My partner and I have been enjoying watching again this great old program that we grew up watching in the early 1960s. Good old fashion storytelling with a mix of old stars and interesting stories. Like William S. Hart the silent film star said of westerns, you could tell all of Shakespeare stories in an old west setting. This particular show was a season ending wrap with several "special guest stars" including: Linda Darnell, Marjorie Main, Dan Duryea, Margaret O'Brien, Roscoe Ates, and George Chandler! If you get a chance see it with the whole family and explain to the young ones who the old ones once were in the hey day of Hollywood's Golden Era.
5 Reviews
The End of the trail, Season One
bkoganbing24 December 2013
Wagon Train's first season and first journey across the plains ended with this episode. Harvey Stephens and his daughter Margaret O'Brien have arrived and are ready to settle on land they've purchased from Reed Hadley. Robert Horton is kind of taken with O'Brien and when they discover the land is now a swamp due to hydraulic mining, Horton wants to settle it with Hadley frontier style. The fact that Stephens is dying doesn't sit well with him or O'Brien.
The only time that Wagon Train ever brought back guest stars for a season finale was this first season. A little knowledge about what happened with these guest stars probably helps one understand why they're willing to help Flint McCullough in his hour of need as he helped them across the plains.
One other irony, Flint nearly takes a slow boat to China and that is ironic considering what happens to the rest of the cast in the first episode of Season two.
The only time that Wagon Train ever brought back guest stars for a season finale was this first season. A little knowledge about what happened with these guest stars probably helps one understand why they're willing to help Flint McCullough in his hour of need as he helped them across the plains.
One other irony, Flint nearly takes a slow boat to China and that is ironic considering what happens to the rest of the cast in the first episode of Season two.
"Hydraulicers"
qman-8763519 September 2020
A real environmental issue from the 1880's, as relevant today as it was then.
New methods of gold mining involve using high water pressure to take down the whole hillside, blocking the river and existing drainage patterns. Water diverts and floods good existing ranch lands, pre sold site unseen of course to dreamers who make up the wagon train. Which introduces one man "make it right Flint" to get the money back for one particular wagon.
A good episode to end the first season, nice wrap up.
New methods of gold mining involve using high water pressure to take down the whole hillside, blocking the river and existing drainage patterns. Water diverts and floods good existing ranch lands, pre sold site unseen of course to dreamers who make up the wagon train. Which introduces one man "make it right Flint" to get the money back for one particular wagon.
A good episode to end the first season, nice wrap up.
Wagon Train Season 1 Disc 10
schappe122 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The John Wilbot Story Jun 11, 1958
The Monty Britton Story Jun 18, 1958
The Sacramento Story Jun 25, 1958
John Wilbot, (Dane Clark), may or may not be John Wilkes Booth. He looks like Booth, (to the people on the wagon train), quotes Shakespeare, especially Julius Caesar. He's a mild-mannered guy, (hardly like Booth). He points out that Booth would hardly change his name to someone so close to John Wilkes Booth, (he also would use his theatrical knowledge to make sure he didn't look like JWB). Wilbot is killed in an Indian attack. Before he dies, he's asked for his real name. He says "John", smiles and dies. Robert Vaughn plays a southern sympathizer on the train who doesn't think much of a guy who shoots someone from behind.
One odd aspect of this one is that Major Adams notes that Flint McCullough is still recovering from an Indian arrow he received in the previous episode so he can't get out and scout for the train. So he chooses to do that himself, (not Bill Hawks) and rides off. He doesn't do a very good job at it and fails to return to warn the train of the impending attack. That leaves Flint in charge of the train. Both Wagon train and Rawhide split up their stars much of the time so they could film separate episodes simultaneously and this became a Flint episode. But there hasn't been a Major Adams episode since the Dan Hogan Story on May 14th. Of course, episodes aren't shown in the order they were filmed. Maybe Ward Bond was simply owed some vacation time.
Monty Britton, (Ray Danton), is an ex-military man people think might be a deserter - or worse. The train is going through a desert and running out of water, (and animals - they've stopped and you don't see one until the final scene). Flint has found a stream but it turned out to be poisoned. His horse is dead and he almost is when he walks back to the train. Danton goes to a nearby fort for help. The commander there had gotten him dishonorably discharged for cowardice.
The first season ends in Sacramento, the train having finally reached California, (although we don't see anything of their trip over the mountains). There Flint helps out Margaret O'Brien, whose dying father had bought some farmland, only to see it swamped with mud due to hydraulic mining. He helps her get their money back from the crooked businessman who both sold them the land and did the mining. Along the way, he meets three characters he met along the trail from Missouri. These are characters from the episodes that have been presented: Cliff Grundy, (Dan Duryea, see S1 D4, 12/25/57), Dora Gray, (Linda Darnell see S1 D5, 1/29/58) and Cassie Tanner, (Marjorie Main see S1 D9 6/4/58). It was unheard of for a show of this era to have this type of continuity. This was Marjorie Main's last appearance in front of the camera before she retired.
The show ends with everyone in the train, including Major Adams selling their wagons. He's planning on returning to St. Joseph's Missouri to start up a new train. Bill Hawks and Charlies Wooster plan to accompany him. Hawks says the now unseen Mrs. Hawks will stay in California. Adams says he expects McCullough will show up in St. Joes' as well. The first episode of the second season will tell us how they get there. The show would continue this wrap-around concept for the first few seasons. Rawhide did a bit of this in their middle seasons.
John Wilbot, (Dane Clark), may or may not be John Wilkes Booth. He looks like Booth, (to the people on the wagon train), quotes Shakespeare, especially Julius Caesar. He's a mild-mannered guy, (hardly like Booth). He points out that Booth would hardly change his name to someone so close to John Wilkes Booth, (he also would use his theatrical knowledge to make sure he didn't look like JWB). Wilbot is killed in an Indian attack. Before he dies, he's asked for his real name. He says "John", smiles and dies. Robert Vaughn plays a southern sympathizer on the train who doesn't think much of a guy who shoots someone from behind.
One odd aspect of this one is that Major Adams notes that Flint McCullough is still recovering from an Indian arrow he received in the previous episode so he can't get out and scout for the train. So he chooses to do that himself, (not Bill Hawks) and rides off. He doesn't do a very good job at it and fails to return to warn the train of the impending attack. That leaves Flint in charge of the train. Both Wagon train and Rawhide split up their stars much of the time so they could film separate episodes simultaneously and this became a Flint episode. But there hasn't been a Major Adams episode since the Dan Hogan Story on May 14th. Of course, episodes aren't shown in the order they were filmed. Maybe Ward Bond was simply owed some vacation time.
Monty Britton, (Ray Danton), is an ex-military man people think might be a deserter - or worse. The train is going through a desert and running out of water, (and animals - they've stopped and you don't see one until the final scene). Flint has found a stream but it turned out to be poisoned. His horse is dead and he almost is when he walks back to the train. Danton goes to a nearby fort for help. The commander there had gotten him dishonorably discharged for cowardice.
The first season ends in Sacramento, the train having finally reached California, (although we don't see anything of their trip over the mountains). There Flint helps out Margaret O'Brien, whose dying father had bought some farmland, only to see it swamped with mud due to hydraulic mining. He helps her get their money back from the crooked businessman who both sold them the land and did the mining. Along the way, he meets three characters he met along the trail from Missouri. These are characters from the episodes that have been presented: Cliff Grundy, (Dan Duryea, see S1 D4, 12/25/57), Dora Gray, (Linda Darnell see S1 D5, 1/29/58) and Cassie Tanner, (Marjorie Main see S1 D9 6/4/58). It was unheard of for a show of this era to have this type of continuity. This was Marjorie Main's last appearance in front of the camera before she retired.
The show ends with everyone in the train, including Major Adams selling their wagons. He's planning on returning to St. Joseph's Missouri to start up a new train. Bill Hawks and Charlies Wooster plan to accompany him. Hawks says the now unseen Mrs. Hawks will stay in California. Adams says he expects McCullough will show up in St. Joes' as well. The first episode of the second season will tell us how they get there. The show would continue this wrap-around concept for the first few seasons. Rawhide did a bit of this in their middle seasons.
Hydralicers
flyrodwt22 November 2023
The nozzles used by the so called hydraulicers were called monitors. I actually visited two different mines in Alaska that used monitors. One positive aspect of using monitors was that they uncovered many prehistoric fossils such as mastodons, and saber tooth tigers without damaging them. This has been a great benefit to scientists and museums that study the prehistoric animals that lived during that era. The area that is now Alaska was home to many of those animals. The mining method was used well into the 1970s in Alaska. I believe the use hydraulic mining with monitors is now outlawed and is no longer allowed anywhere in North America.
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