The Nellie Jefferson Story

Janis Paige is the guest star in this Wagon Train story about a world famous stage star who has a rendezvous with a Bavarian prince hunting in the American west and needing to use the Chris Hale Wagon Train to get to her prince.

John McIntire is unfortunately over a barrel and he needs the money for horses Paige is paying him. She's a royal pain in the hind quarters on the trip also.

But Frank McGrath who has volunteered to be her driver, factotum, and whatever else Paige might want only sees a beautiful stage star he fell in love with years ago. He even outdoes himself in the culinary department.

This episode is for Frank McGrath to shine. He's usually comic relief but he brings some pathos not normally associated with Charlie Wooster.

For Charlie Wooster fans this episode is a must.

The Nellie Jefferson Story is one of the truly excellent episodes of the entire series. The episode reveals a few details that may surprise some viewers, and also reveals Charlie Wooster is deeper than typically credited. But it's actually Janis Paige's Nellie Jefferson that evolves, thus the title of my review.

Superficial viewers of the series may recall only the comic relief Wooster, or the bad cook Wooster, or the inept Wooster, but there's a lot more to Frank McGrath's character than what one sees on the surface, and this episode delves into some of those aspects. Charlie Wooster was more complex than one may think...extremely loyal, brave, stalwart, good hearted, good natured, and a lot more. From time to time viewers saw this, in episodes such as this one or the CL Harding Story.

To begin, Wooster's character was not always the same.

During the first season of Wagon Train Charlie Wooster's medical knowledge was front and center. Major Adams mentioned numerous times "he may not look like much but he knows a lot about doctoring". This thread was dropped, as were many other threads the showrunners attempted in the first season, and in later episodes Wooster was shown to have little to no medical skill. Personally I feel this was unfortunate.

In subsequent seasons the showrunners fell into a repetitive routine with Wooster as mostly comic relief. From episode to episode there were constant complaints about his cooking or his coffee, or his ineptness. It may not have been as noticeable during it's prime time run, but in syndication it can be seen in pretty much every episode and it gets tiresome.

Additionally, Bill Hawks had a cruel streak a mile long in his dealings with Wooster. In truth he could be downright mean. It's telling in this episode when Wooster drops the coffee pot and walks away after Hawks crossed the line and got nastier than ever, and even then Hawks shows no remorse. To be honest, I often wonder if Hawks deserves a loyal friend such as Wooster.

And Wooster shows he actually can cook. It's possible that the food would be a little better if the others were a bit nicer to him, but that's unlikely since Wooster doesn't have a vindictive bone in his body. And, once again there is little continuity between episodes, as 9 weeks later The Ah Chong Story aired, which really took Wooster's supposed incompetence as a cook to a new level. But that's not uncommon for shows in that era, with many shows contradicting details from episode to episode with little to no continuity.

Nellie Jefferson, through her interactions with Wooster eventually has an epiphany, and she sees through his exterior into his soul. Pure and simple, Wooster is a darned good man, too good for a prima donna such as herself, and she knows it.

And finally, did they or didn't they? It's unknown, and appropriate in my opinion. A great episode showing a good deal of emotional depth and some of the heretofore unseen aspects of Charles Wooster's character, and the series was elevated as a result.

I've always like the character of Charlie Wooster. Loyal friend despite the brunt of constant jokes, a man who seems to find good in most people. If you are one who has watched all of Wagon Train you also are aware he was somewhat of a fearless war hero during the Civil War. In The Nellie Jefferson Story his undying and loving appreciation of a woman not worthy of the high esteem Wooster holds for her is played brilliantly by the great Janis Page. We find in this episode that Charlie is a wonderful cook when he so desires. Frank McGrath and Miss Paige are both excellent. She finally picks up on Charlie's special feelings for her but isn't totally clear until a great scene involving a scrapbook that leads to the denouement. A first class episode of Wagon Train for me. One of my favorites.I believe that McGrath was in more Wagon Train episodes than any other actor with Terry Wilson right behind. Those two seem to hold the show together.