The weekly nontraditional Western television series, Bonanza, centered around the Cartwright family, led by the patriarch Ben Cartwright. The show’s fifty-third episode, Vengeance, was written by Marion Parsonnet and first telecasted on February 11, 1961.

Hoss Cartwright accidentally killed neighboring farmer Willie Twilight (Keith Richards) out of self-defense. The situation prompts Willie’s brother, Red (Adam Williams), to seek vengeance. However, the problem gets worse after Little Joe swears revenge on Red after Hoss gets severely injured because of a gunshot.

Beverly Tyler joins the cast as a guest, acting as Mary, who finds herself caught in the middle of the dispute.

See Vengeance‘s plot, behind-the-scenes information, and full episode, which are all available below.

Watch the Full Episode of Vengeance

Watch the Full Episode of Vengeance:

Main Cast

Apart from the main cast, episode 53, Vengeance, also features recurring and guest cast members. The actors that appeared are as follows:

• Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
• Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
• Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
• Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
• Adam Williams as Red Twilight
• Beverly Tyler as Mary
• Keith Richards as Willie Twilight
• Robert Griffin as Deputy Sheriff McNeill (as Robert E. Griffin)
• Olan Soule as Hotel Clerk
• Roy Engel as Doc Tolliver
• Sam Bagley as Townsman (uncredited)
• Tom Kennedy as Townsman (uncredited)
• Billy McCoy as Townsman (uncredited)
• Bob Miles as Ponderosa Ranch Hand (uncredited)

Full Story Line for Vengeance

Hoss visits Virginia City to buy supplies when several gunshots ring from the saloon. As he goes over to investigate, he finds a drunk Willie Twilight firing his gun in all directions. The saloon girl, Mary, tries to stop him, but Willie shoves her aside. Hoss calmly approaches Willie, taking one of the guns he’s holding. However, Hoss finds difficulty in getting the other. Hoss pushes Willie in an attempt to grab the other gun, causing him to fall back and hit a support column hard enough to result in his death. This event shocked everyone, including Mary and Hoss, who couldn’t believe what had happened.

Mary was visiting Willie’s grave when a man approached her, asking about her plans regarding Willie’s death. She argues that Willie was drunk, but the man thinks it’s still improper for him to get killed. The man introduces himself as Willie’s brother, Red Twilight. Hearing how kind and gentle Willie was with Mary gave Red more reason to believe his brother didn’t deserve his death. Red subtly implies vengeance against Hoss Cartwright. Mary tries to stop him by saying the Cartwrights were Willie’s friend, but Red doesn’t care.

Back at the Ponderosa, Hoss fixes a wagon wheel with a brooding expression. Little Joe assures him that it was just an accident, while Adam tells him he understands what he feels. However, Hoss walks away, telling his brothers he’ll mend some fences down to the low country alone.

Hoss rides into the areas, searching for fences he can mend. Unbeknownst to him, Red watches him over some high ground, ready to shoot him at any second. Red continues to fail in his plan. Eventually, sunset came, forcing Red to abort due to light loss.

Little Joe tried to slip out of the Ponderosa, worried about Hoss as he hadn’t returned yet. Adam finds him at the barn, so Joe informs him he will try to find Hoss. Joe prefers not to inform Ben about his plan and asks Adam not to tell him. Adam joins Joe in his search for their brother.

Hoss rests for a moment to drink and freshen up. Red positions himself on higher ground, ready to shoot him.

Meanwhile, Adam and Little Joe were riding to find Hoss when they heard a gunshot nearby. They find Hoss lying face down near Mud Creek. Little Joe insists on going after the gunman, thinking he couldn’t have gotten far yet. However, Adam stops him since Hoss’ life is at stake, and it’s best to return to the Ponderosa to tend to his wound.

Back at the Ponderosa, Ben anxiously waits outside Hoss’ room. The doctor informs him of how severe Hoss’ condition is, considering he has lost a lot of blood. In the meantime, he advises they wait and pray for Hoss’ health. Ben hopes what happened isn’t connected to Willie Twilight. While Little Joe chooses to sit outside Hoss’ room, Ben orders Adam to visit the sheriff and ask if Willie has any friends.

Later that day, deputy sheriff McNeil arrives at the Ponderosa to tell the Cartwrights that Willie has a relative who appeared in town three days after the accident. He visited Willie’s grave, talked to Mary, and booked a hotel room under his name, Red Twilight. Little Joe believes Red shot Hoss, but the sheriff needs more proof to solidify his claim. Upon seeing Joe’s outburst, McNeil informs Ben that it’s only fitting to deliver this information personally to stop them from shooting someone in town who might be innocent.

Ben returns to Virginia City with McNeil to talk to Red Twilight. He tells Red that Willie’s death was an accident, then apologizes. Ben also asks what Red does for a living, to which Red answers, scouting for the army, fighting Indians, and hunting. He asks if Red owns a buffalo gun since it is the weapon used to shoot Hoss. Red refuses to answer directly, believing Ben’s accusing him of murder. Ben replies by saying it’s up to the law to make such an assumption.

Red stops by Mary’s place as she prepares to visit Willie’s grave. Red tells her he’s leaving town, asking Mary to come with him since Willie’s dead and she got nobody else. However, Mary refuses, saying she’d be happy to stay in town with her memories of Willie. Mary also insists it was an accident and that it wasn’t Hoss’ fault that Willie died. Still, Red insists on seeing Hoss die. Mary realizes that it was Red who shot Hoss, then orders him to leave town immediately. She thinks shooting him, almost leading to his death, should be enough. However, Red insists on killing him as revenge for Willie.

Joe admonished his father for doing nothing, even after talking to the man who shot Hoss. Ben argues that there wasn’t enough proof to prove their claim, insisting they leave the law to do the work. That evening, Joe visits Hoss in his room, promising vengeance against the person who shot him.

Before leaving, Red leaves his complete forwarding address to the hotel manager.

Meanwhile, Ben and Adam realize that Joe left early to look for Willie’s brother. Ben orders Adam to look for Joe before something happens to him. Mary visits the Ponderosa to tell him she had nothing against the Cartwrights regarding Willie’s death. She reveals that sometime before, they met a doctor in Placerville who said Willie’s heart had a bad condition that could lead to his death if he wasn’t careful. However, Willie started to change, becoming a man who wanted to die. Mary further narrates how Willie started drinking and fist-fighting, saying he was tired of waiting for his death to come. She tried to stop him, but he only expressed his willingness to die. Hoss suddenly talked, asking what Mary said. Mary assures Hoss that Willie liked the Cartwrights and that it wasn’t his fault. However, they still have to handle Red, who swore to kill Hoss. Ben asks Mary to stay with Hoss while he gets deputy sheriff McNeil so she can tell him the information she shared with them.

Little Joe arrives at the hotel, asking for Red. The hotel manager gives him Red’s forwarding address. Adam joins him, declaring they’ll bring Red alive to Virginia City with his confession.

After following his trail, they figured Red tricked them as he headed back to the Ponderosa. Once he arrives at the ranch, he shoots one of the Ponderosa ranch hands. Hoss asks Mary to get the gun from Ben’s desk. Red finds Mary holding the weapon, confident she wouldn’t shoot Willie’s brother. Red takes the gun from her hand and slaps her to the ground. Adam and Joe arrive shortly after, sneakily entering the house. Red shoots Adam and Joe punch him from behind. They continue fist-fighting outside until Joe gains the upper hand. He angrily aims his gun at Red’s head. Adam stops him, stating he’s no different from Red if he shoots him dead. Joe returns to his senses and agrees to take Red back to the sheriff. Ben arrives with McNeil, who takes Red.

Ben and Hoss are glad Joe didn’t kill Red, and they all return to their house.

Full Script and Dialogue of Vengeance

[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
oh
[Music]
[Laughter]
you're going to hurt somebody with it
raw here here
drop withdrawal willie you don't want to
shoot me
oh yes i do give me the gun willie
give me the one willie willie give me
the gun
willie
you killed him you killed my willy
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
wow
[Music]
so
[Music]
so
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
were you a friend to willie yes
willie and i were friends well what do
you mean to do about it
do about it about willie
he was killed wasn't he yes yes he was
killed but
not the way you're thinking you say he'd
been drinking no i don't want to see
i don't have to whatever willie did he
didn't deserve to be killed
i know i'm his brother
you're red his brother red
he told you about me then oh yes he
talked of you often
i should have been here
just what were you to him
he was kind and gentle to me i loved him
kind and gentle and he ended up like
this
he talked about you many times what do
you say
oh he said that you stopped for the army
and hot buffalo
and he must have told you that i take
care of my own willy was my brother
i've been asking around i know the name
of the man who killed him
hoss cartwright do you know him
everybody around here knows the
cartwrights i don't
but i will soon please that
the cartwrights were friends to willie
willie was my brother
a man killed him that man's gonna pay
[Music]
can
as soon as we get this finished i guess
we gotta get out and help the other boys
on the roundup
because you're gonna have to stop
brooding it was just an accident
look i know how you feel um i mean
anybody would
[Applause]
where are you going i'm going to take a
ride down the low country
there's some fences down there need to
be mended
uh i think you better go along with him
joe you'll get the job done much faster
it's a one-man job
they just stopped feeling guilty
i don't think he should be alone yeah
maybe it's best you know the way he is
where's house going said he was going
down to the lower section do some fence
mending
do you think i ought to keep an eye on
him
i don't think so best way for hoss to
work things out is for us to leave him
[Music]
alone
[Music]
let's go boy
[Music]
ah
go away
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
my
[Music]
[Applause]
don't you know better than a sneaker
when a man like that i ask you a
question
all right i'm worried about horse it's
not liking to stay out all night it's
almost daybreak
and what are you gonna do about it i'm
gonna ride out and find him i don't want
him to be alone
did you tell paul this no i didn't
i just assumed you wouldn't tell him
either adam i'll think about it
where do you think you're going well
he's my brother too
what are we waiting for come on
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
me
[Music]
ah
foreign
[Music]
don't look like huss did much fence
mandan i doubt he intended to
probably came from mud creek
[Music]
whoever did this couldn't have gotten
far i don't wait what do you mean wait i
can get him
if you want to save your brother's life
you'll get pawn a doctor if we don't
lose any time maybe we can keep him
alive
i'll stay here with him now get going
[Music]
you'll sleep for a while now i gave him
a sedative might just as well leave him
alone
tell me the truth how is he
well i'll be honest with you ben it's a
bad wound he's lost a lot of blood
i tried to encourage him to tell him
he'd be all right but it's as if
he didn't want to listen i know
i know it's been that way but ever since
willie twilight's dead
oh i know you know everybody knows
except us
he feels guilty if there was only some
way we could make him understand that it
wasn't then
you're not gonna make him understand
anything for a while that bullet wound
alone had been enough for most men
it might be enough for him ben
what can we do wait
just wait
[Music]
i'll be back as soon as i can in the
meantime
just pray and hope we'll all do that
duncan
[Music]
thank you doctor
[Music]
there isn't much the doctor could tell
us
i'm just standing around waiting want to
go up and see him no
doctor gave him a set of death horses to
sleep so should be alone for a while
wasn't there anything we can do we did
what we could
thank god you two boys disobeyed me went
after him
what the doc said in it did he get
anything out of him
i talked to him
that's what all
gotta find out who did this to haas
we'll let the sheriff find out
we think it could have been an accident
a deer hunter maybe with a buffalo gun
not likely well who could it be that
horse never had an enemy in his life
i just hope this had nothing to do with
that wooly twilight accident okay
i think i'd like to go up and sit
outside his door just just in case he
wakes up
be very quiet
adam send one of the boys into the
sheriff's office and have them find out
if wooly twilight had any
special friends
well how is he and he's still sleeping
[Music]
hey that might be the sheriff i hope so
maybe we can find something else
hello mr mcphail hi everyone i'm sorry
to be late but
sheriff's over in carson city i got tied
up
well as well as can be expected you know
the boys
mr mcmahon hello oh yeah joe
did you find out anything well as a
matter of fact i did yeah
uh that fresh coffee sure let me for you
just black please
there you go thank you
what'd you find out well we were wrong
about willie twilight
he does have a relative
well who is he is he around here if he
is i want to see him
well you just sit down and take it easy
but we all sit down and
let's hear what mr mcneil has to tell us
[Applause]
then i came out here to tell you this
because i
well because i didn't want your boys to
find it out someplace else and go off
half cocked
thank you mike three days after willie
twilight was killed
a man appeared in town first he went out
to visit willie's grave
and he talked to willie's girl mary and
he went to the hotel and registered
under the name of
red twilight well his brother
right that's the man that shot horse how
do you know that
right you said he's willie's brother he
said he came into town three days after
the accident
my brother was backshot on the fourth
day now what more do you want positive
proof that's the more than i need
oh you want positive proof you go around
scratching for the so-called proof while
this man rides halfway to california oh
please please just quiet down
all right all right i'll quiet down but
you just give me one good reason why
this red twilight should be arrested and
hanged
i'll give you two good reasons joe first
place your brother isn't dead
second place i can't arrest anybody for
anything unless somebody comes up to me
and says
i saw him do it or until i find a piece
of
material evidence that will convince a
judge oh come on forget the judge you
know he did it and we know he did it
you see ben that's why i came to the
ponderosa in the minute i found out
i don't want your two boys coming into
virginia city
and shooting up a man who may turn out
to be innocent now mack
i don't recall anyone saying that's what
we're planning to do
but this red twilight is guilty all
right
but i'm warning you too stay out of my
town until i get me some facts
mr mcnail my sons won't do anything
foolish
thank you ben but i'm riding into
virginia city with you
i want to see this red twilight
i'd like to talk to him
are you two boys are to stay here
and this time you're not to disobey me
please do as i ask
[Music]
[Applause]
you're uh willie twilight's brother
red twilight then right yeah that's
right
that's my name my name is ben cartwright
nice sound that was shot have you heard
yeah i heard about it
i wish i could say i was sorry mr conrad
but i didn't even know your son
what can i do for you i just wanted to
say that uh
your brother's death was uh accidental
i'm sorry it happened it makes two of us
i'm sorry it happened too i haven't seen
you around here before
because i haven't been here before my
sons and i we uh
we run a ranch just west of here
ponderosa
what do you do am i am i asking well i
don't mind
i scout for the army fight indians
hunt do you uh ever hunt buffalo
mr kyrie i've hunted just about
everything
do you own a buffalo gun
i think uh that's my business isn't it
whether i do a knot
man who shot my son was using a buffalo
gun
mr cartwright are you accusing me of
murder
no it's up to the law to make that kind
of accusation what if my son dies
and he isn't dead no he isn't dead
well that makes you lucky don't it
cause my brother is
[Music]
hey
mary
[Music]
going out to the grave yes i am
listen what are you gonna do with
yourself from here on
i hadn't thought of it come on inside
let's talk about it
you see i'll believe in town in a day or
so i thought you could come with me
please you don't owe me anything
i'll just stay here why willie's gone
well you got nobody else i know but
willie and me we were happy here this is
the only town i know
i think he'd want me to stay
for whatever they're worth i i've got
memories
like what like him lying dead up on the
hill
you don't have to remind me it appears
to me i do
look i've been thinking about it since
getting over the bitterness it wasn't
hoss cartwright's fault
willie is dead he stuck his guns right
into horse's chest when haas didn't even
have a gun in his hand
but well he's dead i'm trying to tell
you it was
an accident my brother was making harm
to nobody
and they killed him i won't be satisfied
until haas cartwright dies
and it was you yeah
i'm a good shot i just didn't aim high
enough
that's why you've been waiting in
virginia city to make sure
he'll die before i leave one way or the
other for certain sure
i think that you should go away now not
until he's dead
i i can see you shooting hoss in the
back for revenge but
now it's done the thought of him lying
in bed maybe
tying and you're still saying that you
want it kill him
yeah i'm gonna make it up to willie
i wasn't here when he needed me but i'm
gonna make it up to him now
oh no you're not doing this for willie
he wouldn't want any part of this
you're doing it for yourself because
you're something sick
something dirty because you like to kill
don't you
you enjoy it
[Applause]
take your hand away from me
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
joe oh
joe what do you want uh would you check
these figures over for me i uh
i get kind of groggy
you sat right next to him let's try this
out right next to him
sat right next to the man who shot my
brother and you did nothing
that's right too because there was no
proof he did it
yeah just like the sheriff you take it
nice and slow and easy with my brother
dying upstairs
if there's any proof he shot a horse the
sheriff will find it
if the sheriff finds the proof the
courts will handle it of course come on
will you pah
i'll look
you're not the only one around here
who's worried we're all of us worried
but there's a right way and a wrong way
to everything even to worrying
look why don't uh why don't we all go to
bed we can finish this in the morning
what about huh
it's really got to
you simmer down
[Music]
ah
[Music]
i'm gonna find the man that did this to
you
and when i find him i'm gonna kill him
before i kill him i'm gonna make him
know why
i'm sure i'm gonna make him know why
uh
[Applause]
i wonder if you could tell me something
what what's to the west of virginia city
well i calculate if you went far enough
and long enough
you'd hit the pacific ocean no no i mean
around here
uh any place a person could ride on
quick notice except the ponderosa
no no i'd think not uh except if he was
to drop into lake tahoe
but then of course the east side of
that's just about all ponderosa likewise
yeah yeah well i'll be pulling stakes
you get my bill ready and
i'll leave in about an hour fine and
danny mr twilight
don't you want any forwarding address
forward an address
most transients don't leave them well
then here's one who does
i'm going to california that's kind of a
big state ain't it
all right uh make it sacramento
i'm going by way of the geiger grade
matter of fact i'm going to camp at sofa
springs
well now do you want all that put on
your forward and address
i'm just telling you where i'm going
that's all oh sure sure
no offense no offense
[Music]
ah morning pawn i looked on the horse
earlier i think he looks better don't
you
yeah he's uh seems to be breathing more
evenly now
yeah i thought so too
think the doc would come out again today
well he
said he would
me the bread please
nice
little joe up in i haven't seen him yet
probably sleep any better than we did
what worries me
oh that's only natural from the feel of
what he did last night
you know him he'll get over it
go up and ask me to come down i'd like
to talk to him
so wow
must have gotten up early i'll take a
look outside
[Music]
hello
he's not out there his horse is gone
maybe we're not looking for stock oh
adam there's no need for us to fool each
other
he went out looking for willie
twilight's brother
well what do you think
one boy in trouble is enough find him
bring him back here before he does
something he'll regret for the rest of
his life
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
horse can you hear me son
son
hey listen to me i know how you feel
i know what conscience can do to a man
like you
[Music]
mr cartwright
mr cartwright
sorry i don't i know you
i'm mary i i was willie's girl
oh yes i remember uh
please there wasn't anyone around so i
just came in i
i didn't mean any wrong of course not uh
we we're were mighty sorry about
but willie all of us
i know that that's what i came to tell
you
i hold no blame against you we're all of
us grateful
mr cartwright would you listen to me
yes sir
what is it you wanted to tell me mary i
don't even have the words to think it
out but
willie and me we loved each other mr
cartwright
we we were to be married we would have
been too if willie hadn't gotten sick
oh what i didn't know while he was sick
it's just that he didn't want anyone to
know
he went to placerville i went with him
he talked to a doctor there
yes the doctor said that willie's heart
was so bad that he could die any day if
he didn't take care of himself
he just wouldn't do it i don't know why
mr cartwright but all of a sudden it was
as if
willy wanted to die you wanted to die
oh it changed completely started
drinking and
fist fighting with everyone he shouldn't
have done that mr cartwright not with
his heart the way it was
he said he was he said he was tired of
waiting he said that
he was gonna die anyway he wanted to get
it over with quick
and he went out with those guns i tried
to stop him
i knew he was going out there to get
himself killed
are you sure of this how could you
possibly be sure
he told me just before he went out on
that street he said he'd never see me
again
oh
oh oh what she said
boss i said you're here did you hear
what she said
you didn't kill willy he wanted to die
you didn't kill him
willie liked you hoss he wouldn't want
any harm to come to the cartwrights
he wouldn't want you to blame yourself
for this did you hear that
i shoved and bought i
killed him no no that's what mary drove
all the way out here to tell you can't
you understand that
i understand some of it
but fathers there's something else that
worries me
last night something i
i can't remember us don't worry about
anything else
mary does anyone else know about this
i tried to tell his brother but he
wouldn't listen
he's not like willie was at all he's a
killer
when he found out that hoss was still
alive he said he had to go back and kill
hoss
and it was willie's brother who shot us
uh
i must tell the sheriff about this mary
would you repeat to the sheriff exactly
what you told me
i'll tell him i know that's what willie
would want me to do
thank you mary uh deputy's over the
templeton place
uh uh if you'll stay here with horse uh
he's close by
i can go get him i'll send one of the
ranch hands in to stay in the house with
you
i'll stay with him i'll take care of him
i'll be back very soon
pod don't let little joe horse
don't worry yourself none you just rest
thank you for coming out thank you for
everything
i'll be back very soon
[Applause]
william who's a good little fella
i'm sorry i'm
glad that you heard what i said about
willie haas
he would have wanted me to tell you
[Music]
i'm looking for a man named red twilight
oh he pulled up stakes not more than a
half hour since
he's gone um could be that uh deputy
kept a glassy eye on him
he looked in once or twice no you don't
know where he went of course i do
yeah he left a forwarding address a
phony address yeah
sacramento by where the geiger road he
even said how he's going to camp out at
sulphur springs
oh thanks thanks a lot
i'm going with it i feel like on one
condition
what condition when we find them i'll go
as far as beating a confession out of
them if necessary
but that's all understand
you never heard me say any different did
you we bring him and the confession
back to virginia city alive
now i mean it joe i know how you feel
i know what you'd like to do but it's
wrong
you want to stand here talking all day
and all that business about the
forwarding address
well just for our benefit you know that
yeah i could see through that
but if he wants to see me we're even
because i want to see him but that
doesn't change the condition
confession and then we let the sheriff
take over
what i said i heard you tonight
[Music]
so
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and not a sign of him could have gotten
this far ahead of us
and he must have cut off on us we'll
have to backtrack
take a look at this yeah that must be
where he cut off
hey that'll take him back to the
ponderosa right was an army scout for
nothing
just double back on us and we cut them
off the mill road
[Music]
[Applause]
go
[Applause]
can i help you you want the card rights
no i'm just one of the hands
mr cartwright sent me back to look after
haas he's upstairs the rest of the crew
is still at the roundup
it's willie's brother red he's coming
toward the house
what shall i do in the big room
downstairs paul's desk there's a gun get
it tell me quick
[Applause]
you wouldn't shoot willy's brother now
would you
just go away red please just go away
so
far enough friend maybe i didn't do 100
job on your brother the first time
but i guess it's better this way two for
one
first i get you and then i finish him
now drop that gun
joe
adam
you stay here
right now back shooter right now i'm
gonna kill you
no please no no no no i made a promise
back shooter
but i want you to taste it first i want
you to feel it before i blow your brains
out
joe don't you stay out of this adam
[Music]
all this time you intended to kill him i
mean i promised a horse and i'm gonna
keep it
he got his confession that's all the
evidence the sheriff needs that's all
the evidence that i need
all right if you gotta do it go ahead
blow his brains out it'll only bring you
down to the same level of the man you're
gonna kill i hope you enjoy it
all right all right we'll take him back
to the chef
hello joey you all right
how are you feeling are you trying to
kill yourself i'm fine
i'm going to be all right now joe fuss
it's all right pie got down under his
own power
he didn't i was worried about something
else too
uh come on paw don't tell me that's all
the confidence you have in your own son
well let's get this look back to bed hey
joel
john i'm i'm glad you didn't kill him
i don't even kill him i think i'd
kill a man just cause i took a shot at a
big axe like you
[Music]
do
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you

Behind the Scenes of Vengeance

The episode shows Hoss, who had just gotten out of bed a few minutes before, walking back to the house in Ponderosa wearing his nightgown and boots.

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

Bonanza is an excellent Western television program to watch alone or with family and friends. NBC produced the program from September 1959 to January 1973, having all 14 seasons aired on their network. Vengeance is the fifty-third episode out of 430 and the twenty-first for its second season.

You can find more about any of the 430 Bonanza episodes here>>