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.

About Rin Tin Tin

Brown and Rin Tin Tin on a 1955 publicity postcard.

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.[1]

Broadcast information

The show ran for five seasons on ABC on Friday evenings from October 1954 to May 1959. ABC reran the series on late afternoons from September 1959 to September 1961.[2] During its first season (1954-1955), The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin finished at #23 in the Nielsen ratings, making it the second-highest rated series on ABC at the time behind Disneyland.[3]

Reruns ran on Saturdays on CBS from September 1962 until September 1964. A new package of reruns was shown in 1976, and continued into the mid-1980s. The original black and white prints were tinted light brown with new opening and closing segments filmed in color in Utah.[4]

The show currently airs in syndication on Antenna TV, with remastered episodes produced by Cerulean Digital Color and Animation, with lines redubbed for some scenes using actors other than those from the original series cast, with a different generic theme song.

Episodes

Season 1

  • 1-01 15/Oct/54 Meet Rin Tin Tin
  • 1-02 22/Oct/54 Wolf Cry
  • 1-03 29/Oct/54 Rin Tin Tin in the Flaming Forest
  • 1-04 05/Nov/54 Rin Tin Tin and the Raging River
  • 1-05 12/Nov/54 The Killer Cat
  • 1-06 19/Nov/54 The Education of Corporal Rusty
  • 1-07 26/Nov/54 Rin Tin Tin and the Apache Chief
  • 1-08 03/Dec/54 Rin Tin Tin, Outlaw
  • 1-09 10/Dec/54 The Outcast of Fort Apache
  • 1-10 17/Dec/54 Rin Tin Tin and the Ancient Mariner
  • 1-11 24/Dec/54 Rin Tin Tin and the Raw Recruit
  • 1-12 31/Dec/54 Blood Brothers
  • 1-13 07/Jan/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Gold Bullion
  • 1-14 14/Jan/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Sacred Lance
  • 1-15 21/Jan/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Shifting Sands
  • 1-16 28/Jan/55 Rusty Plays Cupid
  • 1-17 04/Feb/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Medicine Man
  • 1-18 11/Feb/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Babe in the Woods
  • 1-19 18/Feb/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Eagle's Nest
  • 1-20 25/Feb/55 Rusty Resigns from the Army
  • 1-21 04/Mar/55 The Legacy of Sean O'Hara
  • 1-22 11/Mar/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Barber of Seville
  • 1-23 18/Mar/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Blushing Brides
  • 1-24 25/Mar/55 The Guilty One
  • 1-25 01/Apr/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Magic Box
  • 1-26 08/Apr/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Bandit Kingdom
  • 1-27 15/Apr/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Printer's Devil
  • 1-28 22/Apr/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Dead Man's Gold
  • 1-29 29/Apr/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Ghost Town
  • 1-30 06/May/55 O'Hara Gets Busted
  • 1-31 13/May/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Bounty Hunters
  • 1-32 20/May/55 Farewell to Fort Apache
  • 1-33 27/May/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Lost Scotchman
  • 1-34 03/Jun/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Lonesome Road

Season 2

  • 2-01 09/Sep/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Bugle Call
  • 2-02 16/Sep/55 Rin Tin Tin Meets Shakespeare
  • 2-03 23/Sep/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Wild Stallion
  • 2-04 30/Sep/55 Rusty Volunteers
  • 2-05 07/Oct/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Poor Little Rich Boy
  • 2-06 14/Oct/55 Rin Tin Tin and the White Buffalo
  • 2-07 21/Oct/55 Rin Tin Tin Meets Mister President
  • 2-08 28/Oct/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Iron Horse
  • 2-09 04/Nov/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Connecticut Yankee
  • 2-10 11/Nov/55 Higgins Rides Again
  • 2-11 18/Nov/55 Boone's Wedding Day
  • 2-12 25/Nov/55 Rusty Goes to Town
  • 2-13 02/Dec/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Lost Patrol
  • 2-14 09/Dec/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Star Witness
  • 2-15 16/Dec/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Last Chance
  • 2-16 23/Dec/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Christmas Story
  • 2-17 30/Dec/55 Rin Tin Tin and the Indian Burial Grounds
  • 2-18 13/Jan/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Missing Heir
  • 2-19 20/Jan/56 Rusty's Romance
  • 2-20 27/Jan/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Tin Soldier
  • 2-21 03/Feb/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Big Top
  • 2-22 10/Feb/56 Rusty's Bank Account
  • 2-23 17/Feb/56 Rin Tin Tin Meets O'Hara's Mother
  • 2-24 24/Feb/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Return of the Ancient Mariner
  • 2-25 02/Mar/56 The Failing Light
  • 2-26 09/Mar/56 Rusty's Mystery
  • 2-27 16/Mar/56 The Third Rider
  • 2-28 23/Mar/56 Rusty Surrenders
  • 2-29 30/Mar/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Rainmaker
  • 2-30 06/Apr/56 Scotchman's Gold
  • 2-31 13/Apr/56 Attack on Fort Apache
  • 2-32 20/Apr/56 Rin Tin Tin and Homer the Great
  • 2-33 27/Apr/56 Rinty Finds a Bone
  • 2-34 04/May/56 Rin Tin Tin Meets Mister Nobody
  • 2-35 11/May/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Circle of Fire
  • 2-36 18/May/56 Hubert Goes West
  • 2-37 25/May/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Lost Treasure
  • 2-38 01/Jun/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Second Chance

Season 3

  • 3-01 07/Sep/56 Forward Ho!
  • 3-02 14/Sep/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Witch of the Woods
  • 3-03 21/Sep/56 Sorrowful Joe
  • 3-04 28/Sep/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Return of the Chief
  • 3-05 05/Oct/56 Silent Battle
  • 3-06 12/Oct/56 Yo-o Rinty
  • 3-07 19/Oct/56 Rin Tin Tin and the White Wolf
  • 3-08 26/Oct/56 Return of Rin Tin Tin
  • 3-09 02/Nov/56 Boone's Grandpappy
  • 3-10 09/Nov/56 The Lost Puppy
  • 3-11 16/Nov/56 Presidential Citation
  • 3-12 23/Nov/56 Wagon Train
  • 3-13 30/Nov/56 Fort Adventure
  • 3-14 14/Dec/56 Rin Tin Tin and the Invaders
  • 3-15 28/Dec/56 Racing Rails
  • 3-16 04/Jan/57 Higgins' Last Stand
  • 3-17 11/Jan/57 The Indian Hater
  • 3-18 18/Jan/57 Rin Tin Tin Meets the Southern Colonel
  • 3-19 25/Jan/57 The Warrior's Promise
  • 3-20 01/Feb/57 Sorrowful Joe Returns
  • 3-21 08/Feb/57 The Lieutenant's Lesson
  • 3-22 15/Feb/57 The Swedish Cook
  • 3-23 22/Feb/57 Rusty Gets Busted
  • 3-24 01/Mar/57 O'Hara's Gold
  • 3-25 08/Mar/57 O'Hara Gets Culture
  • 3-26 15/Mar/57 The Frame-Up
  • 3-27 22/Mar/57 Boone's Commission
  • 3-28 29/Mar/57 The Silent Witness
  • 3-29 05/Apr/57 Indian Blood
  • 3-30 12/Apr/57 The Old Soldier
  • 3-31 19/Apr/57 Stagecoach Sally
  • 3-32 26/Apr/57 Bitter Medicine
  • 3-33 03/May/57 Corporal Carson
  • 3-34 10/May/57 Hubert's Niece
  • 3-35 17/May/57 O'Hara Gets Amnesia
  • 3-36 24/May/57 Along Came Tubbs
  • 3-37 31/May/57 Swanson's Choice
  • 3-38 07/Jun/57 The Gentle Kingdom
  • 3-39 14/Jun/57 The Swapper
  • 3-40 21/Jun/57 The Old Man of the Mountain

Season 4

  • 4-01 20/Sep/57 Return to Fort Apache
  • 4-02 27/Sep/57 The Courtship of Marshal Higgins
  • 4-03 04/Oct/57 Rusty's Reward
  • 4-04 11/Oct/57 A Look of Eagles
  • 4-05 18/Oct/57 The Last Navajo
  • 4-06 25/Oct/57 Mother O'Hara's Marriage
  • 4-07 01/Nov/57 Hostage of War Bonnet
  • 4-08 08/Nov/57 Rodeo Clown
  • 4-09 15/Nov/57 Rusty's Strategy
  • 4-10 22/Nov/57 Frontier Angel
  • 4-11 06/Dec/57 The Hunted
  • 4-12 13/Dec/57 White Chief
  • 4-13 20/Dec/57 Boundary Busters
  • 4-14 10/Jan/58 Rin Tin Tin and the River Chase
  • 4-15 24/Jan/58 Top Gun
  • 4-16 07/Feb/58 Tomahawk Tubbs
  • 4-17 14/Feb/58 The New C.O.
  • 4-18 21/Feb/58 Pritikin's Predicament
  • 4-19 28/Feb/58 Rusty's Remedy
  • 4-20 07/Mar/58 Spanish Gold
  • 4-21 14/Mar/58 Bitter Bounty
  • 4-22 21/Mar/58 Sorrowful Joe's Policy
  • 4-23 28/Mar/58 Border Incident
  • 4-24 04/Apr/58 Wind-Wagon McClanahan
  • 4-25 11/Apr/58 Rin Tin Tin and the Secret Weapon
  • 4-26 18/Apr/58 Brave Bow

Season 5

  • 5-01 19/Sep/58 The General's Daughter
  • 5-02 26/Sep/58 Escape to Danger
  • 5-03 03/Oct/58 Decision of Rin Tin Tin
  • 5-04 10/Oct/58 The Foot Soldier
  • 5-05 17/Oct/58 Rusty's Opportunity
  • 5-06 24/Oct/58 Running Horse
  • 5-07 31/Oct/58 The Cloudbusters
  • 5-08 07/Nov/58 Deadman's Valley
  • 5-09 14/Nov/58 Grandpappy's Love Affair
  • 5-10 21/Nov/58 The Epidemic
  • 5-11 05/Dec/58 The Best Policy
  • 5-12 12/Dec/58 Miracle of the Mission
  • 5-13 02/Jan/59 Star of India
  • 5-14 09/Jan/59 The Misfit Marshal
  • 5-15 16/Jan/59 Old Betsy
  • 5-16 23/Jan/59 Stagecoach to Phoenix
  • 5-17 30/Jan/59 Major Mockingbird
  • 5-18 06/Feb/59 The Matador
  • 5-19 13/Feb/59 The Accusation
  • 5-20 20/Feb/59 Royal Recruit
  • 5-21 27/Feb/59 The Devil Rides Point
  • 5-22 06/Mar/59 Pillajohn's Progress
  • 5-23 13/Mar/59 The Ming Vase
  • 5-24 20/Mar/59 Apache Stampede
  • 5-25 03/Apr/59 The Luck of O'Hara
  • 5-26 08/May/59 The Failure

Cast

Guest stars

Rin Tin Tin guest stars included veteran western actors Roscoe Ates and Dean Fredericks (later Steve Canyon) in six episodes. Others were Ron Hagerthy and Ewing Mitchell, both later semi-regulars on the Sky King series, and Ed Hinton.

John M. Pickard, star of the series Boots and Saddles (syndicated, 1957–1958), appeared three times on Rin Tin Tin. Lee Van Cleef and Harry Dean Stanton were other guest stars. Don Devlin appeared in the episodes "The Epidemic" (1958) and "The Ming Vase" (1959). Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., was cast as Don Alfonso Garcia in "The Bandit Kingdom" (1955). Nan Leslie was cast in three 1956 episodes, "Rin Tin Tin and the Second Chance", "Wagon Train", and "Fort Adventure"; in the last two segments she played Joan Lambert.

Robert Fuller, prior to Laramie, appeared as Stan in the 1958 episode "The Epidemic". Harry Cheshire, formerly Judge Ben Wiley on Buffalo Bill, Jr., appeared as Silas Mason in "The Misfit Marshal" (1959).

Brad Johnson (1924–1981), known as deputy Lofty Craig on the syndicated Western series Annie Oakley, appeared twice on Rin Tin Tin, including the role of Tom Buckner in the episode "Rin Tin Tin and the Second Chance" (1956).[5] Robert Knapp was cast in the role of Allen in the 1955 episode "The Guilty One".[6]

William Fawcett played an elderly fearless marshal fighting the outlaw element in the 1955 episode, "Higgins Rides Again".

Rico Alaniz appeared twice, as Big Elk in "Rin Tin Tin Meets O'Hara's Mother" and as Don Valdez in "The Invaders" (both 1956).[7]

References

  1. Orlean, Susan (2011). Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 191–193. ISBN 978-1-4391-9013-5.
  2. Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  3. "TV Ratings: 1954-1955". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007 (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3305-6.
  5. "Rin Tin Tin and the Second Chance, June 1, 1956". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  6. "The Guilty One, March 25, 1955". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  7. "Rico Alaniz". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
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