Dusty's Trail (1 Viewer)

[Nick Eden]

I bought the DVD of Dusty's Trail today.
Does anyone know why there are only 17 out of 24 or is it 26 episodes made?
Is it anything to do with some episodes being syndicated and others not? Or are the missing ones lost (unlikely) or in too poor a state to release?

 

[Bob Hug]

Nick, one of the companies that supplies public domain material to various DVD releasing companies and TV stations is Reel Media International (http://www.reelmediainternational.com/classic.htm) and they are showing 17 episodes as being available. Since Brentwood, the releasing company for “Dusty’s Trail” deals primarily in public domain material, I think it’s safe to say that what you have purchased are public domain episodes (Alpha Video, another company specializing in PD material, has also released some episodes from the series as well). So where are the other 9 episodes? It’s likely one of two possibilities. Either the remaining 9 episodes are not in the public domain or, more probably, Reel Media International (or whoever supplied Brentwood with the prints) only had access to 17 prints from the series.

Also, a compilation "movie" comprised of several episodes of "Dusty's Trail" and titled "The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West" is available from a variety of the low budget PD releasing companies.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Is there a website that lists all public domain films and TV episodes in existence? Reel Media only shows their TV listings in detail.

 

[Bob Hug]

I'm unaware of any comprehensive listing of public domain material available on the web but the Film Superlist books are supposedly the best sources for this information (though expensive). See more information at:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/pubdomain.html

 

[Nick Eden]

Thanks Bob. I think that must be the answer.
It never occurred to me that DT could be in the public domain. After all it is a fairly recent series. But then looking at that list there appears to be loads of "modern" (1980s) material public domain. I was under the (misguided) impression that public domain items were a lot older, not least because studios have surely become more savvy as to the worth of their material and the sheer lunancy of NOT renewing their copyright!

 

[Michael Alden]

I highly doubt that the show is public domain, although it is possible. What's more likely is that the owners of the show never bothered to register it for copyright. It used to be that you had 28 years from publication in order to do so, although that has now been changed to a much longer time period. So, even if the copyright holders on this series hadn't registered it at the time they probably could do it now and then try to enforce it. It was produced by Metromedia which is now owned by Fox. Whether or not they are even aware of the show or it's status of being sold is questionable. As to why there are only 17 episodes being offered, that's probably because those are the only film prints that have been turned up on the collector's market. I'm sure that the complete run of the show resides in Fox's vaults.

 

[Jeff#]

Gilligan's Island + F Troop + Wagon Train = Dusty's Trail.

Enough typed.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Considering how few episodes of this show were produced, it would be nice to get a complete official release, but with these supposed PD discs out, that looks much less likely.

 

[Michael Alden]

Fox hasn't even thought of releasing some of their popular shows, like Room 222, Nanny and the Professor, Dobie Gillis, etc. This was a 1-season, made for syndication show that hasn't been seen anywhere since it's original run and was done by a company that Fox acquired. I'd say the chances of them actually doing a legit release are highly unlikely. Besides, if you watch the 17 episodes that are available, I think that would cure you forever of wanting to see the show.