Wagon Train

Pecos businessman Matt Gardner is buying up freighters, or wagon trains of food supplies, at cheap prices through intimidation, and charging high prices by deliberately causing phony food shortages at his trading posts. The only one refusing to sell his supplies is Zack Sibley, who is dead set on maintaining his freighter business as well as tracking down his father's murderer, his ex-business partner. Gardner plans on eliminating any competition Sibley presents by sending his thugs to kill him and raid his wagon train.

Visually, this is quite impressive, the harsh, unforgiving land seems to envelope around the wagon train, lending some grit - there's an effective scene of a Comanche arrow hitting the wood and the scene quickly fades away. Next minute we see Holt riding into the burnt stage station.

A fairly entertaining RKO western that has the appeal of Tim Holt's youthful charm and his chemistry with Martha O Driscoll. There's some gorgeous location photography (It was filmed in Kanab, Utah and in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California) and some good characterisation.

One of the best B westerns I've ever seen. Original and intelligent script, solid acting, great scenery and production values not normally found in this type of movie. Scene with wagons racing across the valley is spectacular and does not appear to be stock footage (though I could be wrong). Tim Holt westerns, particularly those from the early 40s, usually exceeded the normal standards for series westerns, but Wagon Train is in a class by itself. Truly a great movie of it's type.

This is an unpretentious B western with a good interplay of comedic side stories and songs but a very simple and contrived storyline.

Pecos businessman Matt Gardner is buying up wagon trains of food supplies, at cheap prices through intimidation then charging higher prices by causing phony food shortages at his trading posts. The only man refusing to sell his supplies is Zack Sibley (Tim Holt.) Gardner plans on eliminating Sibley by sending his thugs to kill him.

There is plenty of exposition as soon as the film starts as two minor characters recount the story of Zack who has been looking for the man who killed his father when he was a child as he leads wagon trains out West. It just so happens that Matt Gardner was the culprit.

Ironically Gardner is later shot from a distance by his own son Coe when he intended to kill Zack and mistook his own father for Zack.

There is nice interplay between Whopper (Emmett Lynn) who plays the teller of tall tales and his flame (Ellen Lowe) who gives out the vibes of Olive Oyl. Holt is a suitably able hero with the white hat who falls for Coe's sweetheart, Helen Lee.

A nice short feature with a few good set pieces but nothing more.

The scenery and the camera-work of the scenery in this film are spectacular. The lost art of outdoor western camera work is remarkably well featured in this b-western and is worth watching. "Majestic" is the only word that can describe some of the scenes.

Tim Holt is stalwart and believable as a wagon train leader, Martha O'Driscoll is incredibly pretty, young and fetching in the role of an eastern girl gone west. All of the cast does a fine job.

Wagons and a stagecoach are expertly handled (another lost art?) in the Utah country, not just on graded back lot roads.

Authentic-looking in many ways, fast paced, this film is a winner.

Nothing especially dramatic or compelling here. A formulaic and predictable western with a meandering script and a distinct lack of character development, this picture tells its story and is over in an hour. It is loaded with non-sequiturs and loose ends which leaves the viewer scratching his head.

Nevertheless, the leads are attractive. Tim Holt gives a stalwart performance and Martha O'Driscoll is very pretty but is not given much to do. This is the sort of movie I probably would have liked a long time ago when I was a kid and didn't ask many questions. The action scenes were good and the second unit stuff was even better.

This picture was on TCM the other morning. It was a time-killer but did not break any new ground as far as the western genre is concerned. The kids won't notice, though.