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Reviews
Wagon Train: The Julie Gage Story (1957)
A "Kiss Me, Kate" Tie-In
Whoever cast this episode with real-life husband-wife performers Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys must have done so with a knowing wink, as the episode is a variation on the plot of Cole Porter's "Kiss Me, Kate," which had also been done in musical theatre by Miss Jeffreys. It begins with Miss Jeffreys' "Julie" having lost her father to "the fever." (Her quick acknowledgment of her fellow passengers' concern and determination to "go it alone" prompts Ward Bond's "Major Adams" to play matchmaker.). Suitor after suitor pesters Miss Jeffreys until the initially combative Sterling poses as her husband after she nurses him through another bout of fever. Well, you can turn to the Bard or Cole Porter for the outcome. Sterling and Jeffreys are charming performers and are obviously enjoying their roles here (though I find Jeffreys' make-up oddly anachronistic).