Daniel Boone (TV Series) The First Beau (1965) User Reviews

First Love on the Frontier

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 1 June 2014]

DANIEL BOONE – The First Beau -1965 This is the 41st episode of the long running 1964-70 series about the life of American frontiersman and explorer, Daniel Boone. The lead is played by Fess Parker. Also in the mix are, Ed Ames, Patricia Blair, Veronica Cartwright and Darby Hinton. This episode is from season two, which was the first season to be filmed in colour.

A pair of low life criminal types make their way into the Fort Boonesborough area. The men, Fabian Forte and Myron Healy make a living from robbing anyone they think has gold. Forte first enters the area looking for possible victims. When this is done, Healy will join and they do the job.

Forte comes up on Daniel Boone's (Fess Parker) daughter, Veronica Cartwright. He strikes up a conversation and the two hit it off. Cartwright is quite taken with the young, handsome Forte. The two quickly become friends.

Also new in the area is clockmaker, Sam Jaffe and his daughter Mary Anderson. When crook Healy shows up a few days later during a dance at the Fort, he picks out Jaffe as the victim for robbery. By this time Forte has had a change of heart and wants nothing to do with the planned robbery.

Needless to say this causes a nasty falling out between the crooks. Fists and knives are needed to end the disagreement in Forte's favour. Not wanting to hurt Cartwright, who has developed a huge crush on Forte, he decides to hit the road west.

Not a world beater of an episode, but it does pass the time well enough. (Colour)

Early Rock 'n' Roll Heartthrob Fabian wows Jemimah Boone

[FloridaFred · 9/10 · 29 November 2023]

A cold-blooded grifter (character Mike Kravic, played by actor Mryon Healey) is accompanied by a young sidekick (character David Ellis, played by Fabian Forte). They steal horses and commit other acts of depravity.

Kravic set his sites on Boonesborough, and of course the Boone family is in the way. And that will pose a challenge, as David falls for Jemimah Boone.

When this show aired, guest star "Fabian" was admired and adored by millions of fans (mostly young ladies). In the late 50's and early 60's, Fabian Forte was at the top of the charts, appearing on American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan, and countless other shows and venues.

But Fabian's time in the limelight was fading. His appearance here on "Daniel Boone" was one of his last opportunities to flaunt his physique and his personality (I am surprised that the writers did not have him sing some song or ballad).

The love-interest story of a blossoming "Jemimah Boone" (actress Veronica Cartwright) is why she was dropped out of the series. Many summaries of "Daniel Boone" state that actress and co-lead Patricia Blair (a very attractive lady in her 30's) did not want to be romantically upstaged by a young girl. Consequently, Veronica Cartwright was written out of the show in Season 2.

A classic good vs. Evil show, a man so wicked he will rob a blind man. Will the younger man (Fabian), smitten by Jemimah Boone, drop his partnership with the bad guy?

Note: there is only a quick appearance of Daniel Boone, and "Mingo" is a complete no-show. But even without them, it's still a good show, the cast regulars are able to carry the show.

9 Stars for "The First Beau".

Florida Fred.

really good ep

[MiketheWhistle · 10/10 · 23 June 2019]

Fabian was before my time and in shows that aren't my cup of tea, but I know of him. He does a fair job in this show and Sam Jaffee is excellent as always. Woman will likely enjoy a shirtless Fabian. Other than that pretty typical fair except for the absence of daniel and mingo.

Real action here was in the producers' conferences

[militarymuseu-88399 · 6/10 · 26 February 2024]

Two grifters visit Boonesborough looking for their next mark, and target elderly and blind clockmaker Sam Jaffe. Complications ensue when the younger one sets his cap for Jemima.

Around the fort time again, and this one mainly notable for marking out roads the series will not take. Villain duties are handled by Westerns heavy specialist Myron Healey and more notably by pre-Woodstock 1960's teen heartthrob Fabian ("The Longest Day"), who cut a large swath through the pop music and film scenes during the decade. He provides the requisite romantic foil here, all the while dueling with Robert Logan for the affections of Daniel's daughter. Sam Jaffe provides his usual genial geriatric, though as a clockmaker he can expect some pretty lean years in frontier Kentucky. He's given a rather annoying cane with a bell just to demonstrate yes, he is blind.

And just when Veronica Cartwright seems likely to graduate her character into the fertile plain of young-adult angst, the series thrown axe from the intro severs them forever. This is the first episode where she explores relationships, but, as amply discussed online elsewhere, at this point Patricia Blair did not want to compete for screen time with a younger actress. So, Jemima will have scattered appearances a few more episodes and be gone before Season 3.

Cartwright would do all right, appearing in "Alien" and numerous other productions, and Blair (who passed in 2013) would see her character fall prey to typecasting anyway. She would rarely be seen without a broom or market bag the remainder of the DB run, and would largely see only minimal roles after 1970. But, the DB series was the poorer for not having the maturing Jemima as a counter to Israel's hype and antics Fess Parker might have been aware of the series politics easing Cartwright out, and given her this episode (he's absent for most of it) as a farewell showcase. We might know more if Cartwright or Darby Hinton ever write a series memoir.

The glacial and predictable plot is familiar to anyone who has seen a "Bonanza" hour where a significant other makes a doomed attempt to join the Cartwright clan. But don't worry, no damage to Fabian's face. A farewell to Jemima is managed here, but that's about it for the week.