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 3.20 [080]
"Lost Yesterday"
Original NBC Broadcast - 3 February 1965
 
Universal TV
Executive Producer Frank Price
Produced by Winston Miller
Written by True Boardman
Directed by Don McDougall

Starring
(Shown on ride in)
Lee J. Cobb as Judge Henry Garth (not in this episode)
Doug McClure as Trampas
Clu Gulager as Emmett Ryker (not in this episode)
Roberta Shore as Betsy Garth
Randy Boone as Randy Benton
and
James Drury as the Virginian

Guest Star
Shirley Knight [Clara Malone/April]

Complete Ending Credits

Co-Starring
Monica Lewis as Martha Winslow
*
Simon Scott as Trev Holcomb
John Kellogg as Sam Barton
*
With
Harlan Warde … as John Brannan
John Bryant …as Dr. Spaulding
Don Wilbanks … as Feeney
Stuart Randall … as The Sheriff
Sam Edwards … as The Clerk
Mike Ragan … as The Townsman
Clyde Howdy … as The Cowhand
*
Virginian Theme Percy Faith
*
Director of Photography Monroe Askins
*
Supervising Producer Joel Rogosin
*
Story Editor Cy Chermak
*
Art Director … George Patrick
Film Editor … Edward Haire, A.C.E.
Assistant Director … Henry Kline
Set Decorators … John McCarthy and Clarence Steensen
Sound … Clarence Peterson
Color Consultant … Alex Quiroga
Color by Pathé
*
Editorial Dept. Head … David J. O'Connell
Musical Supervision … Stanley Wilson
Costume Supervisor … Vincent Dee
Makeup … Bud Westmore
Hair Stylist … Virginia Darcy
The title "The Virginian" by permission of EMKA, LTD.

Series regular characters appearing in this episode:
Featuring the Virginian with Trampas, Betsy and Randy

Brief Synopsis
Clara Malone, a bank robber’s girlfriend, awakens with
amnesia after the Virginian saves her from a flaming stagecoach wreck.  A
romance blossoms between the Virginian and the woman, but she doesn't remember
that two outlaws have threatened to kill her if she doesn't tell them the
location of stolen money.

Detailed Synopsis
In a hotel room in Laramie, Wyoming, a man lies dying as Clara Malone begs him
to let her go and get a doctor. He won’t let her go; he wants to tell her that
the stolen money is hidden ten miles south of Medicine Bow in an old fort on
top of the lookout tower. She pleads that she doesn’t care about the money.
He tells her to leave Laramie before his partners, Holcomb and Barton, find her…he dies.

Clara collects her things and tries to leave town fast but is accosted by Holcomb
and Barton who question her about the man and the money. She says she doesn’t
know and some cowboys come to her rescue and hold off Holcomb and Barton while
she escapes. Trying to elude them, Clara fakes her death at a dangerous waterfall
leaving behind a suicide note and she catches a stagecoach.

The only two passengers on the stagecoach are Clara and the Virginian. As they
ride through the night, a wheel comes loose from the stagecoach and the coach
turns over and over down a ravine. The Virginian and Clara are thrown clear of
the stagecoach and are knocked unconscious. A lantern from the stagecoach
starts a brush fire that engulfs Clara. Clara comes to and screams which
awakens the Virginian who runs through the fire to carry her out.

At Shiloh, Clara awakens and sees Dr. Spaulding, Betsy and the Virginian standing
around the bed. She is very disoriented and doesn’t know who she is. The doctor
tells Betsy and the Virginian to leave so she can rest.

Trampas and Randy are waiting downstairs and ask Betsy and the Virginian how the
girl is doing. The Virginian directs them to contact the Sheriff so he can
telegraph surrounding stage stations in case anyone is looking for her. The
doctor comes downstairs and assesses Clara’s condition as a concussion and
possibly temporary amnesia. He suggests that she stay in bed at Shiloh. The
doctor inquires of the Virginian how he is feeling from the accident. He
jokingly replies, “I don’t feel a day over 80!” The doctor warns him to take
it easy and Trampas interjects, “Don’t worry, Doc, he will,” as the Virginian
gives him a double take. Upstairs, Clara looks around the room and then looks
in a mirror at a person she doesn’t know.

Back in Laramie, Holcomb is at the Sheriff’s Office claiming to be a relative
of the dead man and they discuss Clara’s part in the man’s death. The Sheriff
hands over the deceased man’s personal effects, which has a picture of Clara.
In comes a townsman who has found Clara’s cloak and suicide note that she
placed at the waterfall. The Sheriff says, ‘that’s that’, but Holcomb doesn’t
believe Clara is dead and he and Barton go from town to town looking for Clara
and the money.

The Virginian enters the main house and Betsy tells him that the woman is
asking questions about the accident and that she wants to see him. The Virginian
answers her questions and says she can go out and get some sun in a couple of
days. Betsy comes in with lunch and the Virginian goes back to work.

The Virginian takes Clara on a buggy ride to a beautiful spot on Shiloh and
tries to jog her memory by naming places that he has been. She wonders what
will happen if she doesn’t remember who she is. The Virginian tells her that
the doctor thinks she needs to meet more people and that she can stay in town
with the schoolteacher, Martha Winslow. She balks at the idea saying, “I’ll
be fine company; a woman who doesn’t even know what month it is.” To which
he replies, “April.” That gives him the idea that she can adopt the name of
April, saying, “I’ve always wanted to know a girl named April.”

Barton steps off the train at the Medicine Bow Station.

The Virginian comes by the schoolhouse looking for April. Martha tells him
that she is in the back helping with spring-cleaning. She suggests that April
could help teach at the school; she may have been a teacher. As Martha leaves
she asks the Virginian to see April home. April comes in and the Virginian
suggests that she help Martha at the school but she says she has no credentials
or references, not even herself. She relates to the Virginian that she has so
many questions and no answers. He kisses her and tells her softly, “That’s an
answer.” She accepts the kiss but says, “We better go.”

Martha and April are choosing a dress for April to wear to the dance that night.
April is reluctant to go but Martha convinces her it will be good for her.

At the dance in the hotel, everyone is dancing but April and the Virginian are
sitting on the sidelines. Trampas comes in and asks April to dance but she
declines. The Virginian pipes in, “Besides, she’s gonna dance her first dance
with the fella she came with.” April tries to get the Virginian to dance with
others but he replies with a wink, “I dance with my date or I don’t dance at
all!” As April listens to the music, she begins to sway her foot back and forth.
The Virginian notices and taps his foot simultaneously. She gets up her nerve
and suggests that maybe they could try dancing.

Barton comes down the hotel stairs and asks what’s going on. The clerk tells
him, “The Annual Spring Dance”. Trampas cuts in on the Virginian to dance
with April. Barton enters the dance, spots Clara (April) and cuts in on Trampas.
April doesn’t recognize him but he doesn’t believe it. He dances with her for
a couple of minutes then says, “Alright, I’ve had enough, let’s go outside.”
The Virginian sees that there is trouble and gets April away from Barton…
“Excuse me, I think this is my dance. I think you better leave, Mister.”
Barton leaves to telegraph Holcomb that he has found Clara.

Holcomb arrives in Medicine Bow and hatches a scheme to pose as April’s brother
who has come looking for her. He forges a letter from her and uses it and the
picture from the dead man’s wallet to convince the Sheriff that he is April’s
brother, Cal Harris. The Sheriff relates to Harris what has happened to April.

At Martha’s house, the Virginian, April, Trampas and Martha are spending a
Saturday night doing a puzzle. The Sheriff knocks on the door, Martha answers
it and is told that April’s brother is outside. He asks to bring the brother
in but Martha hesitates and wants the Virginian to meet him first. She motions
for the Virginian to come to the door and he and the Sheriff go outside.
Harris wants to see April right away but the Virginian cautions him that
April shouldn’t be upset and maybe they should send for the doctor so he could
prepare her. April has come outside and overhears the conversation… “Prepare
me for what?” Harris explains that he is her brother but the questions can
wait until morning. The Virginian excuses himself and says he and Trampas
should be going. He tells April he is very glad for her but his tone says
something else.

Out on the range, the Virginian is herding cattle and sees a wagon approaching.
It is Martha who urges him to come to supper because April’s brother is taking
her away tomorrow to see a doctor in Salt Lake City. Martha says, “You know
something, I’m going to miss her.” The Virginian soberly replies. “So am I.”

That evening the Virginian and April discuss her leaving. He doesn’t want her
to go, she doesn’t want to go. The people here have come to mean so much to
her but she must take the chance that the doctor can help her. The Virginian
kisses her goodnight and tells her he will see her to the train tomorrow.
As he is leaving, she looks out the window and accidentally touches the curtain
to the lamp, which starts a fire. April screams and runs outside. Martha and
the Virginian put out the fire. He goes looking for April and finds her
collapsed outside on the ground. He carries her into the house.

Standing on the porch, Martha tries to calm an impatient Virginian… “…The doctor
has only been here five minutes.” To which he retorts, “It seems like five
hours!” The doctor comes out and relates that April is not burned; she fainted
from fright. Inside, April awakens and is disoriented. Her memory has come
back but she doesn’t remember anything that has happened since the stagecoach
accident. She hears voices outside and looks out the window. She is startled
to see Holcomb and he is talking with three people she doesn’t know…Martha,
Dr. Spaulding and the Virginian. Listening to the conversation she gets the
gist of what has happened to her. After the brother leaves, the Virginian
sets up vigil in the parlor and won’t leave until April wakes up. Martha
checks on April and finds her awake but April doesn’t let on that she has
regained her memory. Martha calls the Virginian in to see April. He kisses April
goodnight and says he’ll be back tomorrow. April looks confused about the kiss
as he walks away.

Martha is gathering up her books to go to school and April discretely questions
about the Virginian… “He has been very helpful to me ever since I came here,
hasn’t he?” Martha lightly chuckles, “Uh, devoted would be a more accurate
word.” Martha leaves for school and April hurriedly starts packing to leave
to escape Holcomb. Holcomb shows up to take her to the train station and she
pretends no one is home. Barton comes in through the back door and surprises
her. She tries to play along that she has not regained her memory but slips
up and calls Holcomb by his real name. Clara tells them where to find the
money but they insist that she go along with them to get it.

The Virginian shows up, knocking on the door and calling for April. Barton
hides in the bedroom as April answers the door. The Virginian greets April
and her brother and asks how she is feeling. Barton bumps a washstand and
there is a crash in the bedroom. The Virginian investigates and recognizes
Barton from the dance. He asks April what is going on. Holcomb and Barton take
the Virginian’s gun and tell him that April is “Clara Malone, the loyal
sweetheart of one of the best bank robbers west of the Mississippi.” The
outlaws force Clara and the Virginian to go with them to the fort to get the
money. On the way out of town, they tell the Sheriff that they are going to
see a doctor in Laramie and the Virginian leaves a cryptic message for
Trampas. The Sheriff delivers the message to Trampas who is puzzled but
has a hunch that something is wrong and they start after them.

They arrive at the fort and Barton climbs the lookout tower to get the money
while Holcomb holds a gun on the Virginian and Clara. Barton finds the money
and calls down to Holcomb. While Holcomb is distracted, the Virginian knocks
the gun out of his hand and a fight ensures. Barton, standing up on the
lookout tower, starts to shot the Virginian but a rifle shot comes from outside
the fort and Barton falls to the ground… Trampas and the Sheriff have arrived.
The Virginian gets in a couple more punches and Holcomb lies unconscious. The
Virginian goes to Clara trying to comfort her… “Don’t worry, they won’t bother
you anymore.” He touches her shoulders and struggles with the impulse to take
her in his arms but he is aware that she doesn’t know him; she acts awkwardly
toward him, not knowing how to respond.

At the train station, Martha and the Virginian are saying goodbye to Clara.
Martha tells her she is ‘welcome to come back anytime’ and leaves Clara and
the Virginian alone. The Virginian explains that there will be no trouble
for her because the money will be returned to the bank. He also says Martha
is right; she is welcome to come back. She asks, “As April or Clara Malone?”
He sweetly replies, “I don’t think there’s any difference.” The train whistle
blows, Clara kisses the Virginian goodbye and she boards the train. As the
train pulls away from the station, Clara blurts out, “Don’t you be surprised
if I take Martha up on that invitation”…as the Virginian waves goodbye.[ksl]

Comments
In this episode, the Virginian has been at Shiloh for six years and thinks of
it as ‘home’.

When the Virginian is naming places that he has been, he relates that he has
worked on a riverboat in New Orleans.

Even though the doctor warns the Virginian that April may not know him if she
regains her memory, he forges ahead with their relationship.

At the dance, they are playing the song, ‘Love is Where You Are’. In Linda
(5.12), the Virginian and Linda dance to this song and then he asks her to
sing it. The song is heard in several other episodes.

Notes
Shirley Knight (Clara\April) also appears in ‘The Man From the Sea’ (1.14).

Monica Lewis (Martha) also appears in ‘Trail to Ashley Mountain’ (5.08) and ‘Decision’ (6.25).
Simon Scott (Holcomb) also appears in ‘The Evil That Men Do’ (2.05) and ‘Deadeye Dick’ (5.09).
John Kellogg (Barton) also appears in ‘All Nice and Legal’ (3.11) and ‘Stopover’ (7.14).

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Main Contributor for this Episode:   Karen S Lindsey [ksl]