On Trial (The Joseph Cotten Show )

1 9 5 5 – 1 9 5 9 (USA)
41 x 30 minute episodes

Premiering on 23 September 1955, this NBC courtroom drama anthology series was hosted by and occasionally starred Joseph Cotten.

Although officially named On Trial, the series was so closely associated with its host that it became popularly known as The Joseph Cotten Show. As a result, the show was re-named The Joseph Cotten Show – On Trial in February 1957.

The title was simplified to simply The Joseph Cotten Show during rebroadcasts.

Some stand-out episodes included ‘The Trial of Mary Surratt’ concerning a woman accused in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln; ‘The Trial of Edward Pritchard’ revolving around a turn-of-the-century poisoning case in Glasgow, and ‘The Lonely Wizard’, relating the true story of electrical engineer Charles Steinmetz.

A technical advisor from the New York State Bar Association was retained to verify the legal authenticity of the storylines, though scripts were simplified for a general audience.

In 1959, the show moved to CBS primarily because the network had acquired the rights to broadcast a collection of reruns as a summer replacement series.

The CBS run ended in September 1959, marking the final time the show aired on a major network.

Actors who appeared in the series included Joan Fontaine, Hoagy Carmichael, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Bel Geddes, Michael Wilding, Macdonald Carey, Dan O’Herlihy, Everett Sloane, Robert Middleton, James Gregory, Ray Collins and Ellen Corby.

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