The Judge and Jake Wyler | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Written by | Richard Levinson William Link David Shaw |
Directed by | David Lowell Rich |
Starring | Bette Davis Doug McClure Eric Braeden |
Theme music composer | Gil Melle |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Richard Levinson William Link |
Production locations | Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California |
Cinematography | William Margulies |
Editor | Buddy Small |
Running time | 120 min. |
Production company | Universal Television |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | December 2, 1972 |
The Judge and Jake Wyler is a 1972 American TV movie directed by David Lowell Rich. The teleplay was written by Richard Levinson, William Link, and David Shaw. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on December 2, 1972.
The title characters are a hypochondriac former judge who owns a private detective agency and her parolee partner. The two are hired by Alicia Dodd to investigate the alleged suicide of her father, whom she suspects was really a murder victim.
The film was a pilot for a proposed weekly series that failed to make the network's schedule. Earlier that year, Bette Davis had starred in Madame Sin , a pilot for ABC that also failed to sell.
In 1973, the character of Judge Meredith resurfaced in the form of Lee Grant in the TV movie Partners in Crime, scripted by Shaw and directed by Jack Smight. [1] This, too, was a pilot that went no further than its initial airing.
William Wyler was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Academy Awards. He holds the record of twelve nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director. For his oeuvre of work, Wyler was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.
The Letter is a 1940 American crime film noir melodrama directed by William Wyler, and starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and James Stephenson. The screenplay by Howard E. Koch is based on the 1927 play of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham derived from his own short story. The play was first filmed in 1929, by director Jean de Limur. The story was inspired by a real-life scandal involving the Eurasian wife of the headmaster of a school in Kuala Lumpur who was convicted in a murder trial after shooting dead a male friend in April 1911. She was pardoned by the local sultan after a public furor.
Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar is a retired English actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller The Collector (1965), which earned her a Golden Globe Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Ellery Queen is an American TV drama series, developed by Richard Levinson and William Link, who based it on the fictional character of the same name. The series ran for a single season on NBC from September 11, 1975, to April 4, 1976. Jim Hutton stars as the eponymous sleuth, along with David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen.
Jezebel is a 1938 American romantic-drama film released by Warner Bros. and directed by William Wyler.
Douglas Osborne McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his role as the cowboy Trampas during the entire run from 1962 to 1971 of the series The Virginian and mayor turned police chief Kyle Applegate on Out of This World. From 1961-1963, he was married to actress BarBara Luna.
Gary Conway is an American actor and screenwriter. His notable credits include a co-starring role with Gene Barry in the detective series Burke's Law from 1963 to 1965. In addition, he starred in the Irwin Allen sci-fi series Land of the Giants from 1968 to 1970.
Satan Met a Lady is a 1936 American detective film directed by William Dieterle and starring Bette Davis and Warren William.
William Theodore Link was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.
Richard Leighton Levinson was an American screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link.
David Lowell Rich was an American film director and producer. He directed nearly 100 films and TV episodes between 1950 and 1987. He was born in New York City. He began directing on a regular basis in 1950. Rich won an Emmy for outstanding direction of a special in 1978 for The Defection of Simas Kudirka. His brother was director John Rich.
Storm Center is a 1956 American film noir drama directed by Daniel Taradash. The screenplay by Taradash and Elick Moll focuses on what were at the time two very controversial subjects—Communism and book banning—and took a strong stance against censorship. The film stars Bette Davis, and was the first overtly anti-McCarthyism film to be produced in Hollywood.
Madame Sin is a 1972 British thriller film directed by David Greene and starring Bette Davis, Robert Wagner, Denholm Elliott and Gordon Jackson. The screenplay was written by Greene and Barry Oringer.
Connecting Rooms is a 1970 British drama film written and directed by Franklin Gollings. The screenplay is based on the play The Cellist by Marion Hart. The film stars Bette Davis, Michael Redgrave, and Leo Genn.
Special Agent is a 1935 American crime drama film directed by William Keighley and starring Bette Davis and George Brent. The screenplay by Laird Doyle and Abem Finkel is based on a story by Martin Mooney. The film was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and released by Warner Bros.
The Little Foxes is a 1941 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1939 play The Little Foxes. Hellman's ex-husband Arthur Kober, Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell contributed additional scenes and dialogue.
Richard Levinson and William Link were American television producers and writers who collaborated for 43 years, until Levinson's death. They wrote for the CBS anthology drama The DuPont Show with June Allyson, and they created classic television detective series such as Columbo; Mannix; Ellery Queen; Murder, She Wrote; Scene of the Crime; and Blacke's Magic; and made-for-TV movies including The Gun, My Sweet Charlie, That Certain Summer, The Judge and Jake Wyler, The Execution of Private Slovik, Charlie Cobb: A Nice Night for a Hanging, Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder, and Guilty Conscience. They also collaborated on two feature films: The Hindenburg (1975) and Rollercoaster (1977).
Skyward is a 1980 American made-for-television drama film starring Bette Davis, Howard Hesseman, Marion Ross, Suzy Gilstrap, Clu Gulager and Lisa Whelchel. It was directed by Ron Howard, written by Nancy Sackett and broadcast on NBC on November 20, 1980.
Partners in Crime is a 1973 American TV movie directed by Jack Smight. It was the pilot for a prospective series about a judge who becomes a private investigator. NBC did not pick it up as a series but the pilot screened as a stand alone movie.