Little House on the Prairie Pilot (1974)

Revisited
Caroline Ingalls and her daughters outside the Little House on the Prairie

Review

The Little House on the Prairie film premiered on NBC on 30 March 1974 and served as a two-hour backdoor pilot for the series that would run for nine seasons. The film is based on the book of the same name by Laura Ingalls Wilder and is far more true to the original material than the series that followed, although they cheated a bit with Carrie already being a toddler. The film was written by Blanche Hanalis, who would continue to write for the series, and it was directed by Michael Landon who plays Charles Ingalls.

The Ingalls family say goodbye to their relatives in the big woods of Wisconsin and begin to make their way to Kansas. After weeks of travelling through bad weather and inhospitable terrain, they finally arrive on the prairie, near Independence. Charles finds the perfect spot to build their new cabin and tells the family they are finally home. They soon meet their nearest neighbour, Mr. Edwards, who immediately gets on the wrong side of Caroline for teaching Laura how to spit. However, Caroline is more concerned with the remoteness of their new home and is worried about the girls’ schooling since Mary has her heart on being a teacher. When Charles leaves to go hunting, two Indians force their way into the cabin and a terrified Caroline gives them Charles’ tobacco in the hopes they will go away. It doesn’t work but they eventually leave after she gives them some food.

With Christmas approaching, it starts to snow and the girls hang their stockings on the new fireplace but Charles frets it’s not going to be a great Christmas as they don’t have much to give the girls. A nearly frozen Mr Edwards arrives at the cabin for dinner despite the severe weather and he reveals he’s been to Independence where he bumped into Santa and has presents for them all. Touched by his generosity, Caroline thanks him warmly for making their Christmas so special. As the warming weather returns in the Spring, the family face new hazards with prairie fires and restless Indians but the real blow comes when two soldiers soon arrive and tell them they have to leave as the Kansas lines have been redrawn and their home is now on Indian territory. The family pack up their wagon once again and say their goodbyes to Mr. Edwards who watches forlornly as they leave.

The pilot is a lot less sentimental than the series as the Ingalls family brace themselves against the elements and hostile Indians. It’s also quite refreshing to hear Caroline and Charles bickering with each other as Caroline seems tired of the constant upheaval and being so far away from their extended families. The story has its tense moments but the tone is lightened by the arrival of Isaiah Edwards, their nearest neighbour, who forms a particular bond with Laura. It’s fun to see how much Caroline disapproves of him initially knowing they become dear friends as time goes on. I liked the rawness of the pilot and it is a shame it wasn’t there on the series which became almost too cosy. The pilot successfully sets up the family dynamic of the Ingalls family and is the closest the series will ever come to the actual books. Next stop, Walnut Grove.

Further Reading

Explore the characters and books that inspired the series

  • Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon)
  • Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle)
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder (Melissa Gilbert)
  • Carrie Ingalls (Lindsay Sidney Greenbush)
  • Mr. Edwards (Victor French)
  • CHARLES PHILIP INGALLS was born on 10 January 1836 in Cuba, New York, and was the third of ten children born to Lansford Whiting Ingalls and Laura Louise Colby. Charles married Caroline Lake Quiner on 1 February 1860 and they had five children. Charles died, aged 66 years, in De Smet, South Dakota, on 8 June 1902.
  • CAROLINE LAKE QUINER was born on 12 December 1839, in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and was the fifth of eight children born to Henry Newcomb Quiner and Charlotte Wallis Tucker. Caroline’s father died when she was young and her mother married Frederick Holbrook on 2 June 1849. Caroline married Charles Philip Ingalls on 1 February 1860 and they had five children. Caroline died, aged 84 years, in De Smet, South Dakota, on 20 April 1924.
  • MARY AMELIA INGALLS was born on 10 January 1865 in Pepin, Wisconsin, and was the eldest daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. Mary lost her sight in 1879 after a serious illness and attended the Iowa School for the Blind from 1880 to 1889. Mary never married and lived with her parents for the rest of her life, and then with her sisters. Mary died, aged 63 years, in Keystone, South Dakota, on 17 October 1928.
  • LAURA ELIZABETH INGALLS was born on 7 February 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin, and was the second daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married Almanzo James Wilder on 25 August 1885 and they had two children, Rose, born in 1886, and an unnamed son in 1889. Laura died, aged 90 years, in Mansfield, Missouri, on 10 February 1957.
  • CAROLINE CELESTIA INGALLS was born on 3 August 1870 in Montgomery, Kansas and was the third daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married David N Swanzey in 1912 but had no children of her own. Carrie died, aged 75 years, in Rapid City, South Dakota, on 2 June 1946.
  • CHARLES FREDERICK INGALLS was born on 1 November 1875 in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, but died, aged 9 months, in South Troy, Minnesota, on 27 August 1876.
  • GRACE PEARL INGALLS was born on 23 May 1877 in Burr Oak, Iowa, and was the youngest daughter of Charles Philip Ingalls and Caroline Lake Quiner. She married Nathan William Dow on 16 October 1901 but they had no children. Grace died, aged 64 years, in Manchester, South Dakota, on 10 November 1941.

More from Little House on the Prairie

See all