They Call It Murder

Last updated
They Call It Murder
They Call it Murder.jpg
Directed by Walter Grauman
Written by Sam Rolfe
Based onThe D.A. Draws a Circle (novel) and characters
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Starring Jim Hutton
Leslie Nielsen
Ed Asner
Jessica Walter
Jo Ann Pflug
Míriam Colón
Robert J. Wilke
William Elliott
Carmen Mathews
Production
companies
Paisano Productions
in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Distributed by NBC
Release date
December 17, 1971
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

They Call It Murder is a 1971 American television film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Jim Hutton.

Contents

Production

They Call It Murder is a two-hour television film produced by Paisano Productions in association with 20th Century Fox. It was a pilot for a proposed TV movie series based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, who edited the script [1] by Sam Rolfe. Walter Grauman directed; Cornwell Jackson was executive producer. The film is loosely based on Gardner's 1939 novel, The D.A. Draws a Circle. [2]

The film went into production in 1969 and was completed February 9, 1970. [1] Jim Hutton stars as Doug Selby, district attorney of a small town outside Los Angeles. [3]

They Call It Murder was first presented December 17, 1971, on NBC. [1] Gardner had died by the time the film finally was given its world premiere. Paisano Productions had worked to launch a Doug Selby series for six years, while its series Perry Mason was in its prime. [4] No series materialized, and this TV movie marks Selby's sole screen adaptation. [2]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Mason</span> Fictional attorney

Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a client being charged with murder, usually involving a preliminary hearing or jury trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by finding the real murderer. The character was inspired by famed Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Earl Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Drake (character)</span> Fictional private detective in the Perry Mason novels and TV series

Paul Drake is a fictional private detective in the Perry Mason series of murder mystery novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. Drake is described as tall and slouching, nondescript, and frequently wearing an expression of droll humor. He often smoked cigarettes especially when he had a subject of interest under surveillance. He is friend and right-hand man to Mason, a highly successful criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erle Stanley Gardner</span> American writer and lawyer (1889–1970)

Erle Stanley Gardner was a prolific American author. A former lawyer, he is best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Della Street</span> Confidential secretary of Perry Mason

Della Street is the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, short stories, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Burger</span> Fictional district attorney

Hamilton Burger is the fictional Los Angeles County District Attorney (D.A.) in the series of novels, films, and radio and television programs featuring Perry Mason, the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Hutton</span> American actor (1934–1979)

Dana James Hutton, known as Jim Hutton, was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four films, starting with Where the Boys Are. He is the father of actor Timothy Hutton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Selby</span> Character in novels by Erle Stanley Gardner

Doug Selby is a fictional creation of Erle Stanley Gardner. He appears in nine books, most originally serialized in magazines. He was portrayed by Jim Hutton in a 1971 television movie, They Call It Murder, loosely based on The D.A. Draws a Circle—the only film adaptation of the series.

<i>Perry Mason</i> (1957 TV series) American legal drama (1957–1966)

Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. Many episodes are based on stories written by Gardner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Patrick</span> American actress and producer (1911–1980)

Gail Patrick was an American film actress and television producer. Often cast as the bad girl or the other woman, she appeared in more than 60 feature films between 1932 and 1948, notably My Man Godfrey (1936), Stage Door (1937), and My Favorite Wife (1940).

<i>The Case of the Howling Dog</i> 1934 film by Alan Crosland

The Case of the Howling Dog is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Alan Crosland, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner. It is first in a series of six Perry Mason films Warner Bros. made between the years 1934 and 1937.

<i>The Case of the Curious Bride</i> 1935 film by Michael Curtiz

The Case of the Curious Bride is a 1935 American mystery film, the second in a series of four starring Warren William as Perry Mason, following The Case of the Howling Dog. The script was based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner, published by William Morrow and Company, which proved to be one of the most popular of all the Perry Mason novels.

<i>The Case of the Velvet Claws</i> 1936 film by William Clemens

The Case of the Velvet Claws is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Warren William, Claire Dodd and Wini Shaw. It is based on the first Perry Mason novel (1933) by Erle Stanley Gardner and featuring the fourth and final appearance of William as defense attorney Mason.

Perry Mason is a radio crime serial based on the novels of Erle Stanley Gardner. Broadcast weekdays on CBS Radio from 1943 to 1955, the series was adapted into The Edge of Night which ran on television for an additional 30 years.

<i>The Court of Last Resort</i> American television show (1957–1958)

The Court of Last Resort is an American television dramatized court show which aired October 4, 1957 – April 11, 1958, on NBC. It was co-produced by Erle Stanley Gardner's Paisano Productions, which also brought forth the long-running hit CBS-TV law series, Perry Mason.

<i>The Case of the Black Cat</i> 1936 film by William C. McGann

The Case of the Black Cat is a 1936 American mystery film directed by William C. McGann and an uncredited Alan Crosland, based on the 1935 Perry Mason novel The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as Perry Mason and co-stars June Travis and Jane Bryan in her film debut. The film is the fifth Perry Mason adaptation distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in the 1930s and the first in the series not to feature Warren William as Mason.

<i>The Case of the Stuttering Bishop</i> 1937 film

The Case of the Stuttering Bishop is a 1937 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Donald Woods as Perry Mason and Ann Dvorak as Della Street, his secretary. Edward McWade plays the role of stuttering Bishop William Mallory. It is the sixth and final film in the Warner Bros. Perry Mason series. It is based on the novel The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1936) by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Perry Mason is a fictional criminal defense attorney, in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner.

<i>Perry Mason</i> (TV film series) Television movies (1985–1995)

A series of 30 Perry Mason television films aired on NBC from 1985 to 1995 as sequels to the CBS TV series Perry Mason. After a hiatus of nearly 20 years, Raymond Burr reprised his role as Los Angeles defense attorney Mason in 26 of the television films. Following Burr's death in 1993, Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook starred in the remaining four television films that aired from 1993 to 1995, with Sorvino playing lawyer Anthony Caruso in the first of these and Holbrook playing "Wild Bill" McKenzie in the last three.

This is a bibliography of works by and about the American writer Erle Stanley Gardner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hughes, Dorothy B.; Moore, Ruth (1978). "Bibliography of Erle Stanley Gardner". Erle Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Real Perry Mason. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. p. 340. ISBN   0-688-03282-6.
  2. 1 2 Shonk, Michael (February 6, 2012). "A TV Movie Review: They Call It Murder (1971)". MysteryFile. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  3. TV Scout (December 17, 1971). "Pick of the Programs". North Adams Transcript .
  4. Lowry, Cynthia (December 16, 1971). "Good Actors Make Holiday Fantasy on 'Night Gallery'". Alton Evening Telegraph . Associated Press.