The Defender: Part 1 (25 Feb. 1957)
"Studio One" The Defender: Part 1 (original title)

A young criminal attorney and his firm-owning father defend a 19 year-old on trial for a murder that he swears he did not commit. Personal conflicts arise with the attorney and his father ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writer:

Reginald Rose

Stars:

Martin Balsam, Ralph Bellamy, Rudy Bond

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Martin Balsam	...	Francis Toohey
Ralph Bellamy	...	Walter Preston
Rudy Bond	...	Peter D'Agostino
Betty Furness	...	Herself / Commercial Spokeswoman
Russell Hardie	...	1st Guard
Michael Higgins	...	Sergeant James Sheeley
Rosetta LeNoire	...	Mary Ellen Bailey
John McGovern	...	Dr. Horace Bell
Steve McQueen	...	Joseph Gordon (as Steven McQueen)
Vivian Nathan	...	Mrs. Gordon
Eileen Ryan	...	Betsy Fuller
Milton Selzer	...	2nd Guard
William Shatner	...	Kenneth Preston
David J. Stewart	...	Dr. Victor Wallach
Arthur Storch	...	Seymour Miller

Storyline

A young criminal attorney and his firm-owning father defend a 19 year-old on trial for a murder that he swears he did not commit. Personal conflicts arise with the attorney and his father while the prosecution puts on a dramatic and convincing argument of guilt.

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Plot Keywords:

murder trial | lawyer | father son relationship | father employs son

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1957 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode would evolve into the series The Defenders which starred Robert Reed and E.G. Marshall in the roles played by William Shatner and Ralph Bellamy.

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Connections

Featured in Boston Legal: Son of the Defender (2007)

User Reviews

Clips from this drama used in 2007 Boston Legal episode

Several scenes from this drama are used as flashback sequences in the April 3, 2007, episode of Boston Legal, titled "Son of the Defender". In this episode, William Shatner's character, lawyer Denny Crane, is held hostage by a man whose mother was the murder victim. Crane and his father had defended the accused murderer, so the facts fit closely with this Studio One drama, except for the name of Shatner's character, of course. The victim's son is convinced that justice had been perverted, so he stages a re-trial of sorts. David E. Kelley deserves credit for his ingenious revisiting of this story half a century later. Fans of the original should check out this follow-up.