When "Racket Squad" finished it's run actor Reed Hadley, who could have passed for a jut jawed detective in real life, was put into another series "The Public Defender" this time about legal aid attorneys and each week highlighted a particular story from a real county. A few are included in the "Best of TV Detectives" DVD pack.
"Badge of Honour" tells of Dan Conway (Harry Carey Jnr.) who decides to join the police force after coming out of a Nazi concentration camp. This one takes you behind the scenes to show just how tough police training was. He becomes a traffic cop and his eagerness to do good almost costs him his career. His first arrest is Frankie Darro as a pick pocket but he makes a vital mistake, he forgets to get the name and address of the young boy who found the wallet.
"Let Justice Be Done" - For an obscure little show this one has an all star cast. A very young Patrick O'Neal plays an up and coming public defender who is torn between the duty of doing his job well and fierce resentment when he is asked to defend a young punk, Ken Conroy (Skip Homeier) who has just killed O'Neal's best friend. As he interviews each witness he realises there is a benefit of a doubt. George E. Stone plays the old newspaper seller and Noel Neil (soon bound for "Superman") is O'Neal's wife. Allene Roberts plays Conroy's teary wife.
"Behind Bars" - A woman inmate, Ginny Smith, is injured in a fire and cries out for her child - that no one knew she had. She was an alcoholic who was determined not to cause her family any more trouble. She ends up in a seedy boarding house with an irritating land lady and a sleazy neighbour who forces himself on her.
A superior police show.
"Badge of Honour" tells of Dan Conway (Harry Carey Jnr.) who decides to join the police force after coming out of a Nazi concentration camp. This one takes you behind the scenes to show just how tough police training was. He becomes a traffic cop and his eagerness to do good almost costs him his career. His first arrest is Frankie Darro as a pick pocket but he makes a vital mistake, he forgets to get the name and address of the young boy who found the wallet.
"Let Justice Be Done" - For an obscure little show this one has an all star cast. A very young Patrick O'Neal plays an up and coming public defender who is torn between the duty of doing his job well and fierce resentment when he is asked to defend a young punk, Ken Conroy (Skip Homeier) who has just killed O'Neal's best friend. As he interviews each witness he realises there is a benefit of a doubt. George E. Stone plays the old newspaper seller and Noel Neil (soon bound for "Superman") is O'Neal's wife. Allene Roberts plays Conroy's teary wife.
"Behind Bars" - A woman inmate, Ginny Smith, is injured in a fire and cries out for her child - that no one knew she had. She was an alcoholic who was determined not to cause her family any more trouble. She ends up in a seedy boarding house with an irritating land lady and a sleazy neighbour who forces himself on her.
A superior police show.