The Kate Parker Story

It's amazing to see in this era how often actors and actresses returned to series in different roles. This episode featured Virginia Grey almost exactly a year after she appeared in the two-part episode of "The Major Adams Story" where she was Rainy Webster (in my opinion, one of her best roles she ever played). In the same time frame you might see actors like her or Royal Dano on different shows in a span of a week or so. These wonderful actors were never wanting for work!!!

When I was a lad Wagon Train was one of my favorite shows and this is an episode I remember.

The main plot concerns Virginia Grey a rich woman traveling west with her no account rat of a husband Warren Stevens who at the appropriate opportunity is going to run off with her money and abandon her in the snowbound mountain passes.

But what I really remember is the contrasting couple Robert Fuller and Ruta Lee who are just the picture of young love. The story calls for Ruta Lee's spine to be fractured in a wagon accident. Young Fuller who would later be a Wagon Train regular as Cooper Smith is just the picture of young gallantry as he attends to his young bride.

The image will linger with you long after you see this very touching Wagon Train story.

Seldom is the time you can find a believable love story set in an authentic 19th century American western setting that is little more than a modern day romance with the actors sinply dressed in period costumes. "The Kate Parker Story" manages to truly achieve the criteria making it pass the test of an old west love story while avoiding the sappiness pitfall "trap". The episode focuses on 2 love stories. One of which is a younger couple who is derply in love while the other, older couple is together because of greed mostly and thus, focuses on money instead of love. Love is used as a weapon to hurt one another, if anything at all. Without being a spoiler, I will simply say that the moral of the tale is to never abandon the idea that it is ever too late for true love to come into one's life! The story offers hope where there seemingly is none to be found. Even the weather has left love out in the cold where it has no right to exist. Indeed, I recommend "The Kate Parker Story" as one of Wagon Train's best in the romantic genre of a true American old west setting for a story. The cast and crew make excellent use of their approximate 50 minutes given to tell such a full and satisfying story. The scenes are quite wonderful, too!

Sometimes these Wagon Train episodes are completely unrealistic and with very bad Direction. What bothered me was that there was absolutely no sense of urgency from the rich woman Kate or trapper to get back to the couple and the paralyzed wife that is lying in the snow without any shelter and close to death. They are freezing to death but one monotonous conversation after another delays their attempt to help. Kate is even happy and smiling as they nonchalantly travel to people who are dying in a snowstorm. They don't have a care in the world. Only to talk about their marriages. It really destroyed the entire story for me. I'm not sure if it is bad writing or bad directing but every once in awhile there are some real clunkers.