The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West

This was insipid, stupid, and lacked any of the charm of Gilligan's Island, AND YET we found ourselves watching the whole thing until the end.

It's the exact same formula as Gilligan. There is the leader (played by a guy who didn't get the role of Skipper,) the bumbling sidekick, the good girl, the bad girl, the know-it-all, the rich guy, and the wife who's entire identity is being married to the rich guy.

I'm not sure if we can call it a "rip-off" of Gilligan since this show is from Sherwood Schwartz also. Can you rip-off your own work? But it's obvious they just dusted off a few Gilligan scripts, scribbled out the words "hut" and "lagoon," penciled in "wagon" and "trail", and sent it to production.

RELEASED IN 1976, "The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West" is a compilation of four episodes of the Dusty's Trail TV series that ran for one season in 1973-1974. Producer Sherwood Schwartz tried to duplicate his success with Gilligan's Island by transplanting a similar group of seven people into the wild west: The wagon master (Forrest Tucker), his "little pal" subordinate (Bob Denver), an educated lawyer (Bill Cort), a saloon showgirl (Jeannine Riley), a winsome schoolmarm (Lori Saunders) and a filthy rich older couple (Ivor Francis & Lynn Wood). These seven are lost in the West, separated from their wagon train, and experience various misadventures.

While the characters are different enough for the show to work, the parallels are uncomfortably too close; moreover, the writing's nowhere near as good, and the show just lacks the magic of Gilligan's Island. It's basically a pale imitation. Nevertheless, it's worthwhile for Bob Denver fans; there are a few genuine laughs and Jeannine Riley is alluring as the showgirl (I prefer her to Ginger).

The episodes from Dusty's Trail, as featured in this movie, are in order: "Tomahawk Territory," "Horse of Another Color," "There is Nothing Like a Dame," and "The Not So Magnificent Seven." FYI: Only ONE of these episodes is included in The Almost Complete First (And Only) Season DVD set, which means you'll have to purchase the set AND this flick if you want all the episodes.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 36 minutes. I incidentally viewed the Catcom DVD and the video quality is horrible (speaking as someone who's easy to please in that department).

GRADE: C-

This is a really bad movie. Bob Denver plays Dusty, a bumbling incompetent that is based on the Gilligan character of the sixties sitcom "Gilligan's Island." Unfortunately, the mishaps are even worse than what took place at the hands of Gilligan. Furthermore, they simply don't have the spark to generate a laugh as they are generally predictable.

Forrest Tucker plays Wagonmaster Callahan that is a combination of the skipper in "Gilligan's Island" as well as his role as Sergeant O'Rourke of "F-troop." He even wears his hat in the same manner as the Sergeant. Again, the role is old and tired.

Other characters are the very rich man and his elegant wife, (Thurston Howell and lovey from "Gilligan's Island,") the beautiful dance hall girl (Ginger), the plain girl, Mary Ann, and the smart man, (the professor.) Using recycled characters can work, but they clearly do not in this case.

The movie is boring, often plodding and predictable, it is hard to watch in one sitting.

This movie is bad. Maybe campy bad? Or do bad its not eligible to be campy? Immediately the viewer will have quasi fun assigning Gilligan's Island characters to the parallel universe's Wild West version. You man recognize the western version of Mary Ann to the actress that starred as Bobbie Jo in the 1960's TV show Petticoat Junction. The actor from the 1960's TV show F Troop plays the cowboy boot wearing Skipper in this film. After you do that, the fun stops and you'll find yourself open jawed thinking "was any of that actually funny when they shot this film"? Can't believe the film producers were peddling dated and predictable slap stick in 1976, as they were already dated in the early 60's with Gilligan's. Nevertheless if you're looking to watch ten minutes "of something" while doing some other activity like scrolling down Craigslist or FB Marketplace listings, this movie will provide the audio/visual noise that will tempt you to look at the TV as frequently as you might need to scratch your nose. I'm a fan of schlock but this film is so beyond that scale I wouldn't recommend you watch this if you want to sit down for 90 minutes and actually focus and concentrate on the storyline. Better to watch the OG versions of Gilligan's Island and/or F Troop.

I can barely remember the t.v. show Dusty's Trail that this film was based on, yet i do remember seeing this flim promoted on t.v. I can also recall the voice over guy bragging that"Gilligan was never this funny"[Then seeing Bob Denver tossed off a horse into a tub of water}.I always thought that this was a film that was based on the show,but all they did was put four shows together and made a movie. People have already said that the show and this film was ripping off Gilligan's Island yet with Sherwood Schwartz and Bob Denver both taking part it's more like there were just trying what worked before.The film copy that i have is very faded yet the old gags and bad jokes are here,some work,some don't but thats what happened on Gilligan's Island.I give this film a 3 but just think that Dusty is Gilligan's great,great grandfather and you will find it a little better.