Ben Johnson is Bronc Evans, the man in charge of watching over the Ponderosa following the death of patriarch Ben Cartwright. And he wonders what he’s doing wrong.
Reunited by the threatened sale of the ranch, the family is on the verge of pulling apart again.
Adam (Jeff Phillips) has fallen in love with a lovely pianist (Annie Stewart) and considering following her to Paris.
Benjamin (Michael Landon Jr.) has a job offer in a top law firm back East. Sara (Emily Warfield) is missing her old home in Boston.
Then vengeance seeking Pinkerton man Charley Siringo shows up on the Ponderosa trailing the last name on his list of evil men who need to die.
The man is Frank James (Leonard Nimoy). Wounded, Frank has fled to the ranch hoping for a helping hand from Bronc, an old Civil War buddy.
Sure enough, the Cartwright clan rallies around the once-notorious outlaw, especially after Siringo takes Hoss’s son Josh (Brian Leckner) hostage, hoping to trade him for Frank.
Ben Johnson as Bronc Evans in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Richard Roundtree as Jacob in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Review:
A followup to 1993’s “Bonanza: The Return” with virtually the same Ponderosa cast, minus Alister MacDougall, who’s replaced by Jeff Phillips in the role of Adam.
This one doesn’t feature the flashback sequences offered up in “The Return.”
Unfortunately, it comes off as more contrived thanks to a plot that includes renegade Pinkertons and manages to make a victim of Frank James.
And watch how the entire cast strolls out of a beseiged cabin to witness the climatic showdown. Oh, my.
Once again, two sons of original cast members — Michael Landon Jr. and Dirk Blockner — play key roles.
Once again, Blockner’s character is a journalist, awkwardly written into the plot, rather than a member of the Cartwright family.
Leonard Nimoy as Frank James in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Dennis Farina as Charley Siringo, the Pinkerton agent, in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Directed by:
Mark Tinker
Cast:
Ben Johnson … Bronc Evans
Michael Landon Jr. … Benjamin Cartwright
Emily Warfield … Sara Cartwright
Brian Leckner … Josh Cartwright
Jeff Phillips … Adam “A.C.” Cartwright
Richard Roundtree … Jacob
Jack Elam … Buckshot
Dirk Blockner … Fenster
Dennis Farina … Charley Siringo
Sonia Satra … Annie Stewart
James Karen … Mr. Stewart
Leonard Nimoy … Frank James
Ted Markland … Cole
Gordon Jennison Noice … Black Jack
Kenny Call … Mears
Runtime: 89 min.
Michael Landon Jr. as Benjamin ‘Benj’ Cartwright in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Emily Warfield as Sarah Cartwright in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Memorable lines:
Jacob, as dinner is served: “What is that, Buckshot?”
Buckshot, complaining about how the Cartwrights are always late for supper: “At 5 o’clock, it was meatloaf.”
Adam Cartwright, helping a wounded Frank James: “Are you guys going to shoot him again?”
Charley Siringo, the man chasing Frank. “No, sir. I’m going to hang him.”
Siringo, squared off against his prey: “How’s that arthritis, Frank? I understand that it’s a painful disease and sometimes you can hardly bend your finger. Is that right?”
Frank James: “Let’s find out.”
Jeff Phillips as Adam Cartwright in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Brian Leckner as Josh Cartwright in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Dirk Blocker as Fenster, the journalist, in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Sonia Satra as Annie Stewart, the pianist Benj loves in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
Jack Elam as Buckshot, the cook on the Ponderosa in Bonanza, Under Attack (1995)
){kind=link}