Wagon Train: The Molly Kincaid Story (1963) 4 of 10 stars ⭐ I see why Wagon Train didn't last many more seasons after this...

 I see why Wagon Train didn't last many more seasons after this...

Wagon Train: The Molly Kincaid Story (1963) 4 of 10 stars ⭐ 

Season 7, Episode 1

 *WARNING: CONTAINS GANG RAPE

I was so disappointed in the first episode of season 7. On a pure aesthetic note, I think that 'Wagon Train', 'Laramie', and other old westerns, are better in black & white. This was the first 'Wagon Train' episode in color, and for me, ît took away some of the harshness, and ruggedness of the old west experience. It felt more like just a TV show, instead of suspending my disbelief (which many of the previous 'Wagon Train' episodes did).

I also do not like the edition of Cooper as Ram Rod. I liked the TV show, 'Laramie' from which the actor came, but he was NOT needed, and I believe a real insult to both the actors and the characters in the show. If Bill Hawks is not the ram rod of this wagon train, then who has been for all these years? Wouldn't Bill Hawks & Duke Shannon be resentful of this new guy, who jumps to #2 in the command structure, right under Chris Hale? Well, if they weren't, I certainly was resentful for them. I don't believe men of any era would take kindly to that kind of usurpation.

But now to the rest of the review. I'm not sure that gang rape is the way to open the season. They tell and show us several times that this woman was kidnapped and held captive by the Comanches, and that she was gang raped repeatedly over the 13 yrs that she was held by them. This was standard native practice, and if it had been handled better, I'm not opposed to the subject matter being addressed. However, it wasn't handled well AT ALL. I don't want to include spoilers, but I will say I was offended by Barbara Stanwyck's character continually harping at this poor woman that all she needs is to believe in God again, and everything will be alright. She was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, beaten and robbed of her culture for 13 years! A couple of prayers and apologies are NOT going to make everything OK.

I also have a very hard time believing that she would forgive the man, who through his cowardice, let her be captured by the Indians, whether he was her husband or not. This is the man she originally came to town to kill, and now she forgives him? This episode was saccharine to the point of hurting my teeth. It glossed over the trauma suffered by frontier women, who were kidnapped & assaulted by the Indians. It also bothers me because previous episodes of 'Wagon Train' have dealt with this issue in a more realistic way.

I also felt that the character of Rome, played by Fabian, was completely unnecessary, and

felt like total filler, as did all the birds & the bees talk by Chris Hale to Barny. This episode was disjointed and poorly written. This surprised me, because both writer and director had worked extensively on the original, 'Star Trek'. To say that I had high hopes that were let down was an understatement.