Summary
Pony Express is an American western television series about the adventures of an agent in the 1860s of the Central Overland Express Company, better known as the Pony Express.[2] The half-hour program starring Grant Sullivan and Don Dorrell was created by California National Productions.[2] Pony Express ran for thirty-five episodes in syndication from the fall of October 1959 until May 1960.[3] In its final days, the series just managed to coincide with the centennial of the Pony Express (April 3, 1860).
| Pony Express | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western |
| Written by | Paul King Joseph Stone Budd Lesser John Meredyth Lucas Sam Peckinpah |
| Directed by | Frank McDonald Jean Yarbrough |
| Starring | Grant Sullivan Don Dorrell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 35 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Tom McKnight Robert Stillman |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Production company | California National Productions |
| Distributor | NBC Television Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 7, 1959[1] – May 31, 1960 |
OverviewEdit
The series featured two recurring roles: Grant Sullivan as Brett Clark, a roving investigator for the company, and Don Dorrell as Donovan, a young Pony Express rider. The majority of the weekly episodes involved Clark and Donovan solving various Pony Express mysteries.[4]
ProductionEdit
Pony Express was filmed at Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth in Los Angeles County, California.[3] It was one of several western-themed television shows produced by CNP, including Boots and Saddles (1957–1958) and Union Pacific (1959–1960) and Frontier (1955-1956).[5] CNP created the series for the 100th anniversary of the actual Pony Express.[6]
The Pony Express pilot, the first Western television pilot shot in colour,[1] was shot in February 1957 with James Best in the lead. This version did not sell (although Best was included in a TV Guide photo feature on upcoming TV westerns in June of that year) but was later aired, slightly re-edited, as an episode of the syndicated series.
Guest starsEdit
EpisodesEdit
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Story Of Julesberg" | Lewis R. Foster | Teleplay by : Sam Peckinpah | |
| 2 | 2 | "The Killer" | James Nielsen | Story by : Tony Barrett Teleplay by : Jack Laird | |
| 3 | 3 | "The Replacement" | Jean Yabrough | Teleplay by : John Meredyth Lucas | |
| 4 | 4 | "The Last Mile" | Frank Adreon | Teleplay by : Joe Stone and Paul King | |
| 5 | 5 | "Payoff" | TBA | TBA | |
| 6 | 6 | "Wrong Rope" | Jean Yabrough | Teleplay by : Budd Lesser | |
| 7 | 7 | "The Deadly Sniper" | Jean Yabrough | Teleplay by : Lee Berg and Harry Clork | |
| 8 | 8 | "Justice For Jenny" | TBA | TBA | |
| 9 | 9 | "The Treaty" | TBA | TBA | |
| 10 | 10 | "Message From New Orleans" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : William R. Cox and Harry Clork | |
| 11 | 11 | "The Good Samaritan" | Jean Yabrough | Teleplay by : Rudy Makoul and Joel Rogosin | |
| 12 | 12 | "The Peace Offering" | TBA | TBA | |
| 13 | 13 | "The Wrong Man" | TBA | TBA | |
| 14 | 14 | "The Reluctant Bride" | TBA | TBA | |
| 15 | 15 | "Lady's Choice" | TBA | TBA | |
| 16 | 16 | "Token Payment" | TBA | Teleplay by : Budd Lesser | |
| 17 | 17 | "We Ourselves" | TBA | TBA | |
| 18 | 18 | "Showdown At Thirty Mile Ridge" | TBA | TBA | |
| 19 | 19 | "Bandido" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : Joe Stone and Paul King | |
| 20 | 20 | "Princess Of Crazy Creek" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : Joe Stone and Paul King | |
| 21 | 21 | "The Theft" | TBA | TBA | |
| 22 | 22 | "Duel At Devil's Canyon" | TBA | TBA | |
| 23 | 23 | "Vendetta" | TBA | TBA | |
| 24 | 24 | "Mail For A Male" | TBA | TBA | |
| 25 | 25 | "The Breadwinner" | TBA | TBA | |
| 26 | 26 | "The Golden Circle" | TBA | TBA | |
| 27 | 27 | "The Station Keeper's Bride" | TBA | TBA | |
| 28 | 28 | "The Pendant" | TBA | TBA | |
| 29 | 29 | "Special Delivery" | TBA | TBA | |
| 30 | 30 | "The Wedding Of Big Zack" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : Raphael Hayes | |
| 31 | 31 | "The Renegade" | TBA | TBA | |
| 32 | 32 | "Trial By Fury" | TBA | TBA | |
| 33 | 33 | "Reclaim" | TBA | TBA | |
| 34 | 34 | "Ghost Of Caribou Ridge" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : Joe Stone and Paul King | |
| 35 | 35 | "The Search" | Frank McDonald | Teleplay by : John Meredyth Lucas |
See alsoEdit
- Pony Express, film
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b "Do You Remember... "Pony Express"".
- ^ a b Jackson, Ronald; Abbot, Doug (April 23, 2008). 50 Years of The Television Western. AuthorHouse. p. 181. ISBN 978-1434359254.
- ^ a b "Pony Express (1959)". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Marill, Alvin H. (2011). Television Westerns: Six Decades of Sagebrush Sheriffs, Scalawags and Sidewinders. Scarecrow Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-8108-8132-7.
- ^ "Pony Express". Classic TV Archives. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ^ Erikson, Hal (November 5, 2001). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years 1947-1987. McFarland & Company. p. 181. ISBN 978-0786411986.
External linksEdit
- Pony Express at IMDb
- Pony Express at CVTA