''Something for a Lonely Man'' is a 1968 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television film. It was first broadcast in 1968;

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aired it a second time on December 9, 1969.

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, December 6–12, 1969, pp A-63 – A-64

Plot

John Killibrew, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

, had convinced a number of settlers to follow him to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and found the town of Arkana. When the railroad comes through the area in 1870 but bypasses the settlement, the townspeople blame him. Ten years later, when a steam engine falls off of a train into a pond, Killibrew gets an idea. He goes to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and buys the steam engine from the insurance company that had paid off on the claim. Meanwhile, Mary Duren had been teaching Killibrew how to read and developed an attraction for him, to which Killibrew is at least initially oblivious. When he returns to the town, no one will help him recover the engine, in part because the site is in the middle of hostile Indian country. Then Mary buys the mules he needs and travels with Killibrew to the site. John and Mary dig a trench to drain the pond in which the steam engine is sunk. During this time John proposes to Mary and they become engaged. However, her three brothers, who had been using Mary as their housekeeper and cook, track down John and Mary and force them into a shotgun wedding. When they return, the engine is not in the drained pond. The pair track it down and discover it was taken by the Indians. Since Killibrew used to live with the Indians many years ago, earning the sobriquet "Big Beaver", he persuades them to give the engine back to him. John and Mary haul the engine back towards the town through rain, facing a bear and temporarily losing it in a cave-in. The wagon with the engine gets stuck in a hole. The townspeople ride out and offer to help, but Killibrew, remembering their earlier refusal turns them down. When he says he doesn't need anybody to help, even Mary leaves him, as a torrential rain pours down. The banker in town plots to take the steam engine in lieu of $316.82 Killibrew owes to the bank. When Killibrew refuses to sell to the bank, the banker serves a

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

on Killibrew. After Killibrew beats up the

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

, Killibrew submits to arrest. Mary talks the women of the town into trying to

lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the River ...

the sheriff. Mary sells enough shares in the steam engine to pay John's debt and the sheriff prudently decides to drop the other charges against Killibrew. The steam engine is hauled into town. John and Mary sneak off for their honeymoon.

Main cast

References

External links

Something for a Lonely Man At IMDB
1968 television films 1968 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) television films Films directed by Don Taylor Films scored by Jack Marshall NBC network original films 1960s English-language films {{US-tv-film-stub