ARREST AND TRIAL (1963-1964) – Decades before Law & Order came this forgotten television series which used one half of its 90-minute run-time to depict the police tracking down and arresting a suspect and the other half depicting the trial. Ben Gazzara, Chuck Connors and Don Galloway starred.
This 30-episode series often kept viewers guessing, as sometimes it turned out the cops arrested the wrong person and they would be found not guilty. The trial portion also alternated between the prosecution winning and the defense winning, so neither side of the law was portrayed as infallible.
Arrest and Trial lasted just one season (yes, some shows did 30-episode and even 39-episode seasons back then). Audiences may have been too used to the comfort food of crime shows where they knew going in who was guilty and who was innocent. Cop shows like Dragnet always showed the police nabbing the guilty and lawyer shows like Perry Mason always showed the defendants being innocent. No such convenience on this show.
Ben Gazzara played Detective Sergeant Nick Anderson, Chuck Connors portrayed Defense Attorney John Egan and John Larch was District Attorney Jerry Miller. Jo Anne Miya played Janet Okada. Continue reading
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