''Hudson's Bay'' is a syndicated 1959

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series set in Canada, and filmed in black-and-white. The episodes follow the adventures of a Hudson's Bay trader and his French-Canadian guide. Thirty-nine half-hour episodes were produced.

Sidney J. Furie Sholom Joseph Furie (born February 28, 1933), commonly known as Sidney J. Furie, is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. After early work at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Furie made his feature film debu ...

directed twenty-nine episodes, and Alvin Rakoff directed eight.Wisconsin Center for Film
/ref>

Synopsis

The series tells the fictional adventures of men connected to Canada's

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

during the 1810s and 1820s. Episodes begin with an announcer stating: "Hudson's Bay, the saga of the great Hudson's Bay Fur Company and of the brave men who traveled the untracked wilderness. From Labrador to California, from Minnesota to Alaska. Starring Barry Nelson as Jonathon Banner, Hudson's Bay man, with

George Tobias George Tobias (July 14, 1901 – February 27, 1980) was an American theater, film and television actor. He had character parts and supporting roles in several major films of Hollywood's Golden Age. He is also known for his role as Abner ...

as Pierre Falcon."Terrace, Vincent, ''Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949'', page 89 - 90, Scarecrow Press, 2013

Production

Thirty-eight episodes were produced by Northstar Productions, and filmed in Canada. The last episode was produced by Meridian Productions, and filmed in Hollywood. The series was distributed by

United Artists Television United Artists Television (UATV) was an American television production/distribution studio of United Artists Corporation that was formed on January 1, 1958. The company is remembered for producing series such as '' This Man Dawson'', '' World o ...

. Though the two main actors and the director of photography were from the United States, all others working on the series were either Canadian or British.

approved of the series, and lent furs to be used in fur trading scenes. Director

stated "They realize it's entertainment. They're not standing over us the way the RCMP's standing over their series."Moon, Barbara, ''Backstage on TV’s Hudson’s Bay'', ''Maclean’s'', July 18, 1959
/ref> The series was produced for $30,000 an episode, at a time when the average of $50,000 an episode was spent for a series. Four episodes were completed in two and a half weeks, averaging three days each.

Episodes

References

{{reflist

External links

''Hudson's Bay''
in the Internet Movie Database *Wisconsin Center for Fil

Black-and-white Canadian television shows Canadian English-language television shows 1950s Canadian drama television series