Anybody who loved the short-lived NBC western television series "Laredo" will enjoy the final third season episode of "The Virginian" because the Borden Chase teleplay for "We've Lost a Train" was the basis for "Laredo." Later, this episode was extended from other "The Virginian" episodes as well as "Laredo" episodes and Universal Studios theatrically released it as a feature, "Backtrack!," in 1969. For more information about "Backtrack!," peruse my IMDb review of that film.
The action in "We've Lost a Train" takes series regular Trampas (Doug McClure) south to Mexico on the Virginian's orders to pick up a bull from Don Carlos Alvarez. The Virginian warns Trampas not to get involved in liquor, ladies, and cards. Everything goes well enough until our hero reaches Laredo and finds himself in a tight spot after he winds up between fiery red-haired saloon owner Carmelita Flanagan (Rhonda Fleming of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") and Texas Ranger Reese Bennett (Neville Brand of "D.O.A.")who is jealous of anybody who Carmelita becomes infatuated with in her saloon. Carmelita steals Trampas' revolver to prevent a shoot-out between Reese and the Wyoming cowpoke. No sooner than she takes him to her room does he find himself in more trouble from another amorous Texas Ranger, Chad (Peter Brown of the Warner Brothers' television series "Lawman"), and they swap blows over Carmelita. During their brief brawl, Trampas falls down the stairs, slams into a waiter carrying a tray of drinks and splashes a third Texas Ranger, Joe Riley (William Smith of "Conan the Barbarian") and now Trampas has three Texas Rangers to tangle with but he is fortunate. None of the trio can contend with him because a higher authority, their superior Captain Edward Parmalee (Philip Carey of "The Great Sioux Massacre"), summons them and sends them off on a mission to find a missing train. Meantime, they learn that Trampas is riding in their direction, so they invite him to ride with them. Essentially, all Borden Chase has done is recycle Dumas' classic French adventure novel "The Three Musketeers" so that Trampas emerges as the equivalent of D'Artagnan and King Louis' flamboyant swordsmen, the Three Musketeers, become three Texas Rangers.
They find the train with everybody on board dead, the gold shipment missing, and an infant survivor desperately in need of nourishment. Since a Mexican border town is closer than riding back to an American town, our quartet of horsemen cross the Rio Grande and promptly clash with an unsavory Rurale, Captain Estrada (Fernando Lamas of "Congo Crossing")who orders them to cross back over to Texas. Naturally, our duty-bound Rangers ignore his advice, ride up river a ways, and re-enter Mexico. They ride to a village called Palmero where they hand the baby over to a single mother, Mama Dolores (Ida Lupino of "The Bigamist")who has her sights set on marrying Reese. Before she can orchestrate a wedding, Yaqui thieves descend on the village and our heroes ascend to the roof of the Cantina del Oro and pick them off until they retreat. No sooner have they restored order than Captain Estrada and his Rurales arrive. They have a showdown in the cantina and back Estrada off. He doesn't want to face four guns alone so he retreats.
While Trampas picks up the bull from Don Carlos, our Texas Rangers track down the gun runners, clobber them, and spike the barrels of the Winchester repeaters that they plan to sell to the Yaquis in exchange for the gold from the train robbery. Of course, nothing is a picnic and Captain Estrada captures them as well as Trampas on his way north with the bull. Before the gun runners can sell the guns, Chad challenges Estrada to kill them with military honors in front of a firing squad. Predictably, the rifles blow up in the firing squad's faces and the Yaqui butcher the Rurales while our heroes slip away with the gold. They get back to Laredo, but Parmalee sends them back to fetch the baby and Trampas returns with the bull to Shiloh Ranch.
This easy-going, occasionally violent oater (there's a rather large blood squid on one Yaqui's neck treats us to the camaraderie of the Texas Rangers. Peter Brown told me that everybody had a blast making this pilot episode. Fernando Lamas makes an appropriately treacherous Mexican Rurale who is corrupt. Rhonda Fleming provides the sexuality and the last shot of Captain Paramlee heading off to a rendezvous with her is ironic. This qualified as an amusing pilot to a fantastic western television series.
The action in "We've Lost a Train" takes series regular Trampas (Doug McClure) south to Mexico on the Virginian's orders to pick up a bull from Don Carlos Alvarez. The Virginian warns Trampas not to get involved in liquor, ladies, and cards. Everything goes well enough until our hero reaches Laredo and finds himself in a tight spot after he winds up between fiery red-haired saloon owner Carmelita Flanagan (Rhonda Fleming of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") and Texas Ranger Reese Bennett (Neville Brand of "D.O.A.")who is jealous of anybody who Carmelita becomes infatuated with in her saloon. Carmelita steals Trampas' revolver to prevent a shoot-out between Reese and the Wyoming cowpoke. No sooner than she takes him to her room does he find himself in more trouble from another amorous Texas Ranger, Chad (Peter Brown of the Warner Brothers' television series "Lawman"), and they swap blows over Carmelita. During their brief brawl, Trampas falls down the stairs, slams into a waiter carrying a tray of drinks and splashes a third Texas Ranger, Joe Riley (William Smith of "Conan the Barbarian") and now Trampas has three Texas Rangers to tangle with but he is fortunate. None of the trio can contend with him because a higher authority, their superior Captain Edward Parmalee (Philip Carey of "The Great Sioux Massacre"), summons them and sends them off on a mission to find a missing train. Meantime, they learn that Trampas is riding in their direction, so they invite him to ride with them. Essentially, all Borden Chase has done is recycle Dumas' classic French adventure novel "The Three Musketeers" so that Trampas emerges as the equivalent of D'Artagnan and King Louis' flamboyant swordsmen, the Three Musketeers, become three Texas Rangers.
They find the train with everybody on board dead, the gold shipment missing, and an infant survivor desperately in need of nourishment. Since a Mexican border town is closer than riding back to an American town, our quartet of horsemen cross the Rio Grande and promptly clash with an unsavory Rurale, Captain Estrada (Fernando Lamas of "Congo Crossing")who orders them to cross back over to Texas. Naturally, our duty-bound Rangers ignore his advice, ride up river a ways, and re-enter Mexico. They ride to a village called Palmero where they hand the baby over to a single mother, Mama Dolores (Ida Lupino of "The Bigamist")who has her sights set on marrying Reese. Before she can orchestrate a wedding, Yaqui thieves descend on the village and our heroes ascend to the roof of the Cantina del Oro and pick them off until they retreat. No sooner have they restored order than Captain Estrada and his Rurales arrive. They have a showdown in the cantina and back Estrada off. He doesn't want to face four guns alone so he retreats.
While Trampas picks up the bull from Don Carlos, our Texas Rangers track down the gun runners, clobber them, and spike the barrels of the Winchester repeaters that they plan to sell to the Yaquis in exchange for the gold from the train robbery. Of course, nothing is a picnic and Captain Estrada captures them as well as Trampas on his way north with the bull. Before the gun runners can sell the guns, Chad challenges Estrada to kill them with military honors in front of a firing squad. Predictably, the rifles blow up in the firing squad's faces and the Yaqui butcher the Rurales while our heroes slip away with the gold. They get back to Laredo, but Parmalee sends them back to fetch the baby and Trampas returns with the bull to Shiloh Ranch.
This easy-going, occasionally violent oater (there's a rather large blood squid on one Yaqui's neck treats us to the camaraderie of the Texas Rangers. Peter Brown told me that everybody had a blast making this pilot episode. Fernando Lamas makes an appropriately treacherous Mexican Rurale who is corrupt. Rhonda Fleming provides the sexuality and the last shot of Captain Paramlee heading off to a rendezvous with her is ironic. This qualified as an amusing pilot to a fantastic western television series.
