A Guide to the Trackdown Television Series Archives, 1957-1959
Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator: | Trackdown Television Series | |
| Title: | Trackdown Television Series Archives | |
| Dates: | 1957-1959 | |
| Abstract: | Trackdown, a television series created by Jack Robinson, aired from 1957 to 1959. Set in the Southwest during the 1870s, Trackdown detailed the adventures of a fictional Texas Ranger, Hoby Gilman. The archives contain twenty-one scripts in carbon and mimeographed copy formats, reflecting the episodes of the show during those two years. | |
| Accession No.: | 82-116 | |
| Extent: | 8 in. | |
| Language: | Materials are written in English. | |
| Repository: | Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin | |
Historical Sketch
Trackdown, a television series created by Jack Robinson, aired from 1957 to 1959. Set in the Southwest during the 1870s, Trackdown detailed the adventures of a fictional Texas Ranger, Hoby Gilman. Many of the stories told in the series were adapted from actual Texas Ranger cases. For that reason, the show received the official approval of the state of Texas and the Texas Rangers, a distinction held by no other Western television program.
Scope and Contents
The Trackdown Television Series Archives, 1957-1959, contain twenty-one scripts in carbon and mimeographed copy formats, reflecting the episodes of the show during those two years. The collection includes the first and second drafts of the script of the pilot, "Badge of Honor," along with annotations; a letter to Dick Powell at Twentieth-Century Fox Studios regarding the series, 1957; and a six-page story outline, 1957. Additionally, the archives contain the final mimeographed scripts for the other twenty episodes of the show as well as Jack Robinson’s typed, annotated files on eighteen of the episodes. Furthermore, the collection includes a ten-page studio script, "An Authentic Series about a Great Police Force of the World: The Texas Rangers," which gives background information about the series and gives its endorsement by head of the Rangers Homer Garrison as well as a seven-page Zane Grey Theater script entitled "Story Lines Used or Scheduled for Use," 1957.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Index Terms | ||
| Subjects (Persons) | ||
| Robinson, Jack | ||
| Powell, Dick | ||
| Garrison, Homer | ||
| Subjects (Organizations) | ||
| Trackdown (Television program)--Archives. | ||
| Texas Rangers | ||
| Twentieth Century-Fox Television, Inc. | ||
| Subjects | ||
| Television acting--United States | ||
| Television scripts | ||
| Television--Production and direction--United States | ||
| Western television programs--United States | ||
| Zane Grey western classics | ||
| Places | ||
| Culver City (Calif.) | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Trackdown Television Series Archives, 1957-1959, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Lynn Bell, April 1983.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Inventory | |||||||||||||
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| 3P54 | Television scripts, 1957-1959 | ||||||||||||
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| 3P55 | Television scripts, 1957-1959 | ||||||||||||