Little House Television Movies (1983-84)

Review

The ninth season of Little House on the Prairie did not get sufficient ratings to warrant a tenth season so the story was wrapped up with three television movies, however there was a distinct lack of continuity and it confused fans more than anything else. Most of the regular cast made an appearance in at least one of the movies except for Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls Kendall), Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson) and Nellie Oleson Dalton (Alison Arngrim).

In the first film, Look Back To Yesterday, Charles Ingalls is sent to Minnesota on a month-long business trip so he decides to take Albert along before he starts medical school. However, Albert has been experiencing nose bleeds and he collapses during a game of baseball. When Doc Baker examines him, he suggests Albert be taken to a hospital in Mankato where he is diagnosed with leukaemia. Charles wants to take Albert home to Burr Oak but the boy decides he wants to go back to Walnut Grove where he has reconnected with Michele Pierson (Melora Hardin). Albert decides he wants to go on a class field trip to the Keepsake Tree which is up a mountain called Harper’s Bluff but Laura is worried it will be too much for him. Although he is getting weaker everyday, Albert makes it to the top of the mountain and places his memento in the Keepsake Tree as Laura looks on.

This film proved to be controversial as it contradicted the morphine addiction story in the previous season Home Again where Laura said Albert came back to Walnut Grove to take over as its doctor. Albert’s fate is not revealed after he makes it up Harper’s Bluff but he is never mentioned again. The plot is also very reminiscent of the season five episode The Odyssey where Albert and Laura accompany their friend Dylan on a trip to see the ocean before he dies.

In the second film, Bless All The Dear Children, Laura and Almanzo go Christmas shopping in Mankato but Rose ends up being enticed away by Elsa Norris (Patricia Pearcy) who has just lost her baby. As Laura and Almanzo frantically search for their daughter, they learn a woman got on a train with a little girl but the conductor tells them she could have gotten off at any station along the route. They eventually track Elsa down to a town called Milford where she confesses to everything and hands Rose over. This film aired on 17 December 1984, a year later than planned, so it is was shown after the final movie which didn’t make sense in the context. The budget obviously didn’t stretch to fake snow so we have a lame narrative at the beginning by Michael Landon claiming it was an unseasonably warm Christmas in the winter of 1896. The date is also absurd as Rose is still a toddler in this film when she should have been about nine years old.

In the final film, The Last Farewell, Charles and Caroline return for a visit to Walnut Grove and end up moving into their old house to look after the Carter boys while their parents are out of town. However, there is heartache ahead for the residents of Walnut Grove as railroad tycoons have purchased all the land in town so each resident must work for them or else vacate their property. The Wilders refuse the ultimatum which results in Almanzo being badly beaten and Montague almost killed but they are given another 48 hours to vacate. An angry Laura smashes up all the windows at the boarding house and when she tells everyone what she did at the church service, they decide to blow up the entire town so the railroad won’t get their homes and businesses.

One by one, the buildings are all wired up with dynamite and each owner arms the detonators. After Almanzo blows up the boarding house, Edwards blows up Hansen’s Mill and the Feed & Seed. Then, Nels detonates Oleson’s Mercantile, while Doc Baker detonates his office and the post office. Finally, Willie blows up the restaurant and hotel. The only buildings left standing are the church and the little house on the banks of Plum Creek. The townspeople march out of town singing Onward Christian Soldiers as we see the little house for the last time.

It was genuinely sad watching all those familiar places being blown up and while I understand the land where the show was filmed had to be returned to its former self, it is hard to see that set being destroyed and those tears from the cast were real. The show has just celebrated its 50th anniversary and it gathers renewed interest all the time so it would have been lovely if the set had been preserved as a tourist spot. I’m so glad Charles and Caroline both returned to the show for its final farewell as they were always the heart and strength of this show.