''The Law'' is a 1974
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...
made-for-television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
directed by
John Badham
John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an English television and film director, best known for his films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ''Short Circuit'' (1986), and ...
starring
Judd Hirsch
Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...
as defense attorney Murray Stone with
John Beck,
Bonnie Franklin and
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...
.
[Terry White Justice Denoted: The Legal Thriller in American, British, and ...- 2003 0313303010 "Oliansky, Joel, and William Sackheim. The Law. ... Oliansky and Sackheim collaborated on the original story from an original idea. (See the ... Judd Hirsch (as the criminal defense attorney), John Beck, Bonnie Franklin, and Gary Busey."]
Plot
The workings of a big city's legal system are seen through the eyes of people involved in a sensational murder trial.
Cast
*
Judd Hirsch
Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...
as Murray Stone
*
John Beck as Gene Carey
*
Bonnie Franklin as Bobbie Stone
*
Barbara Baxley
Barbara Angie Rose Baxley (January 1, 1923 – June 7, 1990) was an American actress and singer.
Early life
Barbara Baxley was born on January 1, 1923, in Porterville, California, the daughter of Emma (née Tyler) and Bert Baxley and sister to H ...
as Judge Rebeccah Fornier
*
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...
as Jules Benson
*
Allan Arbus
Allan Franklin Arbus (February 15, 1918 – April 19, 2013) was an American actor and photographer. He was the former husband of photographer Diane Arbus. He is known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the CBS television series ...
as Leonard Caporni
*
John Hillerman
John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series '' Magnum, P.I.'' that aired from 1980 to 1988. For his role as ...
as Thomas Q. Rachel
*
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...
as William Bright
*
Gerald Hiken
Gerald Hiken (May 27, 1927 – January 6, 2021) was an American actor.
Career
A native of Milwaukee, he studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. Hiken was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1980 for his performance in ...
as Judge Arnold Lerner
*
Michael Bell as Cliff Wilson
*
Herbert Jefferson Jr.
{{BLP sources, date=March 2013
{{Infobox person
, name = Herbert Jefferson, Jr.
, image = Herbert Jefferson, Jr. by Gage Skidmore.jpg
, caption = Herbert Jefferson, Jr., at the 2012 Phoenix Comicon
, birth_date = {{birth date and age, mf=yes, 19 ...
as Maxwell Fall
*
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 Arthur Winchell
*
John Sylvester White as Judge Philip Shields
*
Robert Q. Lewis
Robert Q. Lewis (born Robert Goldberg; April 25, 1921 – December 11, 1991) was an American radio and television personality, comedian, game show host, and actor. Lewis added the middle initial "Q" to his name accidentally on the air in 1942, ...
as Speaker at Bar Dinner
*
Logan Ramsey as Raymond Bleisch
*
Sandy Ward
Sandy Brown (July 12, 1926 – March 6, 2005) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of "Logger Pete" on 11 episodes of the American sitcom television series '' Malcolm in the Middle'' ...
as Hoak
*
George Wyner
George Wyner (born October 20, 1945) is an American film and television actor. Wyner graduated from Syracuse University in 1968 as a drama major and was an in-demand character actor by the early 1970s. Wyner has made guest appearances in over 1 ...
as Deputy D.A. Piper
*
Ernie Anderson
Ernest Earle Anderson (November 12, 1923 – February 6, 1997) was an American radio and television personality, horror host, and announcer.
Known for his portrayal of " Ghoulardi", the host of late night horror films on WJW Channel 8 on Clev ...
as Barry Hale - TV News Anchor
*
Reb Brown Common meanings
* Johnny Reb, personification of a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War
* Reb (Yiddish), an honorific title for a teacher
People
* Reb Anderson (born 1943), American Zen Buddhist teacher and writer
* Reb Beach (born 1963), ...
as Tommy Cicero
*
Dennis Burkley
Dennis Henry Burkley (September 10, 1945 – July 14, 2013) was an American actor. In a career spanning four decades, he appeared in numerous films and television series. He was best known for his role as Theo in Son in Law.
Early life
Burkley ...
as Monty Leese
*
Don Calfa
Donald George Calfa (December 3, 1939 – December 1, 2016) was an American film and television character actor whose credits spanned over 40 years, playing both comedic and dramatic roles. Although Calfa appeared in many high-profile films and ...
as Rod Brainard
*
Helen Page Camp
Helen Page Camp (December 27, 1930 – August 1, 1991) was an American actress. Early years
Born to Austin and Helen (née Landes) Camp in Washington, D.C., Camp's career began onstage, most notably Off Broadway in New York City.
Career
Her fir ...
as Mrs. Bright
*
Alex Colon
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
as Felix Esquivel
*
Regis Cordic
Regis John Cordic (May 15, 1926 – April 16, 1999) was an American radio personality and actor, also known and credited as Rege Cordic.
His career in entertainment was divided roughly in half. From 1948 to 1965, he was the dominant mornin ...
as Raymond Churchill
*
Ted Gehring as Detective Sargeant Manfred
*
Corey Fischer
Corey John Fischer (February 28, 1945 – June 6, 2020) was an American actor.
Early life and education
Fischer was born in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in French and Theatre Arts from UCLA.
Career
In the mid-1 ...
as Nicholson
*
Pamela Hensley
Pamela Gail Hensley (born October 3, 1950) is an American actress and author. Her notable acting roles include Princess Ardala on the 1979–1981 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and C.J. Parsons on the 1982–1985 televisio ...
as Cindy Best
*
Milt Kogan
Milt Kogan (born April 10, 1936) is an American actor. He made well over 100 guest appearances on American network television shows. He is perhaps best known for playing Desk Sergeant Kogan on six episodes of the sitcom television series ''Barne ...
as Detective Milt Vinton
*Luis Moreno as Melendez
*
Joel Oliansky
Joel Oliansky (October 11, 1935 – July 29, 2002) an Emmy-winning director and screenwriter, was best known for the screenplay of ''Bird'' (the 1988 biographic film about Charlie Parker), as well as writing and directing episodes of TV series inc ...
as Wystan Lanier
*
Eugene Peterson
Eugene Hoiland Peterson (November 6, 1932 – October 22, 2018) was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner '' The Message: The Bible in ...
as Leon Zuckerwaar
*
Anne Ramsey
Angelina Anne Ramsey-Mobley (March 27, 1929 – August 11, 1988) was an American actress. She is best known for her film roles as Mama Fratelli in ''The Goonies'' (1985) and as Mrs. Lift in ''Throw Momma from the Train'' (1987), the latter of wh ...
as Eleanor Bleisch
*
Brad Sullivan
Bradford Ernest Sullivan (November 18, 1931 – December 31, 2008) was an American character actor on film, stage and television. He was best known for playing the killer Cole in ''The Sting'', hockey goon Mo Wanchuk in ''Slap Shot'', mobster Geo ...
as Officer Newberg
*
Keith Walker as Dwight Healy
*Charlie White as Gordon Riefler
*Alex Wilson as Mrozek
*
Henry Brown as Reynaldo Williams
1975 miniseries
A 1975 TV miniseries of three further hour-long episodes was created for Hirsch's character, each directed by writer
Joel Oliansky
Joel Oliansky (October 11, 1935 – July 29, 2002) an Emmy-winning director and screenwriter, was best known for the screenplay of ''Bird'' (the 1988 biographic film about Charlie Parker), as well as writing and directing episodes of TV series inc ...
:
*"Complaint Amended", March 19, 1975
*"Prior Consent", March 26, 1975
*"Special Circumstances", April 16, 1975
References
External links
* (1974 TV movie)
* (1975 TV miniseries)
1974 television films
1974 films
1975 American television series debuts
1975 American television series endings
Films directed by John Badham
Films about lawyers
{{US-tv-film-stub