them off. But, Flint, they had guns. You want me get shot or something? [KNOCKING ON DOOR] Come in. - Have a drink? - No. No, thank you. I'd, uh, just like to have a little talk with you. Well, talk away. I had a visit from Hoss Cartwright a while back. He tells me that old Nat Sheldon was out of his head when he signed that agreement. You're not gonna believe Hoss Cartwright over me, are you? Was he out of his head when he signed that? Oh, what's the difference? I got the paper with his name on it, see. And my brother Ev here and me were witnesses. You haven't got a thing to worry about. Now would you like to have that little drink? I'm not the kind of lawyer you evidently think I am. FLINT: You'll be well paid, like I promised. That's all that matters. You go buy yourself another lawyer. You walk out on me, I'll see you never get another case in this here town. - You want me to stop him, Flint? - Shut up, you fool. I'll tell everybody I threw you off the case because you were too drunk to handle it. Do you hear me? Drunk! Drunk! Drunk! WHIT: Hoss. Nope. No, thank you. I've temporarily lost my taste for whiskey. Beer, if you please. Unfortunately, Hoss, you were right about Mr. Durfee. Pity, would have been a nice fat fee too. - Here, I got this. - Thanks, Hoss. Flint, hmm, hard name, hard man. Reminds me of a fellow in one of Mr. Lincoln's stories. A rattlesnake bit him on the chin. Well, the fellow recovered, but the snake died. Whit, what's wrong with a fellow like Flint anyhow? I remember Mr. Lincoln walking down the street in Springfield one time. He had his two boys, Tad and Willie, one tucked under each arm, heh, crying fit to bust. So I asked Mr. Lincoln what the matter was. "Whit," he says to me, "the same thing that's wrong with the world." Says, "I got three walnuts in my pocket, each of them wants two of them." [CHUCKLES] Sheer greed, that's what's wrong with Mr. Durfee. And that brother of his, he is sheer ornery. Be mighty careful, Whit. His bite is worse than a rattlesnake's. Now, Hoss, come on, you making me nervous. [CHUCKLES] I take it he lost the case. Look, Whit, why did you let them two buffalo you like that just now? Buffalo me? [CHUCKLES] My friend, it is better to yield your path to a mad dog, than to be bitten by him in contesting the right of way. Besides, killing the dog wouldn't cure the bite now, would it? That sounds like some more of that talk from your friend, Mr. Lincoln. Fact of the matter, it is. Well, you don't back down from a man. Hoss, you don't think I took that childish performance of Durfee's seriously now, do you? Look, Whit, Flint Durfee ain't no child. You can't be afraid or weak. Not gonna survive, not out here. - I'll see you. I gotta be running. - Oh. How about you and me playing a little pocket billiards. Come on, I'll teach you the game. I got a bunch of business I gotta take care of, Whit. Tonight? I'm gonna be busy tonight too. I'm leaving town in the morning. - I'll see you. - All right. Hi, Benjie. Hi, Mr. Cartwright. Mind if I walk with you? No, enjoy the company. You don't wanna stay up too late, though. Might stunt your growth. Well, I just had to stay up late, fixing up these packages for Mrs. Gentry. Usually, I get to bed pretty early though. I think I just grew some since last week, don't you? Yes, matter of fact, I think, you grew some right then. [CHUCKLES] I gotta deliver these packages now, Mr. Cartwright. - I'll see you in the morning, Benjie. - All right. Good night, Mr. Cartwright. Let me by, Durfee. FLINT: The street's plenty wide. HOSS: Get out of my way. I'll take care of him, Flint. [GRUNTS] FLINT: No! Ooh! [HOSS GRUNTS] [GUNSHOT] MAN: Hey, what's all that shooting about? Hurry, sheriff. Hurry! MAN: Somebody get the doctor, looks like somebody's been shot. He shot my brother. Hoss Cartwright killed him. He killed him in cold blood. - Here you are, Ben. - Thank you, Roy. How's the head? Well, it's feeling a whole lot bigger but not whole a lot better, I'm afraid. BEN: Hmm. Hoss, I, uh... I'm not gonna be able to get you out on bail. Ev Durfee made it hard all around. He even got him to get an outside prosecuting attorney. Who? Byron Evans of Carson. Oh, boy. Tsk, a real hanging prosecutor. He's never failed to convict. Yeah, well, let's hope that, this time, we can spoil his record. Yeah, I sure hope so. That's why we need the best man, we can possibly get, no matter who, Hoss. Pa, I already got a lawyer, Whit Parker. That's what I'm trying to get at, Hoss. Nobody knows him. You hardly know him. He's a stranger whose best friend is a bottle. Well, that's one that Ev Durfee started. Look, Hoss, now you know very well that it's hard enough for a lawyer to try a case when he's sober. And Mr. Parker is a hard drinker. Isn't he? Pa, all I know is, Whit Parker ain't gonna let drinking get in the way of doing a best job he can for me. Pa, he's smart, he's real smart. If I had listened to his advice I wouldn't be here now. Hoss, I'm talking about your life. - We can't risk this man. - That's right, Pa, it is my life. That's why I need to have the choice in deciding who's gonna defend it. Look, Pa, he's heard my side of it. He says we got an easy case. Easy case? No murder case is easy, it needs intelligent handling. - It needs a man... - Pa. Whit Parker ain't a nobody like you think. Back in Illinois, he was a very important lawyer. One of his best friends is Abraham Lincoln. - You heard of him, ain't you? - Yes, yes, I've heard of him. If Mr. Parker was such a big and important man back in Illinois, why did he leave there to come out here? Why? BEN: Would you send that off, please? "Mr. Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois. Do you know lawyer Whitney Parker? If so, please telegraph this city collect your judgment of Parker, as defense attorney in murder trial. He is defending my son. Signed, Ben Cartwright." Meanwhile, let's make sure this Mr. Parker doesn't get drunk and lose the case, not this case. ADAM: Whit. It's Byron Evans, the special prosecutor. I'd, uh, you know, like get to meet him over a game of pocket billiards. Never does any harm to get to know your enemy. Your enemy's inside all right, but it's in a bottle. Adam, I don't need a nursemaid. Let's just keep walking, huh? BYRON: Your Honor, gentlemen of the jury, this is a crime so heinous, so dastardly as to freeze the very marrow of your bones. The prosecution will prove that the defendant, Hoss Cartwright, did, without provocation, with malice of forethought, and with premeditation, shoot and murder an unarmed victim, the unfortunate Flint Durfee, a person so ill-treated by fate that he had to use a cane to support his poor, crippled body. We will show that, when Flint Durfee's heroic efforts to fend off his brutal assailant with his staff, his cane, his crutch, as it were, failed, the end was merciless, cold blooded, a black-hearted murder by the miserable assassin sitting there. I ask... I demand that Hoss Cartwright pay the penalty for that murder. That he be hung by the neck until he is dead, dead, dead! [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] He sure paints a pretty picture, don't he? Any words from Mr. Lincoln? No, not a word. I just came back from the telegraph office, nothing. Probably thinks the whole thing's a hoax. - He's never heard of Parker. BEN: Hmm. Just try to convince Hoss of that. If we don't hear pretty soon, I'm gonna get another lawyer, whether Hoss likes it or not. WHIT: Your Honor, gentlemen of the jury, I should like to compliment the prosecuting attorney on his fine display of eloquence. Indeed, one might say of Mr. Evans as has been said of the great Daniel Webster, that when he speaks he just shines his eyes, throws out his arms, and twirls his tongue around a couple of times, opens his mouth, and leaves the consequences to heaven. [ALL LAUGHING] [GAVEL BANGING] And now, if you'd be gracious enough to overlook my lack of eloquence, we shall prove that since my client Hoss Cartwright is innocent, the only other person at the scene of the crime other than the deceased is guilty. Ev Durfee. [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] [GAVEL BANGS] Mr. Durfee, will you please tell us, in your own words, what happened the tragic night your brother was shot down? Well, sir, as Flint and I turned the corner and we're walking along, we met Hoss Cartwright. Let me by, Cartwright. The street's plenty wide, Durfee. Out of my way, Cartwright! What are you gonna do? You're gonna hit me with that cane, Flint? It's about time somebody's teaching you a lesson. I'll take care of him, Flint. No! Ooh. [GUNSHOT] EV: He shot my brother. Hoss Cartwright killed him. And that's the living truth. [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] [GAVEL BANGS] He's a living liar. Your witness, Mr. Parker. Uh, Mr. Durfee, is it not true that, for years, your brother used you as, uh, a sort of protector? If you mean protecting him from murderers such as Hoss Cartwright, yes. Except that you didn't finally protect him from murder, did you? You loved your brother? Yeah, sure. Hmm, why did you love him? Huh? What was there about him that made you love him? I can't answer such a dumb question as that. Very well, then. Tell me, why did you hate him? What? What did you hate more, that he was rich and paid you off in a cow hand's measly salary, or that he was smart and he was contemptuous of your ignorance, that he commanded and you groveled? - What did you hate most? Tell me. - Now, you see here! Your Honor. That is an unfair question, Mr. Parker. The witness need not answer. - No more questions. - What? Call Hoss Cartwright to the stand. And then? Well, then I did sure enough meet up with Flint Durfee, just like his brother said. But I wouldn't let Flint Durfee buffalo me like he did Mr. Parker. Let me by, Durfee. The street's plenty wide. Get out of my way. I'll take care of him, Flint. FLINT: No! HOSS: When Flint hit me with his cane, my gun went off in the air and I almost blacked out. My head cleared and I saw that Ev had shot his brother. - That's the way it really happened. - Thank you, Hoss. - Your witness. - No questions. Very well, Hoss, you may step down. Your Honor, gentlemen of the jury, we now have one man's word against another. But there was a third witness to the murder. And that is Benjie Lane. And it's just like Mr. Cartwright said. I saw Skinflint Durfee hit him with his big old cane, and Mr. Hoss was hurt something awful, and his gun went up in the air. - Thank you, Benjie. BYRON: Just a moment, Benjie. Yes, sir. You and Hoss Cartwright are great friends, aren't you, Benjie? We sure are. Hoss Cartwright's a hero to you, someone you want to grow up to be like. Now, isn't that so, Benjie? Yes, sir. Just how much do you really like him? Like I told you, a whole lot. Enough to lie for him, if it would save his life? Heh, I object, Your Honor. JUDGE: Objection is overruled. Answer the question, Benjie. Well, sure, I'd lie to save his life. [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] [GAVEL BANGS] But, Benjie, when you told your story on the stand here just now, you didn't lie then, did you? No, sir, I told exactly what I saw. Good boy. Good boy. Dr. Kleiser, you performed the autopsy on the deceased, Mr. Flint Durfee? I did, sir. BYRON: Using yourself as a model, doctor, would you show the course taken by the fatal bullet? Yes, sir. The bullet entered an inch above the navel, here. And it lodged an inch to the right of the fifth lumbar vertebra, here. About five inches lower. Note that, gentlemen. Then what direction did the bullet take, doctor? Why, downward, of course. Cartwright and his victim were both in an upright position. The gun was slanting down when fired. [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] I object, Your Honor. That is an opinion of the witness. On the contrary, it is incontrovertible evidence. If, as counselor contends, Mr. Ev Durfee shot his brother, the course of the bullet would have had to have been upwards. But it didn't go up. It went down, down, gentlemen, down. Proving that Hoss Cartwright is not only a liar, but guilty of unprovoked attack and cold-blooded murder! [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] JUDGE: Order! Order in the court! [GAVEL BANGING] Order. Order! Order in the court! Order! Order! Order in the court! Order! Order in the court! Hoss, your father wants me to withdraw from the case. Now, look, Pa... Don't you realize the dangerous situation you're in? Do you realize that if something doesn't happen before that court re-opens this afternoon, the jury will go out with a foregone verdict? Pa, I'm sure that Whit... Mr. Parker doesn't seem to have one notion of an idea. That's right, Hoss. Right now, I don't have one idea. Mr. Parker, I seem to recall that you told my son this would be an easy case. Well, what happened? How come you haven't the same information Evans had? Because I believed what your son told me, Mr. Cartwright. - Whit, don't you still believe me? - Yes, Hoss. But maybe when Flint struck you, you fired at him without really knowing. No. No, I was dizzy but I wasn't that dizzy. My gun went off in the air. Well, maybe a new lawyer will be able to come up with something. - I don't want a new lawyer. - Hoss. Stick with me. Maybe it's time I told you what happened with Mr. Lincoln and me. He... He was traveling the Eighth Judicial District, you know. He shares his cases in different towns with different lawyers. I was his associate in Clinton, Illinois. We were trying an important case. Mr. Lincoln had to leave town before we finished so I took over on my own. And then some trouble had come up at home. I went out and got roaring drunk, first time ever, you know, while I was working. That is, I made a spectacle of myself and lost the case. I was afraid to face my client and Mr. Lincoln. Mostly Mr. Lincoln. So I decided to run off, headed for California, wound up this far. Look, Whit, do me a favor. Don't run away this time. Hoss, believe me, you'll be much better off with some other lawyer. [CELL OPENS AND CLOSES] BENJIE: Oh, Mr. Parker. Hey, heh, Benjie. How's my friend, Mr. Hoss? - He gonna be all right? - I hope so, son, yes. Gee, I don't know why they don't believe Mr. Hoss and me. We wouldn't lie about a thing like that. I know that. I know that, Benjie, but you see the medical testimony... But it was as plain as day, Mr. Parker. I know. I know that's what you testified in court, Benjie, and we appreciate it. Well, you tell Mr. Hoss I'll do that testifying again, any time he wants me. I'll tell him so. Thanks, Benjie. Mr. Parker. Uh, whiskey. Mr. Parker, are you sure? I'm sure. Of course. - Your Honor? - Yes. Your Honor, I'd like to make a request. Well, what is it, Mr. Cartwright? I would like to request a little time to hire a new attorney. WHIT: Mr. Cartwright. Benjie. Mr. Cartwright, will you please... Would you postpone that request? Well, Mr. Parker, you voluntarily withdrew from... I know. I know, sir, but I have an idea. I realize your son's life is at stake, but do you think you could give me one more chance? All right. Your Honor, I withdraw the request. - Very well. - Thank you, sir. Your Honor, I have a request that I believe essential to the defense. What is it, Mr. Parker? I request that the billiard table in the Silverado Saloon be brought into this courtroom. [ALL SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] I object, Your Honor, at this indignity. This is a trial, not a circus. Your Honor, Hoss Cartwright has more than mere dignity to lose. I beg that you grant my request. I now call Mr. Byron Evans to the stand. BYRON: Your Honor... - Mr. Evans, I don't think it necessary that you be sworn in, but as a fellow enthusiast of the ancient and honorable game of pocket billiards, may I ask you please to demonstrate your expert technique for the gentlemen of the jury. Mr. Parker, is this relevant to your defense? I assure you, Your Honor, it is most relevant. Mr. Evans, if you please. - By all means. - Thank you, sir. Uh, now, would you straighten up, please, Mr. Evans? Please observe very carefully, gentlemen. That the point here on the front where the cue touches Mr. Evans' chest, now that he has straightened up, is higher than the back portion of the cue where it would touch him here. However, before, when he was bent over, the point here in front, which is higher now was lower than the point in back. Now, just for the moment, let us imagine that the billiard cue held in this position represents the line of fire of the bullet. Now, is this the way you saw them, Benjie? Yes, sir, old Skinflint was bent over his brother just like you are. Can't you do anything right, you bumbling fool? [GUNSHOTS] Now, the bullet hit Flint Durfee in the stomach, ranged upward and lodged in the lower back. Now, observe. This represents the line of fire of the bullet. It looks as though it was fired downward. But, as you've just seen, it wasn't. No, it was fired upward by Ev Durfee. That's a lie! Lying on your back as the brother you hated bent over you, trying to strike you with this cane, just as he had struck Hoss Cartwright, knocking him temporarily senseless, so that he didn't see how you shot your brother. A lie! I think the jury will decide who is lying, Mr. Durfee. - Thanks. - Good job. - Thank you very much. - It was nothing. Pa... Pa, what did I tell you? I tell you I had a good lawyer? Yeah, you sure did. - I was wrong and I'm sorry. - Ah. Mr. Parker, again I... I just don't know how we can thank you, all of us. You'll get your chance, Mr. Cartwright, when I send you my bill. [ALL CHUCKLE] Mr. Cartwright! Mr. Cartwright! - Mr. Cartwright! - Yes, Benjie. This telegram just came for you. - Oh. - Mr. Bartlett asked if I'd give it to you. Thank you, Benjie. Parker, maybe, you better read this. "Just returned from out of town. Replying to your inquiry, my friend Whitney Parker is a first rate attorney. I would still trust him to defend my life. Tell him I have some cases needing his rare talents. A. Lincoln." Mr. Parker, you probably have more cases in this town than you can shake a shingle at. We'll sure be happy to have you around. Thank you, Mr. Cartwright. Thank you very much, sir. [CHUCKLES] I'm kind of curious about some of these cases that Mr. Lincoln may have tucked up that long sleeve of his. You know, besides I've never been able to trim him at anything. - Now, he can beat me bowling... - Marble shooting? Marble shooting, yes. I'd like to get him into one game that I know I can beat him, like... Like pocket billiards. [CHUCKLES] Well, it did save an innocent man's life, didn't it, Hoss? Seems to me that would be one argument he couldn't resist. Benjie, where's that Mr. Bartlett friend of yours, huh? I gotta send me a telegram. Hyah!
Behind the Scenes of A Man to Admire
Dave Willock and Michel Petit, supporting actors in “A Man to Admire,” also appeared in the 1964 thriller “Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte.”
In another Season 9 episode titled “The Bottle Fighter,” Hoss relies on another alcoholic defense attorney.
While the first season featured narratives involving the Cartwrights and Virginia City during the Civil War, by Season 6, Abraham Lincoln had not even been inaugurated as president.
Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?
Bonanza offers excellent, family-friendly entertainment for solo viewing or enjoying with loved ones. A Man to Admire is the 179th episode out of 430. Produced by NBC, Bonanza aired on their network from September 1959 to January 1973, spanning an impressive 14 seasons.
You can find more about any of the 430 Bonanza episodes here>>