Bonanza: The Lawmaker on AllMovie

While sharing lunch with Adam and Joe Cartwright, Sheriff Coffee notices a holdup gang in the Virginia City express office. Attempting to capture the outlaws, Coffee is trampled by a horse stampede instigated by the crooks. As Coffee recovers from his injuries, Asa Moran (Arthur Franz is named acting sheriff. Proving to be the living embodiment of the motto "Absolute power corrupts absolutely", the dictatorial Moran is also secretly in league with the outlaws-and when Adam Cartwright is on the verge of exposing Moran, he finds himself next in line on Moran's hit list. Radio veteran Les Tremayne is seen as Judge Jackson, while the role of Lou Palmer is filled by Robert Mitchum's brother John Mitchum. Coscripted by John A. Johns and Dick Nelson, "The Lawmaker" was first broadcast on March 11, 1962.