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The Defenders Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
32 Episodes 1961 - 1962
Episode 1
The Quality of Mercy
Sat, Sep 16, 1961 60 mins
The legal and moral implications of mercy killing are examined as the Prestons defend a doctor charged with killing a Mongoloid baby. Conrad: Philip Abbott. Grimaglia: Jack Klugman. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Warner: Gene Hackman.
Episode 2
Killer Instinct
Sat, Sep 23, 1961 60 mins
Jim McCleery has won a fight---at the cost of his opponent's life and his own freedom. McCleery: William Shatner. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Peg: Joanne Linville. Ken: Robert Reed. Mrs. Kane: Edith Meiser. Bobby: Jeffrey Rowland. Larkin: Kermit Murdock. Dr. Wohl: Lester Rawlins. Joan: Joan Hackett. Helen: Polly Rowles.
Episode 3
Death Across the Counter
Sat, Sep 30, 1961 60 mins
The tortured world of a dope addict is explored in this story of a young man convinced he's guilty of murder---although he has no recollection of the crime. Tom: Clu Gulager. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Schell: Frank McHugh. Painter: J. Pat O'Malley. Helen: Polly Rowles. Joan: Joan Hackett.
Episode 4
The Riot
Sat, Oct 7, 1961 60 mins
Preston (E.G. Marshall) undertakes a delicate and dangerous task: acting as intermediary for the investigators of a prison riot. Ken: Robert Reed. Graves: Fritz Weaver. Dobois: Frank Sutton. Nixie: Ossie Davis. Roy: Tom Clancy. Andrews: Henderson Forsythe.
Episode 5
The Young Lovers
Sat, Oct 14, 1961 60 mins
A destitute young couple take a desperate gamble to provide for themselves and their baby. David: Burt Brinckerhoff. Irene: Lynn Loring. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Judge: David J. Stewart. Roth: Muni Seroff. Morris: Zvee Scooler.
Episode 6
The Boy Between
Sat, Oct 21, 1961 60 mins
The Prestons become embroiled in a bitter custody battle when they are retained by Belle Remington (Norma Crane), who insists her son never be allowed to see his father. Mike: Arthur Hill. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Bibi: Ilka Chase. Johnny: Richard Thomas. Joan: Joan Hackett.
Episode 7
Hundred Lives of Harry Simms
Sat, Oct 28, 1961 60 mins
Defending murder suspect Harry Simms (Frank Gorshin), Ken is baffled by the mimic's claim that actor James Cagney committed the crime. Ken: Robert Reed. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ames: Sam Wanamaker. Helen: Polly Rowles. Bryan: Frank Overton.
Episode 8
The Accident
Sat, Nov 4, 1961 60 mins
"The Accident," by Reginald Rose, focuses on a woman (Evans Evans) charged with criminal negligence when she hits a child while driving home from a party. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed.
Episode 9
The Trial of Jenny Scott
Sat, Nov 11, 1961 60 mins
Unhappily married Jenny Scott (Mary Fickett) is the prime suspect when her husband is murdered. Williams: Pat Hingle. Gardella: Simon Oakland. Preston: E.G. Marshall.
Episode 10
The Man with the Concrete Thumb
Sat, Nov 18, 1961 60 mins
Picketing to save a park, Joan Miller (Joan Hackett) is charged with second-degree assault when a brick thrown by one of the demonstrators injures an adversary. Conn: Loring Smith. Keller: Fred J. Stewart. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Herzog: Thomas Carlin.
Episode 11
The Treadmill
Sat, Nov 25, 1961 60 mins
Released from a mental hospital, Victor Fergusson (Edward Binns) is forced to stand trial for a murder he committed 25 years before. Winters: Alfred Ryder. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Judson: Judson Laire. Mrs. Clark: Leora Dana.
Episode 12
Perjury
Sat, Dec 2, 1961 60 mins
Charged with perjury, a witness says he lied because Preston (E.G. Marshall) asked him to. Manson: Robert Loggia. Rogart: Robert Duvall. Ken: Robert Reed. Elaine: Ellen Madison. Rose: Janet Ward. Helen: Polly Rowles.
Episode 13
The Attack
Sat, Dec 9, 1961 60 mins
The impact of public opinion on a trial is examined in this story of a policeman who kills the alleged molester of his young daughter. Helber: Richard Kiley. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Fran: Barbara Barrie.
Episode 14
The Prowler
Sat, Dec 16, 1961 60 mins
Dwight Harkavy (Kent Smith) goes on trial for shooting a prowler---who was his wife's first husband. Ken: Robert Reed. Joyce: Elizabeth Ashley. Preston: E.G. Marshall. DA: Frank Overton. Florence: Zohra Lampert. Adams: Gerald Hiken. Joan: Joan Hackett.
Episode 15
Gideon's Follies
Sat, Dec 23, 1961 60 mins
Preston (E.G. Marshall) investigates the death of a millionaire playboy---murdered before he could divide his estate among his current spouse and five ex-wives. Madeline: Eva Gabor. Brandy: Julie Newmar. Agnes A: Gloria De Haven. Ken: Robert Reed. Agnes B: Shirl Conway. Eve: Zohra Lampert.
Episode 16
Best Defense
Sat, Dec 30, 1961 60 mins
The Prestons come to the aid of a racketeer charged with the gangland murder of a small-time hoodlum. Harker: Martin Balsam. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Sperling: Edward Andrews. Ken: Robert Reed. Helen: Polly Rowles. Fontana: Robert Gerringer.
Episode 17
The Bedside Murder
Sat, Jan 6, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons defend a doctor accused of murdering a wealthy patient who promised to leave him a large sum in her will. Graham: Sam Jaffe. Wellman: Alexander Scourby. Ken: Robert Reed. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Morgan: Murray Hamilton. Peter: Barry Morse.
Episode 18
The Search
Sat, Jan 20, 1962 60 mins
An old homicide case is reopened when James Mitchell (James Congdon) confesses to a murder for which another man was executed six years earlier. Gramaglia: Jack Klugman. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Mrs. Pomeroy: Olive Deering.
Episode 19
Storm at Birch Glen
Sat, Jan 27, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons encounter fear and hostility at a reform school when they are retained by a supervisor charged with murdering one of the inmates. Agostini: James Broderick. Ken: Robert Reed. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Lochlin: Stanley Kristian. Peter: Steve Curry.
Episode 20
The Point Shaver
Sat, Feb 3, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons defend a college basketball star accused of fixing a game. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Stacy: Paul Prokop. Jim: Andrew Prine. Coach: Crahan Denton.
Episode 21
The Locked Room
Sat, Feb 10, 1962 60 mins
Conflicting interpretations of the same evidence are examined. During a murder trial, three jurors imagine how the crime may have been committed. Mady: Viveca Lindfors. Jason: Zachary Scott. Claire: Inga Swenson. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed.
Episode 22
The Empty Chute
Sat, Feb 17, 1962 60 mins
The Army suspects foul play when a paratrooper's chute fails to open and he falls to his death. Peters: Chester Morris. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Cobb: Michael Strong. Mrs. Walsh: Neva Patterson. Evans: Tim O'Connor. Brady: Allen Nourse.
Episode 23
Crusader
Sat, Feb 24, 1962 60 mins
Ken (Robert Reed) launches a personal investigation when a model prisoner---jailed for crimes he insists he never committed---is refused parole. Trenchard: Warren Stevens. Martha: Anne Meacham. Editor: Alan Bunce. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Brubaker: Roland Winters. Judge: Harrison Dowd.
Episode 24
The Hickory Indian
Sat, Mar 3, 1962 60 mins
The defendant: Louis Astor (George Voskovec), who's charged with stealing money from his son's firm. Jay: Leo Penn. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Wolfe: Harvey Lembeck. DA: Murray Hamilton. Hopkins: Larry Gates. Whitman: Leon Stevens.
Episode 25
The Iron Man
Sat, Mar 10, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons give a campus fascist leader a lesson in democracy when he's arrested after his henchmen beat up a heckler. Powers: Ben Piazza. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Esther: Freda Holloway. White: Dino Narizzano. DA: Robert Gerringer.
Episode 26
The Tarnished Cross
Sat, Mar 17, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons become defense counselors in a kangaroo court set up by a group of teenagers bent on trying an alleged murderer. Dino: Martin Sheen. Benjamin: Biff McGuire. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed.
Episode 27
The Last Six Months
Sat, Mar 31, 1962 60 mins
Incurably ill Fred Braden (Arthur Hill) strangles his partner, who refused to guarantee Mrs. Braden a monthly allowance. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Elizabeth: Louisa Horton. Bobby: Nicholas Hammond.
Episode 28
The Naked Heiress
Sat, Apr 7, 1962 60 mins
Edna Holley (Glenda Farrell) invites trouble when she blackmails a professor who's interested in her daughter, a strip-tease artist. Fay: Salome Jens. Bellmore: Conrad Nagel. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Norman: Robert Goodier.
Episode 29
Reunion with Death
Sat, Apr 21, 1962 60 mins
A group of Air Force veterans set up a kangaroo court to try one of their number for treason. Douglas: Robert Webber. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Miller: Lee Philips. McFadden: Leonard Stone. Sheridan: H.M. Wynant.
Episode 30
The Benefactor
Sat, Apr 28, 1962 60 mins
"The Benefactor," a controversial episode dealing with the trial of an accused abortionist. Montgomery: Robert F. Simon. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Elinor: Collin Wilcox. Sandra: Kathy Widdoes. Henshaw: Judson Laire. Susan: Margaret Baker.
Episode 31
Along Came a Spider
Sat, May 5, 1962 60 mins
The Prestons defend an ex-vaudevillian accused of murdering his son-in-law. The only witness: the dead man's daughter. Barber: Paul Hartman. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. Melissa: Leslye Hunter. Beverly: Kathleen Maguire. DA: Arthur Stone.
Episode 32
Broken Barrelhead
Sat, May 26, 1962 60 mins
Defending a youth charged with vehicular homicide, the Prestons are hampered by the boy's overbearing father (Harold J. Stone)---who isn't above bribing jurors. Peter: Richard Jordan. Preston: E.G. Marshall. Ken: Robert Reed. DA: Paul Stevens. Girl: Julie Hirsh. Juror: Vincent Gardenia.