"Daniel Boone" (1964) TV series 1964-1970

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Nathan Juran
George Marshall

Writers:

Erich Faust (story) (episode "Heroes Welcome")
Martin Levy (adaptation) (episode "Scrinshaw Ivory Chart, The")
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

24 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | History | Western

Plot:

Frontier hero Daniel Boone conducts surveys and expeditions around Boonesborough, running into both friendly and hostile Indians...

Plot Keywords:

Frontier | Daniel Boone | Folk Hero | Faithful Indian | Raccoon Cap

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fess Parker	...	Daniel Boone (94 episodes, 1964-1970)
Patricia Blair	...	Rebecca Boone / ... (63 episodes, 1964-1970)
Darby Hinton	...	Israel Boone / ... (57 episodes, 1964-1970)
Ed Ames	...	Mingo / ... (52 episodes, 1964-1968)

(more)

Series Directed by
William Wiard		(36 episodes, 1966-1970)
Nathan Juran		(29 episodes, 1965-1970)
George Sherman		(11 episodes, 1965-1966)
George Marshall		(10 episodes, 1964-1970)
John Florea		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
Gerd Oswald		(8 episodes, 1966-1967)
John English		(6 episodes, 1964-1965)
Earl Bellamy		(6 episodes, 1966-1967)
Fess Parker		(5 episodes, 1968-1970)
Harry Harris		(4 episodes, 1964-1965)
R.G. Springsteen		(4 episodes, 1966-1967)
William Witney		(4 episodes, 1966-1967)
Thomas Carr		(3 episodes, 1964)
Paul Landres		(3 episodes, 1965)
John Newland		(3 episodes, 1967-1969)
Byron Paul		(2 episodes, 1964)
James B. Clark		(2 episodes, 1965-1967)
Maurice Geraghty		(2 episodes, 1965)
Alex Nicol		(2 episodes, 1966)
Barry Shear		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Writing credits
D.D. Beauchamp		(31 episodes, 1965-1969)
David Duncan		(21 episodes, 1964-1970)
Raphael Hayes		(14 episodes, 1965-1969)
Melvin Levy		(13 episodes, 1965-1970)
Jack Guss		(8 episodes, 1966-1970)
Judith Barrows		(7 episodes, 1966-1969)
Carey Wilber		(5 episodes, 1965)
Merwin Gerard		(5 episodes, 1967-1970)
Jim Byrnes		(4 episodes, 1967-1970)
Martha Wilkerson		(4 episodes, 1967-1970)
Irve Tunick		(4 episodes, 1968-1970)
John Hawkins		(3 episodes, 1964-1965)
Herman Miller		(3 episodes, 1964-1965)
Paul King		(3 episodes, 1964)
Walter Black		(3 episodes, 1965-1970)
Thomas P. Levy		(3 episodes, 1965-1969)
Thomas W. Blackburn		(3 episodes, 1965-1967)
Stephen Lord		(3 episodes, 1965-1966)
Herman Groves		(3 episodes, 1965)
William Driskill		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Rick Husky		(3 episodes, 1967-1970)
Harold Medford		(3 episodes, 1967-1969)
Joel Oliansky		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Terry Kingsley-Smith		(3 episodes, 1967)
Don Balluck		(3 episodes, 1968-1970)
Lee Karson		(3 episodes, 1968-1970)
Paul Savage		(2 episodes, 1964-1966)
Frank Chase		(2 episodes, 1965-1969)
Clyde Ware		(2 episodes, 1965-1967)
Clair Huffaker		(2 episodes, 1965)
Dick Nelson		(2 episodes, 1965)
Frank L. Moss		(2 episodes, 1966-1969)
Sid Harris		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Bloomfield		(2 episodes, 1966)
Richard Collins		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Paul Playdon		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Robert Guy Barrows		(2 episodes, 1967)
Harry Basch		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Patricia Falkenhagen		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Martin Levy		(2 episodes, 1968)
Al Ramrus		(2 episodes, 1969-1970)
John Herman Shaner		(2 episodes, 1969-1970)
Lionel E. Siegel		(2 episodes, 1969-1970)
Erich Faust		(1 episode, 1968)

Series Produced by
George Sherman	....	producer (66 episodes, 1965-1967)
Aaron Rosenberg	....	executive producer (6 episodes, 1964-1969)
Barney Rosenzweig	....	producer (3 episodes, 1967-1969)
Joseph Silver	....	associate producer (3 episodes, 1967-1969)
Ted Schilz	....	associate producer / producer (2 episodes, 1965-1969)
Bernard Wiesen	....	associate producer (2 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Original Music by
Alexander Courage		(1 episode, 1965)
Ken Darby		(1 episode, 1965)
Harry Sukman		(1 episode, 1967)
Arthur Morton		(1 episode, 1969)

Series Cinematography by
Jack Swain		(4 episodes, 1965-1969)
Paul Ivano		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Lester Orlebeck		(12 episodes, 1968-1969)
Harry Coswick		(3 episodes, 1967-1969)
Otto Ludwig		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Ross Brown		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Jack Martin Smith		(5 episodes, 1965-1969)
John M. Elliott		(4 episodes, 1965-1969)

Series Set Decoration by
Walter M. Scott		(4 episodes, 1965-1969)
Frank Wade		(3 episodes, 1965-1968)

Series Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist supervisor (unknown episodes)
Ben Nye	....	makeup supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
William Self	....	executive in charge of production: Twentieth Century Fox Television / executive in charge of production / ... (7 episodes, 1965-1969)
Jack Sonntag	....	production supervisor (4 episodes, 1966-1969)
Ted Schilz	....	unit production manager (2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Samuel E. Beetley	....	post-production supervisor (2 episodes, 1968-1969)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Lannan	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Fred R. Simpson	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Terrance Emerson	....	sound cable man (1 episode, 1966)
Edward Rossi	....	sound effects editor (1 episode, 1967)
Ralph Hickey	....	supervising sound effects editor (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Thomas Robinson Harper	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Concialdi	....	clapper loader (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Robert Mintz	....	post-production coordinator (3 episodes, 1965-1967)

Series Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	music supervisor / composer: theme music / ... (6 episodes, 1965-1969)
Leonard A. Engel	....	supervising music editor (2 episodes, 1965-1967)
George Korngold	....	music editor (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (56 episodes, 1964-1970)

Series Other crew
Ted Schilz	....	assistant to producer / production coordinator (3 episodes, 1965-1966)
David Humphreys Miller	....	technical advisor: India (2 episodes, 1965)
Joseph Silver	....	assistant to producer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Arcola Pictures
• Fespar Enterprises
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• 20th Century Fox Television

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964-1970) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• 20th Century Fox Television (1970-) (USA) (TV)
• Liberation Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Goldhil Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Deluxe  color by (as De Luxe)

Runtime:

60 min (165 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Arcola Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels' (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Daniel Boone

Enjoyable, Kid-Friendly & Refreshingly Non-PC!

The "Daniel Boone" series is uneven in its qualities, but overall its a good program. Fess Parker presents a stoic, humble and admirable Daniel Boone, who fights for fair play. Blood and gore is kept to a minimum, but there is still plenty of adventure and suspense. The acting by lesser characters is sometimes poor, especially in some of the middle and later episodes, but Parker, Ed Ames, Patricia Blair and Dallas McKennon keep things good. And the show is meant to be fun. While it often presents a moral, it doesn't have the dreary, preachy quality that so many shows from the '70s onwards have.

There are historical inaccuracies, such as Eastern Woodland Indians living in teepees rather than wigwams, Whites not always wearing the costumes of the time, a mixed-up chronology, and Daniel having the ability to quickly dash off from Kentucky to the eastern colonies almost at will. And some episodes with historical figures such as Lafayette, Aaron Burr, Beaumarchais and Patrick Henry are fictionalized. On the other hand, the show preserves some of the spirit of the frontier and the period, which is not often seen these days. Also, the real Daniel Boone was a humane, honorable man who was highly respected by many Indians and Whites of his day, as he is portrayed in the series.

Its very striking how different "Daniel Boone" is compared with current-day movies and TV shows. In "Daniel Boone," Daniel and his half-breed friend Mingo are definitely heroes. Mingo, who was taken to England as a boy and educated at Oxford, has a deep love for classical European literature, music and philosophy. The goodness of the American Revolutionary cause is assumed. While some of the enemy British soldiers and Indians are treacherous, several of them are also shown as being decent and honorable. Daniel and many of his friends believe in and fight for freedom, private property, law and civilization. Some of the white frontiersmen are bad, but some are good, and many are just trying to find a better life in Kentucky for their families.

If "Daniel Boone" was produced by the politically-correct and supposedly "open-minded, enlightened" Hollywood people of today, Daniel would be a psychologically-conflicted man, continually fighting his rapacious urges that stem from his white culture. Mingo would decide to go completely native and would be continually ashamed of his British education. Daniel's Indian enemies would be shown as wholly noble and innocent, and they would never commit any atrocities unless in retaliation for worse ones done by the Whites. The American Revolutionaries would get their only legitimate ideas from the Indians. And the worst villains of all would be the English, since in today's Hollywood the pre-Socialist English are considered the world's worst villains ever. Anyone who has closely studied history knows that these politically-correct stereotypes are far from the truth, but its shocking how prevalent they are today.

Therefore, with its flaws, "Daniel Boone" still presents entertaining stories, admirable characters, and some of the fighting spirit and concern for fair play of the past, and that's enough for it to earn good marks with me.