Wagon Train has very few poorly done episodes and in a crowded field of excellent storytelling this episode stands out. My favorite Wagon Trains are the ones who pack a full movie's worth of stpry into a 1 hour episode and The Sam Elder story does that very well.
3 Reviews
Military school goes west
bkoganbing24 April 2013
As you will note by the lead credits John McIntire had already been hired to replace Ward Bond who died suddenly in early November of 1960. But McIntire hadn't made his debut yet and the script had Terry Wilson taking a part that was clearly originally meant to be for Ward Bond. Wilson pinch hit admirably and Frank McGrath as always provided the comic relief which he would do more and more of as the series progressed.
The title role of the Sam Elder Story is played by Everett Sloane who was a medal of honor winner in the Civil War. He's traveling with a bunch of boys all of them orphaned in the late war. His intention is to establish a military school on a land grant he now has in California and he's got the makings of his first class. The kids are run with strict military discipline. The episode heavily suggests what Robert Baden-Powell did with the establishment of the Boy Scouts after the Boer War.
Sloane has some problems with Walter Coy who lost a son under Sloane's command in the Civil War and in a battle where Sloane got the Congressional Medal Of Honor. They're exacerbated by the fact that his cadet sergeant Ray Stricklyn is paying attention to Coy's daughter Roberta Shore.
This is a good family oriented episode for Wagon Train that still holds up well after 50 years.
The title role of the Sam Elder Story is played by Everett Sloane who was a medal of honor winner in the Civil War. He's traveling with a bunch of boys all of them orphaned in the late war. His intention is to establish a military school on a land grant he now has in California and he's got the makings of his first class. The kids are run with strict military discipline. The episode heavily suggests what Robert Baden-Powell did with the establishment of the Boy Scouts after the Boer War.
Sloane has some problems with Walter Coy who lost a son under Sloane's command in the Civil War and in a battle where Sloane got the Congressional Medal Of Honor. They're exacerbated by the fact that his cadet sergeant Ray Stricklyn is paying attention to Coy's daughter Roberta Shore.
This is a good family oriented episode for Wagon Train that still holds up well after 50 years.
Some change in the guard
tforbes-27 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This episode seems notable enough. Just at the time when the Kennedy era is about to begin, we get to see an episode in which Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson take center stage as the lead regulars, instead of Robert Horton or the recently deceased Ward Bond.
While the move was likely one of necessity, the most interesting part of this story was not about the boys or the adults who conflict with each other. It is seeing how Messrs. McGrath and Wilson fill in the void very, very well. As I continue to watch "Wagon Train," I become more and more impressed with both performers, notably Mr. McGrath. Like Robert Duvall, he was a character actor with leading man qualities. He would prove this four years later, when he had spots in the ABC comedy "Tammy." He left us WAY too soon.
And it also shows how "Wagon Train," through necessity, forged ahead with a genre refined by the crime drama "Law & Order," that of the story-driven series with changing lead actors. This episode was a clear example of this.
While the move was likely one of necessity, the most interesting part of this story was not about the boys or the adults who conflict with each other. It is seeing how Messrs. McGrath and Wilson fill in the void very, very well. As I continue to watch "Wagon Train," I become more and more impressed with both performers, notably Mr. McGrath. Like Robert Duvall, he was a character actor with leading man qualities. He would prove this four years later, when he had spots in the ABC comedy "Tammy." He left us WAY too soon.
And it also shows how "Wagon Train," through necessity, forged ahead with a genre refined by the crime drama "Law & Order," that of the story-driven series with changing lead actors. This episode was a clear example of this.
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