The Adventures of Tugboat Annie

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie

1957 - United Kingdom, Canada

Anglo-Canadian sitcom about Annie Brennan, the fog-horn voiced captain of the Narcissus, a tugboat based in a harbour on the Pacific North West of America. Her main preoccupation was getting the better of fellow skipper Horatio Bullwinkle and the two spent most of their time trading insults although deep down they were really friends and shared many adventures together. Tugboat Annie first appeared in Norman Reilly Raine's short stories that appeared in the weekly US journal Saturday Evening Post in the late 1920s. 

In 1933 a movie was made which starred Marie Dressler as Annie and Wallace Beery as Bullwinkle. Tugboat Annie Sails Again appeared in 1940 and Captain Tugboat Annie in 1945. In each movie Annie was portrayed by a different actress. The independent US production company TPA (Television Programs of America) commissioned a series in 1954 but the pilot was beset with problems; taking two years to complete and costing a then record $129,000. 

The Adventures of Tugboat Annie

Among the favoured stars to play the lead role was the original Bride of Frankenstein; Elsa Lanchester. When the series was finally made (by Normandie Productions, Inc. a Canadian subsidiary of TPA) former opera singer Minerva Urecal was cast as Annie and Walter Sande as Bullwinkle. Annie's deckhands were Whitey and Pinto (Don Baker and Don Orlando) while Bullwinkle was supported by Jake (James Barron). Filmed in Ontario, Canada for US Syndication and Associated Rediffusion in the UK.

Published on November 26th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Educated Evans

Based on an Edgar Wallace created character this 1957/8 sitcom starred Charlie Chester as the popular Cockney racing tipster 'Educated' Evans, who ducked and dived through the back streets and public houses of London all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the law.

Also released in 1957

All Your Own

BBC hobby programme for children.

Also tagged 1950S Television

Annie Oakley

Television's first Western heroine was played by Gail Davis and co-starred Brad Johnson as Deputy Sheriff Lofty Craig and Jimmy Hawkins, as Annie's brother, Tagg.

Also tagged 1950S Television

Errol Flynn Theatre

British-produced anthology series along similar lines to Douglas Fairbanks Presents; both were made to cash in on the growing US and British television markets.

Also tagged 1950S Television

About the Home

Long-running 1950s afternoon programme designed to help women improve their domestic skills with tips on everything they could wish to know about from cookery to soft furnishings and needlework to bringing up baby and doing their own DIY.

Also tagged 1950S Television

The Gay Cavalier

Swashbuckling adventure as yet another historical rogue is turned into a hero for 1950s British television.

Also released in 1957

Emergency Ward 10

Britain's first medical soap, which was also the first of the country's twice-weekly serials, went on to become one of the nation’s best loved programmes, reaching an average audience of 16 million people a week and 24 million at its peak.

Also released in 1957

Jack Benny

From the vaudeville circuit to a highly popular comedic career in radio, television, and film. Jack Benny was known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a pregnant pause or a single expression.

Also tagged 1950S Comedy

Peter Gunn

Ground-breaking and classic US detective series that set a new standard for what a television crime drama could be. The series was a precursor to shows like ‘The Rockford Files’ and ‘Magnum, P.I.’

Also starring Minerva Urecal