The stars of the show didn't get big enough increases to affect the budget for guest stars. Mainly, the "suits" (the moneymen from the east coast) made budget cuts like less filming on location, using more stock film, etc.
However, if you look at the guests in the 3rd, 4th and 5th season you will see many names that were considered big stars in those days: Dan Duryea, Peter Lorre, Noah Berry, Jr, Charles Laughton, Lee Marvin, Raymond Massey, Rhonda Fleming, Everett Sloan, Rod Steiger, Rory Calhoun, Joseph Cotton, Bette Davis, Nick Adams, Claude Rains, Robert Culp, and that great Western character Paul Fix, just to name a few. These name may mean little to the current generation but in the 50's and 60's they were mostly well known names and certainly were outstanding performers.
The amounts major performers get now for each episode of a series is obscene. Why on earth would someone like Charlie Sheen be worth $2 million per half-hour epiosde? That is not to say that Ward Bond and Robert Horton weren't well paid in those days, but in relation to what people get now, there is no comparison. And they certainbly worked harder, riding horses and doing stunts. There was much more physical work involved.
reply
share
DontBogartMe
13 years ago
Thanks for your detailed response. I may have asked the wrong person. The episodes I've been watching are from season 3. The top guest stars were the likes of John Howard, Jean Hagen, Tommy Sands, James Gregory, J. Carroll Naish, Jeff Morrow. Fine performers but not a star in the bunch.
Laughton, Fleming, Rains were big, higher ticket names, of course, but Paul Fix, Sheriff "Micah" on The Rifleman wasn't one of them. It would be years before Lee Marvin, then headlining M Squad, would be a bona fide star after Cat Ballou.
Sheen wasn't paid for his stunts, of course. His salary was based on his ability to attract ratings. If physical exertion were the basis of pay, then Yakima Cannutt would have been living in the largest mansion in Bel-Air.
reply
share
margiejjjj
13 years ago
I loved the episodes with Marjorie Main as Cassie Tanner. She battled the dust and heat like a champion. She had a good repoire with the other actors and cast. I was hoping she would return in a later episode.
I also loved the character "Dora Grey" played by Linda Darnell. Don't know if she was a big star or not back then but I loved the character she played. She had a real chemistry going with Robert Horton's character, Flint McCullough. I would have liked to have seen that situation developed more in later episodes.
I loved the storyline about the stage coach which starred Clu Gulager. He and Horton were good together. I don't think he was a big star then but he was certainly someone I enjoyed watching. Wish he could have come around more often in later episodes.
To each his own. Some of the big stars I liked watching. Others not so much. I was bored with the great Ed Wynn's role. Not to offend anyone. What I am trying to say, and doing so rather badly I am afraid, is we all watched Wagon Train for our own reasons. I watched to see Flint McCullough and hear him deliver his lines. Whoever he was speaking to didn't much matter to me, whether a big star or not. In my mind McCullough (Robert Horton) was the huge star and the one I wanted to see, along with the great Ward Bond. I wish they had paid Horton more money and given him more lines and time to develop relationships with others who added interest to the storyline week after week. This is my opinion only.
But I agree with you in that if great guest stars was the purpose to draw more watchers each week, the "suits" fell short some weeks. Some weeks they hit home runs. I am just grateful they gave us, the audience, Wagon Train, on whatever budget they had to work with.
reply
share
greendahlias
13 years ago
Main reprised her role as Cassie in a cameo appearance with the likes of Ernest Borgnine, etc.
reply
share
flintfanatic
13 years ago
I don't think the star power of the guest stars was very important as the show gained popularity after the first season. Wagon Train depended upon the high caliber of performance of its main stars, Robert Horton and Ward Bond, and the supporting cast as well as the excellent writers and directors.
Each episode was a mini-movie in itself and the weekly featured player was chosen for his or her ability to portray the character upon whom the episode revolved. Many times the guest might have been someone of lesser star power but a great performer. In particular, I would point out Dame Judith Anderson in the Felizia Kingdom story. She wasn't what I would call a star, but she was a great actress.
Margiejjj points out the Alexander Portlass Story shown last night. Peter Lorre turned in an excellent performance. I can't imagine anyone who would be considered a star in those days playing that role.
Horton and Bond, while they had their personal differences, had wonderful chemistry on the screen. They played off each other and added so much to the series that made it the hit that it was.
The episodes featuring Flint McCullough away from the train were great diversions from the usual scripts. They added adventure and change of scenery. They also allowed Horton to develop the character of Flint McCullough to greater dimensions and to showcase his athletic abilities. Some critic, years ago, said their was no one sexier, on or off a horse.
reply
share
greendahlias
13 years ago
Last night's episode with Peter Lorre was a problem I've had with the series. Wagon Train is at its best when focusing on the trails and tribulations of settlers travelling west. A plot about searching for Montezuma's gold and then finding it was pure nonsense. The further the show departs from its roots, the worse it gets.
reply
share
margiejjjj
13 years ago
Actually "Wagon Train" is FINIS. It has been filmed and in its cans for 50+ years. It is concluded and it is what it is: a fine old western with enough variety to please most viewers.
reply
share
greendahlias
13 years ago
I'm sure you must have realized that before now.
reply
share
hackraytex
10 years ago
I know this is an old post but I just found it. I was reading years ago in a book written by Pilar Wayne, John Wayne's widow, that John Wayne and some others were going to play a gag on Ward Bond. They were going to all get together for a party, which I can see they loved to do, and watch the last episode on TV for the season. Unbeknownst to Ward Bond, when he was not around the filming, John Wayne did a cameo appearance on the show and they were going to surprise Ward Bond since he did not know John Wayne had participated in it. They wanted to see his reaction to John Wayne's appearing in Wagon Train. Unfortunately, the party and gag did not get to happen because Ward Bond had died befor the episode was shown. Rest in peace, Ward Bond.
reply
share
eddie-fendel
10 years ago
I believe that Terry Wilson (Bill Hawkes) phoned Duke to tell him of Bonds death. They both cried on the phone. Rest in peace indeed Ward. Wagon Train was my favourite TV series when I was a kid. Still love my Westerns.
reply
share
ben-thayer
8 years ago
I just watched The Beth Pearson Story, and throughout the episode there were substantial passages of dialogue done by someone impersonating Ward Bond. One was a lengthy voiceover narration, and although it was a pretty good impersonation it was NOT Bond. There were a couple other places during the episode where the impersonator dubbed Bond's lines, and they were fairly noticeable as well. Other scenes were clearly Bond's voice with no dubbing.
As I said it was a darned good impersonation, the person doing it had obviously studied Bond's diction and dialect...but it absolutely was not Bond. I'm not sure where this episode falls within the few shows he did before his fatal heart attack, but the fact that someone else was doing his dialogue in the episode is telling in that apparently this episode was unfinished and was completed at some point after his death.
reply
share
eddie-fendel
8 years ago
Interesting contribution Ben. All I can say is that Ward Bond and Robert Horton were my heroes as a kid and still are now. I'll never forget Seth Adams and Flint McCullough and Wagon Train. I was saddened to hear that Horton had passed away this year after a good age, R I P Flint.
reply
share
ben-thayer
8 years ago
I have to agree with you eddie, the pairing of Ward Bond and Robert Horton is inimitable. They are quite simply my favorite team. The series continued to be a great show after Bond's death, but the seasons with Bond and Horton are among my favorite shows of all time.
reply
share
Gadgie (1)
4 months ago
FlintFanatic. Your omniscient knowledge of all things Wagon-Train is indisputable and evident in your loquacious responses to peoples posts. However, before you patronise posters that their grammar does not rise to the dizzy heights of your implausible standards, why not proof read your own posts. "These name may mean little to the current generation". 5 minutes in Elementary school taught me that I'm dealing with plurals, it should read 'names'. A definite case of being hoisted by one's own petard.
reply
share