''Lock-Up'' is an American
crime drama series that premiered in
syndication in September 1959 and concluded in June 1961. The half-hour episodes had little time for
character development or
subplots. It instead presented a compact story without embellishment.
Series overview
The program stars
Macdonald Carey as real-life
Philadelphia corporate attorney Herbert L. Maris (1880–1960) and
John Doucette as police detective Lieutenant Jim Weston. Maris died during the program's initial run.
Each episode began with the following introduction: "These stories are based on the files and case histories of Herbert L. Maris, prominent attorney, who has devoted his life to saving the innocent."
The foundation of each episode is the cornerstone of English and American jurisprudence: a person charged with a crime is
innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The series featured stories of persons who were unjustly accused, usually due to
circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...
. The program's primary theme is that when individuals are charged with a crime, not all is as it first appears and a thorough investigation is duly warranted in order to uncover vital facts pertinent to the case.
Herbert L. Maris had an uncanny sense about the honest, innocent persons who had been falsely accused. With his lucrative private practice of
corporate law, he also had the time and resources to help these people. He was an attorney who spent his spare time helping defendants unjustly charged by the
State. The stories portrayed in this series do not involve federal crimes.
Episodes
Season 1 (1959–60)
Season 2 (1960–61)
Guest stars
Among the many guest stars on the show were:
*
Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...
*
Paul Carr
*
John Carradine
*
Albert Carrier
*
Jean Carson
*
Jack Cassidy
*
Andy Clyde
Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...
*
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series ''The Wild Wild West'', playin ...
*
John Considine
*
Ellen Corby
Ellen Hansen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. She played the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series ''The Waltons'', for which she won three Emmy Awards. She was also ...
*
Walter Coy
*
Angie Dickinson
*
James Drury
James Child Drury Jr. (April 18, 1934 – April 6, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for having played the title role in the 90-minute weekly Western television series '' The Virginian'', which was broadcast on NBC from 1962 to ...
*
Buddy Ebsen
*
Ross Elliott
*
Joe Flynn
*
James Griffith
*
Neil Hamilton
*
Wanda Hendrix
*
Clark Howat
*
Adam Kennedy
*
Douglas Kennedy
*
Brett King
Brett King (born Bertell W. King, Jr.; December 29, 1920 – January 14, 1999) was an American actor who performed in films and on television between 1949 and 1967.
Early life and film career
King attended the American Theatre Wing in New Yor ...
*
Robert Knapp
*
Ted Knight
*
Dayton Lummis
*
Gavin MacLeod
*
Tyler McVey
*
Joyce Meadows
*
Mary Tyler Moore
*
Leonard Nimoy
*
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...
*
Sherwood Price
*
Richard Reeves
*
Johnny Seven
*
Harry Dean Stanton
*
Lyle Talbot
*
Carol Thurston
Carol Thurston (born Betty Lou Thurston; September 27, 1920 – December 31, 1969) was an American film and television actress who played the fictitious Emma Clanton in eight episodes (1959-1961) of the ABC/Desilu western television series ...
*
Brad Trumbull
*
John Vivyan
John R. Vivyan (née Vukayan; May 31, 1915 – December 20, 1983)US Social Security Applications and Claim Index 1936-2007, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref> was an American stage and television actor, who was best known for portraying the title ch ...
*
Helen Walker
Helen Marion Walker (July 17, 1920 – March 10, 1968) was an American actress.Obituary ''Variety'', March 13, 1968, page 79.
Biography 1920–1940: Early life
Helen Marion Walker was born July 17, 1920 in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter ...
*
Patrick Waltz
Jack Richard Waltz (December 6, 1924 – August 13, 1972) was an American film and television actor. He was credited in his first film as Philip Shawn.
Waltz was born in Akron, Ohio, the younger of two sons born to Frank and Lucy Leona (nee Dug ...
Production notes
Ziv Television Programs, Inc., of
Cincinnati, Ohio, a producer and distributor of more than 40 television shows during the 1950s including ''
Highway Patrol,'' ''
Sea Hunt,'' ''
Science Fiction Theatre,'' and subsequently, ZIV-United Artists produced the television series. Later, Showcase Media of
Studio City, California distributed the series.
Home media
ClassicFlix announced that they would release Season 1 on DVD in region 1 in 2017. However, these plans were shelved indefinitely on April 17, 2018, when ClassicFlix announced that they wouldn't be moving on with the project after all, due to the film elements not being in good enough shape.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=0052485, title=Lock-Up
''Lock-Up''sample episode ("Compulsion Killer") on
YouTube (original air date: December 24, 1960)
1959 American television series debuts
1961 American television series endings
1950s American legal television series
1960s American legal television series
1950s American crime drama television series
1960s American crime drama television series
Black-and-white American television shows
English-language television shows
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
Television series by Ziv Television Programs
Television shows set in Philadelphia