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Post by pandaeyes on Nov 9, 2019 14:45:13 GMT
Stories of a wagon train as it travels from Missouri to California. Starred Ward Bond, Robert Horton, John McIntire and Terry Wilson. I remember this very well, both my grandfather and I were avid western fans. In fact the only library books my grandpappy read were by Zane Grey and Louis Lamour.
The series lasted from 1957 to 1965. Robert Horton also starred in A Man Called Shenandoah 1965 to 1966. He died in 2016 aged 91. |
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Post by yankee on Nov 9, 2019 15:00:00 GMT
Wagon Train, along with Rawhide, are two of the old ensemble cast westerns that really hold up well to viewing in 2019 IMHO.
A lot of other westerns like Bonanza, The Big Valley, Rifelman and even Gunsmoke are rather homogenized looking at them today.
But with Wagon Train and Rawhide both series had some very serious, very controversial story lines. And like all westerns of the era, the fact that everyone was constantly on the move in the old west so the weekly guest stars were a who's who of classic veterans and future stars in the making.
My favorite western of the era period is Have Gun Will Travel.
Which featured the gun slinger Palladin who was not your typical hired vigilante justice gun.
He was a very educated man, went to West Point, was an officer, spoke Latin, lived in a lavish hotel in San Francisco, attended theatre and opera, read and quoted great authors.
But much like The Equalizer he rented out his services to the downtrodden in need of his unique skills.
So he traveled the old west as the need arose for him to help those in need. For a fee if they had it.
But he didnt solve all problems with his six shooter. He often tried diplomacy or the threat of legal action.
Richard Boone was terrific in the role.
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Post by hoodylover on Nov 9, 2019 19:51:12 GMT
Not a big Western fan, but used to like Have Gun Will Travel, High Chaparral and Lancer.
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Post by HoraceCoker on Nov 10, 2019 16:33:42 GMT
..not a great western fan but I used to enjoy Alias Smith and Jones starring Pete Duel who tragically committed suicide and was replaced for the rest of the series..
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Post by hoodylover on Nov 10, 2019 18:41:15 GMT
I remember that, it was so sad!
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Post by pandaeyes on Nov 11, 2019 10:54:17 GMT
I too liked Alias Smith and Jones. Very tragic when Pete Duel died. They still show them sometimes on a Freeview channel can't recall which one. Don't remember Lancer, anyone tell me what it was about and who starred in it?
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Post by yankee on Nov 11, 2019 12:51:08 GMT
Lancer was a late 60s western. Sort of a precursor to the night time soaps that would be all the rage in the mid 70s like Dallas with storylines with heavy focus on melodrama.
The plot itself was similar to Bonanza.
Andrew Duggan was a rich widower, though much more shady than Ben Cartwright. He had two sons by two different women. One son was the educated good son. The younger the hot headed gunslinger who was half Mexican.
The storylines were pretty adult.
It was not particularly popular in the US during its original run and only lasted 2 series and 50 episodes.
At the time 100 episodes was the standard for a show to be sold into syndication to local repeat stations. The theory being repeat stations generally run repeats of old shows every day in the same time slot and they want at least 3 months before the cycle repeats.
So it likely made for an inexpensive export to broadcasters overseas (same with Alias Smith and Jones which also ran for only 50 episodes)
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Post by pandaeyes on Nov 11, 2019 14:26:17 GMT
Thanks yankeepov, sounds a bit like a Western Dallas, doesn't it.
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Post by yankee on Nov 11, 2019 17:05:40 GMT
Speaking of Bonanza, I wonder if the locals ever took notice that Ben Cartwright was a 3 times widower with 3 sons by 3 different dearly departed wives? Sort of a Nevada version of Henry VIII. I seem to recall him wooing ladies on occasion. Lucky for them they never took it to the point of marriage.  |
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Post by hoodylover on Nov 11, 2019 18:59:58 GMT
 The young lady was adopted by Murdoch Lancer, I think. Her name was Teresa. The actress went on to replace Eve in A Man Called Ironside. The fair haired son was Wayne Maunder who also played Custer in a TV western. |
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Post by yankee on Nov 12, 2019 0:04:03 GMT
Andrew Duggan was a terrific character actor who seemed constantly on tv but I think Lancer was the only series where he was actually a lead.
I know he played Pa Walton in the pilot film for "The Waltons" but was replaced by Ralph Waite when the series was picked up.
The mother in the pilot was classically trained actress Patricia Neal but she was replaced by Michael Learned for the series.
Interesting John Boy's parents in the pilot were so much older than when it became a series.
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Anymore to come?
