The Public Defender, Vol. 7 (1954) On DVD

Reed Hadley is Bart Matthews, your Public Defender, in this series of law and order dramas that ran on CBS from 1954 to 1955. At the time of the show's creation (by Mort Lewis and Sam Shayon), the concept of the public defender was little known throughout much of the United States. Stories were purportedly based on true cases, and each episode ends with a salute to a working public defender. Bart Matthews (Hadley) takes on clients that cannot afford expensive legal counsel. Young or old, innocent or guilty, the law comes first for the stoic and driven public defender. Hadley previously starred in the television series "Racket Squad" (1953-1954) and is fondly remembered for playing the title role in the action-packed Republic serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939).

The Unfit Mother: Matthews desperately fights to clear a young mother whose adopted daughter has been removed by the state.

The Modern Fagin: A manipulative crook pays local teens big bucks to commit robberies for him.

The Man Who Couldn't Remember: A man is jailed for a hold-up he did not commit.

Eight Out Of One-Hundred: A scoundrel tries to kiss his maid's daughter. When she rejects him, he has her arrested on false charges.

American actor Reed Hadley rose to brief fame on the basis of starring roles in two very similar CBS television series - the 1951-3 RACKET SQUAD (as a police officer, Captain John Braddock) and the legal drama THE PUBLIC DEFENDER (1954-55), as attorney Bart Matthews. Episodes of PUBLIC DEFENDER generally found Bart aiding one client or another unjustly accused of a crime, each of whom (hence the public defender title) couldn't afford ordinary legal representation. This box set contains four classic 30-minute episodes of the program: THE UNFIT MOTHER, with Matthews assisting a young woman whose child had been taken by the state; THE MODERN FAGIN, about a man who pays teenagers to commit robberies for him; THE MAN WHO COULDN'T REMEMBER, about a poor fellow thrown into jail for a hold-up he didn't commit; and EIGHT OUT OF ONE-HUNDRED about a wealthy creep who has a young woman arraigned on false charges after she rejects his advances.