Frontier (1955 TV series)
Encyclopedia
This program should not be confused with Frontiers (TV series)
, the British
program Frontier (1968 TV series), Frontier Justice (TV series)
, Frontier Circus
, or Frontier Doctor
.
Frontier is an NBC
Western
television series which 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
.Frontier aired from September 25, 1955, to September 9, 1956, and ran sporadically in its last five months. Walter 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).
Coy portrayed John Wayne
's doomed brother in the early sequences of the film
The Searchers
. He 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 The Old Ranger, Ronald W. Reagan, Robert Taylor
, and Dale Robertson
.
Frontier ran only a single season but was nominated for a prime time
Emmy Award
. A two-part episode, "King of the Dakotas", aired on November 8 and 15, 1955. One episode focuses on a crossing of Death Valley, California
. "Stillness in Wyoming
" is about a range war
between cattle
ranch
ers and sheepherders. The sons of factional leaders become friends, but one of them is mistakenly shot to death by a mercenary
of the rival group.
Jack Kelly
, who in 1957 launched the role of Bart Maverick in the ABC
Western Maverick
appeared three times on Frontier in the episodes entitled "The Hunted", "The Return of Jubal Dolan" (as lead character), and "The Hostage".
Best, Dehner, Richards, and Novello appeared in the 1956 segment "The Texicans".
western series, syndicated programs, Boots and Saddles
, Union Pacific
(1958–1959) and Pony Express
(1959–1960).
The series 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 in the 1956-1957 season by Circus Boy
.
Frontiers (TV series)
Frontiers is an eight-part BBC television series, and accompanying book, that explored the boundaries between different countries in the world. Eight writers and journalists in a variety of countries investigated the economic, political, geographical and historical reasons that account for why...
, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
program Frontier (1968 TV series), Frontier Justice (TV series)
Frontier Justice (TV series)
For the NBC western anthology, see Frontier .Frontier Justice is a CBS television Western anthology series which had thirty-one telecasts over the summers of 1958, 1959, and 1961. It was a repackaging of episodes from CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, and was hosted by Lew Ayres, Melvyn...
, Frontier Circus
Frontier Circus
For the NBC program similarly named, see Frontier .Frontier Circus is a short-lived Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s...
, or Frontier Doctor
Frontier Doctor
For the NBC program similarly named, see Frontier .Frontier Doctor is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959.-Synopsis:...
.
Frontier is an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
television series which 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
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, having been preceded by Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
.Frontier aired from September 25, 1955, to September 9, 1956, and ran sporadically in its last five months. Walter Coy
Walter Coy
Walter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...
(1909–1974) narrated
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
the series and starred in occasional episodes, which are dramatizations based on actual events. The program was produced by Worthington Miner
Worthington Miner
Worthington Miner was an American film producer, screenwriter, actor and director. He was married to Frances Fuller and is the grandfather of actress Rachel Miner.-Selected filmography as a producer:...
(1900–1982).
Coy portrayed John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's doomed brother in the early sequences of the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
. He 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
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
series Death Valley Days, which went through a series of hosts, including The Old Ranger, Ronald W. Reagan, Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
, and Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
.
Frontier ran only a single season but was nominated for a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. A two-part episode, "King of the Dakotas", aired on November 8 and 15, 1955. One episode focuses on a crossing of Death Valley, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. "Stillness in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
" is about a range war
Range war
A range war is a type of conflict that occurs in agrarian or stockrearing societies. Typically fought over water rights or grazing rights to unfenced/unowned land, it could pit competing farmers or ranchers against each other...
between cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ers and sheepherders. The sons of factional leaders become friends, but one of them is mistakenly shot to death by a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
of the rival group.
Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly (actor)
Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
, who in 1957 launched the role of Bart Maverick in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Western Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
appeared three times on Frontier in the episodes entitled "The Hunted", "The Return of Jubal Dolan" (as lead character), and "The Hostage".
Notable guest stars
- Claude AkinsClaude AkinsClaude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
- Raymond BaileyRaymond BaileyRaymond Thomas Bailey was an American actor on the Broadway stage, movies, and television. He is best known for his role as wealthy banker, Milburn Drysdale, in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies....
- James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
(as Jason Cartwright in "Out from Texas") - Richard BooneRichard BooneRichard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
(as Everett Brayer in "The Salt War") - Robert BrayRobert BrayRobert E. Bray was an American film and television actor probably best remembered for his role as the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the long-running CBS series Lassie.-Life and career:...
(as the sheriff in "The Hanging at Thunder Butte Creek") - John BromfieldJohn BromfieldJohn Bromfield was an American film and television actor.Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion in college. He served in the United States Navy. In 1948, he twice harpooned a whale in the documentary film Harpoon...
(later star of Sheriff of CochiseSheriff of CochiseSheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the first two seasons, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
) - Sally BrophySally BrophySally Cullen Brophy was a Broadway and television actress and college theatre arts professor.Brophy was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She studied at the Royal Academy in London, and then pursued a career on Broadway. In 1951 she was an understudy in Second Threshold. In 1954-1955, she starred as the...
(as Sally Miller in episodes "In Nebraska" and as Sister Michael in "The Long Road to Tucson" and later a star of NBC's BuckskinBuckskin (TV series)Buckskin is an American Western television series starring Tom Nolan, Sally Brophy, and Mike Road. The series aired on the NBC from July 3, 1958 until May 25, 1959, followed by summer reruns in 1959 and again in 1965.-Synopsis:...
) - George ChandlerGeorge ChandlerGeorge Chandler was an American actor best known for playing the character of "Uncle Petrie" on the television series Lassie...
- Phyllis CoatesPhyllis CoatesPhyllis Coates is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men, and during the first season of the Adventures of Superman television series.-Early life and career:After graduating from high...
- Chuck ConnorsChuck ConnorsChuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
(as Thorpe Henderson in "Assassin" three years before he was cast as Lucas McCainLucas McCainLucas McCain is the rancher and widowed father with a penchant for using his Winchester firearm -- as a last resort -- in the Western television series, The Rifleman, which ran on ABC from 1958-1963. The part was portrayed by the former athlete-turned-actor Chuck Connors...
in ABC's The RiflemanThe RiflemanThe Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
) - Mike ConnorsMike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
(later of CBS's TightropeTightrope (TV series)Tightrope is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960. Produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in association with Screen Gems, the series stars Mike Connors as an undercover agent named "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs...
and MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
) - Richard CrennaRichard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
(in the lead role of the episode "The Ten Days of John Leslie") - Christopher DarkChristopher DarkChristopher Dark was an American actor.Born Alfred Francis DeLeo in New York and died in Hollywood, California .Dark is best remembered as Hank Jaffe in the film World Without End ....
- John DehnerJohn DehnerJohn Dehner was an American actor in radio, television, and films, playing countless roles, often as a droll villain. Between 1941 and 1988, he appeared in over 260 films and television programs. Prior to acting, Dehner had worked as an animator at Walt Disney Studios, and later became a radio...
(as John Masterson in "Georgia Gold") - Jack ElamJack ElamWilliam Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
(as Father Matias in "Ferdinand Meyer's Army" and as Ness Fowler in "Cattle Drive to Casper") - Scott ForbesScott ForbesConrad Scott-Forbes , popularly known as Scott Forbes, was a movie and television actor and screenwriter. In his later career as a screenwriter, he was credited as C. Scott Forbes.-Early years:...
- Beverly GarlandBeverly GarlandBeverly Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons...
(as Sarah Garvey in "Cattle Drive to Casper") - Dabbs GreerDabbs GreerRobert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His distinctive, southern-accented voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as westerns...
- Alan Hale, Jr.Alan Hale, Jr.Alan Hale, Jr. was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Skipper on the popular sitcom Gilligan's Island. Hale was the lookalike son of popular supporting film actor Alan Hale, Sr....
- child actor Tommy KirkTommy KirkThomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of thirteen in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California...
(in "The Devil and Dr. O'Hara"), - Strother MartinStrother MartinStrother Martin was an American actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison "captain" in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the line, "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."-Early life:Strother Martin Jr. was born in Kokomo,...
(as Mayes in "The Well" and Lee in "Patrol") - Jay NovelloJay NovelloJay Novello was an American radio, film, and television character actor.Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944...
- Denver PyleDenver PyleDenver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
- Gilman RankinGilman RankinGilman W. Rankin was a Massachusetts-born actor who appeared primarily in television westerns between 1956 and 1975. Between 1957 and 1959, he had a supporting role as Deputy Charlie Riggs in seven episodes of the series Tombstone Territory...
(as Jed in "Patrol") - Rhodes ReasonRhodes ReasonRhodes Reason is an American actor.Reason is the younger brother of actor Rex Reason, whom he strongly resembles, to the point that many have mistakenly assumed that they were twins. Rhodes Reason is two years younger.-Biography:Reason made his acting start at age 18 in Romeo and Juliet, directed...
- Stafford ReppStafford ReppStafford Alois Repp was an American actor best known for his role as Chief O'Hara on the Batman television series.-Early life:...
- Paul RichardsPaul Richards (actor)Paul Richards was a Jewish American actor who appeared in films and on television in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s until his death from cancer at the age of fifty. He married actress Monica Keating in 1953.Richards guest-starred in a number of classic television western series, including Gunsmoke...
- Gloria TalbottGloria TalbottGloria Talbott was an American film and television actress.-Early life and career:She grew up in Glendale, California...
- Kenneth TobeyKenneth TobeyKenneth Tobey was an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early years:Born in Oakland, California, Tobey was headed for a law career when he first dabbled in acting at the University of California Little Theater...
(as Wade Trippe in episode "In Nebraska", as Gabe Sharp in "Out from Texas", and also in episode "The Hostage") - Tom TryonTom TryonTom Tryon was an American film and television actor, best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal and the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter...
(later Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Texas John SlaughterTexas John SlaughterTexas John Slaughter may refer to:*John Horton Slaughter, the Texas Ranger and Arizona pioneer*Texas John Slaughter , the television series produced by Walt Disney for ABC...
) - Robert VaughnRobert VaughnRobert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
Best, Dehner, Richards, and Novello appeared in the 1956 segment "The Texicans".
Production notes
The series was produced by California National Productions, which also released three syndicatedTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
western series, syndicated programs, Boots and Saddles
Boots and Saddles (TV series)
Boots and Saddles is an American Western television series that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1958. The series was created by Robert A. Cinader.-Synopsis:...
, Union Pacific
Union Pacific (TV series)
Union Pacific is a Western television series starring Jeff Morrow, Judson Pratt and Susan Cummings that aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959...
(1958–1959) and Pony Express
Pony Express (TV series)
Pony Express is a half-hour syndicated western television series which ended its 39-episode schedule in 1960, the centennial of the launching of the Pony Express, a short-lived venture promoted by William Hepburn Russell of the freight company Russell, Majors and Waddell...
(1959–1960).
The series aired at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Sundays following the sitcom It's a Great Life
It's a Great Life
It's a Great Life is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1956...
. Its principal competition was on CBS: the alternating comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
programs, The Jack Benny Show and Private Secretary
Private Secretary (TV series)
Private Secretary is an American sitcom that aired from February 1, 1953 to September 10, 1957 on CBS, alternating with The Jack Benny Program on Sundays at 7:30pm EST...
with Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
. Frontier was replaced in the 1956-1957 season by Circus Boy
Circus Boy
Circus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960...
.