Login
Login

Frontier Circus

{{Short description|American Western TV series (1961–1962)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = James Edward Barton (1890-1962) in 1962.jpg

| caption = James Barton with Nan Peterson (left) and Jackie Russell in "The Clan MacDuff" episode, 1962

| genre = Western

| creator = Samuel A. Peeples

| writer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| director = {{Plainlist|

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer = David Buttolph

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 26

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| camera = Single-camera

| runtime = 60 minutes

| company = {{Plainlist|

}}

| channel = CBS

| first_aired = {{start date|1961|10|05}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1962|09|06}}

}}

Frontier Circus is an American Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s. Filmed by Revue Productions, the program originally aired on CBS from October 5, 1961, until September 20, 1962. It was also shown on the BBC in England.

Overview

The show's setting was the T & T Circus in the late 1800s in the American Southwest. Colonel Casey Thompson, played by Chill Wills, and Ben Travis, played by John Derek, were the co-owners. Richard Jaeckel portrayed Tony Gentry, the circus's scout.{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present |date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page=307|edition=4th}}{{cite magazine|date=5 November 2024|access-date=5 November 2024|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=The Cinema of John Derek, Movie Star|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-cinema-of-john-derek-movie-star/}}

Episodes depicted interactions of circus personnel with each other and with outsiders whom they encountered as they traveled from one town to another via wagon train. (The TV series Wagon Train provided inspiration for Frontier Circus.{{cite book |last1=Capua |first1=Michelangelo |title=John Derek: Actor, Director, Photographer |date=March 20, 2020 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7588-6 |pages=87–89 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lunaDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frontier+Circus%22&pg=PA87 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |language=en}})

Guest stars

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}

{{div col end}}

Episodes

{{Episode table |background= |overall=5 |title= |director=14 |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|Title = The Depths of Fear

|DirectedBy = William Witney

|WrittenBy = Samuel A. Peeples

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|10|5}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|Title = The Smallest Target

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|10|12}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|Title = Lippizan

|DirectedBy = William Witney

|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Lawrence Kimble|s=Dorothy C. Fontana}}

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|10|19}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|Title = Dr. Sam

|DirectedBy = John English

|WrittenBy = Jean Holloway

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|10|26}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=5

|Title = The Hunter and the Hunted

|DirectedBy = Alan Crosland Jr.

|WrittenBy = Frank Price

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|11|2}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=6

|Title = Karina

|DirectedBy = Sydney Pollack

|WrittenBy = Jean Holloway

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|11|9}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=7

|Title = Journey from Hannibal

|DirectedBy = Don Weis

|WrittenBy = Frank Price

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|11|16}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=8

|Title = Winter Quarters

|DirectedBy = John English

|WrittenBy = Steven Thornley

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|11|23}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=9

|Title = The Patriarch of Purgatory

|DirectedBy = William Witney

|WrittenBy = Les Crutchfield

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|11|30}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=10

|Title = The Shaggy Kings

|DirectedBy = Richard Irving

|WrittenBy = Samuel A. Peeples

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1961|12|7}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=11

|Title = Coals of Fire

|DirectedBy = William Witney

|WrittenBy = Shimon Wincelberg

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|1|4}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=12

|Title = The Balloon Girl

|DirectedBy = Gilbert L. Kay

|WrittenBy = Vince Skarstedt

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|1|11}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=13

|Title = Mr. Grady Regrets

|DirectedBy = Don Weis

|WrittenBy = Lawrence Kimble

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|1|25}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=14

|Title = Quick Shuffle

|DirectedBy = Robert Gist

|WrittenBy = Robert E. Thompson

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|2|1}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=15

|Title = The Courtship

|DirectedBy = Hollingsworth Morse

|WrittenBy = Frank Price

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|2|15}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=16

|Title = Stopover in Paradise

|DirectedBy = Earl Bellamy

|WrittenBy = Bob Barbash

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|2|22}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=17

|Title = Calamity Circus

|DirectedBy = Lesley Selander

|WrittenBy = Frank Price

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|3|8}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=18

|Title = The Inheritance

|DirectedBy = Sydney Pollack

|WrittenBy = Steven Ritch

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|3|15}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=19

|Title = Naomi Champagne

|DirectedBy = Don Weis

|WrittenBy = Steven Ritch

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|3|29}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=20

|Title = Mighty Like Rouges

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|4|5}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=21

|Title = Never Won Fair Lady

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|4|12}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=22

|Title = The Good Fight

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|4|19}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=23

|Title = The Clan MacDuff

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|4|26}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=24

|Title = The Race

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|5|3}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=25

|Title = The Daring Durandos

|DirectedBy = Robert Gist

|WrittenBy = Donn Mullally & Lee Erwin

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|5|17}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=26

|Title = Incident at Pawnee Gun

|DirectedBy =

|WrittenBy =

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1962|9|6}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=

}}

}}

Production

Frontier Circus was produced by Calliope Productions, Incorporated, and filmed by Revue Productions, Incorporated. Samuel A. Peeples created the show and was the producer, and Richard Irving was the executive producer. Directors included Don Weis, William Witney, and Sydney Pollack. David Buttolph and Jeff Alexander composed the music.{{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Janet L. |title=Sydney Pollack: A Critical Filmography |date=August 13, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0979-9 |page=204 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pg9eCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frontier+Circus%22&pg=PA204 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |language=en}}

Interior shots were filmed on the back lot at Revue's studio. Exterior scenes were filmed at a variety of sites in Nevada and California.

Schedule

Frontier Circus initially was broadcast from 7:30 to 8:30 Eastern Time on Thursdays. In February 1962 it moved to 8-9 p.m. ET on Thursdays. In September 1961 it returned to the original time slot.{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle F. |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present |date=June 24, 2009 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-48320-1 |page=509 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Frontier+Circus%22&pg=PA509 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |language=en}}

Critical response

Richard F. Shepard, writing in The New York Times, described the initial episode as "a cross between an adult Western and a horse-drawn study of mental cases."{{cite news |title='Frontier Circus' Seen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/06/archives/frontier-circus-seen.html |access-date=April 11, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=October 6, 1961 |page=71|url-access=subscription}} Noting that the episode dealt with one lion tamer who was an alcoholic and one who was sadistic, he wrote, "If frontier circuses ran on and on like this, it's small wonder that the rodeo caught on out West."

A review of that same episode in the trade publication Variety commented, "The sawdust-and-sagebrush saga is strictly a potboiler, and its only saving grace is that it doesn't pretend to be anything more."{{cite magazine |date=October 11, 1961 |page=36 |title=Frontier Circus |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1961-10/page/n123/mode/1up |accessdate=April 12, 2023}} It noted the similarity of the show's concept to that of Wagon Train but added, ". . . the similarity ends where script quality begins. This is pure escape stuff . . .".

Home media

Timeless Media Group released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on April 20, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Frontier-Circus-Complete-Series/9848|title=Frontier Circus - The Complete Series|publisher=tvshowsondvd.com|accessdate=January 24, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831041548/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Frontier-Circus-Complete-Series/9848|archivedate=August 31, 2010}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{IMDb title|id=0054540|title=Frontier Circus}}

Category:1961 American television series debuts

Category:1962 American television series endings

Category:Television series set in the 1880s

Category:Black-and-white American television shows

Category:CBS original programming

Category:Television shows set in circuses

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:1960s Western (genre) television series

Category:Television series by Universal Television