| Frontier Circus | |
|---|---|
James Barton in The Clan MacDuff episode, 1962. |
|
| Genre | Western |
| Written by | Samuel A. Peeples Frank Price |
| Directed by | Tay Garnett William Witney |
| Starring | J. Pat O'Malley [Chill Wills]] |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Black and white (1961-1962) |
| Original run | October 5, 1961 – September 6, 1962 |
For the NBC program similarly named, see Frontier (1955 TV series).
Frontier Circus is a short-lived Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s. The show aired on the CBS television network from October 5, 1961, until September 6, 1962 and was filmed by Revue Productions.
The show featured such veteran Western television and movie performers as , Chill Wills as character "Colonel Kasey Thompson," John Derek as character "Ben Travis," Richard Jaeckel as character "Scout Tony Gentry," and J. Pat O'Malley as character "Duffy," Characters Thompson and Travis were the owners of the Thompson/Travis Frontier circus. The circus ran into lots of difficulties and troubled characters during its short run.
Adam Kennedy and Robert F. Simon guest starred as Sam Hagen and Jess Bailey, respectively, in the episode "Stopover in Paradise." George Macready appeared as John Duncan in "The Good Fight." Barbara Stuart appeared as Melda in the 1961 episode "Karina." John M. Pickard guest starred as Deputy Murdoch in "Incident at Pawnee Gun."
The difference between its plot and the plot of most standard Westerns may have led to its short run. Frontier Circus has not been syndicated in the US since its cancellation.
Frontier Circus ran opposite two ABC sitcoms, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Donna Reed Show and another western series, The Outlaws on NBC, starring Barton MacLane and Don Collier.
Contents |
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Depths of Fear" | October 5, 1961 |
| 2 | "The Smallest Target" | October 12, 1961 |
| 3 | "Lippizan" | October 19, 1961 |
| 4 | "Dr. Sam" | October 26, 1961 |
| 5 | "The Hunter and the Hunted" | November 2, 1961 |
| 6 | "Karina" | November 9, 1961 |
| 7 | "Journey from Hannibal" | November 16, 1961 |
| 8 | "Winter Quarters" | November 23, 1961 |
| 9 | "The Patriarch of Purgatory" | November 30, 1961 |
| 10 | "The Shaggy Kings" | December 7, 1961 |
| 11 | "Coals of Fire" | January 4, 1962 |
| 12 | "The Balloon Girl" | January 11, 1962 |
| 13 | "Mr. Grady Regrets" | January 25, 1962 |
| 14 | "Quick Shuffle" | February 1, 1962 |
| 15 | "The Courtship" | February 19, 1962 |
| 16 | "Stopover in Paradise" | February 22, 1962 |
| 17 | "Calamity Circus" | March 8, 1962 |
| 18 | "The Inheritance" | March 15, 1962 |
| 19 | "Naomi Champagne" | March 29, 1962 |
| 20 | "Mighty Like Rogues" | April 5, 1962 |
| 21 | "Never Won Fair Lady" | April 12, 1962 |
| 22 | "The Good Fight" | April 19, 1962 |
| 23 | "The Clan MacDuff" | April 26, 1962 |
| 24 | "The Race" | May 3, 1962 |
| 25 | "The Daring Durandos" | May 17, 1962 |
| 26 | "Incident at Pawnee Gun" | September 6, 1962 |
Timeless Media Group released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on April 20, 2010.[1]