The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West

The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West
Directed by	Jack Arnold Earl Bellamy Bruce Bilson Oscar Rudolph
Written by	Ron Friedman Howard Ostroff Brad Radnitz Sherwood Schwartz Elroy Schwartz
Produced by	Elroy Schwartz
Starring	Bob Denver Forrest Tucker
Cinematography	Alan Stensvold
Edited by	Jack Woelz
Distributed by	Danton Films
Release date	August 1, 1976
Running time	86 mins.
Country	United States
Language	English

The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West is a 1976 American Western comedy film directed by Jack Arnold. The film stars Bob Denver as Dusty, the bumbling assistant to Wagonmaster Callahan featured in the syndicated series Dusty's Trail.

The film itself consists of four episodes of Dusty's Trail edited together: "Tomahawk Territory", "Horse of Another Color", "There Is Nothing Like a Dame", and "The Not So Magnificent Seven".

Summary

A stagecoach and covered wagon heading west across the plains become separated from their wagon train thanks to Dusty (Denver), a bumbling assistant to Wagonmaster Callahan (Forrest Tucker). Lost in the wilderness, seven hapless souls must now make their way to California on their own using what brains they have or haven't got.

First, the characters meet "Injuns" who are not unlike the Hekawis in F Troop. Then there is a "necktie party" looking to hang Dusty as a horse thief. Third, a couple of cattle rustlers want to "get friendly" with some willing females. And finally, a "shootout" takes place, with Dusty dressed up as Bat Masterson in a ghost town setting.

Observations

When it comes to the main cast of characters, each are very similar to those of Gilligan's Island, as seen by a comparison of characters:

• The Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) is now The Wagonmaster (Forest Tucker)
• Gilligan is now Dusty (both played by Bob Denver)
• Mr. and Mrs. Howell (Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer) are now Mr. and Mrs. Brookhaven (Ivor Francis and Lynn Wood)
• The Professor (Russell Johnson) is now Andy (William Cort)
• Ginger Grant (Tina Louise) is now Lulu (Jeannine Riley)
• Mary Ann Summers (Dawn Wells) is now Betsy (Lori Saunders)

Other elements of the series are reproduced/recycled:

• the Gilligan's Island shipwreck, following what was meant to be a "three hour tour," is now replaced with a wagon being lost in the wilderness after getting separated from a wagon train.
• Head Hunters are now replaced by American Indians.

Home media

The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West was released on VHS by JTC, Inc., Front Row Video, Inc. and Direct Source Special. The film has also been released on Region 1 DVD by numerous companies including Tango Entertainment, Digiview and St. Clair Vision. These releases by numerous budget labels were due to the fact that the copyrights on all episodes of Dusty's Trail lapsed without any effort at renewal, making the series one of the last television series to enter the public domain before the Copyright Act of 1976 (and its much longer copyright terms) took effect. As the film was sourced from this series, the film itself is also in the public domain.

External links

• The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West at IMDb
• The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West at the TCM Movie Database