Frontier (1955 TV series)

For other uses, see Frontiers.
Frontier

Guest star James Best
Genre Western anthology series
Created by Morton S. Fine
David Friedkin
Directed by Worthington Miner
Sidney Lumet
Don Siegel
Narrated by Walter Coy
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 31
Production
Producer(s) Worthington Miner
Matthew Rapf
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 25 mins.
Production company(s) California National Productions
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format Black-and-white
Audio format Monaural
Original release September 25, 1955 (1955-09-25) – September 9, 1956 (1956-09-09)

Frontier is an American Western anthology series that aired on NBC from September 1955, to September 1956. The series de-emphasizes gunplay and focuses on the hazards of the settlement of the American West. It was only the second anthology Western series in television history, having been preceded by Death Valley Days.[1]

Frontier aired premiered on September 25, 1955, and ran sporadically in its last five months. Walter Coy narrated the series and starred in occasional episodes, which are dramatizations based on actual events. The program was produced by Worthington Miner.[1]

Premise

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 (known on the program as The Old Ranger), Ronald W. Reagan, Robert Taylor, and Dale Robertson.[2]

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" (as lead character), and "The Hostage". Robert Vaughn was Kelly's co-star in "The Return of Jubal Dolan."

Guest stars

Production notes

The series was produced by California National Productions, which also released three syndicated western series, Boots and Saddles, Union Pacific (1958–1959) and Pony Express (1959–1960).[3]

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 1956-1957 season by Circus Boy.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 307
  2. ↑ "Frontier (1955-1956)". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Boots and Saddles". Classic TV Archives. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ McNeil, Total Television, appendix

External links

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