The Law and Mr. Jones

The Law and Mr. Jones

James Whitmore, Janet De Gore and Conlan Carter, 1962.
Genre Crime drama
Created by Sy Gomberg
Written by William Bast
Sy Gomberg
Lester Pine
Robert Pirosh
Directed by David Alexander
Charles F. Haas
Robert Ellis Miller
Starring James Whitmore
Janet De Gore
Conlan Carter
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 45
Production
Producer(s) Sy Gomberg
Running time 30 mins. (approx)
Production company(s) Four Star Television
Distributor Fox Television Studios
Release
Original network ABC
Picture format Black-and-white
Audio format Monaural
Original release October 7, 1960 – September 22, 1961

The Law and Mr. Jones is a 45-episode half-hour television crime drama starring James Whitmore. The series aired on ABC in two nonconsecutive seasons from October 7, 1960, to September 22, 1961, and again from April 19 to July 5, 1962. The program was created and produced by Sy Gomberg, and was set in New York City.[1][2]

Synopsis

Whitmore starred as idealistic attorney Abraham Lincoln Jones, who had been a star athlete in college. His cases did not usually involve violence but white collar crimes, such as fraud, embezzlement, taxes, and contracts.[3] Janet De Gore co-starred as Jones' secretary, Marsha Spear, and Conlan Carter appeared as his law clerk, C.E. Carruthers.

Sam Jaffe and Harry Townes guest starred twice on the series in the roles of Martin Berger and Fowler, respectively. In a 1961 episode entitled "Lincoln", Martin Landau, later of CBS's Mission: Impossible, and character actor Strother Martin guest starred as Jones defended a client accused of having planted a bomb.

One particular episode attracted an Emmy Award nomination. On March 3, 1961, the episode "Cold Turkey" featured Peter Falk, later of Columbo. He was nominated for "Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Single Program." Others in the cited episode were Leo Penn, father of Sean Penn, and Joyce Van Patten, the sister of Dick Van Patten.

Guest stars

Notable guest stars include:

Production notes

The Law and Mr. Jones was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television. Its theme song was derived from the 1890s Negro spiritual entitled "When the Saints Go Marching In". The music is attributed to publisher J. M. Black, but it was actually composed by Leonard Rosenman, who released an album of his themes on Dot Records in 1959 that included this theme.[4]

In the first season, the series, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, ran on Friday at the 10:30 Eastern time slot after Robert Taylor's The Detectives. In its abbreviated second season, the series was switched to Thursday (by its sponsor) to fill the slot left by the cancelled 1920s situation comedy Margie starring Cynthia Pepper.[5]

After The Law and Mr. Jones, Janet De Gore joined the revised cast of Walter Brennan's The Real McCoys, renamed The McCoys and switched from ABC to CBS. Conlan Carter took over the role of "Doc" on ABC's Combat! for which he secured an Emmy nomination in 1964.

ABC had canceled the series after its first season, but thousands of angry letters from fans convinced them to bring the show back in 1962.[6]

References

  1. Alex McNeil, Total Television, 4th edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 471
  2. Film.com, The Law and Mr. Jones
  3. Tvofyourlife.com, The Law and Mr. Jones
  4. Classic TV themes, The Law and Mr. Jones
  5. 1960-1961; 1961-1962 American network television schedules
  6. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 666. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
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