Frontier Circus

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American Western TV series (1961–1962)

title: "Frontier Circus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1961-american-television-series-debuts", "1962-american-television-series-endings", "television-series-set-in-the-1880s", "black-and-white-american-television-shows", "cbs-original-programming", "television-shows-set-in-circuses", "american-english-language-television-shows", "1960s-western-(genre)-television-series", "television-series-by-universal-television"] description: "American Western TV series (1961–1962)" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Circus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American Western TV series (1961–1962) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]

Field	Value
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
composer	David Buttolph
country	United States
language	English
num_seasons	1
num_episodes	26
camera	Single-camera
runtime	60 minutes
company	{{Plainlist
channel	CBS
first_aired
last_aired
::

| 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|

Samuel A. Peeples
Frank Price | director = {{Plainlist|
Tay Garnett
William Witney | starring = {{Plainlist|
J. Pat O'Malley
Chill Wills | 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|
Calliope Productions
Revue Studios | channel = CBS | first_aired = | last_aired = 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.

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.)

Guest stars

Episodes

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.

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.

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." 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." 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.

References

(1996). "Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present". Penguin Books USA, Inc..
Vagg, Stephen. (5 November 2024). "The Cinema of John Derek, Movie Star".
(March 20, 2020). "John Derek: Actor, Director, Photographer". McFarland.
(October 16, 1961). "Irene Dunne gets role in TV drama". The New York Times.
(November 13, 1961). "Thursday, November 16". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index.
(December 4, 1961). "Tuesday, December 7". Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index.
(August 13, 2015). "Sydney Pollack: A Critical Filmography". McFarland.
(June 24, 2009). "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present". Random House Publishing Group.
(October 6, 1961). "'Frontier Circus' Seen". The New York Times.
(October 11, 1961). "Frontier Circus".
"Frontier Circus - The Complete Series". tvshowsondvd.com.

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