The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
From left: Lee Aaker, Rin-Tin-Tin, James Brown and Rand Brooks in 1956.
Genre	Children/family Adventure/Drama
Directed by	Robert G. Walker William Beaudine
Starring	Lee Aaker James Brown Joe Sawyer Rand Brooks Rin Tin Tin (various dogs)
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	164
Production
Producer(s)	Herbert B. Leonard
Production company(s)	Screen Gems
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television
Release
Original network	ABC-TV
Original release	October 15, 1954 – May 8, 1959
Chronology
Related shows	Boots and Saddles

The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin is an American children's television program. Beginning in October 1954 until May 1959, 166 episodes originally aired on ABC television network. It starred child actor Lee Aaker as Rusty, a boy orphaned in an Indian raid, who was being raised by the soldiers at a US Cavalry post known as Fort Apache. He and his German shepherd dog, Rin Tin Tin, helped the soldiers to establish order in the American West. 6'2" Texas-born actor James E. Brown appeared as Lieutenant Ripley "Rip" Masters. Co-stars included veteran actor Joe Sawyer and actor Rand Brooks from Gone with the Wind fame.

The episodes were filmed on a low budget, limiting the film stock to black-and-white. Outdoor action was shot largely at Corriganville Movie Ranch northwest of Los Angeles in Simi Valley, where the production made ample use of the facility's Fort Apache. Additional action sequences were shot on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., known for its huge sandstone boulders and widely recognized as the most heavily filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood.

The show's troupe of 12 character actors were often required to play multiple parts in the same episode, sometimes to the point of one actor fighting himself, wearing a cavalry uniform in one shot and an Apache outfit in another. The eponymous dog, Rin Tin Tin IV, lived about 90 miles away at Duncan's ranch in Riverside, California, receiving visitors who were eager to see the famous dog.