Lordsville preacher Serenity Johnson is literally blinded by greed, while Caine locates his paternal grandfather, who has lived a bitter life blinded by prejudice.Lordsville preacher Serenity Johnson is literally blinded by greed, while Caine locates his paternal grandfather, who has lived a bitter life blinded by prejudice.Lordsville preacher Serenity Johnson is literally blinded by greed, while Caine locates his paternal grandfather, who has lived a bitter life blinded by prejudice.
Philip Ahn
- Master Kan
- (voice)
Charles Bail
- First Tough
- (as Chuck Bail)
James Weatherill
- First Vigilante
- (as Jim Weatherill)
Bill Borzage
- Poker Player
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first time that 3 Carradines were seen together on screen (4 if you count the archive footage featuring Keith Carradine).
- GoofsCaine finds a record indicating his American father's birth in 1826, yet no place in the desert southwest/California was part of America at that time, and would not become so for another twenty years.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Zen and Now: A Dinner with David Carradine & Friends (2005)
Featured review
John Carradine as Serenity Johnson
It is quite fitting that this second episode from November 11 1972 features three Carradines, as it focuses on Caine's family tree ("what is a man without roots?" "what is a tree without roots? The deeper the root the stronger the tree"). Destitute prospector Davey Peartree (Paul Harper) lies dying from an attack by Apaches, having discovered his long-sought cache of gold on their land ("the day I go to spend it is the day I die"). Caine, arriving too late to save him, is given the map of the gold's location and brings the dead body into the local town of Lordsville, meeting Davey's preacher, Serenity Johnson (John Carradine), and his mute assistant, Sunny Jim (Robert Carradine). After saving Caine from a hanging by alerting the vigilantes to the evidence of an Apache attack, Serenity makes a plea to the grateful Caine to give him proof of Davey's gold. Once Caine complies, Serenity goes off in search of his fortune, is waylaid by the vigilant Apaches, and tied to a post with his eyelids sewn back, leaving the avaricious preacher completely blind. Wallowing in bitterness and drink, Serenity finds comfort in the example set by Caine, who remembers his blind Master Po (Keye Luke) as a man with no eyes who never failed to see the important things in life. Also in Lordsville lives Henry Raphael Caine (Dean Jagger), the stonemason grandfather of Kwai Chang, who drove son Thomas Henry Caine out of his home and over to China because he couldn't stand the sight of his Asian bride, assuring an early grave for Kwai Chang's grandmother. Confronted by the righteous Serenity Johnson, the bigoted Henry acknowledges his half-Chinese grandson, offering him belongings from both his father and son, including unanswered letters from Thomas' eldest son, Kwai Chang's half-brother Danny. The introduction of a brother provided the motivating destiny for Caine's eternal search for peace, and sustained the series for its entire three year network run. David Carradine is memorably joined by his legendary father, John Carradine, and his own half-brother Robert, making only his second television appearance, having made his feature debut in 1972's "The Cowboys," starring John Wayne. This was the first time that David and Robert had worked together, but John had already done three movies with son David, "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys," "The McMasters," and "Boxcar Bertha" (even half-brother Keith makes an unbilled appearance as the Middle Caine, albeit in archive footage shot for the original pilot). I believe this is the first time in his career that John Carradine played a blind character, in a role he would repeat in "The Nature of Evil" during the second season, and "Ambush" during the third (he later did an amusing turn as a blind man in 1983's "Monster in the Closet"). Two future episodes also boasted David's older half-brother Bruce, born three years before David (same mother, different fathers), whose acting career featured far fewer credits. The bigotry of the Old West, toward the Chinese, the Indians, even the blacks, were touched on more often than any other topic, and this episode, plus the one that followed, were the best examples to begin with.
helpful•242
- kevinolzak
- Jun 22, 2010
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content