User Reviews

Two veterans, Macdonald Carey and John Doucette, two beginners who became major TV stars, James Drury and Leonard Nimoy, and one young man who, now 91 (in 2019), is still performing, Tom Troupe, make this series entry first class.

Supposedly based on the files of real-life Philadelphia lawyer Herbert L. Maris, the series ran from 1959 to 1961.

The premise here, that a young police officer, studying at nights to get a law degree, can be wrongly accused of murder is certainly realistic. And that an eye-witness (played by another veteran, Tom London, who, according to one source, says he was in more than 2,000 roles!) can wrongly identify him is proven possible practically every day.

It's a plausible story, very well acted and directed, but since it's a 30-minute TV show, most viewers will probably get more of a kick out of seeing Drury and Nimoy as very young men than out of the story.

Still, it is certainly interesting enough I can recommend you see it at YouTube.

****SPOILERS*** Patrolling the mean streets of Brownsville Brooklyn by day and going to law school at night didn't give rookie cop Frank Crotty,James Drury, much time to think.And it was that which caused him to leave his service revolver home with his door left open for members of the street gang Silver Knights, known for the combat boots that they ware, to grab it and use it in the murder of a policeman who caught them breaking in and robbing a local wear-house. With the murder weapon secretly returned to Crotty's apartment minus 4 bullets he brainlessly goes to his police station with it to report it, or the 4 bullets, missing that connects him to the murder!

We already saw that it was the notorious Baselicce brothers Nino & Arnie, Leonard Nimoy & Troupe, and their fellow Silver Knight gang member Jimmy, Don Either, who were involved in the break-in and Nino who did the killing! Now it's up to Crotty's lawyer Herbert Maris, MacDonald Cary-first and last name reversed-, to defend him in an open and shut, by the D.A's office, case of first degree murder!

***SPOILERS***Maris goes hitless at first in him not finding any evidence to prove his client's innocent.But later connects and hits a home run when he uses himself as bait to draw out the Baselicce brothers as well as Jimmy who by then were home free, in just how guilt ridden Crotty was and refused to defend himself in court, with their air tight alibis. Like the mindless jerks that they were the trio of lunkheads then tries to both kidnap and murder Maris right in front of eye witnesses that had the police, who were tipped off, to come swooping down on them. This didn't say much for Frank Crotty despite studying law he didn't have the smarts to see what a dope he was in letting himself get framed for murder that a real experienced lawyer like Herbery Maris got him cleared of!