The earliest known conceptual documents for "Temple Houston" date back to 1957. It took about six years for a pilot to be filmed. That pilot, "The Man From Galveston", was filmed in March 1963, but was never broadcast on television. Instead, the 57-minute film was released theatrically late in 1963. The series used a different cast from the movie pilot. Jeffrey Hunter was the only cast member to star in both pilot and series, although his character was re-dubbed Timothy Higgins in the pilot when it was released as a theatrical film.