Arrest and Trial

Although Chuck Connors was considered to be miscast as an attorney, much of the failure of this show to live up to its potential was allegedly due to interference in the show's writing by producer Frank P. Rosenberg. Connors is said to have butted heads many times with management over this, as well as its treatment of the show's staff (he once walked off the set until the studio resumed providing free coffee and donuts for the crew). Rosenberg was said to have a stack of "Arrest and Trial" scripts written by some of the top writers in Hollywood that were ignored, in favor of scripts that were increasingly mediocre. This show was also in one of the worst possible time slots, competing against Bonanza (1959), Toast of the Town (1948), and The Judy Garland Show (1963). When this show folded after one season, Connors, Universal, and Revue severed their contract by "mutual agreement". A year later, Connors was back on television in another western, Geächtet (1965) that, oddly enough, ran in the same unenviable time slot as this show, but managed to last two seasons. Ben Gazzara returned to enjoy a three-year run on the television series Wettlauf mit dem Tod (1965), before appearing in three critically acclaimed films directed by his friend, independent film pioneer, John Cassavetes.

Remade as Arrest & Trial (2000)