Riverboat (TV series)

Last updated
Riverboat
Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds in Riverboat.jpg
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44
Production
Production companies
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 13, 1959 (1959-09-13) 
January 2, 1961 (1961-01-02)

Riverboat is an American Western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds, produced by Revue Studios, and broadcast on the NBC television network from 1959 to 1961. Reynolds was replaced by Noah Beery Jr. halfway through the series in the wake of conflicts with McGavin.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Plot

In the series, Captain Grey Holden and his crew navigate the vessel called the Enterprise principally along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers. Some episodes are set in the eastern end of the American West or in the Midwest. Holden and his men encounter interesting characters along the way, including U.S. President Zachary Taylor, General Winfield Scott and a prepresidential Abraham Lincoln. One episode focuses indirectly on the Texan Revolution of 1836. Unlike most Westerns, which are set after the American Civil War, the story's time frame precedes the conflict, and includes the 1830s and the 1840s. The series ended on the NBC midseason schedule in January 1961, replaced by a drama about the sectional conflict, The Americans .

Cast

Darren McGavin played Captain Grey Holden for 40 episodes. Dan Duryea played Captain Brad Turner for two episodes while McGavin was embroiled in contract disputes. [1] Burt Reynolds, in his television debut, played McGavin's partner and chief pilot Ben Frazer in 20 episodes, and was replaced by Noah Beery, Jr., who played Bill Blake, for Season Two.

Dick Wessel, as chief stoker Carney Kohler, was cast in 41 episodes, Jack Lambert was cast in 23 episodes as first mate Joshua MacGregor (having played a different character, Tony Walchek, earlier in the series), John Mitchum co-starred in 10 episodes as Pickalong, the ship's cook, Michael McGreevey was cast in 17 episodes as cabin boy Chip Kessler, and William D. Gordon played first mate Joe Travis in 13 episodes before his character's death.

Episodes

Season 1: 1959–60

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Payment in Full"Douglas HeyesDouglas HeyesSeptember 13, 1959 (1959-09-13)
22"The Barrier"Richard BartlettTom SellerSeptember 20, 1959 (1959-09-20)
33"About Roger Mowbray"Felix E. FeistStory by: Gene L. Coon
Teleplay by: Hagar Wilde
September 27, 1959 (1959-09-27)
44"Race to Cincinnati"Jules BrickenStory by: Richard Morgan
Teleplay by: William Raynor
October 4, 1959 (1959-10-04)
55"The Unwilling"Richard BartlettNorman JolleyOctober 11, 1959 (1959-10-11)
66"The Fight Back"Jules BrickenStory by: Robert E. Thompson
Teleplay by: Mel Goldberg & Robert E. Thompson
October 18, 1959 (1959-10-18)
77"Escape to Memphis"John RichStory by: Richard B. Larkin
Teleplay by: Bob and Wanda Duncan
October 25, 1959 (1959-10-25)
88"Witness No Evil"Richard BartlettNorman JolleyNovember 1, 1959 (1959-11-01)
99"A Night at Trapper's Landing"Felix E. FeistHalsey MeloneNovember 8, 1959 (1959-11-08)
1010"The Faithless"Richard BartlettStory by: Kay Linaker & Richard Morgan & Howard Phillips
Teleplay by: Richard Morgan
November 22, 1959 (1959-11-22)
1111"The Boy from Pittsburgh"Frank ArrigoStory by: John Francis Larkin
Teleplay by: George Tibbles
November 29, 1959 (1959-11-29)
1212"Jessie Quinn"Jules BrickenTom SellerDecember 6, 1959 (1959-12-06)
1313"Strange Request"John RichClair HuffakerDecember 13, 1959 (1959-12-13)
1414"Guns for Empire"Herman HoffmanSamuel A. PeeplesDecember 20, 1959 (1959-12-20)
1515"The Face of Courage"William WitneyBob and Wanda DuncanDecember 27, 1959 (1959-12-27)
1616"Tampico Raid"Richard BartlettRichard MorganJanuary 3, 1960 (1960-01-03)
1717"Landlubbers"William WitneyTom SellerJanuary 10, 1960 (1960-01-10)
1818"The Blowup"Darren McGavinAl C. WardJanuary 18, 1960 (1960-01-18)
1919"Forbidden Island"Stanley LanfieldBob and Wanda DuncanJanuary 24, 1960 (1960-01-24)
2020"Salvage Pirates"Richard BartlettRichard MorganJanuary 31, 1960 (1960-01-31)
2121"Path of the Eagle"Jules BrickenHalsey MeloneFebruary 1, 1960 (1960-02-01)
2222"The Treasure of Hawk Hill"William WitneyBob and Wanda DuncanFebruary 8, 1960 (1960-02-08)
2323"Fight at New Canal"R.G. SpringsteenTom SellerFebruary 22, 1960 (1960-02-22)
2424"The Wichita Arrows"William WitneyBob and Wanda DuncanFebruary 29, 1960 (1960-02-29)
2525"Fort Epitaph"John BrahmRichard MorganMarch 7, 1960 (1960-03-07)
2626"Three Graves"William WitneyAl C. WardMarch 14, 1960 (1960-03-14)
2727"Hang the Men High"Hollingsworth MorseJerry AdelmanMarch 21, 1960 (1960-03-21)
2828"The Night of the Faceless Man"William WitneyBob and Wanda DuncanMarch 28, 1960 (1960-03-28)
2929"The Long Trail"Hollingsworth MorseOscar SaulApril 4, 1960 (1960-04-04)
3030"The Quick Noose"Hollingsworth MorseTom SellerApril 11, 1960 (1960-04-11)
3131"The Sellout"Richard BartlettStory by: R. Hamer Norris
Teleplay by: Ann Wesley
April 18, 1960 (1960-04-18)

Season 2: 1960–61

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
321"End of a Dream" David Lowell Rich Milton S. GelmanSeptember 19, 1960 (1960-09-19)
332"That Taylor Affair" Allen H. Miner Allen H. MinerSeptember 26, 1960 (1960-09-26)
343"The Two Faces of Grey Holden"R.G. Springsteen Kathleen Hite October 3, 1960 (1960-10-03)
354"River Champion" William Witney William Jerome Fay & Hendrik Vollaerts October 10, 1960 (1960-10-10)
365"No Bridge on the River" Lamont Johnson Raphael HayesOctober 24, 1960 (1960-10-24)
376"Trunk Full of Dreams" Hollingsworth Morse Gwen Bagni & Irwin GielgudOctober 31, 1960 (1960-10-31)
387"The Water of Gorgeous Springs"Richard BartlettRaphael Hayes & Montgomery Pittman November 7, 1960 (1960-11-07)
398"Devil in Skirts"David Lowell RichGwen Bagni & Bob Duncan & Irwin GielgudNovember 21, 1960 (1960-11-21)
409"The Quota"Hollingsworth MorseBob Duncan & Wanda Duncan & Raphael HayesNovember 28, 1960 (1960-11-28)
4110"Chicota Landing"David Lowell RichHerman Groves & Raphael HayesDecember 5, 1960 (1960-12-05)
4211"Duel on the River" Tay Garnett Milton S. GelmanDecember 12, 1960 (1960-12-12)
4312"Zigzag" Sidney Lanfield David LangDecember 26, 1960 (1960-12-26)
4413"Listen to the Nightingale"Sidney Lanfield Fred Freiberger & Philip MacDonald January 2, 1961 (1961-01-02)

Guest stars

Female guest stars

The series featured an array of leading ladies of that era as guest stars, including Mary Tyler Moore, cast as the "Brunette Girl in Coach", with Jeanne Carmen as Janine, the "Blonde Girl in Coach", in the 1959 episode, "A Night at Trapper's Landing". Moore played Lily Belle de Lesseps the next year in "Trunk Full of Dreams" (1960).

Other female guest stars include:

Male guest stars

Many male guest stars also appeared on Riverboat. Ricardo Montalbán portrayed United States Army Lt. Andre B. Devereaux in "A Night at Trapper's Landing" (November 8, 1959). In the story line, the Enterprise is commandeered by the military for a punitive expedition against the Indians after an attack on Devereaux and his men. Ben Frazer, however, tries to convince the Army that the uprising is really the result of a local Indian agent. The episode features Judson Pratt, as Sergeant Ned Bolger, Stacy Harris as Colonel Nicholson, and Raymond Bailey as General Jacoby, with other roles for character actors Morris Ankrum, R.G. Armstrong, and Peter Whitney.

Other male guest stars include:

Production

NBC hoped the series would defeat Maverick , a Western series which star James Garner would leave for a major theatrical film career a season later and be replaced by Roger Moore. Riverboat was described as " Wagon Train on water." Darren McGavin was known from playing Mike Hammer and Burt Reynolds was cast for romantic interest. [2]

"We've spent a lot of money and put a lot of time into making it a quality show," said McGavin. [3]

Home media

On October 30, 2007, Timeless Media Group released a three-disc best-of set featuring 15 episodes from the series. [4]

On May 15, 2012, Timeless Media Group released Riverboat- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. [5]

Reception

Critical

The New York Times called the pilot "labored and dull". [6]

The Los Angeles Times said it was "produced with the slick vacuity of a B movie with pleasantly inconsequential stories and an utter disregard for the color and background that the Riverboat called for." [7]

Ratings

The premiere episode rated 11.9 against Maverick 's 22.9 and a rerun of That's My Boy with 7.5. [8]

In January 1960, the series was shifted from Sunday nights to Monday.

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References

  1. Riverboat : The Evolution of a Television Series, 1959-1961 by S.L. Kotar and J.E. Gessler
  2. Riverboat Set to Sink Maverick Wolters, Larry. Chicago Daily Tribune 20 Aug 1959: c10.
  3. 'Riverboat' Owner Calm On Series Debut Sunday By Lawrence Laurent. The Washington Post and Times-Herald 11 Sep 1959: C8.
  4. "Riverboat". Amazon. 30 October 2007.
  5. "Riverboat DVD news: Announcement for Riverboat - the Complete Series | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  6. "N. B. C. Offers Saturday Night Series Starring Henry Fonda in Western" By JACK GOULD. The New York Times, 14 Sep 1959: 59.
  7. "THE TV SCENE---: Wagon Trains on Land, Sea and Air STRAWS IN THE TRADE WINDS": SMITH, YCECIL. Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan 1960: A8.
  8. "'Riverboat' Bucks Tide On Its Maiden Voyage By Lawrence Laurent". The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 15 Sep 1959: A22.

Further reading

Riverboat: The Evolution of a Television Series, by S. L. Kotar and J. E. Gessler. 2010. Albany, BearManor Media. ISBN   978-1-59393-505-4.