by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Former silent-movie idol Ramon Novarro guest-stars as Jose Ortega, a prevaricating old windbag who claims to possess a Spanish land grant deeding him the Ponderosa and most of the surrounding territory. Of course, nobody believes Ortega, and everybody takes turns beating him up. Rescued from another pummelling by Joe Cartwright, Jose rewards Joe with a valuable gift, which leads the Cartwrights' lawyer to conclude that maybe Ortega was telling the truth about his land holding after all-and that the Ponderosa may indeed no longer belong to Ben Cartwright. Michael Dante costars as Ortega's avaricious nephew Miguel. First telecast September 26, 1965, "The Brass Box" was written by Paul Schneider.
