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1960 - BONANZA: The Ape
Hoss Cartwright: Dan Blocker
Arnie: Cal Bolder
Freddie: Leonard Nimoy
Shari Bell: Karen Sharp
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The story is about Arnie, a man with a childlike mind but a huge
body. He is living alone in a hut in the woods.
He avoids other people because they, especially make fun of him.
Shari Bell is working for Freddie in the salon. She is getting "cuts"
from any drink paid by a cowboy for her or animated to drink by her.
Freddie tries to make money by playing cards with cowboys playing
for money.
)
He is playing by himself and drinking a whisky while
waiting for someone to have a game with him.
Shari comes to him and asks for a drink. "You are asking me for a drink?", he
asks. "No one wants to have a game,
your cuts on the drinks is all we have to eat on today", he informs her.
She complains and it becomes clear that Shari went with Freddie to
leave her hometown. Now Freddie threatens her to throw her out on
the street if she does not stop complaining.
She rather should get the cowboys to buy drinks.
)
Hoss and Arnie meet for the first time in the salon.
Somehow they begin a fight and both men can take a lot.
They earn each other's respect for they are both tough, but fair.
They stop fighting, begin to laugh and begin a friendship.
As Hoss notices that Arnie is fond of Shari and thinks that
she likes him too, he tries to make Arnie aware that Shari only pretends
to like him to make fun of him. Hoss offers Arnie a job on the Ponderosa.
Arnie takes it and begins to save up for a farm. When Arnie tells Shari
and Freddie about this, they again make fun of him by overdoing
the dream of his own farm.
)
They drink with Arnie on Arnie's expense.
Arnie feels understood and encouraged and thinks Hoss is envious of
him and his new "friends" when he warns him of Shari.
Shari tells Arnie that a woman wants presents. Now Arnie buys her a necklace,
handmade by an Indian woman.
At night Freddie wants to go up to the room with Shari,
but Shari refuses. She changes her mind as Freddie offers her to bring her a
"night cap" - a glass of whisky. While Freddie pours the whisky, Shari goes
upstairs and finds Arnie in her room. Gladly he offers her the necklace.
Shari hits it out of his hand, calls him an ape and offends him. A situation
Arnie cannot handle. He strangles her and leaves in shock about what he has done.
)
Freddie comes up and sees Arnie leaving and Shari dead. His source of income,
the woman he could have for a whisky, gone and the huge Arnie passing him,
he calls for help.
)
When Hoss arrived Freddie has already arranged for a possee to lynch Arnie.
Hoss rides with them to convince Arnie to turn himself in, but as Arnie
throws a log at the lynch mob, one of the men shoots him.
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