"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" (1955) TV series 1955-1958

Creators:

Fran Striker
George W. Trendle

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

29 September 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

Canadian Mountie Sgt. Preston patrols the wilds of the Yukon with his horse Rex and his faithful dog Yukon King, battling both the elements and criminals.

Plot Keywords:

Mounted Police Officer | Police Officer | Canada | Police | Sergeant

Cast

Dick Simmons	...	Sgt. Preston (78 episodes, 1955-1958)
Yukon King	...	King / ... (78 episodes, 1955-1958)

Runtime:

30 min (78 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Trendle-Campbell-Meurer Inc.

Trivia:

The theme song for this series, like that of "The Lone Ranger" (1949), is from the operatic repertoire. The music is adapted from the "Overture to Donna Diana: by 'Nikolaus von Reznicek'.

Quotes:

Announcer: Sergeant Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police with Yukon King, swiftest and strongest lead dog breaking the trail in the relentless pursuit of lawbreakers, in the wild days of the Yukon. Back to the days of the Gold Rush, as Sergeant Preston, with his wonder dog, Yukon King, meets the challenge of the Yukon.
[map of Yukon Territory appears on screen]
Announcer: This is the Yukon . . .

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Sgt. Swell of the Mounties (1972)

Northern Landscape and Fashion

I also watched this as a 50s kid in Los Angeles - all the other shows (with pretty much the same plots) were about cowboys or, more interestingly, cops: Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, more interestingly Dragnet, 77 Sunset Strip. Preston was the first I ever knew featuring a landscape of snow, with tall evergreens, whistling wind and log cabins, exists. And how much more impressive Preston looked than any cowboy, crouching in the snow with his massive black (b/w the only colors) fur coat and fur hat - only rarely the dress (red) coat and round Mounty hat. I also recall that you could buy and Mom did buy a certain cereal to get Sergeant Preston "snow goggles" to prevent snow blindness, which were cardboard spectacles with a narrow slit to look through - either they came in the box or you cut them out from the box itself (accurate reminder appreciated - eBay URL would be even better.)