John Ford's The Colter Craven Story

John Ford's "The Colter Craven Story" was an episode of the series Wagon Train that Ford did as a favor to Ward Bond, the series star who had appeared in many Ford films, including Wagon Master (1950), the original source for the TV series.  Ford also used outdoor footage from Wagon Master on "The Colter Craven Story" in order to avoid the claustrophobia of most TV Westerns.

Wagon Train lasted eight years on network TV; in 1959 there were 26 Westerns on prime-time TV.  They disappeared for a number of political and economic reasons:  the Vietnam War reminded us of how Native Americans had been treated in this country, Westerns became expensive to make as color took over TV, and many adults considered Westerns too violent for children, who were a big part of the audience, along with older adults, as advertisers looked for the best demographics, primarily in the 18-45 age range.

"The Colter Craven Story" effectively uses many John Ford regulars --  Jack Pennick, John Carradine, Mae Marsh, Anna Lee, Hank Worden -- in a story about an alcoholic doctor who had turned to drink after the Civil War battle Shiloh, when he could save very few of the wounded.  Bond tells the doctor the story of his old friend General Grant, who had been kicked out of the army for drunkenness but had redeemed himself.  Bond's flashback to Shiloh even includes a brief glimpse of John Wayne as Sherman (Wayne plays the same role in Ford's short but poetic section of How the West Was Won, 1962).  Dr. Craven redeems himself by delivering a baby for parents who had already had four children die, the most recent nine years ago.

John Ford and Ward Bond were both alcoholics.  Ford made his last film in 1966 and died in 1973 at the age of 79. Bond died at the age of 57 in 1960, before "The Colter Craven Story" was broadcast.