Features: DVD
Family is where you find it in the Wild West! Burly drifter John Murphy (Merlin Olsen) becomes the unlikely caretaker of a group of orphaned children growing up in America's Wild West. Touched by their plight, he poses as a priest with lovely local school teacher Mae Woodward (Katherine Cannon) and his miner buddy (Moses Gunn) assisting with the children. Together this makeshift family gets involved in a series of adventures, encountering unscrupulous businessmen, gamblers, horse rustlers, bank robbers and much more! Created by "Little House on the Prairie"'s Michael Landon and originally aired from 1981 to 1983, Father Murphy provides quality entertainment for the entire family, touchingly exploring the bonds of family and friendship as tested by the trials of life on the rugged frontier.
Editor's Note
An accidental family thrown together by fate and circumstance perseveres in the face of hardship on the old American frontier in this heartwarming family TV drama. John Murphy is a drifter who has arrived in a lawless mining town, immediately clashing with the evil tycoon who runs the community. Joining forces with a fellow miner, Moses, and a homeless young boy, Will, Murphy fights the tycoon's iron rule. When the parents of some local children are killed during a strike at the mine, Murphy becomes their guardian. Posing as a priest, he starts an orphanage, aided by the town's beautiful schoolteacher, Mae. During the eventful first season, the group's adventures range from battling unscrupulous businessmen, run-ins with various gamblers, misfits, villains, and eccentrics. Love blossoms between Murphy and Mae, and the school, while constantly in danger of being shut down by the powers that be, triumphs in the end. Interesting new characters are constantly being introduced into their lives as the story unfolds with humor, compassion, and a nuanced perception of ethics, combining to present an exploration of love, family, friendship, and tolerance.
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