FRONTIER CIRCUS (1961-1962) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

FRONTIER CIRCUS (1961-1962) – The traveling Thompson & Travis Circus roams the 1880s American West performing for audiences and having adventures.

Chill Wills, the voice of Francis the Talking Mule, starred as Colonel Casey Thompson while John Derek (Bo’s husband) portrayed his circus partner Ben Travis. Richard Jaeckel played associate Tony Gentry.

Frontier Circus ran for 26 one-hour episodes in black & white. It’s a nice change of pace among westerns, much like the series Riverboat was.

THE EPISODES:

DEPTHS OF FEAR (1st episode) – Ben Travis signs a formerly great Lion Tamer (Aldo Ray) who has become a town drunk. Ben coaches the man back to performing status despite the attempts to derail him made by a jealous bully. Guest stars Vito Scotti, James Gregory and Bethel Leslie.

THE SMALLEST TARGET – The land that the circus has leased for a week’s worth of perfomances turns out to be owned by the estranged husband (Brian Keith) of female sharpshooter Bonnie Stevens (Barbara Rush), the circus’ star attraction. Tensions between her and her ex and their son cause trouble.

LIPPIZAN – Outlaws steal the circus’ latest haul of cash, prompting Ben Travis to ride after them on a Lippizan Stallion. The horse is killed in Travis’ recovery of the funds and he tries to find a replacement for blind stunt rider Maureen McBride (Vera Miles) to ride. H.M. Wynant and Joan Staley are among the guest cast.

DR. SAM – Casey hires a Dr. Sam Applewhite sight unseen to be the circus’ new doctor. He wants to fire her when it turns out Dr. Applewhite (Irene Dunne) is a woman. Most of the staff disagrees with Casey and the physician proves herself when she performs emergency surgery on a performer.

THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED – Two doctor episodes in a row, strangely enough. When Casey is seriously injured in an accident, Tony Gentry rides to the nearest town in search of a doctor. (Syndicated shows back then ignored continuity so just forget about Dr. Applewhite.) The physician (Eddie Albert) is being held at gunpoint to care for an outlaw’s (Rip Torn) wounded brother. Cloris Leachman guest stars.

KARINA – Elizabeth Montgomery portrays Karina Andrews, who is on the run after shooting her abusive husband. Casey hires her as a human target in the circus’ knife-throwing act but her husband and a posse soon track her down. Tod Andrews and Barbara Stuart guest star.

JOURNEY FROM HANNIBAL – Casey purchases a trained elephant from a circus that is going out of business. The animal must then be picked up and transported across the Kansas Plains to link up with the Thompson & Travis Circus. Thelma Ritter and Arte Johnson guest star. 

WINTER QUARTERS – Casey and Ben are leading their circus toward California to set up winter quarters in a warm climate before snow hits. Rough mountain passes, nature and outlaws hinder their efforts. Alex Cord, Robert J. Wilke and Lane Bradford are in the guest cast.

PATRIARCH OF PURGATORY – When the circus arrives in the mining town of Purgatory they find themselves very unwelcome by the secretive, hiding townspeople. While Ben and Tony fight over a local lady (Carolyn Kearney) they discover that the mine owners are forcing Chinese laborers to work as slaves. Jane Chang, Royal Dano and Robert Sampson guest star. 

THE SHAGGY KINGS – Casey and Ben learn that the circus’ food supply is tainted when performers come down with food poisoning. Weeks away from any town they must hunt wildlife, including buffalo, which pits them against shaggy buffalo “hunters” and Native Americans who are dependent on the animals themselves. Dick York, Frank de Kova and Lorrie Richards guest star.

COALS OF FIRE – THE Sammy Davis Jr. guest stars as Cato Richards, a former slave hired as a roustabout by the Thompson & Travis Circus. A firefight with renegade Comanches reveals that Cato is really a skilled gunfighter using the circus as cover for his revenge quest across the west. Chief Yowlachie and R.G. Armstrong guest star.

THE BALLOON GIRL – The circus hires a sexy woman to sit on balloons. I’m KIDDING! Ben falls in love with a female hot air balloonist (Stella Stevens) whom he hires for the circus. Claude Akins and Hal Needham are among the guest cast.

MR. GRADY REGRETS – Casey hires an old con man friend fresh out of prison for bigamy. When he is then framed for murdering one of his exes, Thompson sends Ben and Tony to track down the real killers before Grady is falsely convicted. Charles Ruggles, Anne Helm and Michael Forest guest star.

QUICK SHUFFLE – When the Thompson & Travis Circus becomes financially strained from its two new big money performers, Ben foolishly enters a high stakes poker game and gets cheated by big-time gambler Luke Santos (Gilbert Roland). Guest stars include Patricia Barry.

THE COURTSHIP – While the circus performs in a town called New Atlanta, Amelia Curtis (Jo Van Fleet), one of the “spinster” daughters of the town founder, wants to marry Casey. To that end she has the town’s harried marshal (Henry Jones) enforce fine print in the circus’ contract with New Atlanta. 

STOPOVER IN PARADISE – When the circus signs a long-term performance contract with the town of Paradise, a female rancher (Carolyn Jones) proves to be a tough negotiator regarding supplies. Ben takes over the negotiations and the two fall in love. Robert F. Simon guest stars.

CALAMITY CIRCUS – During a series of shows, the Thompson & Travis Circus suffers a series of seeming accidents which turn out to be intentional sabotage. Ben investigates. The guest cast includes Ina Victor, Howard McNear and Mickey Rooney as Arnold the Clown. 

THE INHERITANCE – Casey becomes the guardian of two young Japanese acrobats when they are left orphaned. They are great performers but the boy (Marc Marno) angers the circus staff by treating his sister (Tsuruko Kobayashi) in old fashioned, oppressive ways. Alan Hale and Delores Wells guest star.

NAOMI CHAMPAGNE – Ben Travis drives off bandits attacking a stagecoach. He is then charmed by one of the passengers, saloon girl Naomi Champagne (Constance Ford) and replaces the slain driver to get them all to the next town. The bandit leader (Richard Conte) and his men strike again since he is determined to force Naomi to marry him.

MIGHTY LIKE ROGUES – The Thompson & Travis Circus comes across a stranded wagon occupied by a woman (Glenda Farrell) and her three children. Casey and the others take them in but it turns out they are a family of robbers and the mother targets the money in Casey’s safe.

NEVER WON FAIR LADY – Colonel Thompson’s old army friend sends his son Earl (Red Buttons) to him with the request to toughen up the soft, academic young man. Casey sets him to work with the circus. Gloria Talbott guest stars.

THE GOOD FIGHT – A young man who is good with his fists joins the frontier circus when he can no longer abide the pacifist principles of his religious community the Duncanites, who keep caving in to an aggressive landowner. The guest cast includes Jason Evers, Lisabeth Hush, Kenneth Tobey, Stephanie Hill and Star Trek‘s Grace Lee Whitney.

THE CLAN MACDUFF – A comic relief episode in which a crotchety old Scot named MacDuff (James Barton) selects Ben and Tony to be husbands for two of his daughters. As the head of the clan, he expects to be obeyed. Nan Peterson, Jackie Russell and John Considine guest star.

THE RACE – The Thompson & Travis Circus sets up in Grand Island, NE. They face their greatest professional challenge in the form of Duke Felix Otway’s rival circus on the other side of the town. Edward Andrews, Harry Carey, Jr. and James McMullan guest star.

THE DARING DURANDOS – The title characters are a trio of trapeze artists who were the toasts of Europe and have now signed with the frontier circus. Paco (Nehemiah Persoff) has remarried and new wife Maria (Margureta Cordova) is deeply resented by Paco’s daughter Tina (Anita Sands). David White appears.

INCIDENT AT PAWNEE GUN – This final episode of the series finds Casey and the circus’ new chimpanzee performer suspected of carrying the bubonic plague and quarantined in the Pawnee Gun town jail. Kathie “Mrs. Kolchak” Browne guest stars. 

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