Cannonball

Cannonball

1958
Cannonball
Cannonball

Cannonball

8.4 | en | Drama

Followed the adventures of Mike Malone and Jerry Austin as they drove trucks across the US and Canada for the fictitious C&A Transport Company Ltd. "Cannonball" was a half-hour family drama featuring truckers Mike Malone and Jerry Austin hauling freight across Canada and the U.S.A. Paul Birch and William Campbell portrayed the main characters, with Canadian actors Beth Lockerbie, Beth Morris, Steve Barringer, Howard Milsom, and others in supporting roles.

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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP38  Snake Eyes
Jul. 06,1959
Snake Eyes

Some unscrupulous businessmen want Mike and Jerry to haul gambling equipment for them, but their scheme turns up snake eyes: a loser.

EP37  Eye Witness
Jun. 29,1959
Eye Witness

Mike and Jerry become eyewitnesses to a killing. They are determined to testify in court as to what they saw-- but in the meantime, Mike and Jerry wind up on the hit list of the gangsters. Mike and Jerry finally testify, and put the entire gang behind bars.

EP36  Driving School
Jun. 22,1959
Driving School

After Jerry gets a couple of traffic tickets, and has a near-miss on the road, he is faced with having to take driving school.

EP35  Racket
Jun. 15,1959
Racket

Mike and Jerry always have a steady paycheck by working for C & A trucking. One day they find out how rough some independent truckers have it, they learn of a crooked racket trying to exert protection money from them. Mike and Jerry work with the independent truckers to put the racketeers out of commission.

EP34  Ginny
Jun. 08,1959
Ginny

Mike Malone puts the pedal to the metal to get home in time for Ginny's 10th birthday.

EP33  Wild Party
Jun. 01,1959
Wild Party

In a change-of-pace episode, Mike and Jerry haul some equipment for a band, and after the gig a wild party ensues.

EP32  Trip to Buffalo
May. 25,1959
Trip to Buffalo

Mike and Jerry make a scenic haul through Niagara Falls and wind up in Buffalo, New York.

EP31  Roadeo
May. 18,1959
Roadeo

In order to show off their skills, just like cowboys have a Rodeo, truck drivers have a Roadeo. Mike has already won the annual competition twice, and this year he wants Jerry to enter. Mike believes it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. However, not everyone believes in sportsmanship; one of the contestants is only interested in winning the prize money, and will stoop to sabotaging the other trucks in order to win.

EP30  Flying Dutchman
May. 11,1959
Flying Dutchman

Mike and Jerry have a valuable load to haul this time: fur pelts. To make matters worse, there's a gang of thieves on the road. No sooner do they start their long haul, than there's a bullet in one of the 18 wheels on their rig. Mike and Jerry fight a treacherous gang and road hazards, but as always deliver the haul in good condition and on time.

EP29  The Has-Been
May. 04,1959
The Has-Been

Mike and Jerry pick up a hitchhiker on the road; the guy is big, like a wrestler. When they have a meal at a truckstop, they run into a boxer, and find out the hitchhiker is a former boxer himself. The boxer calls the hitchhiker a has-been, and challenges him to a fight.

EP28  The Girl Reporter
Apr. 27,1959
The Girl Reporter

When a new girl reporter for the newspaper wants to do a story on truckers, Mike and Jerry wind up getting unwanted publicity.

EP27  Vendetta
Apr. 20,1959
Vendetta

Mike Malone served in the military during WWII. Mike had to discipline one of his men who kept shooting at enemy soldiers after they had already surrendered. Now a sailor who fits the description of that guy is looking for Mike, and it seems he might be out to settle an old score.

EP26  Lil's Place
Apr. 13,1959
Lil's Place

There are many welcome truckstops along the highways, but when Mike and Jerry pull into Lil's place, a surprise awaits them.

EP25  Marooned
Apr. 06,1959
Marooned

When Mike and Jerry's truck breaks down in a desolate region of Canada, they find themselves marooned.

EP24  The Little Old Man
Mar. 30,1959
The Little Old Man

When Mike and Jerry come across a little old man on the road, it turns out he has a past that surprises both of them.

EP23  Big Buck
Mar. 23,1959
Big Buck

Big Buck Harris is an independent trucker, and they are sometimes at odds with the truckers from C & A. Big Buck is also an incorrigible practical joker. After Big Buck puts one over on Mike and Jerry, they decide to get even-- and it's Mike and Jerry who get the last laugh.

EP22  Nanette
Mar. 16,1959
Nanette

An old girlfriend of Jerry's, named Nanette, shows up and wants to get together with Jerry again.

EP21  Undercover
Mar. 09,1959
Undercover

Mike can't believe it when Jerry is accused of stealing on the job, and gets fired. Even stranger is the fact that Mike can't get any explanations from the managers at C & A, or Jerry himself. Mike does some investigating, and finds out Jerry is really working undercover to catch the ones who have been stealing freight from C & A.

EP20  The Necklace
Mar. 02,1959
The Necklace

When a valuable necklace turns up missing, Mike and Jerry retrace their route to find out who could have taken it.

EP19  Fallout
Feb. 23,1959
Fallout

Mike has a really hot load to haul this week: radioactive Iridium-192, which is used principally in industry, to detect small cracks in large metal pipes pumping liquids. The stuff is potentially deadly if it fell out of the protective lead box it's in. Mike delivers the load in good condition, and on time. [scientific note: Iridium-192 is a radioisotope with a half-life of 72 days. So after 72 days, only 1/2 is still radioactive; after another 72 days, only 1/4; then 1/8th, and so on.]

EP18  Butch
Feb. 16,1959
Butch

Mike's son Butch has been getting some poor grades in school. Mike has to be strict with him. Later, they patch things up and Butch says he wants to be a trucker when he grows up.

EP17  The Dog
Feb. 09,1959
The Dog

Mike and Jerry find a stray dog on the road and try to find its rightful owner.

EP16  Mark Time
Feb. 02,1959
Mark Time

A fellow truck driver at C & A, Frank Peters, is going through a rough time-- first his son died, and then his wife left him. This causes him to miss work, and not do a good job when he does work. When Frank gets fired, and C & A assigns his freight to Mike Malone, Frank blames Mike for his problems. But Mike's son Butch tells Frank how Mike helped him all he could, and covered for him at work; it was Frank's poor job performance that got him canned. Frank decides to accept responsibility for his own actions, and turns his life around.

EP15  Sauce for the Goose
Jan. 26,1959
Sauce for the Goose

Mike and Jerry wind up hauling some high-powered fuel for an airplane called the Flying Goose. [Airplanes named ""Goose"": Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes once had his Hughes Aircraft Company make the ""Spruce Goose""-- the largest wood-constructed and the largest wingspan airplane ever built. Originally designed in 1942, it was powered by 8 Pratt & Whitney 3,000 horsepower engines. Howard Hughes piloted the Spruce Goose on its only flight: Nov. 2, 1947, in Long Beach Harbor, Los Angeles.]

EP14  The Attack
Jan. 19,1959
The Attack

When Mike and Jerry haul some valuable cargo, they find themselves under attack by some would-be hijackers.

EP13  The Girl at Joe's Place
Jan. 12,1959
The Girl at Joe's Place

While out on the road doing a long haul, Mike and Jerry stop at Joe's place for coffee. Mike is a happily married man, but Jerry is single and looking. Jerry falls for the pretty waitress, May, and they become romantically involved. But Jerry doesn't know that May has a past that she is not telling him about.

EP12  Nitro Haul
Jan. 05,1959
Nitro Haul

Mike and Jerry have a dangerous load this time, nitro glycerin to be used by a fuel company drilling for oil.

EP11  Shock
Dec. 29,1958
Shock

There's a new parts manager for C & A Transport: Ben Handley. Mike and Jerry wind up taking Ben along on a run; Ben doesn't seem to know much about trucks or mechanics, and he seems to have an alcohol problem. But when they come across a bad traffic accident on the road, Ben Handley gives first aid to the injured motorist-- long ago, Handley had been a doctor. Later, Mike gets Handley a job as a C & A company doctor. [goof: it would help make the show more authentic if the doc knew how to pronounce the word ""defibrillator"" correctly.]

EP10  Moose Hunt
Dec. 15,1958
Moose Hunt

There are some funny complications when Mike and Jerry are trucking during moose hunting season.

EP9  The Green-Eyed Monster
Dec. 08,1958
The Green-Eyed Monster

Jerry is just like one of the family at Mike Malone's house. But since Jerry is more like a buddy to Mike's kids Butch and Ginny, while sometimes Mike has to be a strict father, Mike begins to feel his kids like Jerry better than him. However, everything's fine by the end of the show, and they're all one big, happy family again.

EP8  Small Cargo
Dec. 01,1958
Small Cargo

Mike and Jerry are taking some freight on a long haul, but when they look in the back of their truck they find out they've also got some small cargo-- 2 frightened youngsters as stowaways. It seems they're running away from their uncle, who is on the wrong side of the law. Mike makes sure their evil uncle never hurts the kids again.

EP7  Hostage
Nov. 17,1958
Hostage

Mike and Jerry intercede when a hostage is taken at a truckstop, and diffuse what could turn out to be a dangerous situation.

EP6  The Big Ambulance
Nov. 10,1958
The Big Ambulance

Mike Malone loves truckstop food, and has meals and snacks on a long haul. When Mike gets some stomach pains, Jerry thinks it's just indigestion. But it turns out to be more serious, and Mike winds up taking a trip in an ambulance.

EP5  The Iron Lung
Nov. 03,1958
The Iron Lung

Mike and Jerry deliver a cargo consisting of an iron lung to help a polio patient.

EP4  Sights on Safety
Oct. 27,1958
Sights on Safety

When Mike and Jerry are under pressure to deliver a load in a big hurry, a near-accident makes them learn that they must keep their Sights on Safety.

EP3  Willy
Oct. 20,1958
Willy

Mike and Jerry pick up a hitchhiker named Willy who has gotten into trouble.

EP2  Pills
Oct. 13,1958
Pills

Truck drivers doing long hauls often use caffeine pills to stay alert. The highway patrol puts out a warning that some truckstops are selling stay-awake pills that can be real killers. When Mike and Jerry turn a bottle of this stuff over to the authorities, it leads to the breakup of this dangerous pill racket.

EP1  The Runaway Truck
Oct. 06,1958
The Runaway Truck

This pilot episode sets the premise: ""Cannonball"" is the adventures of 2 truck drivers who haul freight across the highways of the United States and Canada. The main character is Mike Malone; providing the family atmosphere are his wife Mary, and his son Butch, and his daughter Ginny. Mike's truck-drivin' buddy is Jerry Austin. This episode, Mike has to stop a runaway truck.

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8.4 | en | Drama | More Info
Released: 1958-10-06 | Released Producted By: , Country: Canada Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Followed the adventures of Mike Malone and Jerry Austin as they drove trucks across the US and Canada for the fictitious C&A Transport Company Ltd. "Cannonball" was a half-hour family drama featuring truckers Mike Malone and Jerry Austin hauling freight across Canada and the U.S.A. Paul Birch and William Campbell portrayed the main characters, with Canadian actors Beth Lockerbie, Beth Morris, Steve Barringer, Howard Milsom, and others in supporting roles.

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Cast

Paul Birch , William Campbell , Beth Morris

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Reviews

robpineault I liked the cannonball television show. It opens up with the truck going along the queen Elizabeth highway near hurontario ramp in Mississauga Ontario . the truck was loaned by General motors Canada. The filming was done in Toronto, oakville and Bolton Ontario.the truck terminal that was used was kingsway transport Toronto. William Campbell had a hard time at first backing the truck into the dock. The truck became a rental after the show and was sold later to Stone cartage Toronto Canada. Thanks rob.
loneagle-1 I remember watching the series as I was growing up in El Paso. The series seems now to be a roving trucker's plot, sort of in the vein of "Route 66," only from a Canadian point of view. I was a small girl so I didn't really see Canada in the show. The U.S. Southwest was my point of reference. I would love to see the series come out on DVD. My husband remembers the show, too, and he says the series almost influenced him into becoming a trucker like his grandfather. "Cannonball" has the rudimentary set of screenplay constructs that could help aspiring writers understand the makeup of camera cutaways, acting interaction and time constraint editing. It also is a great little piece that extols the virtue of the old GMC round snout cab, the Trailways aerodynamic trailers and the road lifestyles back in the '50s. Perhaps the owners of the copyright will see fit to reintroduce the show in DVD form.
Paul Amato Oh How I remember this TV series as a Child( I think I was 5 or 6 years old) I use to try & sing the theme song every time it came on.I enjoyed the Adventures of the Two Truckers in this series & the Incredible Cab-over GMC,Tractor-Trailer Rig they Drove.GREAT SERIES.Was there any Merchandise available on this show??? Does anyone have Videos of any of the Episodes???? Will there ever be a DVD set available? I was told that there was a British Comic Weekly (TV Tornado) that had Cannonball Comic Strips in it??? Can anyone from ENGLAND or ???? Let me know? Thanks & You All Take Care,HAPPY HOLIDAYS Paul-SUPERCAR-Amato...Dec.12,06
John (opsbooks) Thanks for your memories, Andrew. This is one show I really would like to see again. All I have are the two versions of the theme on reel to reel tape, circa 1961. Did the boys operate between Canada and the US? I just can't remember, alas.