Frontier Circus (1961–1962)

A one-ring circus travels through the American West in the 1880's.

Creator:

Samuel A. Peeples

Stars:

Chill Wills, John Derek, Richard Jaeckel

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Chill Wills	...	Colonel Casey Thompson (26 episodes, 1961-1962)
John Derek	...	Ben Travis (26 episodes, 1961-1962)
Richard Jaeckel	...	Tony Gentry (26 episodes, 1961-1962)

Storyline

A one-ring circus travels through the American West in the 1880's.

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Plot Keywords:

circus

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1961 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Calliope Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (26 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Jury of Her Peers (1961)

User Reviews

Holy Blended Genres, Batman!

This is an obscure one. "Frontier Circus" ran on CBS for 26 (hour-long) episodes during the 1961-62 broadcast season; I don't recall ever seeing it turn up in syndication. Technically it is a western; shot in black and white two years after Bonanza had begun bringing color westerns into America's living rooms, which gave it little chance for success.

The networks were desperately seeking a gimmick to distinguish their offerings from the mass of television westerns getting air time in 1961. CBS remembered that "Circus Boy" had been a modest success in a 30 minute format for two seasons (1956-1958). And Disney had just done well with their January 1960 theatrical release of "Toby Tyler (or Ten Weeks with a Circus)". So they made a series about a circus traveling around the Old West in the 1880's.

Character actor Chill Wills (who had been the voice of "Francis, The Talking Mule") plays Colonel Casey Thompson who runs the T&T circus with Ben Travis (John Derek before he married Ursula Andress, Linda Evans, and Bo Derek). Richard Jaeckel plays T&T advance man Tony Gentry (sort of a Rowdy Yates of the circus set).

The show was an interesting blend of circus acts, Indian fights, and shootouts with assorted bad hombres.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.