Wagon Train - Season 4 - Eps 26: The Tiburcio Mendez Story
Bill Hawks is leading four wagons through to California when they are stopped by Tiburcio Mendez and his band of renegades, who demand they turn back. Mendez and his group claim that California is their land and that it was stolen by the later settlers. A judge traveling with Hawks' group believes that Mendez has a legitimate grievance which could be addressed by the legislature in Sacramento, and against Hawks' warning goes in to Mendez' camp to talk with him. When Hawks follows, both he and the judge are taken prisoner.
About Wagon Train
Title: Wagon Train
First Air Date: 1957-09-18
Last Air Date: 1965-05-02
Status: Ended
Rating: 6.586/10 (from 29 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 8
Total Episodes: 284
Network: NBC ABC
Genres: Western, Drama, Family
Production Companies: Universal Television, Revue Studios
Synopsis
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.
Cast
John McIntire
Christopher Hale
Robert Fuller
Cooper Smith
Michael Burns
Barnaby West
Frank McGrath
Charlie Wooster
Terry Wilson
Bill Hawks