Studio One (1948): "The Defender" (1957) Starring the LATE Ed Asner 

Starring Ed Asner Huh! All he did was chew gum throughout. Ralph Bellamy had top billing & was "The Defender"

These early TV dramas were so much better than anything we see today. The talent of the writers, actors and producers was incredible. The Bellamy character is shown to have an already antiquated view of his role as a defense attorney and Shatner’s character as his young attorney son is trying to point out the fact that his job is to give his client the best possible defense and let the jury decide. This is one of the best examples of the value of You Tube.

I was so delighted to find this little gem, I went right out and bought a Westinghouse.

It's hard to believe how good this is. This is all done in real time. It seems like a real court room. Very natural. It is acting as its best--you don't act...you ARE the person you are playing. After 64 years, this is better than 90% of what is on TV today.

Live television. Bellamy was a major star. Shatner was getting noticed. Balsam was known. And McQueen was the rookie. They were all terrific.

This was the golden age of television. I don't know why it is tagged as starring Ed Asner when the roles turned in by Steve McQueen. Marin Balsam, Ralph Bellamy and William Shatner were so outstanding. thanks for posting-this was great.

Starring everybody else but Ed Asner. What a great cast in this episode.

I love these ‘50’s ads! Look at those TV’s and refrigerators and washing machines! I was 3 years old in 1957. Man, this really takes me back!

These excellent older productions sure make today's "entertainment" look shoddy. And they did it without using a single cuss word or showing what's in the actors' underwear. Even the commercials look as though they're attempting to treat the viewer like an intelligent adult. Nice treat. Thank you!

Little did they know how big a star McQueen, Asner and Shatner will be then.

Have never seen this before, and was absolved from the opening scene. Who needs NETFLIX when you have people who post such gems? Never regarded Shatner as a good actor....but then again I was not aware of his career before Star trek ....I am looking forward to seeing more of his early work. Thank you for posting this, it has opened my eyes to looking at films and TV series from the 50's and 60's

Denny Crane

Also I was stunned by the fact that there was no accolades being given for the performance of Bellamy, as fine an actor as Hollywood has ever seen.

Considering this was LIVE TV, it's pretty damn awesome.

Steve McQueen looks extremely young in this. Never seen him this youthful. It’s a great episode. It’s so old, even Ed Asner has more hair here.

Ian Wolfe who plays the judge would be a guest star on William Shatner's Star Trek (1965~1969) TV series in the episodes "All Our Yesterdays" and "Bread and Circuses."

William Shatner and Steve McQueen as well as a host of superb actors in a superior teleplay from the golden age of tv.

For the Shatner fans, the judge here was played by Ian Wolfe, who appeared with Shatner in two episodes of Star Trek: "Bread and Circuses" and "All Our Yesterdays".

"Steven" McQueen as the defendant! William Shatner as the defender's son! Martin Balsam as the DA! What a cast!

They used footage from this on Boston Legal as a past experience of Shatner's character [Denny Crane] in "Son of the Defender". It was a great melding.

Great story and great acting. I love courtroom dramas and The Defenders was one of the best series and in many ways ahead of it’s time in television.

You watch TV and hope but you'll never see great dramas like this again!

No one seems to have noticed Steve McQueen as the defendant.

Betty makes me want to put my hat and gloves on, and go buy a Westinghouse refrigerator, vacuum, and washer/dryer ❤

This two part movie is a great precursor to the Defenders series with EG Marshall and Robert Reid as the father and son team as the Prestons. This is another great example of the wonderful early TV dramas and what a great cast.

Thank you for this! I've been looking for it since I first saw the scene snippets in Boston Legal. But I had given up, and now that I'm re-watching the series, I talked with my mother about it - and since she's learned to Google she actually just searched for it on Google and found it! She's over the moon that she found it before I did. 🤣

I liked the Betty Furness ads as much as the show. 😉😁

I love the Westinghouse ads which give so much context to the time this drama was produced.

So many stars … the doctor on the stand was the storekeeper in The Birds 🦅

They grabbed a few scenes from this episode and used him as a flashback in Boston legal.

I did not know this existed..Shatner was in everything..the TV series came from this..wow!!

This is quality entertainment on TV. Today there's nothing to compare to this. Even the old commercials talk up to the viewers.....not down. I miss those days!

Nobody mentioned this became the basis for the series, The Defenders starring E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed. Reginald Rose, the author of this, earlier wrote 12 Angry Men and you can see similarities.

KUDOS to Steve McQueen. His facial expressions alone telegraphed the exact mental state of his character. Good acting all around in fact.

What a great cast 👏 ... thank you very much for posting this gem 🌟🤩

Steve McQueen, William Shatner and Ed Asner all three in the early days of their careers

Bravo 👏.....Great upload. Bellamy, Balsam, Shatner and McQueen! Not to mention the great.. Ian Wolfe Thank you 👍

Kept envisioning a gremlin on the wing sucking up fuel, while Shatner still was trying to convince somebody to listen to him.

Just watched William Shatner blast off into real space 24 hours ago. Now watching lawyer Shatner in a show I've never seen before.

Great episode, the courtroom drama the acting, the writing, and the plot were top notch. We'll never know if he was guilty. They just don't make shows like this anymore.

This drama was televised live and recorded on kinescope which is what is being viewed now. Essentially, we are viewing a live performance. Most live TV was not recorded on kinescope, hence no recorded image of it exists.

Some of the Shatner scenes were actually used as flashbacks for Denny Crane's younger character in "Boston Legal", in the Episode "Son of the Defender" ;)

WOW.. just the cast is enough to blow me away! Excellent! Thank you for posting!

The Westinghouse ads are part of the fun. That fridge is still running somewhere.

This was a pleasure to watch. A great cast and great writing.

If you are looking for reviews as to whether you should watch this film..watch it.It is excellent.

Ralph Bellamy was "Randolph Duke" in Trading Places and Coming to America!

Interestingly enough, no one at the time (1957) seemed to have commented on how superbly done this live production was. Directed by Robert Mulligan from Reginald Rose’s script, it plays like a movie, lit realistically yet atmospherically, cut and paced expertly, all the right camera moves and no apparent technical goofs. Quite an accomplishment! Did anyone then talk about about Steve McQueen’s presence as the angry young man or predict he was destined for stardom? Bellamy, Shaftner, Marty Balsam are perfectly cast, as are almost all the small parts. Mulligan went on to direct a few films, most notably TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD, but never had the great career of his contemporaries Lumet and Frankenheimer. Judging from this production, he deserved greater success. Kubrick and Trufaut we're great admirers of his work. Never showy but always unexpectedly done.

I grew up on good TV dramas like this one. Performed and recorded live, what they lacked in action, they made up for with great scripts and acting. TV was growing and learning too. These teleplays are terrific! I had a 'thing' for Betty Furness! Thank You for the post!

Amazing. I just found out that 'Boston Legal' made a sequel to this starring William Shatner.

This was one EXCELLENT DRAMA!! Thank you,Suspense 1949,for sharing this film!!

I once had a refrigerator where the freezer didn't defrost automatically. Frost would form on the walls just like the lady says it would. I didn't have the patience to unplug the refrigerator to melt the frost. So I tried chipping away at the frost and ended up breaking the refrigerator.

Studio One has been selected for viewing by our armed forces overseas, and is a CBS Television Network Production.

36:37 Rudy Bond being questioned by Martin Balsam. The Judge from "12 Angry Men" being questioned by Juror #1. Same year, too. WILD.

Excellent, thank you! And, thanks for the commercials and credits - and, that starring role by the ever-loquacious Ed Asner!

Another great script by Reginald Rose, who wrote Twelve Angry Men and Thunder on Sycamore Street, both of which were live action 50's TV dramas.

I spotted Ed Asner in the jury, despite the fact that he had more hair and fewer pounds.

***** A great show. It makes me smile.

This was a remarkable theatrical production from the early days of TV. I really enjoyed it.

Airdate Feb. 25th, 1957. Starring Ralph Bellamy, Martin Balsam, William Shatner, Steve McQueen. Ed Asner uncredited his first show ever!

Rnjoyed this show, so much! Thank you! So interesting to see these actors, from my childhood; time has gone so quickly!🙏🧡

Boy, That is some early TV.....Beam me up Scottie 🖖🏽👽

THE WESTINGHOUSE FEATURE "THE DEFENDER" HELD MY INTEREST, I SAW A LOT OF UP AND COMING STARS FOR THE FUTURE, BUT I DID NOT SEE "ED ASNER" UNLESS I MISSED HIM. HOW EVER KEEP THEM COMING. I'M REALLY ENJOYING.👀✔ THANK YOU.

Thank you for letting the public watch this wonderful show from television's Golden Age. I see that Mr. Shatner hadn't developed his familiar mannerisms yet. I also saw a young Milton Selzer as a courtroom guard. His hairline hadn't receded yet. He was a very active character actor over his long career. Thanks again.

I see Ralph Bellamy, Steve McQueen, and Bill Shatner who are all much bigger stars than the absent Ed Ashner. Oh there he is in the background. What a bizzare title choice. Not that it matters, this is a great episode and I thank you for posting it.

I always cracked up at Bellamy in "His Girl Friday" with Carey Grant and Rosalind Russell. Classic! And I have been seeing lots of Shatner lately in my feed, so I wasn't surprised. I was FLOORED when I saw McQueen! Wow! Never did see Asner. I read below that he was juror, second from the left. The mother...I thought she was excellent...and I have seen her in other things, being just as sincere and dramatic.

I vaguely remember Betty Furness doing commercials for home appliances like stoves and refrigerators. So the first break was quite unexpected on a couple of levels. First, there’s Betty delving into technical details of an electrical component that most people wouldn’t even know existed. Maybe this was corporate advertising directed at investment firms. Then there’s mention of a textile factory in S Carolina. In fact they used to be in a lot of states. Not any more.

Thank you so much for posting these live tv dramas when tv was fairly new. I also like that the commercials are left in. I enjoy watching them as s boy.

Ralph Bellamy supposedly defending him but acting as judge, jury and executioner. That’s scary stuff. But those old adverts. Loving them! Lol

Nearly 48 minutes into it before I caught a glimpse of Asner.

Wow! Star-studded episode😁

A good defense attorney would have put the husband on trial. In a homicide case like that, the husband is always the prime suspect. He checked his watch. He could have killed her before taking the dog for a walk, knowing the maid would discover the corpse before he returned.

This was great movie..great tactic from the defense. Moreover, when an eyewitness(s) are given a second chance to ID the convicted, they better make sure they look more closely the second time. A MUCH more closer look..thanks for this up load.

Right away I started seeing faces I recognize. If you want learn how to emote as an actor, this is a masterclass example. I thought I saw Touch (Mike) Connors in the gallery. Thanks for posting these

Ed Asner on the jury, front row 2nd from left

No truer words ,about guilt ,We must never be of guilty unless proven innocent. It's harmful such bias of lawyers thinking your guilty without evidence ,

Thank you so much for posting all these old shows love them great quality and reminds me of my Grahm...Grandma

This has been wonderful! Thank you so much for posting it!

We saw the Westinghouse ‘broadband’ commercial. We think WH was trying to get TVs with more than 525 lines into the market as standard. It only took about 40 years for it to happen. Also: Good drama

And then let’s not forget Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche in Trading Places. What a career.

Steve McQueen, William Shatner, Ralph Bellamy... good acting...

The question mark at the end is masterly, ( without giving anything away). A fine production with live imperfections along the way....and McQueen amd Shatner sat together; two massive giants of cinema history....what more do you want?! PS. McQueen showed his acting mettle here, leaving Shatner in his wake....in my view.

I had a very difficult time recognizing William Shatner, and his voice.

This teleplay is the basis for the television series that ran on CBS from 1961-1965 starring E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed as the father and son defense attorneys..

That was awesome; tricky absolute magic trick wow!

I lost count of the things that could have caused a mistrial. But it was 1957 TV.

They sure don't have anything like this today very sad well written.

Shatner's toupee is looked really good back then,

The proto for the wonderful series "The Defenders". This was written by Reginald Rose...just like the series.

Good luck finding Ed Asner!!

Thank you. Good acting. Good film. I was annoyed at first that the commercials had been left in, but then enjoyed the journey back in time! The most interesting thing was the prices of the appliances, compared with today. Not all that different. Just goes to show how true it is that in the past material was dear, and wages were low, which has changed around, to the present state of cheap materials and high cost of labour.

William Shatner and the Ian Wolfe who plays the judge were in Star Trek together.

18:00 watch there you see the first doubt. Within two minutes, the husdband tries to ‘certain’ the blame again. Very crafty. A bruised face? If killed in that attack, no bruising would have been evident.

I think the show tried to show how terribly unjust the system can become when as in this case, the defendant, Steve McQueen had two lawyers fighting to prove his guilt. Ralph Bellamy's character was a man who took it upon himself to be the judge, and worked against the rules of the system. I think that the prejudice of the lawyers (police officers, judges, etc --- a great mini series on this topic is called "The Night Of") harms the clients! I also think this happens OFTEN!

Martin Balsam? ..wow ... cool 👌🏻

Anyone else find themselves here after watching Season 3 Episode 18 "Son of the Defender" of Boston Legal?

Superb. Loved it!

Thanks so much for this program. I thought the husband looked guilty. I can't help it.

These early TV shows are incredible. The writing, dialogue and character development are far superior to todays shows. What amazes me is when you see the sponsors of these shows like Westinghouse, GE and Armstrong and you see their advertising and realize how far superior American manufacturing and innovation was for so many decades before our proprietary intellectual property was off shored thereby undermining the American worker and his family as well as our American economy and now we can see that this shortsightedness has resulted into a literal national security issue. Precious metals and base ingredients for medications are just a couple of the many disturbing examples of the failure of Globalism and yet this is still being ignored. Just look at the EV/solar market which is dominated by China which is clearly our enemy at least when it comes to the global economy and IP. Now we are even allowing foreign companies to buy American farmland and American food processors many of which are near US military bases. None of this is hyperbole or any sort of conspiracy theory, but empirical facts.

I always liked Martin Balsam as an actor.