Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Drama
    Drama TV Shows - 1950s 3 Mins Read

    Action In The Afternoon

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 5 3 – 1 9 5 4 (USA)
    250 x 30 minute episodes

    Action in the Afternoon was television’s first live outdoor Western. Set in Huberle, Montana, the show originated in the wide-open spaces of suburban Philadelphia and was telecast on CBS five afternoons a week.

    Produced on the back lot of WCAU-TV, Channel 10, then owned by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin newspaper, the area had a natural creek running through the property.

    While other ‘live’ Western shows were seen on US TV they all relied on pre-recorded action sequences and filmed inserts. Action in the Afternoon did away with these although there were occasions when actors needed more time to get from one set to another.

    In cases like this the star of the show, singing cowboy Jack Valentine would fill in with a song accompanied by the Tommy Ferguson Trio.

    The interior shots were done in the studios and exterior shots outside on the backlot, (which was also the parking lot for the station’s employees) where mock-ups of different western buildings were built and microphones were hidden in hitching posts, on buildings, tree stumps and in rocks.

    Since the production had such a low budget, there were only a few building frontages; the Copper Cup Saloon, the newspaper office (the Huberle Record), a bank, a General Store, a Blacksmith shop, a Wells Fargo office and the sheriff’s office and jail. A totem pole concealed a telephone pole.

    Also featured in the series were Red Cotten, the sassy belle of the saloon (Mary Elaine Watts); shady Ace Bancroft (Barry Cassell); Sheriff Sam Mitchell (Sam Kressen); his wife, Amy (Jean Corbett); Ben Johnson the blacksmith (Norman Garfield); Grimy James (John Zacherle) the undertaker; and Kate, the owner and publisher of the newspaper (Harrisse Forest). The narrator was Blake Ritter, who also played the editor of the Huberle Record.

    The fictional setting for the series was Huberle, Montana.

    TRIVIA
    The Musical Director for the series was Richard Lester, who went on to fame and fortune with his direction of The Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night (1964), How I Won the War (1967), Robin and Marian (1976), Superman II (1981) and Superman III (1983).

    Narrator
    Blake Ritter
    Jack Valentine
    Himself
    Ace Bancroft
    Barry Cassell
    Sheriff Sam Mitchell
    Sam Kressen
    Amy Mitchell
    Jean Corbett
    Red Cotten
    Mary Elaine Watts
    Ben Johnson
    Norman Garfield
    Grimy James
    John Zacherle
    Tommy Ferguson 
    Himself
    Tommy Ferguson Trio
    Themselves

    Related Posts

    • One Life To Live
      One Life To Live
      1 9 6 8 - 2 0 1 2 (USA) Even…
    • Jessie
      Jessie
      1 9 8 4 (USA) 7 x 60 minute episodes Dr…
    • Facts We Face, The (Open Hearing)
      Facts We Face, The (Open Hearing)
      1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 1 (USA) The…
    • Egg and I, The
      Egg and I, The
      1 9 5 1 - 1 9 5 2 (USA) 237…
    • Lieutenant, The
      Lieutenant, The
      1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 4 (USA) 29…
    • Ken Murray Show, The (Time To Smile)
      Ken Murray Show, The (Time To Smile)
      1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 3 (USA)…
    • Restless Gun, The
      Restless Gun, The
      1 9 5 7 - 1 9 5 9 (USA) 77…
    • Climax!
      Climax!
      1 9 5 4 - 1 9 5 8 (USA) 166…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleLove Thy Neighbor
    Next Article Marge and Jeff

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Ray Charles
      Ray Charles started out smooth – A substandard Nat King […]
    • Inn of the Sixth Happiness, The (1958)
      The true story of English servant girl Gladys Aylward (Ingrid […]
    • Holiday On The Buses (1973)
      This much-maligned addition to the On The Buses trilogy takes […]
    • You Must Be The Husband
      1 9 8 7 – 1 9 8 8 13 x 30 minute episodes A BBC sitcom […]
    • One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975)
      Youngsters who like their prehistoric monsters to rampage around […]
    • Dr Kildare
      1 9 6 1 – 1 9 6 6 (USA) 132 x 60 minute episodes 58 x 30 […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.