Bart Matthews defends the poor and others who cannot afford an attorney. All episodes are based on actual cases from across the country.
Top-Rated Episodes
S1.E26
A young man is about to be executed and his priest makes one final attempt to prove his innocence by going to the Public Defender with the story.
S1.E17
A man is arrested for kidnapping his own child. The public defender is given the story behind the reason by the man's artist rep.
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Title: Public Defender (1954– )
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Bart Matthews defends the poor and others who cannot afford an attorney. All episodes are based on actual cases from across the country.
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
11 March 1954 (USA) See more »Filming Locations:
Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USACompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Bart Matthews was intended as a stand-in for the public defender who had actually completed the case at hand, to protect the privacy of that individual. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Back in the early 50s, Hal Roach Studios brought the show "Racket Busters" to television. It starred Reed Hadley and the cases were all about him apprehending various thieves and bunco artists. After three seasons, the show left the air and a new, almost identical, show from Roach came to the airwaves...and again with Reed Hadley in the lead. The format was just about the same--with the same sort of prologue for each episode. This time, however, Hadley works the other side of the law...at least much of the time.
The shows were odd in that although they claimed they were all true, Hadley's character (or a few guest stars) spent tons of time actually investigating the cases. In reality, most public defenders barely even say hello to their clients....and very few behaved like private detectives and social workers rolled up into one. Still, despite this, the shows were generally enjoyable and well made. However, the shows were much more variable in quality than "Racket Squad"...with quite a few stinkers along with the excellent ones.
If you want to see either series, they are available for free download from archive.org--a site frequently linked to IMDb pages.