The Jose Morales Story (26 Oct. 1960)

Bill Hawkes is leading 3 wagons through Indian territory. They run into trouble with Mexician bandits lead by Lee Marvin. When the 2 groups must band together to fight off an Indian attack, certain biases & assumptions are thrown away.

Director:

Virgil W. Vogel

Writer:

Gene L. Coon

Stars:

Ward Bond, Robert Horton, Lee Marvin

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Ward Bond	...	Major Seth Adams
Robert Horton	...	Flint McCullough (credit only)
Lee Marvin	...	Jose Morales
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Louis Roque (as Lon Chaney)
Charles Herbert	...	Joseph Oliver
Terry Wilson	...	Bill Hawks
Frank McGrath	...	Charlie Wooster
Aline Towne	...	Patience Oliver
Clark Howat	...	Aaron Oliver
Steve Darrell	...	Dr. Stern (as Stevan Darrell)
Alex Montoya	...	Paco
Jose Gonzales-Gonzales	...	Carlos (as Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez)
Gregg Palmer	...	Raleigh

Storyline

Hawkes is guiding three wagons through Mescalero Apache territory. One wagon has a family of Quakers hoping to be missionaries while another is gruff trader Louis Roque with a wagon of trade goods. While scouting ahead, Hawks is confronted by a group of Mexicans lead by Jose Morales who takes Hawks prisoner with plans to take the three wagons. At the camp Raleigh is killed. Morales recognizes Roque as the man who stabbed him after escaping the Alamo. On the road they find two of Morales' men killed by the Mescalero. They run to a burned out cabin for protection while the Mescalero attack. Soon Morales is the only man left of his group but wounded. Hawks and Roque join the fighting while Joseph Oliver refuses to fight believing he can make peace with the Indians. During a lull he goes outside to make contact with the Mescalero but is killed with a lance. That night they decide Hawks can lead the three remaining members of his party to safety while Morales stays behind as Roque decides ...

---

Plot Keywords:

character name in title

---

Genres:

Drama | Western

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1960 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Revue Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revue Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Alamo Survivors

Ward Bond and Robert Horton give it a rest in this episode of Wagon Train as Terry Wilson as Bill Hawks takes the center stage. Lee Marvin and Lon Chaney, Jr. star in The Jose Morales Story where Terry Wilson takes a group of three wagons off on a side route as they are not making the whole trip to California.

There are Mescalero Apaches in the area, but what Hawks doesn't count on is being jumped by a group of Mexican bandits headed by Lee Marvin. They disarm him and hope to use the wagons as cover in a getaway, but the Mescaleros interfere with everyone's plans.

The three wagons contain a doctor, Steven Darrell in one, a Quaker family Clark Howatt, Aline Towne and young Charles Herbert in the other and a misanthropic old merchant, Lon Chaney Jr. in the third. Marvin recognizes Chaney, he's not likely to forget him, he gave him a saber cut way back at the Alamo when Marvin was a soldier with Santa Anna and Chaney was going over the wall.

There's been long speculation about whether someone did take William Travis's offer about going over the wall. Wilson who's been raised on the stories of the bravery of the Alamo defenders doesn't like hearing a frontier myth shattered. This is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance syndrome of when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. Ironic indeed that it's the man who played Liberty Valance shattering the myth.

The travelers take refuge in an abandoned stagecoach line station. Some life or death decisions have to be made. Everybody starts reexamining certain beliefs with the notable exception of Howatt.

The Jose Morales Story is a finely written drama from the Wagon Train series. And it's always nice to see one of the other regulars get center stage away from the stars.