Wagon Train: Season 1

WT has been perhaps my favorite of all Westerns (well—maybe tied with "Laramie," more recently!) for more than 40 years—ever since I was in high school and used to race frantically home every day to catch the 4 PM broadcast of the older episodes (as “Trailmaster”!) on one of the local TV channels. Now Timeless Video at last provides us with the entire classic series, mostly (like this one) in decorative embossed color tins. Basically an anthology/ensemble series, each season follows a single year in the career of a professional wagonmaster and his staff as they take a company of emigrant hopefuls across the Western territories to California. The first season focuses on Major Seth Adams (Ward Bond), a gruff, graying Civil War veteran; his Virginia-born scout, Flint McCullough (Robert Horton); and his two old war comrades, Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson) and Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath). (Wilson and McGrath had been Bond's friends in real life for many years, and when he was offered the part, he asked to have them in the series too. A sound role was quickly found for McGrath, who became Adams's cook, lead driver, and saddlebag doctor, but it took a while for the writers to figure out exactly what Wilson's job would be.) As the wagon train forges slowly across the Great Plains, over the Rockies and the Great Basin, and at last pulls into the meadows outside Sacramento, Adams and his people contend with the land, the lingering wounds of the war, people with hidden pasts, a swindler, a discontented wife, Indians, extortionists, outlaws, Victorian mores and prejudices, a husband whose religious convictions forbid him to seek medical aid for his injured wife, and their own pasts. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about Wagon Train was the caliber of the guest stars it had. Even in this first season, the cast roster includes Ernest Borgnine, Ricardo Montalban, Michael Rennie, Shelley Winters, Sterling Hayden, Mark Stevens, Mercedes McCambridge, Eddie Albert, Farley Granger, Agnes Moorehead, Gary Merrill, Guy Madison, Nina Foch, Anne Jeffreys, Dan Duryea, Keenan Wynn, George Montgomery, James Whitmore, Cesar Romero, Linda Darnell, Jeannie Carson, Macdonald Carey, Tom Tryon, Gilbert Roland, Debra Paget, Ralph Meeker, June Lockhart, Vanessa Drake, Virginia Grey, Charles Bickford, Wanda Hendrix, Jock Mahoney, John Drew Barrymore, James Dunn, Marjorie Main, Dane Clark, and Mona Freeman—and that's just the ones with first billing! It's also blessed with a lot of good writing: even its occasional chauvinism (“Some women are content just to be women”) fits with the attitudes of its era. (One of my favorite segments is “The Julia Gage Story,” in which a strong-willed young woman, having lost her father, has a driver wished on her by Adams, and when he falls ill with a fever, decides that in order to protect her own reputation while she nurses him, she has to be married to him—but not he to her! How she does it, and what happens afterward, is the meat of this very creatively scripted tale.) It also manages to address several large concepts, such as racial prejudice (“The Bill Tawnee Story”) and the unfortunate effects of alcoholism (“The Clara Beauchamp Story,” in which the passionately loyal but terminally bored wife of an Army officer, having turned to sherry for comfort, very nearly sets off an Indian war). Like most Westerns of its era, its continuity sometimes leaves something to be desired: in “The Jesse Cowan Story” the date is implied to be 1865, but the two-parter “The Major Adams Story” (set “two or three years” before the season itself, and definitely stated to be taking place in 1869) makes it fairly clear that Adams didn't even begin bossing wagon trains until at least '66; “The Bernal Sierra Story” occurs during the French Intervention in Mexico, and “The Rex Montana Story” seems to be set c. 1885! And, as mentioned, at first the scriptwriters didn't quite seem to know what to do with Bill Hawks: in the earliest segments he seems to be merely a passenger with a wife, but by the eighth segment he's the one Adams names to go along on a rescue mission, and in the next one he's with Adams and Wooster checking out possible danger on the trail ahead; not till “The Major Adams Story” does it become clear that, not only was he with Adams in the war, but that he (and presumably his wife) has accompanied every wagon train of Adams's since. For all that, and despite occasional historical inaccuracies (Quantrill's Raiders, Lipans and Comanches in Nebraska), it's definitely one of the best of its genre to have come out of the era of classic TV Westerns, and everyone who loves them should assemble the series without delay, starting, of course, with this season.

Finally, Universal and Timeless have seen fit to release the first season of Wagon Train and overall they have done a very good job. The quality of most of the discs and the sound are as good or better than any I have seen. It is a pleasure to be able to relive the days when television meant good, clean entertainment that could be enjoyed by all ages and both sexes. There was something for everyone in this show - action for the men and romance and sex appeal for the women. Kids learned good values and had role models to follow, unlike the current crop of shows and films. Violence was minimal but action was meaningful. As a long time fan of Robert Horton (for more than 55 years, long before Wagon Train) I was delighted to have the start of what will hopefully be a full collection of all his performances in Wagon Train, including the missing half dozen or more episodes from seasons 4 and 5. Maybe, with some luck and good sales for the producers of this first batch, we will get all of the first five series, which were undoubtedly the best of the whole run of more than 265 shows. The ratings were excellent in the first five years, reaching number one in series five. But after Robert Horton left and Ward Bond passed away, the magic just wasn't there anymore. My only compaint about this collection is the packaging. While the container and the illustrations are imaginative and the discs look very nice, the cardboard sleeves are difficult to contend with. Broken nails are only the least of the problems. Getting the discs out of the sleeves can cause real problems with scratches. Already I have discovered that one episode in the first disc does not play (The John Cameron Story). I have gone through nearly all of the discs and this is the only fault I have found so far. After I finish running through the remainder I will return this to Timeless. I had a problem with a disc in another set I bought (Wagon Train, The Color Series) and they were very good about sending me a new one, but this had the same fault. As the episode wasn't one about which I particularly cared I didn't pursue this any further. However, I have now placed all the new discs in crystal disc holders. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for the next four series. While the retail price is high, discounted offers can be found everywhere. I had originally ordered the set on line at Amazon but when the price dropped I cancelled it and re-ordered it. No problem, I got it for a much reduced price. Delivery was delayed for quite some time, but I did finally get it in time for Christmas. Let's all keep in mind that if we don't support the first season we may not get the rest of them.

Great series

With familiar faces from film and TV, season one of Wagon Train, which first aired on NBC in the USA on 18th September 1957 is a joy to watch. There are 39 episodes on 10 discs and over 32 hours of viewing time, shows life on the settlers trail and follows the trials and tribulations of some of the people who left the banks of the Mississippi to get a better life in California, a truly classic Western series.

I remember 'Wagon Train' when it first hit the TV screens back in 1957 - yes I am that old. I wouldn't say it was the best of the TV Westerns, I give that accolade to 'Gunsmoke' (or 'Gun-Law', as it was called in Britain); but it's a toss-up whether the wagons of Wagon Train or the cattle-drive of 'Rawhide' take second place in the horse-opera pantheon. But Ward Bond heading up the wagons as Major Seth Adams, and Robert Horton as the scout, Flint McCullough, are certainly excellent in the leading roles, and there's a steady stream of notable guest-stars to lend weight to the acting credentials. Add the fact that this is a 10-CD set featuring 39 fifty-minute episodes, totaling over 32 hours of viewing for a very reasonable price, and there's little excuse for not getting hold of this first season of Wagon Train. Especially as Ward Bond died during the making of this series, and, I believe, was only present during the first two seasons. All due respect to the fellow who replaced him, but if you want to take a look at the original episodes with the original cast, this is the DVD you need.

Very entertaining, good acting and stories that always promote "do the right thing|"

Timeless Media Group are back on form with this boxed set. The print quality of these black and white episodes is very good and this is classic 'Wagon Train' dating all the way back to 1957.The 10 dvds are inserted into individual wallets on very thick cards which open out to reveal 9 full-page colour photos of the main stars Ward Bond, Robert Horton, Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson, with 4 smaller photos on the first card. There is a certificate of authenticity included which gives the number of the set which is one of a limited issue of 10,000. The whole package comes in a nice embossed tin shaped like the back of a covered wagon. There are 39 episodes in this first season each lasting round 50 minutes. Guest stars include Ernest Borgnine, Ricardo Montalban, Michael Rennie, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, June Lockhart and Nick Adams -- to name but a few! TMG have got one thing wrong, though. They state on the back cover that Ward Bond originally played Major Seth Adams in the 1950 movie 'Wagonmaster', but that is not correct. He played Elder Wiggs, the leader of a group of Mormons who hire Travis Blue ( played by Ben Johnson ) to guide their wagon train.