Public Defender - Volume 8 (DVD)

Reed Hadley is Bart Matthews, the 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 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 LAST APPEAL: Innocent Jimmy Morris faces the electric chair in 11 hours. Bart Matthews works feverishly to turn up the evidence that will force a stay of execution.

THE MURDER PHOTO: A young nature photographer sets a camera trap for a squirrel, but accidentally captures evidence of a murder.

THE HITCHHIKER: After a G.I. hitches a ride home to his pregnant wife, he is shocked when the police arrest him for a hit-and-run.

FAILURE: An aging bookkeeper with a long record of complete honesty faces prison on a charge of embezzlement.

• television