The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
Similiar movies
Wagon Master
Two young drifters guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter cutthroats, Navajo, geography, and moral challenges on the journey.
Wagons West
Travelers heading west in a wagon train, under repeated assault by Indians, discover someone in their group is supplying rifles to their attackers.
The Way West
In the mid-19th century, Senator William J. Tadlock leads a group of settlers overland in a quest to start a new settlement in the Western US. Tadlock is a highly principled and demanding taskmaster who is as hard on himself as he is on those who have joined his wagon train. He clashes with one of the new settlers, Lije Evans, who doesn't quite appreciate Tadlock's ways. Along the way, the families must face death and heartbreak and a sampling of frontier justice when one of them accidentally kills a young Indian boy.
Westward Ho, The Wagons!
The pioneering trail to Oregon was littered with constant danger. Yet, the hope of the "promised land" keeps American families westward bound despite overwhelming odds. A calm, clear-thinking pioneer attempts to lead a wagon train through territory occupied by Pawnees and Sioux. Along the way, the hardy settlers face horse thieves, kidnappers, and unpredictable Indian attacks in their push to establish a new life in the rugged West.
The Raiders
Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane help a Texas rancher against the railroad.
Rio Grande
Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke is posted on the Texas frontier to defend settlers against depredations of marauding Apaches. Col. Yorke is under considerable stress by a serious shortage of troops of his command. Tension is added when Yorke's son (whom he hasn't seen in fifteen years), Trooper Jeff Yorke, is one of 18 recruits sent to the regiment.
Ten Who Dared
The John Wesley Powell expedition of 1869 explores the dangerous Colorado River, withstands internal dissension, and finally discovers the Grand Canyon.
The Searchers
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
Stage to Tucson
A group of outlaws posing as Southern sympathizers and led secretly by freight-line owner Jim Maroon are raiding stagecoaches, and this is a threat to the Union communications. Grif Holbrook, a trouble-shooter for the Butterfield Stage Line, and Union man Barney Broderick team up to try and put a stop to the activity, when they aren't fighting over the charms of Kate Crocker.
How the West Was Won
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.
Run of the Arrow
When the South loses the war, Confederate veteran O'Meara goes West, joins the Sioux, takes a wife and refuses to be an American but he must choose a side when the Sioux go to war against the U.S. Army.
The Indian Fighter
A scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.
The Big Trail
Young scout Breck Coleman leads a wagon train along the dangerous trail to Oregon as he tries to get the affection of the beautiful pioneer Ruth Cameron and plans his revenge on the harsh scoundrels who murdered a friend of his in the past.
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Deadwood
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Hell on Wheels
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The Rifleman
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Route 66
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The Young Riders
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The lives of two families, one white American, one native American, become mingled through the momentous events of American expansion, between 1825 and 1890.
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3 Godfathers
Three outlaws on the run discover a dying woman and her baby. They swear to bring the infant to safety across the desert, even at the risk of their own lives.