State Trooper (TV series)

State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the American West of the 1950s, starring Rod Cameron as Lt. Rod Blake, an officer and chief investigator of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from 1956 to 1959.

State Trooper
Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, 1957
GenreWestern/Crime drama
Written by
  • Fenton Earnshaw
  • Lawrence Kimble
  • Leslie McFarlane
  • Barry Shipman
  • Steven Thornley
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes104 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerRichard Irving
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRevue Studios
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original releaseSeptember 25, 1956 (1956-09-25) –
June 25, 1959 (1959-06-25)
Related
Star Stage

Overview

State Trooper takes place in Las Vegas, Reno, and Carson City, Nevada, but was filmed by Revue Studios at Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth in Los Angeles County in California. Its fictional stories focus upon miners, ranchers, dude ranches, released convicts, and murder mysteries, often with surprise endings.

The series pilot entitled "Killer on a Horseback" starring Rod Cameron aired in February 1956 on an episode of the NBC anthology series Star Stage.[1]

Blake carried a "Detective Special" revolver.

Cast

The series starred Rod Cameron as Lieutenant Rod Blake. Robert Armstrong appeared in 24 episodes as Sheriff Andy Anderson, who developed a good working relationship with Cameron's character, Blake. Don Haggerty played Sheriff Elder in nine episodes in the 1956-1957 season. Paul Stader appeared five times in the 1958-1959 season as Deputy Sheriff Jim Wallace. Tom Greenway appeared in four episodes as Sheriff Bronson: "Stay Lost, Little Girl", "Dangerous Honeymoon", "Full Circle", and "Death on Wheels".

Guest stars

Episodes
Main article: List of State Trooper episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
139September 25, 1956 (1956-09-25)1957 (1957)
2391957 (1957)1958 (1958)
3221959 (1959)1959 (1959)

Production

Originally conceived to compete with Highway Patrol,[2] the show pilot was an episode of the anthology series Star Stage,[3] released in February 1956 and titled "Killer on Horseback".[1]

State Trooper was filmed on location in Virginia City, Nevada to give it an authentic feel.[3] Las Vegas was also used for location filming.[4]

Release

Broadcast

After the pilot release on Star Stage, the series failed to make the network schedule for 1956 and State Trooper was released as a syndicated show being sold directly to local stations.[1][3]

Home media

Timeless Media Group released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1 on December 14, 2010.[5] The complete second and third seasons were released together in a six-disc set on December 13, 2011.[6]

On September 23, 2014, Timeless Media Group released State Trooper - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[7] The 11-disc set contains all 104 episodes of the series.

See also

References
  1. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1128. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2001-11-15). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7864-1198-6.
  3. Yoggy, Gary A. (1995). Riding the Video Range: The Rise and Fall of the Western on Television. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7864-0021-8.
  4. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. New York: Penguin Books. p. 789. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  5. Lambert, David (October 29, 2010). "State Trooper - 'The Complete Season 1' is Out in December from TMG". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  6. Lambert, David (October 26, 2011). "State Trooper - TMG's 'Seasons 2 and 3' Set Finishes the Show...Including the Pilot". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  7. TMG Announces 'The Complete Series' 11-DVD Set Archived 2014-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
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