Guestward Ho!

"Guestward Ho!" was a so-so sitcom about a young couple from the big city who move to the wilds of New Mexico to run a dude ranch. I saw the series at the time it aired, but since it only lasted one season and I was only 7 I remember little about it.

The one unique feature of this show was that it was based on a book, "co-written" by Patrick Dennis, of "Auntie Mame" fame. The book was supposedly non-fiction based on the lives of Bill and Barbara Hooton and co-written by Barbara, but believe me, every line of the book was pure Dennis. I am grateful to the show for having gotten me to eventually read it, every word of which was pure delight.

My favorite character on this show was the Indian chief. I liked the way he entered a scene in his Continental Mark V convertible loaded with hot looking maidens. He wore a huge flowing feathered head-dress. The maidens had sexy buckskin outfits. His musical theme was a jazzy arrangement of old-time B western 'Indian' dance music. DA DA, DA DA, DA DA,DA DA,DA DA, DA DA, DA DA DA. He sold 'authentic' Indian trinkets which were made in Asia and planned to buy back the United States by following his investments in the Wall Street Journal. His intention was to return the country to his people. Since he had the only supply center anywhere near the ranch, the New York family which had bought the ranch had to deal with him. Today, some Indian nations, such as the Navaho are very rich.

"The Pruitts of Southampton" is based on a Patrick Dennis novel as well. It aired later in the 60's on ABC and starred Gypsy Rose Lee and Phyllis Diller. However, it wasn't based on a book of the same title but rather one titled "House Party". Both of these shows had the concept of characters which were "larger than life", like the sisters played by the actresses above, and like the Indian "Hawkeye" in Guestward, Ho! who sold "Indian" trinkets which were really made in Japan. These characters are somewhat like Dennis' most well-known character, Auntie Mame, who was even more outrageous because she had a full-length show to fill with herself (acutally, two, as Dennis also wrote a sequel) rather than just a half-hour (22 minute) sitcom.

Guestward Ho was a very funny show that only lasted a season. It was produced by Desilu in its last throes of existence as the fabled marriage between its husband and wife partners Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball split as well as the company.

I wish this one had lasted a bit longer. In a sense it was Joanne Dru finally surrendering to her image as a frontier gal. During her career she always complained about always seeming to be cast in gingham dress parts.

Here Joanne is in the modern west as she, husband Mark Miller, and son Flip Mark inherit a dude ranch. But the one I remember best from the show was J. Carrol Naish as Hawkeye, a man singularly determined to gain for the Indian the best in every deal as vengeance for being fleeced out of Manhattan island.

Naish was the heart of the show, maybe that was the mistake, the show should have centered on him instead of the white family. In any event Guestward Ho only lasted a season.

I hope those episodes are preserved somewhere.