Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel

Films, TV shows, and books of the 'modern' era
stuart.uk
Posts: 1805
Joined: January 21st, 2008, 12:25 pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland

Anne Sheridan, a Stanwyck like performance in Wagon Train

Post by stuart.uk »

I've been watching a few Wagon Trains recently and was hugely impressed by Anne Sheridan in The Mavis Grant Story, where she played a role Barabara Stanwyck would have been good in.

One of my hobby horses is moaning about the fact that many classical actresses of the 1930s were written off by the 50s and 60s and often use Barbara Stanwyck in the Tv western series The Big Valley as an example of an attractive actress still with a lot to offer. Anne Sheridan, after some great performances in Angels With Dirty Faces, Kings Row, City Of Conquest, Edge Of Darkness and brilliantly in I Was A Male War Bride, appeared to be written of at a fairly young age, but in this 1962 episode of Wagon Train IMO appears to be better than ever. The sad thing is however, Anne died of cancer 4yrs later.

Spoiler

Here she plays the hard headed business tomboyish business woman, who owns a well in the middle of no-where during a drough and has the guns to stop anyone taking any water away from her. The Chris Hale wagon train badly in need of water asks fo her help, which she's prepared to do, but at a hefty price which the train can't afford. One young man tries to kidnap her and hold her hostage, but he picked on the wrong woman, who ends of flogging him with her whip(shades of Jean Arthur in Arizona). Her heart softens however, when a young woman, disowned by a father on the train, reminds her of something that happened to her at the same age. Not only does she persuade the man to forgive his daughter, but she gives Hale the water he needs free of charge.
RedRiver
Posts: 4200
Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: Hard done by Bill Hawkes Wagon Train

Post by RedRiver »

I like Bill Hawks. Didn't remember that he and Adams were in business. But there's at least one flashback to the war, where Adams, Hawks and good ol' Charlie Wooster serve together! Tv's best western.
tinker
Posts: 134
Joined: November 25th, 2012, 10:56 pm

Re: Hard done by Bill Hawkes Wagon Train

Post by tinker »

Over the last couple of years I have bought the wagon train series, and despite fifties production values (fifties values) sometimes, the stories and the guest stars were fabulous, everything from tragedy to high drama and some comedy.

All in all I think Bill Hawkes was my favourite. I know Flint McCulloogh was supposed to be there for the ladies' interest but I would take Bill Hawkes anyday. I think Ward Bond got Terry Wilson the job doing stuntwork and they gave him a few lines and a name and the character just developed from there. You can't really blame any show for getting the backstory a bit wrong in season one when characters are just developing. You can often pick up Terry Wilson doing the stuntwork for Ward Bond. I think he was the stunt supervisor too so he must have been very busy.

I just loved Bill's attitude to everything, just copes and deals with any problem that comes along and his snarky/love relationship with Charlie Wooster which I think reflected Terry Wilson's attitude to Frank McGrath.

Thre is a great Terry Wilson episode, with Lee Marvin who played a mexican bandit who had been at te Alamo with Santa Ana and they are marooned in an Indian attack with a man who was the only one to leave teh Alamo when Travis gave them the chance. Bill is pretty angry about the coward who left the Alamo all but in the end has to make the choice to leave the fight and the other two men to die.

It was a very powerful episode and of course Lee Marvin was well Lee Marvin.

dee
[b]But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams[/b]. (William Butler Yeats )
[b]How did I get to Hollywood? By train.[/b] (John Ford)
RedRiver
Posts: 4200
Joined: July 28th, 2011, 9:42 am

Re: Hard done by Bill Hawkes Wagon Train

Post by RedRiver »

The banter between Hawks and Wooster is the most consistently entertaining thing in the series.
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