"The Defender" was an American

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

broadcast live in two parts on February 25, 1957, and March 4, 1957, as part of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television series, '' Studio One''. A courtroom drama, it was written by

Reginald Rose Reginald Rose (December 10, 1920 – April 19, 2002) was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s. Rose w ...

and directed by

Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), ''Summer of '42'' (1971), ' ...

. The cast included

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

and

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

as a father-son defense team,

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

as the defendant, and

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New ...

as the prosecutor.

Plot

Walter Preston (

) and his son Kenneth (

), fresh out of law school, defend Joseph Gordon (

) who is charged with

felony murder The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...

. Gordon is accused of robbing the apartment of a psychiatrist, Victor Wallach, and strangling his wife. Francis Toohey (

) is the prosecutor. The story turns on Walter Preston's belief that his client is guilty, and his son's belief that the client is innocent. Gordon is consistent throughout in insisting that he is innocent. Gordon was the delivery boy for a butcher shop. He was assigned to deliver meat to the Wallach apartment on the morning of the crime. He did not return to the butcher shop after the delivery. The police found him at his home and arrested him there. The victim's maid testifies that she was hit by an intruder who she identifies as Gordon. When she regained consciousness, Mrs. Wallach was dead. Despite efforts to shake her story on cross-examination, the maid insists that Gordon was the man who struck her. She has no doubt. Father and son have different view as to how far to go in order to raise doubt in the minds of jurors. The prosecutor pursues the case aggressively. Walter is reluctant to use some aggressive tactics, telling his son that he has to live in this community. Kenneth asks: "Shouldn't there be someone to fight as hard to free him as Toohey fights to kill him?" Walter agrees to use his son's proposed tactic. He recalls the maid to identify the man who hit her. She identifies the man sitting at the defense table. The defense then calls Joseph Gordon, who rises from a seat in the audience. The man sitting at defense table, the man identified by the maid, was a law student who has nothing to do with the case but who bears some resemblance to the defendant. While expressing disapproval of the tactic, the court grants a motion for directed verdict and frees the defendant. Walter remains unsure whether his client was guilty and whether he did the right thing.

Cast

The cast included performances by:Credits are as listed on screen from the broadcast, as captured by the kinescopes. *

as Walter Preston (defense attorney) *

as Francis Toohey (prosecutor) *

as Joseph Gordon (defendant) *

as Kenneth Preston (defense attorney) *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as ...

as Judge Marsala *

Vivian Nathan Vivian Nathan (born Vivian Firko, October 26, 1916 – April 3, 2015) was an American actress and founding member of the Actors Studio, which opened in 1947. She served on the Actors Studio's board of directors until 1999. She appeared in the or ...

as Mrs. Gordon * David J. Stewart as Dr. Victor Wallach * Dolores Sutton as Norma Lane *

Eileen Ryan Eileen Ryan (; October 16, 1927 – October 9, 2022) was an American actress. The wife of actor and director Leo Penn, she was the mother of actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn, and of singer Michael Penn. Life and career Ryan was born in the Br ...

as Betsy Fuller * Arthur Storch as Seymour Miller *

Rosetta LeNoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

as Mary Ellen Bailey * John McGovern as Dr. Horace Bell *

Rudy Bond Rudolph Bond (October 10, 1912 – March 29, 1982) was an American actor who was active from 1947 until his death. His work spanned Broadway, films and television. Early life Bond was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second youngest of f ...

as Peter D'Agostino * Michael Higgins as Sgt. James Sheeley *

Russell Hardie William Russell Hardie (May 20, 1904 – July 21, 1973) was an American film actor. He appeared in ''The Costello Case'', '' Broadway to Hollywood'', '' Stage Mother'', ''Christopher Bean'', '' As the Earth Turns'', '' Men in White'', ''Opera ...

as 1st Guard *

Milton Selzer Milton Selzer (October 25, 1918 – October 21, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Selzer and his family moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he was raised. After graduating fro ...

as 2nd Guard *

Iggie Wolfington Ignatius Wolfington (October 14, 1919 – September 30, 2004) was an American actor. He was the youngest member of the prominent Wolfington family of Philadelphia, operators of a carriage business early in the 20th century and brother of the foun ...

as Court Clerk *

Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later became a ...

as First Reporter *

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

as Juror

Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

presents Westinghouse appliances in breaks after each of the acts.

Production

The program was aired as a live television play on

on successive Monday nights, February 25 and March 4, 1957.

Herbert Brodkin Herbert Brodkin (November 9, 1912 – October 29, 1990) was an American producer and director of film and television. Brodkin was best known as the producer of the television shows '' Playhouse 90'', '' The Defenders'', the miniseries ''Holo ...

was the producer and Robert Mulligan the director.

, who also wrote ''

Twelve Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a 1 ...

'' (1954), wrote the story especially for ''Studio One''. It was reported to be the first live television drama divided for broadcast on separate nights and one of the first

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

television broadcasts. One critic objected to the decision, noting that splitting of dramas into multiple parts has the effect of "leaving audiences dangling on the cliff". Writer Reginald Rose opted for a two-parter, because he felt the telling of the story required nearly two hours of air time.("Far as anyone seems to know this is the first 'to be continued' original TV script in the one-hour field ... this one definitely breaks new ground for serious TV playwrights.") The story led Reginald Rose to develop a spinoff series, '' The Defenders'', which began airing in 1961. The program was revived again in 1997 by the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

cable network. Showtime producer Stan Rogow hearkened back to the original program, noting that ''Studio One'' in 1957 "had a stature and tone to it, and nothing like that is done anymore." Clips of the play were incorporated into an episode of the television series ‘’Boston Legal’’ in 2007. The clips were used as flashback sequences for the William Shatner character, Denny Crane. “Son of the Defender” was episode 18 of season 3 of ‘’Boston Legal’’ and aired on April 3, 2007.

Reception

After the first hour, Jack Gould of ''The New York Times'' wrote that it was "not especially impressive" and was "consumed by rather tedious exposition that easily could have been summarized in far less time." Critic Bill Ladd was more positive. He praised the "superb" camera direction and Rose's "compelling" story compared the courtroom drama to ''Twelve Angry Men'' and ''Caine Mutiny Court-Martial''. He also praised Bellamy's performance: "Bellamy is at his best, than which there is no better". After the second hour was aired, critic Hope Pantell praised the "fine acting" and praised the courtroom scenes as "well done and fascinating". When the show was re-aired more than 30 years later, David Bianculli called it "one of the best dramas of the so-called Golden Age of Television".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defender 1957 American television episodes 1957 television plays Studio One (American TV series)