Continuing in their great tradition of classic TV westerns, NBC Universal and Timeless Media Group now bring you the complete, uncut season four of Wagon Train, one of the most enduring and sought after westerns of all time. Direct from the vaults at Universal, these 38 episodes have been re-mastered and presented on 10 dual layer DVDs in a special edition tin box, with a handsome DVD booklet complete with all the episode synopses, the guest stars and more.
Inspired by the classic western film Wagonmaster, directed by John Ford (The Searchers, Stagecoach), Wagon Train debuted on Wednesday, September 18, 1957 on the NBC Television Network. The ensemble acting, wonderful scripts and great western scenery soon made Wagon Train a fixture in American homes on Wednesday nights, as millions of Americans of all ages tuned in to NBC for great family entertainment.
Ward Bond, who starred in Wagonmaster, recreated his role from the film as Major Seth Adams. He was joined by costars Robert Horton as Head Scout Flint McCullough, Frank McGrath as the cook Charlie Wooster, and Terry Wilson as Assistant Wagonmaster Bill Hawks, who all brought their skills as horsemen as well as wonderful actors to the show, giving Wagon Train a special, western flavor.
The fourth season of Wagon Train brought real life tragedy to the travelers heading west. The great Ward Bond, the charismatic Wagon Master, succumbed to illness and passed away part-way through the season. Undeterred, the determined travelers and their guides continued on their way with a new leader, Christopher Hale, played by John McIntire, and a new guide Denny Miller, who joined Wooster and Bill Hawks as they escorted their passengers on their perilous journey to California.
DVD Features
• Full Screen Presentation • Interactive Menus • Episode Selections
Disc 1
Wagons Ho! Original Air Date 09/28/1960
As the wagon train crew prepares to return to St. Joseph, Missouri, Flint shares The Greenhorn, a book written by Sam Evans, a fellow traveler the year before.
Guest Stars Mickey Rooney, Ellen Corby and Olive Sturgess
The Horace Best Story Original Air Date 10/05/1960
Yearning to be wagon master, Horace Best claims to be the Major Adam’s distant cousin, but far from being of the same sturdy stock, his aspiration spells trouble for the Major.
Guest Stars George Gobel, Ken Curtis and Joe Flynn
The Albert Farnsworth Story Original Air Date 10/12/1960
Col. Albert Farnsworth, a British Army surgeon traveling with the wagon train, is convinced that the British way of life is the only way.
Guest Stars Charles Laughton and Terence de Marney
The Allison Justis Story Original Air Date 10/19/1960
After shooting a horse thief named Justis, Flint learns that the man was a respected mayor of a nearby town, and the husband of a former girlfriend!
Guest Stars Gloria DeHaven, Michael Burns and Gregg Stewart
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Disc 2
The Jose Morales Story Original Air Date 10/26/1960
Bill Hawks leads three wagons cross Sioux Territory and is captured by Jose Morales and his Mexican bandits.
Guest Stars Lee Marvin, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Gregg Palmer
Princess of a Lost Tribe Original Air Date 11/02/1960
When Flint and his companions discover descendants of an Aztec tribe living in a hidden city, they are held by the tribe on the ancient grounds.
Guest Stars Raymond Massey, Linda Lawson and Edward Mallory
The Cathy Eckhart Story Original Air Date 11/09/1960
Adams plans to avoid a mountain pass where several wagon trains have disappeared, but the alternative route seems equally dangerous.
Guest Stars Susan Oliver, Martin Landau and Ron Hayes
The Bleymier Story Original Air Date 11/16/1960
Flint guides a small party of settlers on their way to homesteads in the Dakota Territory, but becomes bogged down in torrential rain that Bleymier claim are an omen of catastrophe.
Guest Stars Dan Duryea, James Drury and John McLiam |
Disc 3
The Colter Craven Story Original Air Date 11/23/1960
Coming across the disabled wagon of Dr. Colter Craven, an alcoholic, and his wife, the Major finds a way to help Craven become a useful member of the Wagon Train.
Guest Stars John Wayne, Carleton Young, Anne Lee and Paul Birch
The Jane Hawkins Story Original Air Date 11/30/1960
Jane Hawkins, shot by the hired hand of town bully Ben Maddox, is rescued by Flint, but the doctor in town is reluctant to treat her, fearing the dictatorial Maddox.
Guest Stars Myrna Fahey, Edgar Buchanan and Whit Bissell
The Candy O’Hara Story Original Air Date 12/07/1960
When Luther Henry spots Candy O’Hara, he goes about seeing that his widower father Gabe and Candy get together to provide him with a mother.
Guest Stars Joan O’Brien, Jim Davis, Teddy Rooney and Lane Bradford
The River Crossing Original Air Date 12/14/1960
When a raging river overflows its banks, Flint and Charlie Wooster find themselves left with half the wagon train on one side and a Comanche war party on the other.
Guest Stars Robert J. Wilke, Charles Aidman, Ron Harper and X Brands
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Disc 4
The Roger Bigelow Story Original Air Date 12/21/1960
Man of the cloth Roger Bigelow and his wife Nancy plan a new church in California, but when they offer refuge to a wounded bandit, they discover that he is a dangerous man.
Guest Stars Robert Vaughn, Audrey Dalton and Claude Akins
The Jeremy Dow Story Original Air Date 12/28/1960
Jeremy Dow, a drifter and drunkard posing as Jeff Durant befriends the young son of the Millikan family. The boy tells Dow how his father died a hero, but unbeknownst to the boy, Dow is his real father.
Guest Stars Leslie Nielson, Mari Aldon, Michael Burns and Morgan Woodward
The Earl Packer Story Original Air Date 1/04/1961
Sheriff Bill Strode and a respected lawman who once saved Flint’s life, seems to be trying to avoid Earl Packer, a determined and relentless bounty hunter. Flint wants to know why.
Guest Stars Ernest Borgnine, Ed Binns and Rex Holman
The Patience Miller Story Original Air Date 1/11/1961
When Quaker missionaries are attacked travelling to the Arapahoe Indian Mission, and her husband is killed by marauding renegades, Patience Miller vows to continue her missionary work.
Guest Stars Rhonda Fleming, Michael Ansara, Henry Brandon, Morgan Woodward and Jason Robards, Sr.
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Disc 5
The Sam Elder Story Original Air Date 1/18/1961
Hawks agrees to allow a former Army captain and a group of orphaned boys to join the train, upsetting some of the travelers who have discovered things they don’t like about the Captain’s war record.
Guest Stars Everett Sloane, Ray Stricklyn, Roberta Shore and Roger Mobley
Weight of Command Original Air Date 1/25/1961
Bill Hawks and two men from the train investigate the ruins of an adobe hut, and are attacked by renegade Native Americans.
Guest Stars Denny Miller and Richard Crane
The Prairie Story Original Air Date 2/01/1961
The women of the wagon train endure many hardships, including the grueling travel and the constant threat of Indian attacks, and when one of them comes unglued and unwilling, they all suffer.
Guest Stars Beulah Bondi, Jan Clayton and Virginia Christine
Path of the Serpent Original Air Date 2/08/1961
Penelope, a young woman passenger, learns that her father is dying in a village just beyond the Indian uprisings, and guide Ruddy Blaine offers to escort her over a dangerous mountain trail to reach him.
Guest Stars Noah Beery, Jr., Melinda Plowman and Jay Silverheels |
Disc 6
Odyssey of Flint McCullough Original Air Date 2/15/1961
Flint comes across the survivors of an Indian raid, including a group of children and their grandfather.
Guest Stars Henry Hull, Michael Burns and Suzie Carnell
The Beth Pearson Story Original Air Date 2/22/1961
The final appearance on Wagon Train of the great Ward Bond as Major Adams.
In this episode, Adams is distracted by Beth Pearson, who resembles a woman the Major once loved, Ranie Webster.
Guest Stars Virginia Grey, Johnny Washbrook and Del Moore
The Jed Polke Story Original Air Date 3/01/1961
McCullough finds Jed and Rheba Polke near death in the desert, but the only doctor on the train refuses to treat Jed.
Guest Stars John Lasell, Joyce Meadows and Morgan Woodward
The Nancy Palmer Story Original Air Date 3/08/1961
The wagon train travelers don’t care for Dan Palmer and his unpleasant personality, but his wife’s kindly acts offset his flaws, till there is a theft, and suspicion falls on Dan.
Guest Stars Jack Cassidy, Audrey Meadows, Elisha Cook Jr., Roger Mobley and Harry Lauter
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Disc 7
The Christopher Hale Story Original Air Date 3/15/1961
After his family is massacred by renegades, Wagon Master Christopher Hale is overcome with grief and retires, but Flint convinces him to come back and guide the wagon train. But in addition to his grief, Hale must contend with Jud Benedict, hired by the company that owns the wagon train.
Guest Stars John McIntire, Lee Marvin and L.Q. Jones
The Tiburcio Mendez Story Original Air Date 3/22/1961
Tiburcio Mendez and his band of renegades prevent Bill Hawks from leading his charges into California. Inspired by real-life Tiburcio Vasquez, name-sake of the famous location for hundreds of westerns.
Guest Stars Nehemiah Persoff, Leonard Nimoy, Russell Collins and Lane Bradford
The Nellie Jefferson Story Original Air Date 4/05/1961
Hawks and Hale are annoyed by the many demands of Nellie Jefferson, an actress going west on the train, but Wooster is smitten, and waits on her hand and foot.
Guest Stars Janis Paige, Don Megowan and H. M. Wynant
The Saul Bevins Story Original Air Date 4/12/1961
Chris Hale agrees to let Saul Bevins join the train along with his sister Martha and his son Job, after they have been refused by several other trains because of his blindness.
Guest Stars Rod Steiger, Rachel Ames, Charles Herbert and I. Stanford Jolley
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Disc 8
The Joe Muharich Story Original Air Date 4/19/1961
Polish immigrant Joe Muharich tries to straighten out young Johnny Kamen, who has developed a bad attitude and a fast draw, before he runs into trouble. But trouble finds Joe instead.
Guest Stars Akim Tamiroff, Robert Blake and Tris Coffin
The Duke Shannon Story Original Air Date 4/26/1961
When Wooster joins Henry Shannon in a search for lost gold, they’re followed by three men intent on stealing the gold for themselves, only to have the tables turned on them.
Guest Stars Denny Miller, Frank McHugh, James Griffith, John Cason and Maudie Prickett
The Will Santee Story Original Air Date 5/03/1961
The Santee family joins the wagon train posing as the Sheridans, eventually confiding to Chris Hale that they are using an alias because of a family member involved in a scandal.
Guest Stars Dean Stockwell, Millie Perkins, Jocelyn Brando and Harry Von Zell
The Jim Bridger Story Original Air Date 5/10/1961
Flint McCullough, temporarily in charge, is ordered by Army General Jameson to take the train into hostile territory to rescue a trapped cavalry garrison.
Guest Stars Karl Swenson, John Doucette and Hank Brandt
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Disc 9
The Eleanor Culhane Story Original Air Date 5/17/1961
Flint visits an old flame, the now reclusive widow Eleanor Culhane. But as he coaxes her to return to the world, his love for her returns; unfortunately, so does her ‘dead’ husband!
Guest Stars Felicia Farr, John Lasell and Russell Thorson
The Chalice Original Air Date 5/24/1961
The Canevaris family finds itself in trouble after the two men who agree to transport water to the Canevaris’ newly planted vineyard plot to rob them.
Guest Stars Lon Chaney, Jr., Richard Jaeckel and Argentina Brunetti
The Janet Hale Story Original Air Date 5/31/1961
In a flashback, Christopher Hale revisits the circumstances that led to his leaving his family alone on the prairie, where they are massacred by hostile renegades.
Guest Stars Jeanette Nolan, Charles Aidman and Bethel Leslie |
Disc 10
Wagon to Fort Anderson Original Air Date 6/07/1961
Flint finds Fay and Sue Ellison, two survivors of an Indian massacre,
but his attempt to lead them to safety is jeopardized by two army deserters who tell
the girls that Flint is leading them to disaster.
Guest Stars Albert Salmi, Don Rickles, Carol Rossen and Candy Moore
The Ah Chong Story Original Air Date 6/14/1961
Wooster develops a take-it-or-leave-it attitude with regard to his cooking, so Hale and Hawk decide to leave it,
promoting Wooster’s Chinese helper Ah Chong to chief cook.
Guest Stars Arnold Stang and Frank Ferguson
The Don Alvarado Story Original Air Date 6/21/1961
Flint promises a dying Spanish nobleman his help, and impersonates Don Alvarado to claim his inheritance for the rest of his family
Guest Stars Andra Martin, Vladimir Sokoloff, Minerva Urecal and Ed Nelson
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