''The Black Robe'', aka ''Police Night Court: The Black Robe'' is a 30-minute American docu-drama anthology
court show
A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...
based on actual police night court cases. Forty-plus episodes aired on the
National Broadcasting Company from May 18, 1949 until March 30, 1950.
It was produced by Warren Wade and directed by Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr. Its creator and writer was
Phillips H. Lord.
Frankie Thomas, Sr. portrayed the judge, and John Green was the court clerk.
A review in the trade publication ''
Billboard'' praised the assortment of non-actor characters but commented that "the program goes overboard" in its efforts to achieve realistic images and dialog.
The reviewer also found that the episode presented too many cases, which limited their development and resulted in a bare-bones presentation of each case.
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References
External links
''Police Night Court: The Black Robe'' at CVTA
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1940s American anthology television series
1950s American anthology television series
1949 American television series debuts
1950 American television series endings
Black-and-white American television shows
NBC original programming
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