Classic Facts About Ward Bond & Wagon Train

Wagon Train, arguably the most popular Western series of the 1950s and 1960s, premiered on NBC in September of 1957. The show was inspired by John Ford's classic Western film The Wagonmaster. The show happened after NBC and Revenue productions came together to create a series that would allow the network and the production company to enter the wildly popular Western telefilm genre. Each week, the writers created a perfect storyline that allowed the producers to rope famous stars, such as Ernest Borgnine, Jane Wyman, and Shelly Winters, to appear alongside the series regulars Ward Bond and Robert Horton.
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Each episode of the show was filmed in California's San Fernando Valley. More importantly, each episode was allocated a budget of $100,000. If you are not surprised by this figure, let us inform you that back in the 50s, even the massively popular hour-long westerns, such as ABC's Sugarfoot, were assigned a budget of $70,000 per episode. The show occupied the number one spot on Nielsen ratings for a long time, the credit for which goes mostly to the show's excellent writing and direction. The producers of Wagon Master made the smart decision of hiring experienced writers who had worked on hit Westerns, such as Gunsmoke and Tales of Wells Fargo.
Wagon Train registered a successful eight-year-long run and in 1962, the show moved to ABC from NBC. With this shift, each episode was stretched to 90 minutes, instead of 60. However, during its last season, the show returned to its hour-long format. The show did not only survive format changes but also cast changes. After Ward Bond's untimely death in 1960, the role of wagonmaster was given to American character actor John McIntire and while John McIntire did a good job, the fans of the show will always remember veteran actor Ward Bond as the original wagonmaster.
In this video, we tell you some classic facts about Ward Bond & Wagon Train. So, hit the play button and enjoy.
Classic Facts About Ward Bond & Wagon Train