Caravana

Perhaps the quintessential show from the Golden Age of TV westerns, this series ran from 1957 to 1965 and it had a simple but compelling format. Each week it told the story of one of the travelers on an 1870's "wagon train" making its way across the American West. This format thus combined the sweeping backdrop of an ever-changing frontier with the small, personal story of a single individual.

So popular did the show become that it attracted an impressive array of "guest stars" -- Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Rhonda Fleming, Barbara Stanwyck, Leslie Nielsen, Lee Marvin, etc.

The earlier shows in the series were probably the best since they featured Ward Bond as the leader of the wagon train and Robert Horton as his scout. Ward's death in 1960 and Horton's departure in 1962 weakened the series though it maintained a respectable level of production for several more years.

While the TV westerns that arose in the Eisenhower years are now nostalgically regarded as fine "family" entertainment, it's curious that they often showed their leading actors stripped half-naked and subjected to various forms of torture. "Wagon Train" was no exception. On the 1-15-1958 episode titled "The Gabe Carswell Story," for example, a bare-chested Robert Horton is staked out spreadeagle-style under the scorching sun and left to die by a villainous "half-breed." And in the 12-13-1961 episode titled "The Traitor," Horton is stripped to the waist, tied to a wagon wheel, and whipped across his bare back. In both cases the sado-masochistic nature of these sequences is emphasized rather than muted and the exposed muscularity of the actor is openly exploited.

While Ward Bond could never be replaced, many viewers looked kindly on his successor, John McIntire. Robert Fuller, however, never quite seemed adequate as Robert Horton's replacement.

I remember watching "Wagon Train" when I was a child. It ranked up there with such western classics as "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," "Have Gun Will Travel," and "Laramie." I think the earlier episodes that featured Ward Bond as the Major and Robert Horton as Flint were somewhat better than the last few years the show was on. Of course, Charlie the cook was everyone's favorite character. It was interesting to see what obstacle the wagon master had to overcome on a weekly basis: blizzards, floods, Indians, outlaws, religious fanatics, small pox, snakes, droughts and so on. There's an episode featuring the great Charles Laugthon as a pompous Englishman that is my favorite. This television program is the epitome of true grit on the lonely frontier.

On the strength of this vintage TV' show's 1st season (where I watched all of its 39 episodes) - I enthusiastically give Wagon Train my personal recommendation.

Even though (at a 50-minute running time) a number of the episodes did tend to wear a little thin at times - (For the most part) - The overall majority of these 39 episodes were quite tightly scripted and believable.

I also found the "Old West" settings seemed authentic and the actors could usually be counted on to give convincing performances.

All-in-all - For anyone who enjoys watching top-notch TV Westerns from the 1950s - Wagon Train (filmed in b&w) was right on the mark. I especially liked actors Robert Horton and Terry Wilson.

When it came to the contestants on Survivor,they wouldn't have a fighting chance of the western frontier with actor Robert Horton. As frontier scout Flint McCullough on Wagon Train(which was on two networks,the first was on NBC-TV from 1957-1962 for the black and white episodes,then it went to ABC-TV from 1962-1965 for the color episodes and was the only show on ABC that was in color and also was expanded to a 90 minute format),he was always pushed to his physical limits. While reconoitering the Conestogas' westward trail,Flint would get waylaid by a windstorm,blizzard or raging river,rattlesnake bites,savage Indians, Mexican bandits,outlaws,and cattle rushers-he took it all in stride. Each week,he'd pick himself up and return to the caravan to report, "Trouble ahead,Major". The wagon master,Major Seth Adams(played by film star Ward Bond),was the big wheel when it debut in 1957 on NBC-TV. Horton's rugged good looks gave the show some necessary sex appeal as those sturdy Conestogas trekked from St. Joesph's Missouri to California,stopping along the way for guest stars like Ronald Reagan,Bette Davis,Barbara Stanwyck,Lee Marvin,Charles Bronson and even a special appearance by John Wayne. However,Horton left the show in 1962 when it moved to ABC. Horton was replaced by actor Robert Fuller(who was a regular on another western series called "Laramie",and also went on to play Dr. Kelly Brackett on the "Emergency" TV series during the 1970's) who took over the reigns of the show until its cancellation in 1965. Wagon Train was not your ordinary western by any means,but its was a history lesson that took you to a time when all you have are your wits to stay alive in the vast frontier of the United States during the 1800's. Catch the episodes on the Family Channel or on the Encore Western Network.

I'm not quite sure how your website allows for the addition of biographical information - so I'm entering this comment in this forum in the hope that you might be able to add this to Mr. Horton's biographical sketch. I thought that your readers would find it interesting - as I did - that Mr. Horton wrote the biography for his character Flint McCullough in Wagon Train.

At the Western Film Festival in Tombstone Arizona (2004) - Mr. Horton stated that since the writers often changed from episode to episode - he wrote the biography for Flint McCullough - to ensure consistency for his character across all episodes. For example - one writer would write his character as an expert horseman - and the next would write his character as being less than expert with horses.