The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West

"Dusty's Trail" is a tepid rehash by Sherwood Schwartz of his earlier "success," "Gilligan's Island." The similarities are so blatant, it is hardly surprising that Bob Denver is playing the lead.

Each of "Gilligan's" seven characters has been transplanted to a very stereotyped Old West setting. Even many of the supporting characters in this "film" popped up on that remote island a decade earlier.

Check on the "Dusty's Trail" page for further comments of other users, and details of the actual show. (It aired in syndication during the 73/74 season; why this "movie" surfaced two years later, one can only guess.) I actually remember seeing the series during its first-run. One afternoon I sat with a bunch of neighborhood kids, viewing an episode, and we all agreed that it was a ripoff of "Gilligan," and not HALF as good.

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.

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.