Wagon Train
The Jonas Murdock Story
TV Flash files “The Jonas Murdock Story” as hour 104 of 284 in the TV Flash guide — Wagon Train (1957–1965) on NBC/ABC, season 3, episode 27, aired 1960-04-13, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E27: listed hour 104 of 284 in the Wagon Train guide, hour 27 of 37 in season 3. It aired 1960-04-13 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Maggie Hamilton Story” (S03E26). Next is “The Amos Gibbon Story” (S03E28).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Chief Red Hawk grants the train passage across his people's territory in return for them not killing any animals for supplies. But mountain man Jonas Murdock refuses to abide by the edict, putting everyone in danger.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Jonas Murdock Story sit in the Wagon Train guide?
S03E27 is listed hour 104 of 284 — hour 27 of 37 in season 3, season 3 episode 27.
When did Wagon Train S03E27 air?
The Jonas Murdock Story aired 1960-04-13 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start in the Ward Bond era, when the wagon master is the monument, then sample the John McIntire handoff if you want the continuity drama.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Wagon Train is a moving town of guest stars: the prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire after a mid-run death. Watch it now as the late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke — migration myth as weekly guest-star theater, trail dust as a continuity problem the network actually had to solve.
The work is a convoy that is also a guest list. *Wagon Train* (NBC then ABC, 1957–1965) turns the prairie into an anthology stagecoach: 284 episodes, eight seasons, Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams until his death in 1960, John McIntire taking over as Christopher Hale, Robert Horton as Flint McCullough, Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster. Hollywood names drop into the convoy. Semi-anthology structure. The west isn't won; it is episodically negotiated. That is the form.
Filed against
- Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams
Ward Bond’s Major Seth Adams drove Wagon Train as a moving town of guest stars — the prairie as anthology stagecoach, late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke, migration myth as weekly theater. Trail dust as a continuity problem the…
- Robert Horton as Flint McCullough
Robert Horton's Flint McCullough scouted Wagon Train as a moving town of guest stars — prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire after a mid-run death, late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke. TV Flash files him as…
- John McIntire as Christopher Hale
John McIntire’s Christopher Hale took Wagon Train after a moving-town anthology needed a new wagon master — 1950s catalog prairie as guest-star stagecoach, then Naked City stretching the gravel into eight million stories. TV Flash files…
- Frank McGrath as Charlie Wooster
Frank McGrath cooked the trail as Charlie Wooster on Wagon Train — prairie as anthology stagecoach, Ward Bond then John McIntire, a moving town of guest stars. Late-1950s ratings giant behind Gunsmoke. TV Flash files him as catalog wagon…