A father and son lawyer duo take a variety of cases that often deal with the important issues of the day.
Top-Rated Episodes
S3.E16
Joe Larch used to be a character actor in the movies but he was blacklisted in the early 1950's and hasn't been able to find a job in the movies since. He now works as a sales clerk in a shoestore. ...
S2.E7
When Joey Tassili enters the courtroom to be tried for first degree murder, all he is interested in is if his mother is there. When she shows up, the elder Preston has to restrain him. After the ...
S1.E13
The Prestons defend a policeman who killed the teenage boy that attacked his five-year-old daughter. The officer stubbornly insists he had a right to do it and most of his neighbors agree with him.
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Title: The Defenders (1961–1965)
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Cast
| Complete series cast summary: | |||
| E.G. Marshall | ... | Lawrence Preston 132 episodes, 1961-1965 | |
| Robert Reed | ... | Kenneth Preston 132 episodes, 1961-1965 | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Recent law school graduate (Robert Reed) joins his father (E.G. Marshall) as the pair tackle challenging legal cases, often involving issues which were highly touchy for the times (abortion, euthanasia, "un-American" activities, movie censorship). In most the freshly minted lawyer has much to learn from his father's extensive legal experience. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords:
lawyer | law | legal drama | father son relationship | father son partnership |Taglines:
Tense drama in and out of court in the noted series with E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed.Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
16 September 1961 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Los defensores See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
(132 episodes)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The characters first appeared in an episode of Studio One in Hollywood (1948), when they were played by Ralph Bellamy and William Shatner. See more »Connections
Featured in TV Guide's 50 Best Shows of All Time: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (2002) See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Can this series really have been as inspiring as I thought it was at the time? If so, it must have had enormous effect on American society.
Certainly it dealt more courageously than any other show of the period with issues such as civil rights, religious and political oppression, faults in existing laws on divorce, narcotics and legal sanity, and the ethical problems of priests, doctors and lawyers.
And, as I remember, although E.G.Marshall (as Lawrence Preston) demanded our sympathy for his stand on these issues, there was always argument and challenge from Robert Reed (as his son, Kenneth), and humor prevented solemnity or sentimentality.
Actors such as Sylvia Sidney, Sam Wanamaker, Ruth Roman, Akim Tamiroff, Teresa Wright, and Jack Klugman played leading roles, but minor characters also came across as people of dignity and importance.
What impressed me most perhaps was Lawrence Preston's respect for THE LAW.
Won't some kind person allow us to see it again?