Dusty's Trail
| Dusty's Trail | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Comedy/Western |
| Created by |
Elroy Schwartz Sherwood Schwartz |
| Written by | John Fenton Murray Austin Kalish Irma Kalish Larry Rhine Al Schwartz Elroy Schwartz Sherwood Schwartz |
| Directed by |
Jack Arnold Earl Bellamy Bruce Bilson Russ Mayberry Leslie H. Martinson Richard Michaels Oscar Rudolph |
| Starring |
Bob Denver Forrest Tucker Ivor Francis Jeannine Riley Lori Saunders Lynn Wood Bill Cort |
| Theme music composer | Ross Schwartz Sherwood Schwartz |
| Composer(s) |
Frank De Vol Jack Pleis |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Producer(s) | Elroy Schwartz |
| Cinematography | Alan Stensvold |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 24 mins. |
| Production company(s) |
Metromedia Producers Corporation Redwood Productions Writer First Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 11, 1973 – March 12, 1974 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West |
Dusty's Trail is an American Western/comedy series that aired in syndication from September 1973 to March 1974 starring Bob Denver and Forrest Tucker. The series is a western-themed reworking of Gilligan's Island.
The series, set in the latter 19th century, is about a small, diverse cluster of lost travelers who become separated from their wagon train.
Two coachmen and five passengers of a wagon and stagecoach become separated from their wagon train on the way to California in the early 1870s. The group includes wagonmaster Mr. Callahan and his shotgun lookout Dusty, Mr. and Mrs. Brookhaven (a wealthy Eastern banker and his wife), book-smarts thinker Andy, dance-hall girl Lulu McQueen, and farm girl Betsy. The show follows their adventures while they attempt to return to their wagon train. According to the theme song, "...Dusty's the reason for their plight, thanks to Dusty – nothing's right".
Four episodes of the series were edited together into a theatrical film and released in movie theaters in August 1976. In order, the four episodes are:
The show was created for Denver by Sherwood Schwartz, who had also created its progenitor, Gilligan's Island. According to U.S. television researchers Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, the reason for the show's failure was that it was too derivative of Gilligan's Island.
Denver professed on several occasions that Dusty's Trail was his favorite show to perform.
At that time I still had some animus at how CBS threw us in the dumper. Herb Edelman and I'd done The Good Guys- but sour critics said it should have been just called 'Guys'. Gilligan repeats were on the tube more than Cronkite, and its royalties about kaput. I told myself to just enjoy the ride, and if it (Dusty's Trail) hit paydirt, super, if not, then it wasn't in the cards. It was my best year in front of a camera.
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Wikipedia