Public Defender

Public Defender

1954
Public Defender
Public Defender

Public Defender

7.5 | NR | en | Drama

The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.

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Seasons & Episodes

2
1
EP43  Failure
Jun. 23,1955
Failure

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP42  The Jockey and the Nun
Jun. 16,1955
The Jockey and the Nun

Joey leaves his orphanage to be a jockey when an encounter with hotel owner Mr. Barry gets him returned. But after the hotel is burned Joey is arrested. Only Sister Anthony continues to believe him during the trial.

EP41  The Bad Ones
Jun. 09,1955
The Bad Ones

A 'Good Kid' gets caught up with the wrong crowd and his parents seem unable to do anything About it.

EP40  Story of Nora Fulton
Jun. 02,1955
Story of Nora Fulton

Matthews defends an ex-policeman's daughter when she is accused of murdering her boyfriend.

EP39  Operation: CLEAT
May. 26,1955
Operation: CLEAT

Law enforcement agencies from the U.S. and Mexico join forces after the public defenders' office uncovers a car theft ring that is connected to drug trafficking.

EP38  Condemned
May. 19,1955
Condemned

An alcoholic vagrant is charged with the murder of a police officer.

EP37  Eight Out of a Hundred
May. 12,1955
Eight Out of a Hundred

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP36  Clifford Pike
May. 05,1955
Clifford Pike

A man admits to murdering his aunt and grandmother, claiming insanity. But the case goes through all twists and turns before the amazing truth is revealed.

EP35  End of the Line
Apr. 28,1955
End of the Line

An elderly Public Defender determines to keep busy during the weeks until his retirement comes through. He puts himself at great odds to keep a man from being sent to prison. Bart Matthews comes to his aid.

EP34  A Pair of Gloves
Apr. 21,1955
A Pair of Gloves

Flippant small time hood and three time loser Allie Kilgore claims he bought out of town a pair of gloves that are the like the pair he is accused of taking in a home burglary.

EP33  The Stepfather
Apr. 14,1955
The Stepfather

A teenage boy, stepson of the Police Chief, is arrested for breaking into a gas station. The Chief is convinced he can help him. Bart steps in to help and all is resolved in the end when the Chief faces the boy down.

EP32  The Sapphire Mink
Apr. 07,1955
The Sapphire Mink

A young modal is arrested for stealing a mink, but she says she had permission to wear it.

EP31  Time to Kill
Mar. 31,1955
Time to Kill

When Peter Stone hears that a murder suspect fits his description, his extreme paranoia leads him to take actions that make him appear guilty. He is eventually convicted of a murder he had nothing to do with. Matthews appeals his case.

EP30  Cornered
Mar. 24,1955
Cornered

An upcoming prizefighter wants to turn himself into Matthews for parole violation but the threats of small time hoodlums and the actions of a clueless police officer cause things to go wrong.

EP29  Brutality
Mar. 17,1955
Brutality

A man arrested for robbery swears he's innocent and only signed the confession because the arresting officer beat him up.

EP28  The Hitchhiker
Mar. 10,1955
The Hitchhiker

A soldier about to ship out of the country is on his way home to his pregnant wife. He gets a ride with a woman who takes him as far as the car rental place. Later that night, the man and his wife are arrested for stealing the car and hitting an old, blind woman. The Public Defender searches for the young woman who gave him a ride, but she seems to not exist.

EP27  A Knowledge of Astronomy
Mar. 03,1955
A Knowledge of Astronomy

An error in reading the stars provides the key clue in unraveling crimes committed at an oil drilling site.

EP26  Jackpot
Feb. 24,1955
Jackpot

A kid is arrested for gang activity after mugging a cop, but the gang is being organized by some influential people, so the other gang members threaten to kill the kid if he talks. The Public defender must get to the bottom of things before someone else is hurt!

EP25  The Big Steel
Feb. 17,1955
The Big Steel

A man is accused of purposely running a co-worker down and is arrested for attempted murder. But the Public Defender is able to get him off after talking to his other co-workers. Oh, but wait, that's only half the story.

EP24  Mama's Boy
Feb. 10,1955
Mama's Boy

After a boy is discovered dead in the hallway at school, one of his classmates is arrested since he was caught fighting with him at the time of his death. The Public Defender sets out to find out if the boy's being a "Mama's Boy" may have been the cause for what the classmates claim was an accident.

EP23  The Director
Feb. 03,1955
The Director

A once famous film director is now working as night-watchman at the film studio. One night he knocks down another film director, who once was his assistant director but now is the famous one, and takes 300 dollars from him. The public defender cannot understand why somebody would destroy all of his former reputation for such a small crime.

EP22  Your Witness
Jan. 27,1955
Your Witness

Bart Matthews defends Karl Novak, who faces a second-degree murder charge following the grisly slaying of a storekeeper.

EP21  Gunpoint
Jan. 20,1955
Gunpoint

An ex-con is forced to rob his employer's safe by two other ex-cons who knew him from the joint.

EP20  Deep Ditch
Jan. 13,1955
Deep Ditch

Matthews must defend a ditch-digger accused of attacking his boss. Further investigation reveals more complexity to the story.

EP19  Another World
Jan. 06,1955
Another World

The Bachman siblings are European refugees who've worked hard in America. But Hans begins to romance Wanda and convinces her to get him valuable plans. Erich ends the spy ring by shooting Hans but was it justified in Reed's definition of justice.

EP18  The Man Who Couldn't Remember
Dec. 30,1954
The Man Who Couldn't Remember

A man is arrested for a robbery he didn't commit, but he can't remember what he did at the time of the robbery. His wife believes in his innocence. His only hope may be a mental hospital where they can help him remember.

EP17  Moonshine
Dec. 23,1954
Moonshine

During a raid on the Carter family still, a warden is shot and killed. Jesse Carter, fresh home from the service, is arrested for the killing.

EP16  Socrates
Dec. 16,1954
Socrates

Guy from the hood gets framed for murder. Matthews enlists the help of Socrates, who runs the hood's homeless shelter, to obtain proof of his client's innocence.

EP15  Open Season
Dec. 09,1954
Open Season

It is the opening of deer season and the long-running feud between two old codgers has heated up again. When one is found shot in the woods, the other is of course the prime suspect.

EP14  The Murder Photo
Dec. 02,1954
The Murder Photo

The answer to a murder case may just lay in the hands of a teenage boy using trick photography.

EP13  Circumstanial Evidence
Nov. 25,1954
Circumstanial Evidence

A story of blind justice, as Matthews defends a man whom was caught by police with the gun that killed the man's wife.

EP12  The Hijacked Truck
Nov. 18,1954
The Hijacked Truck

A man in love is accused of hijacking. The public defender hears a story about his courtship and the reason behind his arrest.

EP11  Until Proven Guilty
Nov. 11,1954
Until Proven Guilty

A man becomes desperate for money when he's told his son must have an operation immediately. After getting the money, his brother-in-law arrests him, telling him he got the money illegally. Now the Public Defender must find a way to get him out of jail and reunited with his family.

EP10  Hot Rod
Nov. 04,1954
Hot Rod

The Public Defender defends a young man involved in an accident that killed a young girl. He investigates to see if he was accused because he was in a hot rod.

EP9  Destiny
Oct. 28,1954
Destiny

The Public Defender's deputy almost wrecks his marriage when he insists on defending a 15-year old boy accused of assault and murder.

EP8  Crash Out
Oct. 21,1954
Crash Out

An prison inmate just 3 weeks from parole participates in a prison break. His wife cannot understand why he would do such a thing and goes to Bart Matthews for help,

EP7  When Credit Is Due
Oct. 14,1954
When Credit Is Due

When a father of 2 is temporarily disabled in an auto accident, his wife gets a job to make ends meet. However, unscrupulous debtors begin to garnish her wages and then her boss fires her. Matthews comes to the rescue.

EP6  The Do-Gooder
Oct. 07,1954
The Do-Gooder

A man is in hospital after wrecking a car with an escaped fugitive, killing the fugitive. The man is in trouble for harboring the fugitive but he refuses to speak to Matthews, his Public Defender. Matthews quickly deduces that the man doesn't want to be linked to his father who is a prominent judge.

EP5  Loyalty
Sep. 30,1954
Loyalty

Matthews takes the case of a cop killer who is depending on his little brother's false testimony to get him off. When the killer thinks Matthews is getting to friendly with his little brother, he fires Matthews.

EP4  The Arsonist
Sep. 27,1954
The Arsonist

A disturbed teen-aged boy begins setting fires in the neighborhood following an altercation with his father.

EP3  The Big Race
Sep. 20,1954
The Big Race

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP2  Road to Nowhere
Sep. 13,1954
Road to Nowhere

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP1  Return of the Dead
Sep. 06,1954
Return of the Dead

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

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7.5 | NR | en | Drama | More Info
Released: 1954-03-11 | Released Producted By: Hal Roach Studios , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.

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Cast

Reed Hadley

Director

Producted By

Hal Roach Studios ,

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Reviews

Vin Bryant I just found the show on Amazon and have watched almost two seasons. If you like old black and white shows like Dragnet you'll probably like "Public Defender". Even my wife, who don't care much for old shows, likes it enough to watch it with me. Like most TV shows it's not realistic but still entertaining. Every episode follows the same template but some will have a surprising ending.
MartinHafer 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.
kidboots When "Racket Squad" finished it's run actor Reed Hadley, who could have passed for a jut jawed detective in real life, was put into another series "The Public Defender" this time about legal aid attorneys and each week highlighted a particular story from a real county. A few are included in the "Best of TV Detectives" DVD pack."Badge of Honour" tells of Dan Conway (Harry Carey Jnr.) who decides to join the police force after coming out of a Nazi concentration camp. This one takes you behind the scenes to show just how tough police training was. He becomes a traffic cop and his eagerness to do good almost costs him his career. His first arrest is Frankie Darro as a pick pocket but he makes a vital mistake, he forgets to get the name and address of the young boy who found the wallet."Let Justice Be Done" - For an obscure little show this one has an all star cast. A very young Patrick O'Neal plays an up and coming public defender who is torn between the duty of doing his job well and fierce resentment when he is asked to defend a young punk, Ken Conroy (Skip Homeier) who has just killed O'Neal's best friend. As he interviews each witness he realises there is a benefit of a doubt. George E. Stone plays the old newspaper seller and Noel Neil (soon bound for "Superman") is O'Neal's wife. Allene Roberts plays Conroy's teary wife."Behind Bars" - A woman inmate, Ginny Smith, is injured in a fire and cries out for her child - that no one knew she had. She was an alcoholic who was determined not to cause her family any more trouble. She ends up in a seedy boarding house with an irritating land lady and a sleazy neighbour who forces himself on her.A superior police show.
krorie One of my favorite early television shows when we got our first TV in 1953 was "Racket Squad" starring the man with the voice Reed Hadley. The movie copied by Jack Webb when he put together "Dragnet," one of the most popular programs ever on TV, was one in which he had played a major role, "He Walked By Night." The narrator for that film was Reed Hadley. When "Dragnet" premiered Jack Webb rather than Reed Hadley did the narration but Hadley had his own spin off from the same film noir classic. "Racket Squad" dealt with real-life cases of fraud and misrepresentation mainly in the Los Angeles area.When "Racket Squad" went off the tube, Hadley bounced back with "The Public Defender," similar in many ways to "Racket Squad" but dealing with those attorneys appointed by the state to defend indigents. This time Hadley canvased the entire nation for intriguing cases. A part of each show was to profile one notable public defender.Whereas Jack Webb went for the jugular with his true stories of murder and mayhem, the Reed Hadley series were usually quieter and less violent, concerned more with how the law actually works to protect the people and the innocent victims of crime. Note that one of the directors listed for the series is the esteemed Budd Boetticher who is noted for those wonderful Randolph Scott westerns of the late 1950's.