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Why did “Frontier Gentleman” fail on radio?
When I talked about the original series “Frontier Gentleman” at the end of our episode, I mentioned that CBS had commissioned this series hoping to build on their already popular adult western, “Gunsmoke.” By the late 1950s, most radio series were either represented both on radio and TV (as with “Gunsmoke”) or the show was in their last throws of life. Some tried to find an audience with older Hollywood screen names like James Stewart in “The Six Shooter.” But there was no denying that television was here to stay, and it would be “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” going off the air in 1962 that officially ended the Golden Age of Radio.
So “Frontier Gentleman” premiering in 1958, fought an uphill battle against TV. It is a shame because John Dehner who played J.B. Kendall was a veteran radio actor and certainly did a great job in the role. But besides TV, there were also other elements that made the series struggle to grab an audience.
Firstly, where “Gunsmoke” had an ensemble cast and a familiar location week-to-week, Frontier Gentleman relied entirely on John Dehner’s Kendall. He did have some running storylines that repeated characters he’d met in his journeys, but overall he was a lot like Madison. A fish-out-of-water around a new group of people in a new location each week.
Second, I would say that “Frontier Gentleman” might’ve been too adult of a western. Matt Dillon might’ve had more believable storylines than the kiddie show, “The Lone Ranger,” but I think the very basic idea of a lawman on the side of right, still could appeal to a wide age range. I binged at least 20 episodes in preparing for this adaption. And some absolutely would come with a content warning today. In one episode, Kendall goes out with some soldiers who are being deployed to stop an Indian (using the show’s vernacular) attack on local ranchers. The soldiers are very cocky and ultimately are captured by the Indians. Kendall makes it to the settler’s house where only the wife has survived. As he hunkers down with her for the night, we hear a young man screaming in agony in the distance. Kendall tells us the Indian’s are scalping the soldier, and they want his screams to frighten and intimidate Kendall and the woman. Like… yikes. That was a very tough scene and overall a very bloody episode.
And lastly, while the show plainly tells us that we are seeing the West through the eyes of an Englishman, and Kendall is a former soldier himself (in India) so we know he can handle a gun, perhaps American audiences weren’t really wanting to have their hero in the American West be a British man.
If you have heard Madison’s episode of Frontier Gentleman, I will say this: “Sheriff Beljoy’s Prisoner” is one of the only humorous and lighthearted episodes I found. That’s why I picked it for the adaptation. I don’t even think Madison could find the funny in a guy getting scalped. But I will say I very much enjoyed this series and highly recommend everyone give it a listen. You can find the single episodes here on ARCHIVE.ORG
