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The Best Episodes of Riverboat Season 1

Every episode of Riverboat Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Riverboat Season 1!

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Riverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961. It was produced by Revue Studios.

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Seasons2

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Riverboat Season 1 Episode 12 - Jessie Quinn
    8.0/10(18 votes)

    S1:E12

    Lt. Perry Quinn, an officer in Sam Houston's Texas Army, hires the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of lead down river. Captain Grey Holden is warned that Santa Ana's agents may try to sabotage the shipment.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 15 - The Face of Courage
    8.0/10(14 votes)

    S1:E15

    The Enterprise steams upriver with a cargo of arms and recruits for the Fort Union outpost. At Akins Landing, Grey Holden is told by Homer Atkins that the Sioux have been watching the boat and are planning an uprising.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 24 - The Wichita Arrows
    8.0/10(13 votes)

    S1:E24

    Dan Duryea steps into the leading role for the first of two episodes.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 25 - Fort Epitaph
    8.0/10(19 votes)

    S1:E25

    Dan Duryea has the leading role in the second of two episodes.

    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 2 - The Barrier
    7.9/10(24 votes)

    S1:E2

    Young Jefferson Carruthers has been assigned to a new post as an Indian agent. He and his wife board the Enterprise to travel to their new home. Also on board is Vance Muldoon, who plans to offer Carruthers money if he will smuggle liquor to the Indians.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 6 - The Fight Back
    7.8/10(20 votes)

    S1:E6

    Ansel Torgin hires the Enterprise for his daughter's wedding. Captain Grey Holden recognizes the bridegroom as a drifter he once threw off his riverboat.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 10 - The Faithless
    7.8/10(21 votes)

    S1:E10

    Prisoner Paul Drake is being returned to custody by a prison guard. Because Drake has already tricked him once, the guard shackles his prisoner to a deckhouse on the Enterprise.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 13 - Strange Request
    7.8/10(18 votes)

    S1:E13

    Actress Lorna Langton wants to charter the Enterprise and a skeleton crew for a trip to St. Louis. The actress has been told that her young son, kidnapped some years before, is being held in another town.

    Director:John Rich
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 3 - About Roger Mowbray
    7.7/10(23 votes)

    S1:E3

    Wealthy Roger Mowbray's marriage is threatened when an old sweetheart intimates that Roger married for money. Because he really loves his wife, Roger is doubly upset to discover that his father seems to be involved in the scheme to break up the marriage.

    Director:Felix E. Feist
    Writer:Hagar Wilde

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  10. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 14 - Guns for Empire
    7.7/10(18 votes)

    S1:E14

    Anthony Lorrimer charters the Enterprise to deliver a cargo of farm machinery to his thriving community of Lorrimer City. Captain Grey Holden is unaware that the cargo is actually arms and ammunition.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 20 - Salvage Pirates
    7.7/10(12 votes)

    S1:E20

    Louise Harrison and her boy friend, the only survivors of a boat tragedy, do some quick thinking. Realizing that a fortune in jewels went down with the ship, they appeal to their rescuer, Grey Holden, to help them retrieve Louise's ""dowry.""

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 9 - A Night At Trapper's Landing
    7.6/10(24 votes)

    S1:E9

    French playboy Andre Devereaux has become an American lieutenant. Assigned to lead some troops into Indian Territory, he finds that the normally peaceful Indians have been provoked to violence.

    Director:Felix E. Feist
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 11 - The Boy From Pittsburgh
    7.6/10(23 votes)

    S1:E11

    Tommy Jones, a young stowaway, is discovered aboard the Enterprise. Also on board is a pair of thieves, who plan to blow up the boat to collect insurance on some diamonds they are shipping to St. Louis.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:George Tibbles

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  14. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 17 - Landlubbers
    7.5/10(16 votes)

    S1:E17

    The Enterprise, tied up overnight, is boarded and highjacked by a vicious crew, who kill the three men left to guard the boat. Captain Grey Holden and Ben Fraser return to the scene in time to see their craft heading down the river. They set out overland to head her off.

    Director:William Witney
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 31 - The Sellout
    7.5/10(13 votes)

    S1:E31

    The Enterprise is badly in need of repairs and Holden has got to accept Nick Logan's offer. He will repair the boat, if afterward, he and his partner can use it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 4 - Race to Cincinnati
    7.4/10(18 votes)

    S1:E4

    John Jenkins has placed a large down payment on land owned by three ruthless farmers. Jenkins is planning to deliver a shipment of peaches, via the Enterprise, to Cincinnati, as a final payment for the land. But the farmers plot to block the boat so the shipment of peaches will be spoiled.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 8 - Witness No Evil
    7.4/10(21 votes)

    S1:E8

    Otto Justin, dealer in wild animals, is escorting a shipment of his captured beasts to St. Louis aboard the Enterprise. Widow Abby Saunders and her young son Paddy are both impressed with Justin's manner.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 19 - Forbidden Island
    7.4/10(12 votes)

    S1:E19

    While the Enterprise makes a stop for wood, a group of Cajuns board the vessel and hijack a part of the cargo. Two people are shot during the incident.

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 23 - Fight At New Canal
    7.4/10(15 votes)

    S1:E23

    Grey Holden is chosen to represent riverboat captains in seeking a government-subsidized canal. Preliminary surveys and work must be completed before Congress will approve the project. Opponents of the canal set out to sabotage the project.

    Director:R.G. Springsteen
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 5 - The Unwilling
    7.3/10(30 votes)

    S1:E5

    Riverboat pilot John Murrell plans to hijack a shipment from rival pilot Dan Simpson. Murrell arranges to have Lela Candida take a job on Simpson's boat as a dancing girl, so that she can signal his raiders when to attack.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 27 - Hang the Men High
    7.3/10(9 votes)

    S1:E27

    A young passenger on the Enterprise has been accused of murder by his dying father. An aroused posse set out to drag him off the Enterprise and serve up their own brand of justice.

    Director:Hollingsworth Morse
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 30 - The Quick Noose
    7.2/10(16 votes)

    S1:E30

    A noose is about to tighten around Carney's neck. Visiting his brother in Wingate, the riverboater is charged with murder.

    Director:Hollingsworth Morse
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 1 - Payment In Full
    7.1/10(33 votes)

    S1:E1

    For a price, simple-minded Hunk Farber is only happy to reveal the whereabouts of his boss, Monte, who accidentally killed a senator's son. The reward in his pocket, Hunk heads for Captain Holden's riverboat. There he is eager to impress a young lady aboard the Enterprise.

    Director:Douglas Heyes
    Writer:Douglas Heyes

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  24. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 21 - Path of the Eagle
    7.1/10(17 votes)

    S1:E21

    A trip to Independence, Missouri brings back memories of a bitter adventure to Grey Holden. Holden tells the story to Chip and Joshua.

    Director:Jules Munshin
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Riverboat Season 1 Episode 16 - Tampico Raid
    6.8/10(15 votes)

    S1:E16

    A group of volunteer teachers who have gone to the island of Diablo Corozan off the coast of Tampico are imprisoned when Spain conquers the island. The corrupt Spanish officials allow Joan Marchland, one of the teachers, to return to the United States to raise a ransom for the rest.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Jessie Quinn" is the best rated episode of "Riverboat" season 1. It scored 8/10 based on 18 votes. Directed by Jules Munshin and written by Unknown, it aired on 12/6/1959. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The Face of Courage".