Bonanza (TV Series) A House Divided (1960) User Reviews

The Civil War Comes To The Ponderosa

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 8 November 2010]

Cameron Mitchell comes to Virginia City in this episode of Bonanza entitled after Lincoln's famous quote from the Bible that A House Divided cannot stand. In this case it's the residence of the Ponderosa that is shaking because of Mitchell's presence.

This is one of the few, maybe the only episode of Bonanza that dealt with the Civil War. As followers of the show know Lorne Greene's three wives hailed from different parts of the country. Pernell Roberts's mother was from New England, Dan Blocker's from the Missouri border state area, and Michael Landon's from New Orleans.

When Mitchell comes to town he accidentally on purpose meets up with Michael Landon and told him that he knew his mother way back when they were living in New Orleans together. Fans of Bonanza also know that to mention the mothers of any of the boys is to strike a vulnerable chord. With Landon in tow and seemingly the Cartwright imprimatur on his actions, Mitchell tries enlisting the Comstock Lode silver mine owners to the Confederate cause.

Of course all this causes discord on the Ponderosa and more I won't go into. Let's say Lorne Greene had his hands full keeping the family together.

This was one of the most memorable episodes from early Bonanza where politics nearly renders the Cartwrights asunder.

Brother against brother and son against father

[mitchrmp · 6/10 · 17 January 2014]

This is one of those episodes that show us that even the most loving and close-knit family has problems in the time of crisis. For the most part, Bonanza stayed clear of the Civil War. Now and then a reference was made about it, but in this episode we learn that the North and South are having aggravating problems against each other. War hasn't started yet, but Abraham Lincoln made his speech declaring "A House Divided..."

The most profound part of this episode is when Joe gets mixed up with a man who's allegiances are toward the South. He's trying to force people to take sides, and he forced Joe to have a falling out with his brother. Joe's mother was from the south and Adam's mother was from the North. For some reason, this put the two brothers against each other.

We can tell through watching this episode that the rift in his family hurts Ben badly. I can only imagine how many families were split up and never healed due to such issues as this one.

I don't think anybody died in this episode.

Question...

[pattiejs · 8/10 · 23 May 2020]

Did it ever say exactly how Kyle got Joe's mother's picture? Or just that they knew each other in New Orleans? I missed that part.

A truly noticeable blooper

[tph-73098 · 9/10 · 24 January 2021]

In the scene where Mr Kyle has just spoken with Ben Cartwright and is now in his room with his wife he is using his left arm and it is very clearly visible. This is the same left arm that he was supposed to have lost. When he moves away from her and sits on the bed, his arm is mysteriously gone again showing his empty sleeve.

In Answer to pattiejs's Question

[jkdavis7512 · 8/10 · 23 May 2020]

This is not an actual review as the first two reviewers did a nice job with what I consider a very good episode.

It is never revealed how Kyle got the picture of Little Joe's mother, but I think that it can be inferred that he once had a relationship with her before his marriage to Lily. Two reasons for this assertion are:

1) It is reasonable to assume that a woman would not give a man her picture unless she felt close to him.

2) He often refers to both her and Lily as "women I once knew."

Also, Kyle came to Virginia City not actually to see all the Cartwrights, but specifically to see Joe. This could indicate that he kept tabs on Joe's mother after their relationship ended.