Difference between revisions of "Frontier (1955 TV series)"
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'''''Frontier''''' is an [[United States|American]] [[western]] [[television]] anthology series that aired on [[NBC]] from September 1955 to September 1956.<ref name="B&M">Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present,'' Ballantine Books, p. 441.</ref> The series de-emphasizes gunplay and focuses on the hazards of the settlement of the American West. It was the second anthology western series in television history.''<ref name=tt>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'' (New York: Penguin Books, 1996), 4th ed., p. 307.</ref> | '''''Frontier''''' is an [[United States|American]] [[western]] [[television]] anthology series that aired on [[NBC]] from September 1955 to September 1956.<ref name="B&M">Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present,'' Ballantine Books, p. 441.</ref> The series de-emphasizes gunplay and focuses on the hazards of the settlement of the American West. It was the second anthology western series in television history.''<ref name=tt>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'' (New York: Penguin Books, 1996), 4th ed., p. 307.</ref> | ||
Revision as of 17:23, May 13, 2021
Frontier is an American western television anthology series that aired on NBC from September 1955 to September 1956.[1] The series de-emphasizes gunplay and focuses on the hazards of the settlement of the American West. It was the second anthology western series in television history.[2]
Frontier ran sporadically in its last five months. Walter Darwin Coy (1909-1974) narrated the series and starred in occasional episodes, which are dramatizations based on actual events. The program was produced by Worthington Miner (1900-1982).[2]
Walter Coy begins each Frontier episode with the line: "This is the way it happened ... movin' west," and he closed with the refrain: "It happened that way ... movin' west." Frontier is similar in scope to its predecessor and longer-lasting syndicated series Death Valley Days, which went through a series of hosts, including Stanley Andrews (1891-1969) (known on the program as The Old Ranger), Ronald W. Reagan, Robert Taylor (1911-1969), and Dale Robertson (1923-2013).[3]
Frontier ran only a single season but was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Jack Kelly, who in 1957 launched the role of Bart Maverick in the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Maverick, appeared three times on Frontier in the episodes entitled "The Hunted", "The Return of Jubal Dolan" (with Robert Vaughn), and "The Hostage."
Guest stars
- Raymond Bailey
- James Best
- Richard Boone
- Robert Bray
- John Bromfield
- Sally Brophy
- George Chandler
- Phyllis Coates
- Chuck Connors
- Mike Connors
- Richard Crenna
- Jack Elam
- Beverly Garland
- Dabbs Greer
- Alan Hale, Jr.
- Tommy Kirk
- Strother Martin
- Denver Pyle
- Stuart Randall
- Gloria Saunders
- Gloria Talbott
- Carol Thurston
Production notes
The series was produced by California National Productions, which also released three syndicated western series, Boots and Saddles, Union Pacific (1958–59) and Pony Express (1959–60).[4]
Frontier aired at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Sundays following the sitcom It's a Great Life. Its principal competition was on CBS: the alternating comedy programs, The Jack Benny Show and Private Secretary with Ann Sothern. Frontier was replaced on NBC in the 1956–57 season by Circus Boy.[5]
References
- ↑ Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present, Ballantine Books, p. 441.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alex McNeil, Total Television (New York: Penguin Books, 1996), 4th ed., p. 307.
- ↑ Frontier (1955-1956). Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on August 27, 2020.
- ↑ Boots and Saddles. Classic TV Archives. Retrieved on August 27, 2020.
- ↑ McNeil, Total Television, appendix.
