Second only to family, who better to spend Christmas with than Ben, Little Joe, Hoss, and Hop Sing? Add in the old familiar faces of Ray Teal and Dabbs Greer along with the welcome ones of Wayne Newton, Jack Oakie, and Mary Wickes and a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
Local boy done good Andy Walker makes a triumphant return to town with his Uncle Thaddeus in tow. Andy's singing has drawn crowds in Frisco and Thaddeus has assumed with avaricious intent the managerial reins of Andy's career. Andy's agreeing to perform a charity concert to raise funds for an orphanage rankles Thaddeus, who believes professionals should always be paid for their work. Thaddeus has a Colonel Tom-style bombast and bluster, one that effectively masks his Machiavellian machinations, such as shaking down a saloon owner for payment after Andy sings a few songs for fun and--he naively believed--for free.
Meanwhile, Ben has been called away to San Francisco and in a lapse of judgment puts Hoss in charge of the orphanage fundraising efforts. Ever the opportunist, Thaddeus offers his services to the hapless Hoss--for a ten-percent commission, of course. Admittedly, Thaddeus' techniques are effective even if ethically wanting. He preys upon storekeeper Sam's pride to double his pledge, and gets the donation paid in cash on the barrelhead.
Jack Oakie was well-cast as the con man, whose white-suit and smooth tongue fool even Virginia City's finest--Sheriff Coffee--into lowering his guard. Only Ben, more a man of the world than many want to believe, suspects the larceny that lurks in the heart of a man with $20,000 cash in his clutches.
Wayne Newton reprises his role of Andy Walker from the previous season's "Unwritten Commandment" episode. Wayne warbles a whopping five songs over the course of the story, from the frontier ballads "Old Joe Clark" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike" to current songs "Looking Through a Tear" and "Christmas Journey" through the time-honored carol "Silent Night," which he performs in a duet with Lorne Greene. Despite Sam's prophetic complaint about Christmas getting too commercial, Newton's appearance seemed orchestrated to plug his just-released holiday LP that contained "Christmas Journey," a heartwarming song but one that appears all but forgotten a half-century later.
Newton is the top-billed guest star, but is sidelined right out of the stagecoach by veteran film star Oakie. Newton is relegated to set pieces spotlighting his singing or to soul-searching whether he really wants to be an international singing star. Newton is certainly an able actor in addition to being an appealing singer, and I'm glad this served as a stepping stone to bigger roles. I was left wanting to seek out the 1969 feature film 80 STEPS TO JONAH with Wayne in the lead role.
Newton's pair of appearances on BONANZA brought to mind the two episodes of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW that boasted James Best as the "Guitar Man." The parallels are imperfect, but when compared show two different roads country boys can take when stardom is thrust upon them.
"A Christmas Story" is also the perfect complement to "Christmas on the Ponderosa," the 1963 cast album, which has been reissued on CD. That delightful disc also features a Christmas party at the Ponderosa with singing, laughter, and late-in-life romance and this episode provides the visuals the CD lacks, such as the Christmas tree, softly falling snow, and of course Hoss as the biggest Santa Claus either side of Sioux City.
PS: The producers missed a ripe opportunity for some in-series continuity. When Ben reads from "A Christmas Carol" he could have mentioned the author himself--Charles Dickens--once visited Virginia City and stood right in this very room (when not sitting in Sheriff Coffee's clink!). A brief reference to that earlier adventure would have proven a surprise stocking stuffer to all BONANZA fans who fondly remember Jonathan Harris as the immortal and irascible Boz in "A Passion for Justice" from the fifth season.
Local boy done good Andy Walker makes a triumphant return to town with his Uncle Thaddeus in tow. Andy's singing has drawn crowds in Frisco and Thaddeus has assumed with avaricious intent the managerial reins of Andy's career. Andy's agreeing to perform a charity concert to raise funds for an orphanage rankles Thaddeus, who believes professionals should always be paid for their work. Thaddeus has a Colonel Tom-style bombast and bluster, one that effectively masks his Machiavellian machinations, such as shaking down a saloon owner for payment after Andy sings a few songs for fun and--he naively believed--for free.
Meanwhile, Ben has been called away to San Francisco and in a lapse of judgment puts Hoss in charge of the orphanage fundraising efforts. Ever the opportunist, Thaddeus offers his services to the hapless Hoss--for a ten-percent commission, of course. Admittedly, Thaddeus' techniques are effective even if ethically wanting. He preys upon storekeeper Sam's pride to double his pledge, and gets the donation paid in cash on the barrelhead.
Jack Oakie was well-cast as the con man, whose white-suit and smooth tongue fool even Virginia City's finest--Sheriff Coffee--into lowering his guard. Only Ben, more a man of the world than many want to believe, suspects the larceny that lurks in the heart of a man with $20,000 cash in his clutches.
Wayne Newton reprises his role of Andy Walker from the previous season's "Unwritten Commandment" episode. Wayne warbles a whopping five songs over the course of the story, from the frontier ballads "Old Joe Clark" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike" to current songs "Looking Through a Tear" and "Christmas Journey" through the time-honored carol "Silent Night," which he performs in a duet with Lorne Greene. Despite Sam's prophetic complaint about Christmas getting too commercial, Newton's appearance seemed orchestrated to plug his just-released holiday LP that contained "Christmas Journey," a heartwarming song but one that appears all but forgotten a half-century later.
Newton is the top-billed guest star, but is sidelined right out of the stagecoach by veteran film star Oakie. Newton is relegated to set pieces spotlighting his singing or to soul-searching whether he really wants to be an international singing star. Newton is certainly an able actor in addition to being an appealing singer, and I'm glad this served as a stepping stone to bigger roles. I was left wanting to seek out the 1969 feature film 80 STEPS TO JONAH with Wayne in the lead role.
Newton's pair of appearances on BONANZA brought to mind the two episodes of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW that boasted James Best as the "Guitar Man." The parallels are imperfect, but when compared show two different roads country boys can take when stardom is thrust upon them.
"A Christmas Story" is also the perfect complement to "Christmas on the Ponderosa," the 1963 cast album, which has been reissued on CD. That delightful disc also features a Christmas party at the Ponderosa with singing, laughter, and late-in-life romance and this episode provides the visuals the CD lacks, such as the Christmas tree, softly falling snow, and of course Hoss as the biggest Santa Claus either side of Sioux City.
PS: The producers missed a ripe opportunity for some in-series continuity. When Ben reads from "A Christmas Carol" he could have mentioned the author himself--Charles Dickens--once visited Virginia City and stood right in this very room (when not sitting in Sheriff Coffee's clink!). A brief reference to that earlier adventure would have proven a surprise stocking stuffer to all BONANZA fans who fondly remember Jonathan Harris as the immortal and irascible Boz in "A Passion for Justice" from the fifth season.
