Everybody who knows anything about the Western genre knows Bonanza. Whether you remember that famous theme tune or recall Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon leading cattle to and fro, the impressive 14-season series was the second most popular Old West series, just behind Gunsmoke. But Bonanza’s success didn’t stop creator David Dortort from moving on, and in 1967, he developed The High Chaparral for NBC. For four seasons and nearly 100 episodes, Dortort’s newest Western aired on the network, and though it eventually fell prey to the infamous rural purge, it’s notable for doing a few things that Bonanza just never could. If you’ve never heard of this one before, it may be worth giving a shot now.
What Is ‘The High Chaparral’ About?
While Bonanza centers around Ben Cartwright (Greene) and his three boys as they helm the Ponderosa Ranch in northern Nevada, The High Chaparral is a bit different from the get-go. In the 1870s Arizona Territory, determined patriarch “Big John” Cannon (Leif Erickson), his brother Buck (Cameron Mitchell), and son Billy Blue (Mark Slade) defend their ranch from encroaching hostiles. The High Chaparral Ranch was named by John’s wife, Annalee (Joan Caulfield), who is instantly captivated by the Arizona scenery around them. Believing this to be a brand-new start for their family, she’s eager to get the ranch up and running. Unfortunately, the Chaparral isn’t safe, and after the Cannon’s land is raided, Annalee is killed quickly in the very first episode after she’s hit by an arrow. Talk about a shocking way to open up a series.
What’s perhaps even more shocking is that the very next episode marries John Cannon off again to his neighbor’s daughter, Victoria (Linda Cristal). After the attack, the Cannons visit their neighbors, the Montoyas, seeking to make friends against the raiders. Don Sebastian Montoya (Frank Silvera) agrees to aid the Cannons provided John marries his daughter. Despite their massive three-decade age difference, and Big John’s own feelings (as well as the feelings of his son) about the matter, the two are wed. Soon after, Victoria and her brother Manolito (Henry Darrow) move to the High Chaparral. From there, the two families become one and learn to live alongside each other, not just to avoid certain death from their enemies, but to thrive as a cohesive unit working side-by-side. Naturally, it takes a lot of time and even more effort, as both Big John and Don Sebastian are ambitious and aggressive men. But that’s part of the show’s main draw.
Unlike Bonanza, which focused entirely on the Cartwright family, The High Chaparral blended two families and two cultures. Another major difference between the two was that while Bonanza could be serious with its subject matter, it could also be somewhat comedic, with Hoss (Blocker) and Little Joe (Landon) often making jokes. It was generally very romantic in its portrayal of Western living and the family unit. The High Chaparral, on the other hand, was considered an adult Western in every sense of the word. While comic relief was occasionally necessary, it was never the focus. The show wasn’t afraid to talk politics either. Big John had bravely fought for the Union during the American Civil War, while his brother Buck fought for the Confederacy. The two were separated during the war, but have since come back together. Nevertheless, their opposing sides make for some fascinating character drama (“The Badge” being possibly the best example).
‘The High Chaparral’ Had More Mature Themes Than ‘Bonanza’
Aside from being a more serious Western, The High Chaparral also tackled themes that Bonanza just didn’t take the time to unravel. For instance, on Bonanza, Ben Cartwright was revealed to have been married three different times to three different women, each marriage resulting in a new son: Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss, and Little Joe. Rarely are their mothers ever mentioned, and it’s not often that we see the Cartwright patriarch meditating on his deceased brides. In contrast, with The High Chaparral, creator David Dortort was able to observe Big John’s grief properly (note the series’ third episode, “The Ghost of the Chaparral”). From the show’s very beginning, it’s made clear that part of the reason he’s so distant from Victoria is because of his dead wife’s memory. He doesn’t just move on overnight.
Along the same lines, Bonanza didn’t just hardly mention the respective mothers of Cartwright’s three sons, any love interest that he had ended up dead or written off the show in order to maintain the fragile status quo. For the most part, Bonanza didn’t feel the need to grow, develop, or mature with the audience. Instead, the show was happy doing the same thing over and over. While we love Bonanza for it’s charming characters and timeless material, revisiting the same threads with no continual growth was something The High Chaparral aimed not to repeat. This series wasn’t afraid to introduce recurring and new characters, up-play the importance of supporting characters, and try new things. In only four seasons, it felt like the show had really matured from its beginnings, despite having 10 fewer seasons than Dortort’s previous Western.
Of course, that’s not all. Bonanza star Pernell Roberts is famous for having left the show after its sixth season. The star thought from the get-go that Bonanza was going to be more “sophisticated” in nature, but when it wasn’t, he felt duped. This ultimately led to his departure once his contract was up (via MeTV). But if The High Chaparral was anything, it was “sophisticated.” The strained relationships between fathers and sons (namely Big John & Billy Blue, and Don Sebastian & Manolito) was part of what made The High Chaparral so relatable. So too was the uniqueness of Victoria’s place within the Cannon family. There was a complexity and fragileness in these familial bonds that, while strong, occasionally wavered. Rarely did we ever see anything like that on the Ponderosa. With complex character motivations, genuinely good writing, and realistic family dynamics, the Cannon and Montoya families always had the best material to work with. If only the show had been greenlit a decade prior…
Creator David Dortort Returned to ‘Bonanza’ After ‘The High Chaparral’
Though The High Chaparral’s cancelation was nothing short of a Western tragedy, it also wasn’t surprising. The Western had fallen out of favor with Hollywood television networks and American audiences were craving more modern material. As a result, this series was axed during the first wave of the 1971 rural purge, which also canceled shows like Mayberry R.F.D. and The Johnny Cash Show. Only two years later, Bonanza (the second longest-running Western on television) was canceled as well. But this didn’t stop David Dortort from continually trying to bring the genre back to television. In 1974, he produced a television continuation of John Wayne’s The Cowboys, with certain members of the film’s cast returning. When that was canceled, he pivoted to The Chisholms, which started out as a miniseries before being renewed for a single season. Soon, that ended too.
In 1988, two decades after he left Bonanza to head up The High Chaparral, Dortort returned to his long-running Western for the made-for-TV film, Bonanza: The Next Generation. Yes, it’s exactly what you’d expect, complete with the children of Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, and Dan Blocker all in tow. This sparked two more television movies that eventually concluded the Bonanza saga, and while Dortort didn’t pen those himself, he is credited as an executive producer. In his final Hollywood work, David Dortort returned to the Ponderosa Ranch for one more ride with the prequel series Ponderosa. Though it only lasted a single season, it proved that no matter how much he tried to escape it, Bonanza would always catch up to him. Dortort retired from the business afterward.
It’s a shame that The High Chaparral isn’t more well-known among Western enthusiasts. Though it isn’t an obscure production by any means (not unlike The Loner was in the ’60s), it’s often overshadowed by the likes of Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and their contemporaries, which ran longer and garnered more critical acclaim. Nevertheless, The High Chaparral (though not perfect, the fourth and final season is a bit rough) remains a strong example of how well-produced television Westerns could be. It’s dynamic, complex, and brings enough Wild West flavor with it to enhance your appreciation for the genre and its place on television. If only more TV Westerns like this one were made now.