I agree with one of the posts here that cites two of the abortion doctor's greatly flawed arguments, but this episode manages to present both sides of the issue with great restraint and honesty. We are left to decide for ourselves..and I suspect that most will agree with the jury's decision.
But this is a tough one. I was greatly impressed by Robert Simon's solid, dignified performance---every word is sincere and convincing. E.G. Marshall, Robert Reed and the judge (Judson Laire) are also in top form and work beautifully (with Kermit Murdock) together; this is GREAT ensemble acting.
Similarly, the two ladies-- Collin Wilcox and the lovely, winsome and sensitive Kathleen Widdoes, are also superb, and..... SHOCK OF AGES---- even Dee Hart, super-model and would-be actress...comes across admirably, so effective are the writing and directing.
Note that the courtroom proceedings begin at 16:30'' of this show--- so you really need to focus in for the long haul of this intensely emotional, multi-faceted examination of the controversial social issue that continues to rage today.
ALSO---- YOU MIGHT THINK I'M NUTS--- but the deceased daughter's GRAVESTONE really caught my attention. I HATE when TV shows use prop gravestones that were obviously painted by the set decoration department just prior to shooting the scene, so that the character names and dates match the script.
But "The Benefactor" uses a REAL gravestone...or so it seems. It's as if the character of the Doctor and his daughter were taken from the name on this actual stone, and (speaking of which) author Peter STONE incorporated the Shakespeare quote into his script, and developed the daughter's death FROM the "meek and mild with these butchers" line.
What really tipped me off is the fact that the dates of birth and death carved in the gravestone don't match the data that Robert Simon gives in recounting his daughter's age and death...not, that is, if the show takes place in 1961-62 (it looks like it was filmed as early as summer of '61, since the cemetery trees are in full bloom and nobody wears an overcoat or sweater in the outdoor scenes).
The point is that Robert Simon says his daughter died SEVEN years earlier, which would be 1954-55. But the gravestone lists 1951 as the date of death. This would seem to confirm that the gravestone is indeed real, and that author Stone developed the specifics of his plot-- the family name and the Shakespeare quote-- FROM THE GRAVESTONE itself (but
ignored the inconsistency of the 1951 time-frame which resulted, assuming no one would notice (?)
ALSO-- I immediately recognized "Oh, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth..." since my freshman English class had to memorize and recite the speech back in early 1966.
ALSO #2--- I've read that this episode was scheduled to air in January '62 but was held back due to the ongoing controversy over its content, and not broadcast 'til late April '62. But the reaction of the public was largely positive, and encouraged Producer Brodkin to proceed in a more adventurous, controversial way in subsequent seasons. LR
