Dan Blocker as John Killibrew, catching a glimpse of the lake the steam engine fell into in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Susan Clark as Mary Duren, giving John Killibrew a lesson in reading and love in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Dan Blocker is John Killibrew, a man mocked in Arcanna, the town he helped create with a promise that the railroad would come.

Well, the railroad didn’t, passing by the town at a point 22 miles away. Ten years later, townsfolk still blame Killibrew for that mistake.

Then news arrives that a steam engine has tumbled off a passing train and landed deep in a lake.

Killibrew sees it as a chance to redeem himself and travels all the way to San Francisco to gain ownership of the machine.

Of course, that leaves him with the task of retrieving the steam engine from the bottom of the lake, then hauling it all the way back to town.

His only help comes from neighbor Mary Duren (Susan Clark), who has romantic intentions where Killibrew is concerned.

She faces a task nearly as impossible as Killibrew’s — getting him to propose to her.

Don Stroud as Eben Duren and Warren Oates as Angus Duren, two of Mary’s brothers in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Paul Peterson as Peter Duren, Mary’s youngest brother in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Review:

A feel-good comedy Western featuring entertaining performances from the two leads.

But it also feels overlong. That trek back to town with the steam engine seems to take forever.

Along the way, Mary Duren indeed weds John Killibrew. Getting him to act like a husband takes a while longer.

At times, she wonders if he cares more about the steam engine than her.

Warren Oates plays one of her brothers, who fears Killibrew will tarnish Mary’s reputation but is more fearful that he and his brothers will lose their caretaker if the relationship flourishes.

Lots of other familiar faces pop up in predictable roles.

Along with The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970), this was one of two comedy Westerns starring Blocker, who was still starring at Hoss on Bonanza at the time. He died in 1972 at age 43.

John Dehner as banker Sam Batt, turning down Killibrew’s request for a $50 loan in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Henry Jones as R.J. Hoferkamp, the man who sells Killibrew the steam engine in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Directed by:
Don Taylor

Cast:
Dan Blocker … John Killibrew
Susan Clark … Mary Duren
John Dehner … Sam Batt
Warren Oates … Angus Duren
Paul Peterson … Peter Duren
Don Stroud … Eben Duren
Henry Jones … R.J. Hoferkamp
Sandy Kenyon … Bleeck
Edgar Buchanan … Old Man Wolenski
Tom Nolan … Rafe Runkel
Dub Taylor … Sheriff
Joan Shawlee … Hooker
Iron Eyes Cody … Chief
Conlan Carter … Doc Gillespie

Runtime: 97 min.

Dub Taylor as the sheriff, alerted that the townswomen have formed a lynch mob in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Edgar Buchanan as Old Man Wolenski, who sells Killibrew mules to pull his steam engine in Something for a Lonely Man (1968)

Memorable lines:

John Killibrew: “I don’t laugh at people, Rafe.”

Angus Duren, of his sister Mary: “She’s young and pretty and she can cook. Now you add a man to that, and things is gonna happen.”

R.J. Hoferkamp: “Forgive me for asking, but are you crazy?”
John Killibrew: “Well, opinion’s sorta divided on that.”

John Killibew: “It just ain’t right to make a beast of burden out of anything so lovely.”
Mary Duren: “Are you talking about me? Or the steam engine?”