Very good use of the "Fort Apache" set at the old Corriganville movie ranch. Almost the entire episode is shot outside. The Fort was still in good shape in 1959. A short scene is at the "Sherwood Forest" lake, also at Corriganville.
5 Reviews
Army Payroll
StrictlyConfidential19 July 2021
(IMO) "Tales Of Wells Fargo" (1957-1962) was an above average TV Western with competent actors, plenty of action and believable situations.
I really liked Dale Robertson as the no-nonsense special agent, Jim Hardie.
"Fort Massacre" was first aired on television February 2, 1959.
I really liked Dale Robertson as the no-nonsense special agent, Jim Hardie.
"Fort Massacre" was first aired on television February 2, 1959.
Fort Massacre
coltras353 August 2024
Jim Hardie is sent by Wells Fargo to deliver an army payroll to Fort Massacre, a remote outpost on the edge of Indian territory. There, he finds that the fort's soldiers are at odds with the Apaches - tensions are high as the supplies are low as is the man power plus there's a greenhorn Lieutenant in charge. He's uncertain of his commanding skills as he's a West Point Graduate who hasn't got any first hand experience in dealing with marauding Apaches. His soldiers start to think he's a coward ... Jim Hardie is there to help the Lieutenant.
What an exciting action sequence to open this nifty and intelligent episode - the Stagecoach attack where Hardie fends off four braves is a pulse racer! The rest is quite an engaging story with Hardie helping out the Lieutenant with sage advice. Nice themes about choices and its effect- both Lieutenant and the lady didn't have choices. Ends on a good note. This is so much like a full length feature film squashed into 25mins.
What an exciting action sequence to open this nifty and intelligent episode - the Stagecoach attack where Hardie fends off four braves is a pulse racer! The rest is quite an engaging story with Hardie helping out the Lieutenant with sage advice. Nice themes about choices and its effect- both Lieutenant and the lady didn't have choices. Ends on a good note. This is so much like a full length feature film squashed into 25mins.
Wow, Two Previous Reviews
Mike_Yike21 April 2024
A timid, inexperienced army officer is in charge of a wilderness military fort being threatened by Indians. Some of the soldiers state their discontent with the officer, but not Wells Fargo's Jim Hardie who
came into the fort on a stagecoach.
A scout is sent out from the fort hoping to reach a calvary brigade for help. When he fails, the timid army officer figures on giving it a try. Hardie thinks the officer is too valuable there at the fort so after a scuffle and knocking-out the officer, he, Jim Hardie figures on sneaking over the wall, stealing a horse from an Indian, and riding for help. Does Hardie succeed? You'll have to see the episode for yourself, but I'll give you a hint, you've seen Fort Massacre, or TV shows just like it, a million times.
The most interesting thing about this Wells Fargo episode is the teeth of scout Billy Welch, played by Peter Dunn. Terrible dental work. I can only hope that those choppers were not real and were "make-up". Peter Dunn himself was okay in the part as a buckskin-wearing Old West scout. Unfortunately, his performance was upstaged by his teeth.
A scout is sent out from the fort hoping to reach a calvary brigade for help. When he fails, the timid army officer figures on giving it a try. Hardie thinks the officer is too valuable there at the fort so after a scuffle and knocking-out the officer, he, Jim Hardie figures on sneaking over the wall, stealing a horse from an Indian, and riding for help. Does Hardie succeed? You'll have to see the episode for yourself, but I'll give you a hint, you've seen Fort Massacre, or TV shows just like it, a million times.
The most interesting thing about this Wells Fargo episode is the teeth of scout Billy Welch, played by Peter Dunn. Terrible dental work. I can only hope that those choppers were not real and were "make-up". Peter Dunn himself was okay in the part as a buckskin-wearing Old West scout. Unfortunately, his performance was upstaged by his teeth.
"Danged if I ain't startin' to get that funny feelin' in my scalp!"
ben-thayer23 August 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Jim Hardie is riding shotgun on a stage bound for Laramie with an Army payroll and a female passenger, and he's worried. The stage trails have become deadly due to the aggression of a few young chiefs, and an Army patrol from Fort Anderson led by the commanding officer, Major Nesbitt, has not met the stage as planned. When the stage is attacked by three Apache braves, Hardie repels the attack, although just barely. He manages to get the stage to Fort Anderson, but he finds it under the command of Lt. Kimball, an inexperienced West Point graduate who has no idea what to do in relation to their situation, and the soldiers know it. The fort is understaffed, low on all supplies, and the men have no faith in Lt. Kimball, who has no faith in himself. The situation is dire, as the Apaches are about to attack and the small number of men at the fort have little to no chance of defending it.
Well, this one is not what I would exactly call a bad episode as it has considerable action, but I found it lacking and there are a few picks I'll mention. I'll start with the female passenger, Mrs. Oliver. She tells Hardie that she's married to an Army officer stationed at Fort Laramie, a marriage that she confesses to Hardie that she really didn't want. The thing is, throughout the episode she never seems to be concerned about the danger they're in, and seems unusually casual and relaxed in light of their situation, when one would expect some level of hysteria. The soldiers don't appear to be that well-trained either, and repeatably provide ample targets for the attackers. But in truth that's pretty common in the genre, so I can't complain too much as it's their purpose in the plot to get killed, kinda like red shirts on Star Trek. But nevertheless the men on night watch seem completely absent minded, and the Apaches breach the walls of the fort with not much effort right under their noses, and or course someone always gets taken out. I was also confused as to why they sent out scout Billy Welch to bring help in the daylight. It's definitely not a smart move, which is confirmed when he's killed 20 yards from the gate. Talk about senseless, that one was. And finally, did the Army reinforcements attack and eradicate the Apache? It's not stated, which makes it completely confusing when Hardie and the stage depart casually from the protection of the fort, all within a couple minutes of the appearance of the Army reinforcements. None of that is explained, the Army shows and next thing the stage is pulling out with no escort. And I'm doubly confused with the inclusion of Mrs. Oliver, who doesn't contribute to the emotional impact of the conflict at all and then departs on the stage with the statement "my husband was buried 2 weeks ago". Another head scratcher. I'll be honest in saying this one qualifies as a case of sloppy writing, where things are wrapped up a bit too quick and conveniently with hardly any explanation.
The cast is near completely unknown. Walter Stocker appears as Lt. Kimball, and he had a brief career with 27 credits. Charmienne Harker appears as Mrs. Oliver with and equally brief career with 37 credits. Pete Dunn appeared as gnarly toothed scout Billy Welch, with 28 credits. But he did appear in 12 eps of Gunsmoke and 11 eps of Cimarron City. The one exception would be Lane Bradford in the role of pessimistic Sgt. Condon. He was an extremely familiar face during the era, and appeared frequently on most every series in the genre during the Golden Age of TV Westerns in a variety of roles.
Oh well, they can't all be premier episodes, but Jim Hardie is as usual a good watch. Again, EWIBIG y'know.
Well, this one is not what I would exactly call a bad episode as it has considerable action, but I found it lacking and there are a few picks I'll mention. I'll start with the female passenger, Mrs. Oliver. She tells Hardie that she's married to an Army officer stationed at Fort Laramie, a marriage that she confesses to Hardie that she really didn't want. The thing is, throughout the episode she never seems to be concerned about the danger they're in, and seems unusually casual and relaxed in light of their situation, when one would expect some level of hysteria. The soldiers don't appear to be that well-trained either, and repeatably provide ample targets for the attackers. But in truth that's pretty common in the genre, so I can't complain too much as it's their purpose in the plot to get killed, kinda like red shirts on Star Trek. But nevertheless the men on night watch seem completely absent minded, and the Apaches breach the walls of the fort with not much effort right under their noses, and or course someone always gets taken out. I was also confused as to why they sent out scout Billy Welch to bring help in the daylight. It's definitely not a smart move, which is confirmed when he's killed 20 yards from the gate. Talk about senseless, that one was. And finally, did the Army reinforcements attack and eradicate the Apache? It's not stated, which makes it completely confusing when Hardie and the stage depart casually from the protection of the fort, all within a couple minutes of the appearance of the Army reinforcements. None of that is explained, the Army shows and next thing the stage is pulling out with no escort. And I'm doubly confused with the inclusion of Mrs. Oliver, who doesn't contribute to the emotional impact of the conflict at all and then departs on the stage with the statement "my husband was buried 2 weeks ago". Another head scratcher. I'll be honest in saying this one qualifies as a case of sloppy writing, where things are wrapped up a bit too quick and conveniently with hardly any explanation.
The cast is near completely unknown. Walter Stocker appears as Lt. Kimball, and he had a brief career with 27 credits. Charmienne Harker appears as Mrs. Oliver with and equally brief career with 37 credits. Pete Dunn appeared as gnarly toothed scout Billy Welch, with 28 credits. But he did appear in 12 eps of Gunsmoke and 11 eps of Cimarron City. The one exception would be Lane Bradford in the role of pessimistic Sgt. Condon. He was an extremely familiar face during the era, and appeared frequently on most every series in the genre during the Golden Age of TV Westerns in a variety of roles.
Oh well, they can't all be premier episodes, but Jim Hardie is as usual a good watch. Again, EWIBIG y'know.
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