Watching Wagon Train will ruin you for modern tv. Almost every 1 hour episode is like a movie. The effort they put into plot and character development and just telling an interesting and unpredictable story far surpasses most of what we get nowadays. "The Will Santee Story" is a fine example of Wagon Train's excellence. Take a talented actor with an outstanding future career ahead of him in Dean Stockwell and combine him with the seasoned, more experienced cast around him and you get lightening in a bottle. (which Wagon Train seems to strike repeatedly.) Watch at your own risk. Too many episodes of Wagon Train and you too will be yelling "BORING!" at most of the modern fare on your TV as well.
6 Reviews
Awesome Episode
rosanta22 February 2020
Top notch in every aspect
phbder26 January 2023
This episode has everything. Very, very well written, excellent moral and great acting from the entire cast. It truly shows how prejudice, hate and viciousness can poison everyone involved. I try to see this one every time it is rebroadcast. Dean Stockwell, Millie Perkins and Harry VonZell are really into their parts. Truly as relevant today as it was when it was first presented. What a great ending! Remember the saying " Judge not that ye be not judged yourself." An excellent story with a truly outstanding moral. A must watch episode for someone who wants entertainment with a thought provoking presentation.
Phenomenal Episode
libkestearnswillssmith21 January 2024
I've been watching vintage Western TV shows with my husband recently. Gunsmoke, Tales of Wells Fargo, Wagon Train, etc. Many of them show mean actions toward what I refer to as "the least and the last" of us. This episode appeared to follow that same model. At one point the Santee mother reveals all the heartache that she endured raising the older one of her sons. Her monologue lasted quite some time. It touched my heart and moved me. I could feel her pain and it reminded me of real life events we read about now. The ending though, the ending just took my breath away! I started to shout at my husband once they said that the stranger had been tracking them all the way from New York City where he had been a successful actor. And I knew who this character had to be! Don't want to spoil it by saying who it was but I shouted to my husband, "He's ********" The monologue that Denny Miller's character spoke was beautiful. He delivered his entire message and both my husband and I had tears in our eyes. It gave me goosebumps. Amazing episode.
Traveling incognito
bkoganbing21 February 2020
Dean Stockwell plays the title role in this Wagon Train episode. He and the
rest of the Santee family are traveling under the alias of Sheridan because
the oldest brother in the family was a bad seed and they were run out of Chicago where they're from. The Santees also consist of mother Virginia
Christine and little sister Barbara Beiard.
When the secret comes out the rest of the Wagon Train passengers want them thrown off forthwith. Especially Harry Von Zell who doesn't like the fact that Stockwell is courting his daughter Millie Perkins.
Salvation comes from John McIntire who shames his passengers and from an outside source who knows what it is like to be shunned for what a family member did to disgrace the name.
Nicely done story with a moral to it.
When the secret comes out the rest of the Wagon Train passengers want them thrown off forthwith. Especially Harry Von Zell who doesn't like the fact that Stockwell is courting his daughter Millie Perkins.
Salvation comes from John McIntire who shames his passengers and from an outside source who knows what it is like to be shunned for what a family member did to disgrace the name.
Nicely done story with a moral to it.
Southern Lost Cause hypocrisy
dave_dial26 January 2023
An otherwise good storyline ruined by adding the perpetuated Southern "lost cause" fantasies.
The Confederate sympathizers actually say "blind prejudice" is an awful thing. Referring to themselves being discriminated against in Ohio for their support for slavery.
Disgusting.
The storyline didn't need it. There was good acting and timely drama. Especially for the time of the episode.
I also cannot understand why a whole family is condemned for the actions of someone in their family. I understand the shame and wanting not to be associated with the criminal, but the reactions by the girlfriends father is over the top.
The Confederate sympathizers actually say "blind prejudice" is an awful thing. Referring to themselves being discriminated against in Ohio for their support for slavery.
Disgusting.
The storyline didn't need it. There was good acting and timely drama. Especially for the time of the episode.
I also cannot understand why a whole family is condemned for the actions of someone in their family. I understand the shame and wanting not to be associated with the criminal, but the reactions by the girlfriends father is over the top.
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