Challenge of the Yukon: “River Pirates” 2/28/49
A band of ruthless crooks plan to board and rob the riverboat Indian Queen while it is carrying valuable cargo along the Yukon River. To cover their crime, they intend to scuttle the ship afterwards, killing all aboard.
It is, of course, up to Sgt. Preston and his dog Yukon King to save the day. But they can’t save it alone. With the regular crew locked away as the Indian Queen floats into some rapids, a former riverboat pilot named Steve Ballard (who had lost his nerve after losing a boat to a hidden snag some years earlier) must pull himself together and take the wheel.
Produced by the same people who made The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet, Challenge of the Yukon offered the same high production values and expert storytelling as those other two shows. And, of course, anytime a story can logically fit something as cool as a 19th Century riverboat into a story, it’s already one up on the competition.
Challenge of the Yukon was basically a Western in terms of plot and characters, but its unique setting gave it an equally unique ambiance. “River Pirates” is a fine example of just how entertaining this show could be. And, of course, the unlimited budget given to radio by our imaginations means that riverboat ride through the dangerous rapids “looked” just as cool as any modern CGI effect.
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Still one of my favorites.
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