Legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative. Legal dramas have also followed the lives of the fictional attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs, or other persons related to the practice of law present in television show or film. Legal drama is distinct from police crime drama or detective fiction, which typically focus on police officers or detectives investigating and solving crimes. The focal point of legal dramas, more often, are events occurring within a courtroom, but may include any phases of legal procedure, such as jury deliberations or work done at law firms. Some legal dramas fictionalize real cases that have been litigated, such as the play-turned-movie, Inherit the Wind, which fictionalized the Scopes Monkey Trial. As a genre, the term "legal drama" is typically applied to television shows and films, whereas legal thrillers typically refer to novels and plays.
Joseph Schildkraut was an Austrian-American actor. He won an Oscar for his performance as Captain Alfred Dreyfus in the film The Life of Emile Zola (1937); later, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as Otto Frank in the film The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and a Primetime Emmy for his performance as Rabbi Gottlieb in a 1962 episode of the television series Sam Benedict.
Eamon Joseph O'Brien was an American actor of stage, screen, and television, and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Bold Ones is the umbrella title for several television series. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1973. It was a wheel format series, an NBC programming approach also used by that network in series such as The Name of the Game and the NBC Mystery Movie.
Miss Susan is a daytime drama that aired on NBC from March 12 to December 28, 1951. The main writer was William Kendall Clarke. The show, originating from Philadelphia and later retitled Martinsville, U.S.A., aired for 15 minutes at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays, and starred Susan Peters, who had previously garnered critical acclaim as a film actress before suffering an accidental gunshot wound that left her paraplegic. It was the first program with a handicapped person as the star.
Storefront Lawyers is an American legal drama that ran from September 1970 to January 1971 and February 1971 to March 1971 on CBS. The series starred Robert Foxworth, Sheila Larken, David Arkin, and A Martinez.
Jake W. Ehrlich was an American lawyer and writer.
Ray Elgin Teal was an American actor. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the television series Bonanza (1959–1972), which was only one of dozens of sheriffs on television and in movies that he played during his long and prolific career stretching from 1937 to 1970. He appeared in pictures such as Western Jamboree (1938) with Gene Autry, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with Fredric March and Myrna Loy, The Black Arrow (1948), Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster.
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Dorothy Loudon, Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don Knotts, Lee Goodman, James Kirkwood, Jr., Lily Tomlin, and Jonathan Winters. The Garry Moore Show garnered a number of Emmy nominations and wins.
Adam's Rib is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from September 14 to December 28, 1973. Thirteen episodes were produced by MGM Television. The series was a TV adaptation of the 1949 MGM motion picture of the same name.
Black Saddle is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original backdoor pilot was an episode of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, with Chris Alcaide originally portraying the principal character, Clay Culhane.
The Awakening Land is a 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: The Trees; The Fields; and The Town, published from 1940 to 1950. The series originally aired on NBC in three installments from February 19 to February 21, 1978; directed by Boris Sagal, it starred Elizabeth Montgomery and Hal Holbrook.
A court show is a broadcast programming subgenre comprising legal dramas and reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal hearings between plaintiffs and defendants presided over in one of two formats: scripted/improvised with an actor portraying a judge; or an arbitration-based reality format with the case handled by an adjudicator who was formerly a judge or attorney.
The Amazing Mr. Malone is an American radio crime drama series based on the John Malone series of mystery novels by Craig Rice. The series ran on ABC from January 11, 1947, through September 24, 1950, and was broadcast on NBC Radio from May 25, 1951, through July 13, 1951.
Ben Jerrod is an American serial which ran from April 1, 1963 to June 28, 1963. The series is most notable for being the first daytime drama to be regularly televised in color. Michael M. Ryan played the show's title character. The cast also included Addison Richards, Lyle Talbot, Gerald Gordon, and Isabel Randolph.
The Antagonists is an American legal drama television series that aired on CBS from March 26 until May 30, 1991.
Dr. Kildare is an NBC medical drama television series which originally ran from September 28, 1961, until August 30, 1966, for a total of 191 episodes over five seasons. Produced by MGM Television, it was based on fictional doctor characters originally created by author Max Brand in the 1930s and previously used by MGM in a popular film series and radio drama. The TV series quickly achieved success and made a star of Richard Chamberlain, who played the title role. Dr. Kildare inspired or influenced many later TV shows dealing with the medical field. Dr. Kildare aired on NBC affiliate stations on Thursday nights at 8:30–9:30 p.m. until September 1965, when the timeslot was changed to Monday and Tuesday nights at 8:30–9:00 p.m. through the end of the show's run.
The Eddie Capra Mysteries is an American mystery television series starring Vincent Baggetta as a lawyer who investigates murders and has a knack for solving them. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 8, 1978, to January 12, 1979.
Plainsman and the Lady is a 1946 American western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Wild Bill Elliott, Vera Ralston, Gail Patrick and Joseph Schildkraut. It produced and distributed released by Republic Pictures. It was larger-budget film than the second features Republic traditionally produced, as owner Herbert Yates attempted to gain greater prestige and profits at the box office.
The Public Defender is an American legal drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from March 11, 1954, to June 23, 1955.
