For the first time on home video, and with masters from the Hal Roach Studio vaults, comes Public Defender - The Official First Season.
Star Reed Hadley's follow-up to his popular crime drama series Racket Squad packs each episode with notable guest stars and real-life stories pulled from actual crime files.
This third release in our Silver Series line will street on DVD this April 23rd. Synopsis below.
We've also uploaded a clip from Season 2 which can be found on YouTube or here on our site.
About the Silver Series line:
Knowing so many unseen and longed-for classics sit in studio vaults and other archives collecting dust, ClassicFlix established the Silver Series line to shine the light of day on such lesser-known titles by making them available in affordable DVD editions.
For the first time on home video come all 26 episodes of the first season of Public Defender starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews: a tireless and dedicated public servant, who earnestly defends the rights of the indigent.
A late season replacement for Philip Morris Playhouse, Public Defender premiered in March 1954, a time when the concept of a taxpayer funded defense attorney was largely associated with capital cases. But with everyday stories based on real-life events, tackling every kind of thorny dilemma from juvenile delinquency to vehicular homicide, the series not only shed new light on this little known public office, but its attention to realistic detail made the show a key player in the history of television crime drama.
Produced by Hal Roach, Jr., Public Defender gave Reed Hadley the second of two small screen successes (the other being the similar-in-tone Racket Squad) and also provided a great showcase for directors like Budd Boetticher and Erle C. Kenton.
This 3-disc collection marks the first official home video release of this popular anthology series, with all 26 first season episodes culled from original Hal Roach Studio masters.
Guest stars from the golden age of both film and TV pack each episode, with Hugh Beaumont, Marie Windsor, James Gleason, Steve Brodie, Lyle Talbot, Adele Jergens, Jimmy Lydon, Mary Beth Hughes, John Qualen, Darryl Hickman, Harry Carey, Jr., Harold Peary, Alan Reed, Noel Neill, Glenn Langan and Barbara Whiting, among many more, making an appearance.