The Older Brothers (17 Jan. 1983)

The Younger brothers haven't been out of prison very long, when they decide to hold up Mr. Edwards for some ransom. They decide to turn themselves in so they can get the reward money but they don't have all their marbles.

Director:

Victor French

Writers:

Laura Ingalls Wilder (based upon the series of books "Little House" by), Michael Landon

Stars:

Dean Butler, Scottie MacGregor, Richard Bull

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Dean Butler	...	Almanzo James Wilder
Scottie MacGregor	...	Harriet Oleson (credit only) (as Katherine MacGregor)
Richard Bull	...	Nels Oleson (credit only)
Victor French	...	Isaiah Edwards
Stan Ivar	...	John Carter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Owen Bush	...	Hotel Manager
Robert Donner	...	Bart Younger
Sam Edwards	...	Mr. Bill Anderson
Ruth Foster	...	Melinda Foster
Melissa Gilbert	...	Laura Ingalls Wilder (credit only)
Raymond Guth	...	Stage Guard (as Ray Guth)
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Cole Younger
Harry Middlebrooks	...	Frank James
Sunshine Parker	...	Sheriff
Carl Pitti	...	Stage Driver

Storyline

The Younger brothers haven't been out of prison very long, when they decide to hold up Mr. Edwards for some ransom. They decide to turn themselves in so they can get the reward money but they don't have all their marbles.

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance | Western

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1983 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Big Sky Ranch - 4927 Bennett Road, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ed Friendly Productions, National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

As Lonnie sets the third (and final) stick of dynamite, Cole, Bart and Edwards run for cover behind the stagecoach. As Bart pulls Edwards along, his hat falls off and we don't see him retrieve it. However, when the dynamite fails and they all peak around the side of the stagecoach, Edwards now has his hat on.

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Quotes

Cole Younger: What we do now is we turn ourselves in.
Bart Younger: But they'll put us in prison!
Cole Younger: Ah...
[holds in anger]
Cole Younger: What, one, two years? When we get out, we'll have our stake.
Bart Younger: Stake? What stake?
Cole Younger: The re...
[struggles to contain rage]
Cole Younger: The rewar-DUH.

User Reviews

Crime don't pay....well, it pays, but it don't pay too much!

You've heard of the James brothers, right? Jesse and Frank, the greatest outlaws in the west. Well, out in Minnesota, there's a gang known as the Younger Brothers who are, by all accounts, the worst outlaws ever to sling a gun. Cole, Lonnie and Bart Younger. They used to have a reputation for being notorious bandits when the Youngers were younger, but now they're older and they've lost their touch. They can't even shoot a line of glass bottles. They can shoot everything around them just fine however. Deciding it was time to start over and rebuild the reputation they once had, the bumbling outlaws ride over to Silver Hill, now a ghost town, to do a bank job. Using a stick of dynamite, they blow open the door, nearly killing Cole in the process, all they find is a bag of mail. As Bart peruses the love letters, he comes across one telling of a bank draft of $500 to a Mr. Edwards in a town called Walnut Grove. Figuring the town to be loaded, they head off on foot as they had no horses. When making a rest stop, they decide to hold up a stagecoach, but little did they know the stage guard was packing a double-barrel, so the tables were turned. At that moment, coming the other direction was Isaiah Edwards, bound for the town of Barton to make a lumber deal, carrying nothing but $500 cash and a sidearm. When he sees the stage guard aiming his rifle at the Younger Brothers, he assumes the latter are the victims and so firing his pistol in the air scared away the heroic stage guard. Cole and Bart thank Edwards for helpin' them, not knowing he was the fella they were seeking, and he was on his way. Unfortunately the stagecoach was carrying nothing but mail, and as Bart read through some more letters not addressed to him, he finds another message to Edwards, making it clear that he's carrying a wad of cash. Knowing where he was heading and what he was carrying, Cole sends Lonnie on ahead to Barton to locate Edwards and procure the money.

Meanwhile in Barton, as Edwards takes a hot bath in his clothes (it's a family show), the stage guard and driver had reported their earlier misfortune to the sheriff, and now, armed to the teeth, they burst into Edwards' room and arrest him, figuring him to be one of the Younger brothers. He tries to prove his innocence, but naturally the hick sheriff doesn't believe him. Hearing this, Lonnie reports back to Cole and they formulate their next plan of attack: break INTO the jail, get Edwards and steal his money. What, you never heard of an outlaw trying to break into jail? So they ride into Barton, and successfully break into the jail, and knock out the sheriff. Lonnie padlocks the front door while Bart drags the sheriff into a cell and locks him in, then releases Edwards and forces him to come along. So far, so good. I'm amazed. But oops, where's the money? The sheriff had it in his money belt, and they just lost the keys to his cell, and worse yet, they can't get out the way they came in. So after blowing the door, almost killing Cole again, they make their break. Deciding to hold Edwards for ransom, Cole goes into Walnut Grove to find Almanzo and John. They take out a loan to cover ransom, but as Cole heads out of town, he himself gets robbed by the James brothers. How the mighty have fallen...further. Almanzo and John head to Barton to report this to the sheriff, who assumes they are also Younger brothers and locks them up! Meanwhile, the Youngers come up with yet another "brilliant" scheme to get rich quick: turn themselves in and collect the $500 reward! So, the Youngers and Edwards go back to Barton and try to turn themselves in, though the idiot sheriff wasn't too quick to bargain. And so, Lonnie sets off TNT stick #3 and once again Cole nearly misses being killed. Cole Younger is invincible! But in the end, it all works out...for the good guys. John and Almanzo collect the $500 reward, plus the other $500 he got from Edwards, and the Younger brothers go back to jail, where I think they're better off. Th-th-th-th-That's all, folks!

One of the very few all-funny episodes of Little House on the Prairie. I must say, this one is so bad it's great. Cole, Lonnie and Bart are the funniest outlaws you'll ever see. I think they could have gotten their own movie spin-off. Cole's facial expressions are priceless. And of course, Mr. Edwards is a riot. Great writing from Michael Landon, reusing a script from his Bonanza days. This really does seem like an episode of Bonanza. Mr. Edwards served as a decent Hoss; Victor French was great as both actor and director. If you want a break from Little House's gut-wrenching drama, you might want to check out "The Younger Brothers". It's retarded, but it's still really funny.