A lot of the characters background and skills seemed to be changed over the seasons. I think the lack of continuity may have been due to different writers, who weren't familiar with the details inserted into earlier scripts. It seems to me that Charlie didn't become the comic relief character until about halfway through the first season. If I remember correctly, he didn't have a beard for the first few shows.
Bill Hawk's wife, Emily, vanished during the first season. I guess she was considered an unnecessary character, and her being gone allowed Bill to become a full fledged crew member, rather than a passenger with a wagon going west, as he was in the very early episodes.
One of my favorite episodes is Chuck Wooster, Wagonmaster, where Charlie has to take over the train after the others all disappear. The character of Charlie Wooster was one of the best on TV, IMO.
On a side note, Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson were both stunt men who worked with John Ford a lot before getting into acting. Both appeared in the 1956 classic "The Searchers." In the scene where they uncover the grave of the grave of the Comanche brave, it is Frank McGrath's clean shaven face which is revealed when they remove the rock. I always thought that in that scene, he looked a lot like Victor Jory.
reply
share
ben-thayer
8 years ago
Hawks' character was one that changed considerably. In the episode The Ruth Owens Story (S1, E4) Hawks is one of the lynch mob demanding Dean Stockwell be hanged, and Major Adams punches him out!
But his skill as a stuntman was pretty high. In one episode Hawks is being chased, he downs his horse and uses it as a shield while firing, then he slings a leg over the downed horse as it's rising and goes up with it in one motion and gallops away. It was a pretty cool stunt. I have a couple other topics about Hawks, but I'll post those in another of your threads here.
One of the great things about the Wooster character is how he has no qualms about standing up to Major Adams (or Chris Hale) in support of someone. He does it frequently and he's typically right in the end. Which lead to a surprise in The Madame Sagittarius Story when he initially spoke out *against* her joining the train. "She's a hussy and a minx! She'll do nothing but disrupt this train!" He changes his tune later, but his first response wasn't expected.
But I see him pop up in a lotta films before WT aired, I've seen him in Ford films but also in many others. He also did repeat work for directors William Wellman, Anthony Mann, and John Farrow.
reply
share