EPISODE: The Magnificent Adah

Reviewed by Susan Grote

Episode 10, Season 1, Originally aired November 14, 1959

Guest Star: Ruth Roman

Written by:  Donald S. Sanford

Directed by: Christian Nyby

SUMMARY:

The episode opens with a man in a checked suit hanging a poster on a tree. A shot is fired, and Adam, Hoss, and Joe ride up to tell the man he is trespassing on the Ponderosa. Seeing the man is obviously shaken, the Cartwright boys decide to have a little fun and start threatening him with all manner of nasty things, including hanging (those Cartwright boys are real funny!). In an attempt to stop what he believes will be his own lynching, the man offers the boys box seats to the show the poster is advertising, then flings the tickets to the ground as he runs away. When Hoss picks up the poster, he discovers it is advertising a show with a “nekkid lady” on a horse. Joe is immediately interested (of course) while Adam is disapproving. While Adam is telling Hoss to get rid of the poster, Joe hurriedly picks up the show tickets off the ground. Then while Adam is distracted by Joe, Hoss slips the poster into his shirt. Adam looks at his brothers suspiciously and then rides off. As the other two start to follow him, Joe shows Hoss the tickets he scooped up off the ground.

Night has fallen as Joe is waiting with his and Hoss’ horses outside the Ponderosa ranch house. Joe is all decked out in brown pin-striped suit (which is nowhere near as attractive as the blue suit he wears in later years, in my opinion). Hoss comes sneaking out of house through the upstairs window, slides down the porch and lands on the ground with a thud. While Joe is dusting him off and fixing his tie, Hoss complains about having to sneak out without alerting Adam, that Joe had it easier because Joe’s bedroom is down the hall. (this is the first episode in which the confusing, revolving bedroom locations make an appearance). Joe is alarmed that Adam might have heard them, but Hoss assures his brother that Adam wasn’t around. The two then head for town.

In town, former fighter John Regan is in the saloon, bragging drunkenly that he can beat any man in the place. A miner gets his friend – a big strapping fellow – to challenge Regan, and Regan beats the man to a pulp.

Outside the saloon, Hoss and Joe hear the ruckus and briefly wonder if they are missing a good fight. They decide a show with a “nekkid lady” is better entertainment than a fight (ya think?) and head on down to the opera house. As they are standing in line to enter the opera house, Joe and Hoss are suddenly pulled aside by Adam (who is also wearing his fancy suit). Joe tries to explain their presence, but Adam cuts off his brother and asks if they brought the third ticket. Grinning, Joe hands Adam the ticket and three brothers enter the opera house.

Inside the opera house, Adah Isaacs Menken is playing the lead in the show Mazeppa, a male part. As the show continues, some of the audience, including Hoss, get caught up in the action and loudly boo the villain in the play and cheer for Adah’s character. At the end, an apparently “nekkid” Adah is tied to a horse that runs off stage. Hoss’ eyes bug out at the sight – and Adam and Joe aren’t exactly bored by the scene either.

After the show, Adam, Hoss and Joe head for the saloon for a drink. As they down their beers, Hoss tentatively asks if Adah was really “nekkid”. At first, Adam and Joe don’t really answer the question, but Adam finally breaks down and tells Hoss she was wearing tights. Hoss is both relieved and disappointed.

Adah suddenly makes an appearance at the saloon, offering to throw her garter to the crowd. The Cartwright boys are watching with amusement until they see Ben walk in (looking mighty fine in his dark suit and brocade vest), as Adah’s escort. Quickly, Adam, Hoss and Joe duck their heads, but at the same time, they wonder what their father is doing with “that woman”.

As Adah throws the garter into the crowd, she spots Regan sitting at a table. Frightened, she asks Ben to take her back to the hotel. Ben is unsure what frightened the woman but agrees to escort her to her room. In the hotel room, Ben asks Adah about the incident in the saloon. In the course of the conversation, we learn that a) Ben and Adah are old friends, b) Adah and Regan were “a couple” at one time, and c) Regan apparently abused Adah. Ben dismisses Regan as a drunken, washed-up fighter and offers to protect Adah from him. Adah assures Ben she can handle Regan; she was just startled to find him in Virginia City. Ben leaves, goes over to the saloon for a drink, and then decides to move into the hotel anyway. Meanwhile Regan shows up in Adah’s room. She rejects his advances, and he leaves but promises she will never get away from him.

The next day, Adam and Hoss are clearing timber (or something) out on the ranch when Joe comes riding up to announce that “Pa didn’t come home last night” and that Ben also had champagne in her room last night (Joe is either scandalized or disappointed that he didn’t get in on the action). He also tells his brothers that Pa is bringing Adah to dinner that evening. All three of the boys are upset at the idea of Ben “dating” an actress, and Adam declares they should “have a talk with our Pa”.

At dinner that night, Adah is trying to be charming and Ben is being gracious while Adam, Hoss, and Joe are acting pretty sullen. They make veiled references to the fact they think Adah is a gold-digger, such as commenting they “protect what’s ours”. Adah figures out she’s not welcome and asks Ben to take her back to town. As she goes to the carriage, Ben is stopped by his sons. Adam, Hoss and Joe awkwardly try to tell their father that Adah isn’t worthy of him because she’s “an actress”.  Amused, Ben informs his sons that he is old enough to take care of himself. As Ben leaves, Adam, Hoss and Joe look at each other with raised eyebrows.

The next night, Adah returns to her dressing room after her performance to find Adam waiting for her. Adah immediately understands why Adam is there, and rebukes him for his disapproval of her. Adam responds by taking Adah into his arms and kissing her (Thinking with his lips, Adam figures this is a good way to show Adah is a slut). She doesn’t respond and gives Adam a rather puzzled look. Adam quickly leaves, apparently deciding Adah’s not quite the gold-digger he thought she was. As he is leaving, Adam passes Hoss and Joe, who are waiting outside. When his brothers ask him what happened, Adam tells them that it’s “none of their business” and walks away. Hoss and Joe decide Adam didn’t make out so well with Adah, and Joe concludes that a “real man” is needed to persuade the woman. A confused Hoss asks where they are going to find one, and after giving his brother a look of disgust, Joe goes to get “cleaned up”.

Outside of the hotel, Regan is watching the window of Adah’s room. Adah responds to a knock on the door, and a waiter brings in flowers and a table of filled with champagne and fancy foods. She is delighted, thinking the treat is from Ben, but then puzzled when the card is signed by Joe. Joe enters the room (wearing the same brown pin-striped suit he has at home; apparently there are limited choices at the Virginia City haberdashery and he ended up with the exact same suit!).  As Joe begins “sweet talking” Adah, he walks over to the window to close the shade. In the street below, Regan sees Joe in Adah’s room.

As Joe continues his “romancing”, Adah becomes amused and begins to act as if she is willing to be seduced. As she starts acting more seductive, Joe gets nervous; things obviously are progressing further and faster than he anticipated. Adah pulls a reluctant Joe close to her, then boxes his ears and throws him to the floor. She tells a startled Joe that she out to have him horse-whipped for coming to her room with what he had in mind. She then explains that Ben moved into the hotel only to protect her. Ashamed, Joe apologizes. A sudden knock on the door surprises both of them, and Adah thinks that Ben has come to check on her. She shoos Joe out the back door of her suite.

Opening the door, Adah is surprised to see Regan instead of Ben. Regan pushes his way into the room, demanding to know where “the kid” is. Adah tries to get him to leave, offering him her jewels. Regan pockets the jewels but continues to rail against the Cartwrights, mockingly asking Adah if Ben has proposed yet. She tells him that Ben has no interest in marrying her.

Suddenly Ben appears in the room, holding a gun. He announces he wants to marry Adah and orders Regan to leave town “or get a gun”. When Ben demands that he leave, Regan tells Ben in a threatening voice that he will settle things “his way” and walks out.

Over in the saloon, Hoss is waiting for Joe. When Hoss asks him what happened, Joe punches Hoss and tells him not to say anything bad about Adah again. Hoss is startled and then amused as Joe tells him to finish his beer and to meet him at the horses.

As Joe is walking toward his horse, Regan spots the youngest Cartwright. He comes up behind Joe and tells Joe his name, adding Joe should remember the name when his father asks. Joe, who has no idea who Regan is, agrees with a shrug and turns back to his horse. Regan clubs Joe on the back of the neck with his hand, knocking Joe to the ground. Regan then picks up Joe by the front of his shirt and begins punching a stunned Joe; the force of the blows knock Joe into an alley.

After beating up Joe, Regan strolls casually into the saloon where good ol’ Hoss tries to be friendly with him. Regan ignores Hoss and orders a round of drinks for everyone.

Back up in Adah’s hotel room, Ben continues to tell Adah he cares for her. Adah asks Ben if he isn’t mistaking loneliness for love. Ben doesn’t answer the question directly, rather asking Adah what kind of life she has, being on the road and hiding from Regan. Adah insists that she doesn’t want to come between Ben and his sons. Ben tells her that his “boys” need a woman around the house, but Adah points out that Ben’s sons aren’t “boys” any longer. She adds that maybe Joe and Hoss might accept her but Adam….Adah tells Ben that Adam came to her dressing room and that Adam is “very much Ben’s son”.  Ben is surprised and then smiles a bit as he figures out what Adah meant. (You’d think Ben would have been mad that Adam was trying to cut in on his girl, but apparently Ben was willing to “share”).

Adah tells Ben that she can’t come between Ben and his sons, and that it is best that she leaving for San Francisco later that night. Ben accepts her decision, adding regretfully that he wished he had proposed “before those little boys became men”. (Ben gave up awfully easy; he must not have reached the three day deadline which requires a Cartwright to marry the girl they are dating). He leaves Adah’s room and walks down to the front desk to check out.

As Ben is standing at the front desk, Hoss rushes in, carrying Joe in his arms. Hoss shouts that someone almost beat Joe to death. Alarmed, Ben rushes to Hoss and tells him to put Joe on the settee in the lobby of the hotel. The camera then gives us a close up of Joe’s battered and bleeding face.

Joe is still lying on the settee, being attended to by a not-Doctor-Martin-doctor as Ben and Hoss look on anxiously. Adam rushes in (having changed out of his spiffy suit and into his cowboy outfit) and asks about Joe. The not-Doctor-Martin-doctor comments ominously about the gash over Joe’s optic nerve, and Ben clarifies that Joe might be blinded. When Adam asks who beat Joe, Hoss tells him that “Little Joe couldn’t say”.

Joe begins to regain consciousness and Ben pushes the not-Doctor-Martin-doctor out of the way. Ben comforts his son, telling Joe that everything is going to be all right. He then asks Joe if Joe can see him. Joe, his face still looking battered, looks up at Ben and pitifully whimpers “Pa?” through swollen lips. Ben tries to quiet his son, telling Joe not to try to talk and to blink his eyes if he can see him. Joe whimpers “Pa?” again, and Ben quiets Joe once more, telling Joe to blink his eyes twice if Joe can see him.

For a dramatic moment, Ben, Hoss and Adam all watch Joe anxiously. Joe looks up at Ben and slowly blinks his eyes twice, as a single tear trickles out of his eye and down his cheek. Then Joe reaches his hand up slowly to touch his father’s face.

As Adam and Hoss smile with relief, Ben grabs Joe’s hand and tells his youngest son once more that everything will be all right, that his “Pa is right here”. Joe again responds with a whimpered “Pa?”.

As Ben tells Joe to rest easy, Adam leans forward and encourages Ben to ask Joe who beat him up. Ben ignores Adam’s question for a moment; he gently places Joe’s hand on Joe’s chest as his youngest son apparently falls unconscious once more. Then Ben declares angrily that he knows “who did this”.

Ben gets up and hurries out of the hotel, followed closely by Adam and Hoss. The not-Doctor-Martin-doctor goes back to tending Joe (which apparently consists of dabbing Joe’s face with a towel; this lack of great medical skill is probably why the not-Doctor-Martin-doctor was run out of town by the Cartwrights and why Doctor Martin was invited to Virginia City).

Ben rushes into the saloon to confront Regan. Ben tells Adam to slide his gun down the bar and then angrily orders Regan to reach for it. Almost casually, Regan declines, saying his hands are to bruised and swollen to be able to even find the trigger. Then Regan taunts Ben, saying that if Ben wants to avenge the beating Regan gave Joe, he will either have to shoot Regan or use his fists. Regan smirks as he sees Ben preparing to fight him.

As Ben begins to undo his gunbelt from around his waist, Hoss follows suit. Hoss begs his father to let him fight Regan, saying “Little and Joe and me is…you’ve just got to let me do it”. Ben tells Hoss to stay out of the fight, but Adam grabs his father and holds him, allowing Hoss can take on Regan. At first Regan outfights Hoss, easily landing punches on the biggest Cartwright. Then Adam yells to Hoss to wrestle Regan, not fight him. Hoss grabs Regan and squeezes him, then throws Regan against the bar. Regan is stunned, and Hoss follows up with several hard blows to Regan’s face, knocking the ex-fighter to the ground.

As Hoss is standing over Regan, Adah rushes in and pushes Hoss aside. She kneels down and takes Regan’s head in her lap. As Regan begs her to help him, Adah comforts him, telling Regan that everything will be all right.

Surprised by this turn of events, Hoss walks away from Regan and over to his father. Ben motions to Adam and Hoss to leave, and the trio stop just outside of the saloon. Ben pulls out a handkerchief and starts moping the blood off Hoss’ face (imitating the not-Doctor-Martin-doctor’s treatment for cuts and other injuries). A puzzled Adam asks, “How can she?” and Ben responds that Adah is a woman in love. He says that Adah could have any man she wanted, then gives Adam a sly look before adding, “As I think you found out.”  Adam looks down, clearly embarrassed that his father knows about his little escapade. As Ben continues to clean his face, Hoss declares that he just doesn’t understand how a beautiful woman like Adah can love a man like Regan. Shrugging a bit, Ben replies that there are many kinds of love.

Deciding that he has cleaned up Hoss as best he could, Ben looks at Hoss and Adam, then says “Let’s go see Little Joe”. The three walk down the dark street as the episode ends.

REVIEWS:

“My favorite part is (not surprising) the hurt/comfort scene where Pa is anxiously watching over the beaten Joe. Pa is so tender and concerned, while Joe wants nothing more than to be comforted by his father. This episode also shows some interesting aspects of the Cartwrights:  Ben is shown as a vigorous man, able to woo a beautiful woman, much to the dismay of his sons; Adam is portrayed as trying to act as the stern older brother, but he's just as willing as Hoss and Joe to enjoy the show as well as try to thwart Adah from getting her hands on Ben; and Hoss' comment in the saloon implies that special relationship he has with Joe. Joe is alternately brash and self-confident, then nervous and deferential when he's caught up in something he doesn't know how to handle.” Susan Grote

“I never could figure out why they just didn't take Joe right upstairs to Ben's suite instead of dumping on the settee in the lobby.” Ginny

“This ep is a favorite of mine, from the opening teaser through to the scene where Joe is being comforted by Pa, but I must admit that the ending lets it down a bit. I hate it that all three Cartwrights just rush off and leave poor LJ on another one of those extremely uncomfortable settees, in the hotel foyer, rather than seeing that he is safely tucked up in Ben's hotel suite. I understand their desire to get Regan, but one of them could have stayed with Joe, particularly as he so wanted them with him, when he was in pain Also, after the fight with Regan, I wish we had seen them return to Joe's bedside. I suppose it's the eternal thing about being attracted to bad lads that makes Adah prefer Regan to Ben. Personally, I don't understand her, as I think Ben looks very handsome in this ep, in that wonderful silver brocade vest and suit, plus he's very rich and can offer her a great life.” Little Joe forever Lynne

“It probably would have slowed down the action considerably in the 47 minute drama had they tucked Little Joe into a cozy bed, chosen who was going to keep him company and then run off to kick butt...and all three of them needed to be there. One son to battle the gorilla for the Cartwright honor and avenge Little Joe's clobbering while the other restrains Pa from getting made into hamburger.” Robin

“Hoss in the balcony seat wanting to jump on the stage and his asking his brothers if she was “neked” were a hoot.  I didn't expect that to be Adam's arm pulling Joe out of line, but that made it more enjoyable. As for Hoss fighting Regan, when Ben was about to fight him, I said out loud, is he crazy, he should let Hoss do it, he'll give him what for. And he did!” Marianne

“Best part for me was the face Hoss makes when he is asking Joe and Adam about the women on stage.” Barbara

“My favorite scene in the episode is the "was she or wasn't she" exchange between the brothers.  It's one of my first memories of the show.  In high school, my friends and I would quote the scene just to make each other laugh.” Melissa J.

“I really like the camaraderie between the brothers in this ep.  Their youth is refreshing as well as their naivety, both among Joe and Hoss.  You discover Pa is a man..."staying out all night"...that's my Ben!  I also love the Cartwright's protectiveness of one another; especially with their Pa.  Pretty amazing bunch of men, "MEN" if you know what I mean!  Can't help but mention the Joe-in-pain-beaten-and so on scene.  One of the best!!!!! “Nancy

“Like almost everyone else, my favorite scene is the intense PJM on the settee in the lobby -- but my second favorite is when Ben is using his hankie to clean up Hoss's face after the fight. He's doing it on autopilot while dispensing fatherly advice -- you can sense he's washed up dirty little boy faces at least a million times -- I half expected him to hold the hankie in front of Hoss's mouth and say 'spit' before he started wiping.” Ginger

 “One little bit that always cracks me up is when an arm reaches in and yanks Joe out of the picture when he and Hoss are waiting in line, and Hoss' reaction when he finds Joe gone. Love how they did that. (Also Joe's "oh" when Adam says he's been waiting for them.) Another thing that was handled in an interesting way is the camera angle when Regan comes up to Joe by his horse just before the beating. It's an unusual high camera shot from behind Regan which emphasizes how much bigger Regan is than Joe, and subtly stresses how brutal the beating to come will be.” Sue W.

“I laughed out loud when Joe walked into the Saloon and punched Hoss and the stunned look on Hoss's face. He wouldn't expect to be punched by Joe very often and certainly not seriously or hard enough for him to show he meant business. The steely looks from Ben towards Regan at times were just great.  You wanted to cheer him on and say "Go get em' Ben" on a few occasions - well I know I did anyway. There would be few occasions that I could think of that Ben would be forced into such deadly resolve except when his family has been hurt or when one of them was in danger.  Makes me want to cheer all the more for "Pa" wanting him to be the hero that runs in and takes care of the baddies. I also love that Hoss wanted to take on Regan when they found out who had hurt Joe.  I don't know too many people in their right mind that would have taken on an angry Hoss Cartwright - but if they are stupid enough to them - all the more entertainment for us.” Jules

“This is one of my faves as it has so many cute moments of all the guys as well as that great Pa/Joe toward the end.  The boys were adorable when Adah came for supper and they all wanted to talk with their Pa after dinner. Alone. And when they each went to see Adah was priceless as well!” Deb

My favorite piece of this episode is the boys confronting their father about dating Adah.  (The settee-side scene with Joe and Ben is good but a little too abrupt, imo.)  I loved the way Adam and Joe just kind of melt into the background behind Hoss, leaving him to say what they are apparently too uncomfortable to say, that Adah being "an actress" - perfect scandalized tone when Hoss speaks those words - is not good enough to for Ben.  It's beautifully done, as is Ben's amused but firm reply.” Helen