Bonanza (TV Series) Something Hurt, Something Wild (1966) User Reviews

Oh, the wrath of a woman's scorn.

[kfo9494 · 8/10 · 7 December 2015]

This all begins when a neighbor of the Cartwright's are over for a welcoming party. The daughter of Jed Ferguson, Laurie, has returned home from attending school back east. Laurie, played by Lynn Loring, has grown into a beautiful woman and her father is so proud to have her back on his ranch. But something is not right with Laurie. It seems that she has a mental situation where she tries to play everyone into a sexual predator. She is a black widow that tries to take down every man in her path and on this night, she accuses Little Joe of assaulting her.

Needless to say this causes conflict between the Cartwrights and the Fergusons. But there is a bigger fish to fry as Laurie will work her magic on other men to get her will accomplished. And along the way, she keeps running back to her father telling him that she is an innocent victim. But things are going to get strange when her mental conditions deteriorates and turns on her father.

This actually turned out to be a enjoyable episode. I have never been a fan of Lynn Loring and even in one review stated she should never work again. But she may had found a niche playing wicked mentally disturbed parts that kind of goes with her nature. She does an outstanding job in this project. And we will learn that she has been fed lies by her grandmother back east. It did end in a rather awkward performance by Michael Landon but did little to lessen the entertainment value. Good watch!

Psycho to psycho

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 September 2019]

This episode of Bonanza has Michael Landon accused of trying to rape neighbor Lynn Loring on her return from the east after spending several years with her grandmother. Her mom died in the west and her father Lyle Bettger yielded to his mother-in-law about a woman raising her.

Of course her accusations have started a feud between her family and the Cartwrights.

Lyle Bettger on the big and small screen played a grand variety of psychos as villains. It's interesting to see him as father to one and trying to cope with it for a change.

Loring really chews it up in the climax. Reason enough to see this Bonanza story.

What Evil Eyes She Has.

[cpolster · 8/10 · 4 November 2023]

Lynn Loring as Laurie Ferguson plays her part very well. After she accuses Little Joe of taking liberties, causing trouble between the Fergusons and the Cartwrights. Later she has a hired hand, Brett to leave. There are a few face to face incidents with the Ferguson families causing more troubles. It is a story worth watching once even if you feel uncomfortable watching at times. I felt sorry for her father played by Lyle Bettger an actor that I am not fond of in most of his acting career.

It is interesting to learn why she is this way and see her father's reaction when he learns the full story.

Lynn plays her part all too well, her eyes are a turnoff and takes away from her looks. If you see someone that has eyes like hers, run away. The eyes are the windows to their soul. This is a great example of that saying.

Very important episode

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 4 June 2022]

Should be required viewing for anybody to show there's real power in everything you say and do. Lot of people might debate that to get as far as Laurie has that there must've been some trouble going on in her head and the poisonous words and attitudes from her grandmother was like rubbing salt in the wound and making an already sick girl into an even sicker girl. I wish the episode had lasted a bit longer to show the father jumping on the grandmother for the stuff she's done to Laurie. She made her granddaughter sick and that's not love.

So let's get to the episode. Joe's together with Laurie at the beginning of the episode. She's been living with her grandmother back east while she was attending school. This was an arrangement that came about after Laurie's mom passed away. Well, Joe gets the shock of his life that Laurie starts screaming her head off and acting like Joe had attacked her. I feel for the father in this case. There might be people saying 'You really think Joe would attack your daughter? How long have you known him?' But the other person in this case is your daughter. Of course he believes his daughter and begins to act cold against the Cartwrights.

Laurie tries to come onto another man and when he responds favorably, she flips out on him as well. Another man comes into Laurie and she ends up shooting (not killing) him. Well, the end shows Laurie flipping out on her own dad. She's making all kinds of accusations against him. Making it sound like he was cheating on Laurie's mom while she was sick/dying.

Joe shows up and at least prevents the dad from being shot/killed. Laurie begins to plead for Joe to help her but he refers her to her father. Can I blame him? Not really.

Lot of people might wonder 'How did you not know this was happening to your daughter?' Weren't there visits all this time or even writing letters and you get a vague feeling something's off? I'm not going down that road because I know that this stuff is basically on par with flicking a light switch. You're not the one flicking the switch. Nobody chooses to be troubled. 'I think I'll just flip out today. *giggles*' No choice in the matter. The offness might have not been around for a letter being written or if there were any visits. And I absolutely must praise Lynn Loring's performances. She did an excellent job with the flip out scenes and with the scene where she sees something's wrong and is pleading for help. Lynn truly was a great actress. I've seen her in a couple of Alfred Hitchcock episodes and thought she was terrific on those episodes as well.

Something Hurt, Something Wild

[goso-99418 · 9/10 · 4 March 2016]

Two days ago, I watched this "Something Hurt, Something Wild" episode on INSP, and I was fortunate because it was closed captioned. There was no need for any suspense-type music because Lynn Loring's eyes and facial expressions were enough to make any of us recognize that something terrible would happen. Great acting by Loring.

This movie was done in a very sensitive manner because I could sense that there was something wrong with Laurie played by Lynn Loring. Although "mental illness" was not mentioned, it was implied in a sensitive way.

I consider this as one of the best Bonanza episodes I have seen.

Something Crazed

[deforest-1 · 4/10 · 4 October 2013]

Lynn Loring, previously of the "Fair Exchange" sitcom series, aged just 22 in this 1966 episode, gives a lip-smacking, bug-eyed (oh sorry, that was her natural state) performance as a sexual decoy par excellence, a conniving B*tch raised in the image of a man-hating grandmother. In this screenplay presenting the modern treatment of "mental illness", written by two men, the common liberal view is shown expanding to encompass emotionally warped people who are, in all but one aspect, functioning individuals. "Laurie" is deemed not to know what she is doing. The poor, sensitive lass -- Ben Cartright (Lorne Greene) has it figured -- victimizes Joe (Michael Landon) and plays up to her father (Lyle Bettger) to the point that the friendly families are at each other's throats. She lures an employee for fun, just to see him him squirm, then dismisses him. She gets Hoss (Dan Blocker) wounded in an unnecessary gunfight. She plugs a hand from the Ponderosa dead center, point blank, with his own revolver. And she is on the point of blowing away her father with a shotgun when saintly Joe intervenes. He explains the error of her ways and in one minute flat Laurie goes from a screaming banshee to calmly regretting her ways and pleading with Joe for help. But he's clever enough to avoid this bottomless pit and sweetly passes the burden of this back to her father.

Very Poor Episode

[Scififan54 · 1/10 · 5 August 2023]

This was a very poor episode. It was badly acted, badly written and badly directed, as well as being full of inconsistencies and improbabilities.

Joe is accused by a neighbour's daughter, Laurie Ferguson, of assault but it becomes clear that she is mentally ill. She lures him into seducing her before physically attacking him. The families are on friendly terms but the Fergusons instantly turn on the Cartwrights. There is no investigation, no questions asked or explanations sought. Laurie carries on as if nothing has happened. There is so little that is believable in the story.

The lady who played Laurie acted so badly it was almost laughable in places, although this may have had more to do with the direction and writing. It was a frenzied, dated depiction of "madness" which bears little relation with reality.

Joe is kind and forgiving, and of course, very handsome. There is one good fight scene, and these are the only saving graces of the episode. But this is definitely one of the weakest episodes in the whole of Bonanza.

A Different Ending

[nanny-124128 · 1/10 · 18 February 2024]

This episode would have been a lot better without the mentally ill excuse for Laurie's behavior. Think about it -- Ben Cartwright saying Laurie may not think she's lying set up the mentally ill excuse, but Laurie was not misconstruing men's intentions. She was deliberately setting men up and intentionally lying. She was also instigating like when she encouraged her brother to fix the "high and mighty" Cartwrights. How this was supposed to avenge her mother and get even with her father makes no sense.

What she did to that ranch hand Brett was inexcusable. This could have gone the way of The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf when the other guy really manhandled her and that would have been a whole lot better, imo.