Main Cast: Tim Holt, Martha O'Driscoll, Ray Whitley, Emmett Lynn, Bud McTaggart
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 62 minutes
Plot
In his first starring Western for RKO, young Tim Holt must not only carry on his father's freight business but also hunt down his murderer. A certain Matt Gardner (Cliff Clark) wants to corner the freight business to Pecos and persuades young Zack Sibley's wagon master (Wade Crosby) to switch sides. Zack also earns the enmity of Gardner's son Coe (Malcolm McTaggart), who takes umbrage to the youngster's flirtation with pretty Helen Lee (Martha O'Driscoll). It all comes to a head during a food shortage in Pecos, a near-disaster that persuades the wagon master to switch sides once again. When the dust settles, Zack learns that old man Gardner is actually Carl Anderson, the man who murdered his father. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Review
Replacing George O'Brien as RKO's resident B-Western star, Tim Holt truly looked the part: young, handsome, and athletic. The studio probably didn't do the newcomer any favors by filming Wagon Train back-to-back with The Fargo Kid (1940), but only the latter film seems to have suffered from the strain. In fact, Wagon Train remains not only one of Holt's best Westerns, but one of the best series openers of all time, fast-paced, well-plotted, and featuring an above-average supporting cast. The studio could have spared one of the two sidekicks -- maybe Ray Whitley, whose musical interludes tend to slow the pace -- but leading lady Martha O'Driscoll is ravishing and young Malcolm McTaggart (aka Bud McTaggart) makes a tough-looking rival for her affections. Emmett Lynn's "Whopper" character was a carryover from the George O'Brien series where the grizzled sidekick had been played by Chill Wills. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
