Pilot (12 Sep. 1971)

A successful lawyer defends a hippie accused of murdering a wealthy housewife.

Director:

Buzz Kulik

Writers:

Jerry McNeely (screenplay), Jerry McNeely (story),

Stars:

Arthur Hill, Vera Miles, Joseph Campanella

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Arthur Hill	...	Owen Marshall
Vera Miles	...	Joan Baldwin
Joseph Campanella	...	Dr. Eric Gibson
William Shatner	...	District Attorney Dave Blankenship
Bruce Davison	...	Raymond 'Cowboy' Leatherberry
Tim Matheson	...	Jim McGuire
Dana Wynter	...	Judge Lynn Oliver
Ramon Bieri	...	Dr. Thomas Hershey
Sorrell Booke	...	Murray Gale
Christine Matchett	...	Melissa Marshall
Rick Lenz	...	Baird Marshall
Joan Darling	...	Frieda Krause
Walter Brooke	...	Dr. Ray Baldwin
Kathleen Lloyd	...	Gloria Leatherberry
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Innkeeper (as Donald Barry)

Storyline

A successful lawyer defends a hippie accused of murdering a wealthy housewife.

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Plot Keywords:

abc movie of the week | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1971 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Groverton Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Subsequent series much better than overwrought pilot

It's amazing that Arthur Hill eventually got to make Owen Marshall into an interesting lawyer who shared honestly with the audience how he sometimes needed to wrestle with ethical boundaries. It's amazing the character got to live for four years on network television considering this overwrought and failed attempt at contemporary (circa 1971) relevance. The normally redoubtable Buzz Kulik, normally among the best at taut made-for-TV drama, instead gets extremely overwrought and heavily cliched performances from the entire cast. As a result, Hill's Marshall comes across as unbearably stiff in comparison.

The far-fetched plot makes little sense, and Lee Majors is unbearably wooden as the purported voice of the new generation. If you have fond memories of the TV series and get the opportunity to see this made-for-TV pilot movie, preserve your image and hope that series episodes eventually wend their way to DVD. This hopelessly muddled mess is simply not worth watching.