Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
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MissGoddess
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Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
Thank you for taking the time to make and post those caps, Moira. I really enjoyed that episode and was very surprised and pleased to see Mr. Hayakawa out west. I like that the different views of "honor" were posed (Japanese, Native and Anglo). His ending was really raw for the time. Yikes! Television stories back then were a lot stronger than I had imagined.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
-- Will Rogers
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moira finnie
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Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
I wondered if there was any controversy attached to that episode which without being graphic, was one tough storyline. Was Wagon Train on later in the evening when it was broadcast? Some of the epis do seem to contain mature content, as do some of the b & w Gunsmoke programs.
Klonny, I thought you were kidding about that Torin Thatcher-Ben Cooper episode, but I see there really is an episode with that name! What did Thatcher and his son climb in Australia? Ayer's Rock? I think I may have to watch that one.
Klonny, I thought you were kidding about that Torin Thatcher-Ben Cooper episode, but I see there really is an episode with that name! What did Thatcher and his son climb in Australia? Ayer's Rock? I think I may have to watch that one.
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klondike
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
Let us just say that the script was a Swiftian concentration of cheerful imagineering; honestly, I think you'll find it quaintly memorable, with performances that show a good measure of robust vitality . . especially compared to the "special effects" . .moirafinnie wrote: Klonny, I thought you were kidding about that Torin Thatcher-Ben Cooper episode, but I see there really is an episode with that name! What did Thatcher and his son climb in Australia? Ayer's Rock? I think I may have to watch that one.
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movieman1957
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Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
Moira:
I did see the episode with Hayakawa. That was good. It was different. A little cultural exchange going on made it interesting. I just stumbled on it.
I also found it interesting that they changed the music again. I don't know where it is in the history of the show but they went from a rather tame closing theme to a more rousing one and now one with lyrics. Will it change again? I'll have to check back.
Klondike:
You know I trust you completely.
I did see the episode with Hayakawa. That was good. It was different. A little cultural exchange going on made it interesting. I just stumbled on it.
I also found it interesting that they changed the music again. I don't know where it is in the history of the show but they went from a rather tame closing theme to a more rousing one and now one with lyrics. Will it change again? I'll have to check back.
Klondike:
You know I trust you completely.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
except with your money, your car or your wife.....Klondike:
You know I trust you completely.
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klondike
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
I'll have you know, Ms. Sunflower State Smartie, I only drive pick-up trucks! 
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
except with your money, your truck or your wife.....
I humbly stand corrected
I humbly stand corrected
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
.
Yes, the theme changes again, and yes not all of the stories are great. I do have to laugh though at this Japanese one. As I watched it, it seemed more and more familiar but I couldn't recall where I had seen it before, so I just chalked it up to remembering it from years ago, until the credits started rolling and I saw the writer was Gene L. Coon. Guess what !! I saw the same story on Star Trek. I don't recall if it was the original or TNG but it was one of them. I don't have any on tape to check it out though. This is nothing new though, I've seen lots of shows from the early westerns turn up out in space after a time.
Yes, the theme changes again, and yes not all of the stories are great. I do have to laugh though at this Japanese one. As I watched it, it seemed more and more familiar but I couldn't recall where I had seen it before, so I just chalked it up to remembering it from years ago, until the credits started rolling and I saw the writer was Gene L. Coon. Guess what !! I saw the same story on Star Trek. I don't recall if it was the original or TNG but it was one of them. I don't have any on tape to check it out though. This is nothing new though, I've seen lots of shows from the early westerns turn up out in space after a time.
Anne
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klondike
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
If Gene L. Coon was the common link, the episode you're remembering must have been from the original "Star Trek" series - STTNG didn't debut til the late 80's, and Coon had been gone for over a decade by then.
Don't forget, the "two Genes", Coon & Roddenberry, had worked before on the TV series "The Lieutenant".
Don't forget, the "two Genes", Coon & Roddenberry, had worked before on the TV series "The Lieutenant".
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
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Thanks Klondike:
I didn't know that about The Lieutenant, nor did I know that Coon died that early. I do recall When Roddenberry died because it was about a week before my husband did.
BTW Klondike, if you have The Animal Planet, have you seen the program they showed on Thursday night about ' The Dogs of Alaska'? It was quite interesting and pointed out the different types like, you did that time for me. Now don't get a swelled head from this, but your little post in answer to my questions, was almost, as if not equal to, as informative to the whole show. It's weird that someone like me who is terrified of dogs and other large animals, loves to watch documentaries about large breed dogs, horses, and other animals, especially the way the Animal Planet goes into so much depth, most of the time.
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Thanks Klondike:
I didn't know that about The Lieutenant, nor did I know that Coon died that early. I do recall When Roddenberry died because it was about a week before my husband did.
BTW Klondike, if you have The Animal Planet, have you seen the program they showed on Thursday night about ' The Dogs of Alaska'? It was quite interesting and pointed out the different types like, you did that time for me. Now don't get a swelled head from this, but your little post in answer to my questions, was almost, as if not equal to, as informative to the whole show. It's weird that someone like me who is terrified of dogs and other large animals, loves to watch documentaries about large breed dogs, horses, and other animals, especially the way the Animal Planet goes into so much depth, most of the time.
.
Anne
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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
Re: Stanwyck impressive in Wagon Train
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Today they aired the Wagon Train Barbara Stanwyck follow-up as Kate Crowley, and again as in the first episode she was in, she was the bright star that made it shine. I agree that in today's market, BS who kept herself up really well, would have continued for as long as she wanted.
In this one, she and Chris Hale were going to marry. I won't give any specifics but I wanted to say that the Western Encore channel went through all the changes of who was in charge of Shiloh on The Virginian, so I assume when the time finally comes, Wagon Train will continue through Chris Hale and Cooper. Wagon Train is shown every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. on the WETV network, and I can again verify that the producers eventually get back to a quieter theme song which I believe is the one most folks remember. These episode are also the 90 minute ones.
.
Today they aired the Wagon Train Barbara Stanwyck follow-up as Kate Crowley, and again as in the first episode she was in, she was the bright star that made it shine. I agree that in today's market, BS who kept herself up really well, would have continued for as long as she wanted.
In this one, she and Chris Hale were going to marry. I won't give any specifics but I wanted to say that the Western Encore channel went through all the changes of who was in charge of Shiloh on The Virginian, so I assume when the time finally comes, Wagon Train will continue through Chris Hale and Cooper. Wagon Train is shown every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. on the WETV network, and I can again verify that the producers eventually get back to a quieter theme song which I believe is the one most folks remember. These episode are also the 90 minute ones.
.
Anne
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
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moira finnie
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Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
There was a pretty good epi of Wagon Train the other day with The Matthew Lowry Story starring Richard Anderson, Cathleen Nesbitt, Dorothy Provine and Jacqueline Holt. Normally, I find a block of wood and Richard Anderson interchangeable, but this particular role actually took advantage of the man's inherent stiffness. He played a former Harvard student who had left medical school to tend to the wounds of the men in the Civil War. In the process, he lost his left arm, and became so horrified by what he had seen in the hospitals and in himself, he became a Quaker, along with his much younger brother, Benjy (Ronald Anton). We know Anderson is a Quaker because of his flat brimmed hat, his dark clothes and his tendency to say everyone's full name twice when he is having a conversation with others, as he does several times, when speaking to "Seth Adams. I am a Quaker. Do thee understand what that means, Seth Adams?" Actually, Anderson's quiet efforts to subdue his impulses to lash out at those who mock him and his beliefs and his strength of character were very well expressed by the actor, whose shy manner was really quite touching.
Others on the train include Rebecca Pruitt (Cathleen Nesbitt), an illiterate woman of about 90, whose lively character comments on the foibles of all those around her, including her vixenish granddaughter (Dorothy Provine, in a push-up bra and a really bad peroxide wig), whose idea of a good day is when she can get two fellas fighting over her. In this instance, Provine pays undo attention to Richard Anderson's Malcolm, a man too haunted by his past and wrapped up in his lofty ideals to be really interested in s-e-x. Provine's more ardent (and irrational) suitor is a lout named Jed Otis (John Pickard), who keeps trying to pick a fight with Anderson's mild-mannered man of peace. When discussing this disruptive young lady, Maj. Adams (Ward Bond) and Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath) have a nice exchange when Charlie claims that the young hussy even flirted with him. Doing a double take, Ward Bond mutters, "She may be trouble, but she's not that desperate!!"
Above: Dorothy Provine and her, *ahem*, acting equipment.
The wagon train, trying to make it through a narrow, stony canyon to California, is halted by the sight of several covered wagons blocking the pass and a young woman (Jacqueline Holt), telling them to turn back and not come near since all of the travelers but she have cholera there. Matthew Lowry (Anderson), aware of ways to treat one form of cholera, immediately offers to go help them, though Ward Bond warns him that he probably won't come back. He is soon joined in this mission of mercy by a loyal Benjy and by Rebecca Pruitt (Nesbitt), who is game for anything--especially since she is pushing 90 and has nothing much to lose. Soon, Holt and Anderson are making goo-goo eyes discreetly across the mute forms of the sick folk.
Above: Jacqueline Holt and Richard Anderson bonding over the sickbed.
Their attraction vexes Dorothy Provine enough for her to come over to the cholera ridden wagons to "discuss" the matter with Miss Holt. Meanwhile, faster than you can say "Fletcher Christian," Jed Otis (Pickard) challenges the status quo arrangement, arousing the fearful and malcontents among the wagon train to lead a rebellion against Ward Bond's decision to sit tight. They overwhelm Bond and his boys, who are later freed by Anderson, who breaks his vow as a peacemaker by slugging some miscreants. They soon overpower Mr. Otis, but not before an outraged Jed can put a bullet in that hussy Dorothy Provine's belly for disobeying his edict about fraternization with the "enemy" (Richard Anderson), (that'll teach her to be a sensualist!).
Long story short, Jed gets his just desserts, Provine pulls through, and the sick get better eventually, after Anderson has arranged for Ward and his men to lift the wagons from the stuffy canyon with a crane and pulley system (using what looks like leftover footage from The Big Trail and Westward the Women). Holt and Anderson form a sweet if awfully docile couple. However, the understanding that the practical Holt relays to Anderson when he describes his wartime experiences does indicate their bond is not superficial. Not to nit-pick, but Malcolm Lowry never expresses any regret or qualm about his acts of violence necessary to free Ward Bond and his men, leaving one large gap in the script. I guess they needed to squeeze in a few commercials, so there wasn't any time to refer to this complete betrayal of his Quaker beliefs. Then again, since Miss Holt's loving and understanding nature made Anderson put his conscience to rest about the war, maybe Malcolm Lowry rationalized his need to punch and pistol whip a few baddies with the immortal "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
The real star of the show for me, however was Granny Pruitt, especially in scenes such as the one where Benjy reads the obituaries aloud to Rebecca when a newspaper from back home arrives in the mail. The old woman's salty comments on those who have met their maker were particularly amusing, as she comments on the drinking habits, or stinginess of another, relishing the news of the dead like they were the sports pages. Cathleen Nesbitt gets to have the fun of playing a wise if illiterate American frontier woman with a lot of sass and not a trace of the Mayfair accent, the glamorous wardrobe or makeup that were usually her stock in trade. I figure that Nesbitt took this role in 1957 when she was in America to appear in Separate Tables (1957). The cameraman on this show must have loved Cathleen, because he gave her so many loving closeups of her still beautiful, expressive then 69-year-old face.
Others on the train include Rebecca Pruitt (Cathleen Nesbitt), an illiterate woman of about 90, whose lively character comments on the foibles of all those around her, including her vixenish granddaughter (Dorothy Provine, in a push-up bra and a really bad peroxide wig), whose idea of a good day is when she can get two fellas fighting over her. In this instance, Provine pays undo attention to Richard Anderson's Malcolm, a man too haunted by his past and wrapped up in his lofty ideals to be really interested in s-e-x. Provine's more ardent (and irrational) suitor is a lout named Jed Otis (John Pickard), who keeps trying to pick a fight with Anderson's mild-mannered man of peace. When discussing this disruptive young lady, Maj. Adams (Ward Bond) and Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath) have a nice exchange when Charlie claims that the young hussy even flirted with him. Doing a double take, Ward Bond mutters, "She may be trouble, but she's not that desperate!!"
Above: Dorothy Provine and her, *ahem*, acting equipment.
The wagon train, trying to make it through a narrow, stony canyon to California, is halted by the sight of several covered wagons blocking the pass and a young woman (Jacqueline Holt), telling them to turn back and not come near since all of the travelers but she have cholera there. Matthew Lowry (Anderson), aware of ways to treat one form of cholera, immediately offers to go help them, though Ward Bond warns him that he probably won't come back. He is soon joined in this mission of mercy by a loyal Benjy and by Rebecca Pruitt (Nesbitt), who is game for anything--especially since she is pushing 90 and has nothing much to lose. Soon, Holt and Anderson are making goo-goo eyes discreetly across the mute forms of the sick folk.
Above: Jacqueline Holt and Richard Anderson bonding over the sickbed.
Their attraction vexes Dorothy Provine enough for her to come over to the cholera ridden wagons to "discuss" the matter with Miss Holt. Meanwhile, faster than you can say "Fletcher Christian," Jed Otis (Pickard) challenges the status quo arrangement, arousing the fearful and malcontents among the wagon train to lead a rebellion against Ward Bond's decision to sit tight. They overwhelm Bond and his boys, who are later freed by Anderson, who breaks his vow as a peacemaker by slugging some miscreants. They soon overpower Mr. Otis, but not before an outraged Jed can put a bullet in that hussy Dorothy Provine's belly for disobeying his edict about fraternization with the "enemy" (Richard Anderson), (that'll teach her to be a sensualist!).
Long story short, Jed gets his just desserts, Provine pulls through, and the sick get better eventually, after Anderson has arranged for Ward and his men to lift the wagons from the stuffy canyon with a crane and pulley system (using what looks like leftover footage from The Big Trail and Westward the Women). Holt and Anderson form a sweet if awfully docile couple. However, the understanding that the practical Holt relays to Anderson when he describes his wartime experiences does indicate their bond is not superficial. Not to nit-pick, but Malcolm Lowry never expresses any regret or qualm about his acts of violence necessary to free Ward Bond and his men, leaving one large gap in the script. I guess they needed to squeeze in a few commercials, so there wasn't any time to refer to this complete betrayal of his Quaker beliefs. Then again, since Miss Holt's loving and understanding nature made Anderson put his conscience to rest about the war, maybe Malcolm Lowry rationalized his need to punch and pistol whip a few baddies with the immortal "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
The real star of the show for me, however was Granny Pruitt, especially in scenes such as the one where Benjy reads the obituaries aloud to Rebecca when a newspaper from back home arrives in the mail. The old woman's salty comments on those who have met their maker were particularly amusing, as she comments on the drinking habits, or stinginess of another, relishing the news of the dead like they were the sports pages. Cathleen Nesbitt gets to have the fun of playing a wise if illiterate American frontier woman with a lot of sass and not a trace of the Mayfair accent, the glamorous wardrobe or makeup that were usually her stock in trade. I figure that Nesbitt took this role in 1957 when she was in America to appear in Separate Tables (1957). The cameraman on this show must have loved Cathleen, because he gave her so many loving closeups of her still beautiful, expressive then 69-year-old face.
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klondike
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
moirafinnie wrote:
Above: Dorothy Provine and her, *ahem*, acting equipment.
:!:
:!:-
moira finnie
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Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
I just report the news, I don't make it.klondike wrote::!:moirafinnie wrote:
Above: Dorothy Provine and her, *ahem*, acting equipment.
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klondike
Re: Wagon Train on the Encore Western Channel
It's OK, Chief, I got a spare bowtie in my desk, and I can button my jacket over the rest of the coffee stain.
I figure we'll be hunky-dory, 'long as we remember the advice of James Ellroy: "Remember - keep it quiet, keep it confidential, and keep it very hush-hush!"
I figure we'll be hunky-dory, 'long as we remember the advice of James Ellroy: "Remember - keep it quiet, keep it confidential, and keep it very hush-hush!"