The Joseph Cotten Show (TV series)

The Joseph Cotten Show is an American courtroom-drama anthology series[1] that was broadcast on NBC beginning on September 14, 1956, and was rebroadcast on CBS, ending on September 21, 1959.[2]

Overview

The Joseph Cotten Show depicted real-life legal cases that had occurred in "various parts of the world and various periods of history".[2] Joseph Cotten was the host and narrator, and he starred in about one-third of the episodes,[3] which were "taken from court records ... slightly dramatized when necessary".[4] The program was developed from a pilot that was broadcast on The Campbell Playhouse.[5]

Legal authenticity of the series's content was verified by a technical advisor who was a member of the New York State Bar Association.[6] Cotten said that the staff avoided getting too technical about legal aspects in scripts, otherwise "we'll just have lawyers in each town looking in."[3] Many of the trials were about murder cases, but some episodes had more human-interest aspects.[3]

Name changes

The program debuted as On Trial. Cotten was so closely associated with it that effective February 1, 1957, the name was changed to The Joseph Cotten Show—On Trial. Another change occurred in the summer of 1958 when reruns were broadcast on NBC as The Joseph Cotten Show. In 1959, CBS used The Joseph Cotten Show for a set of reruns from this program, General Electric Theater, and Schlitz Playhouse.[2]

Episodes

Partial List of Episodes of The Joseph Cotten Show

Episode	Star(s)
"Case of Sudden Death"	Dick Foran[7]
"Colonel Blood"	Michael Wilding, Henry Daniell[8]
"Death in the Snow"	Hoagy Carmichael[9]
"Dog versus Biddeford"	Cotten, Jan Cheney, L. Q. Jones[10]
"Eleanor"	Charles Laughton[11]
"False Alarm"	Jack Carson, Janice Rule, Joseph Wiseman[12]
"The Fourth Witness"	Dane Clark, Mala Powers[13]
"The Gentle Voice of Murder"	Barbara Bel Geddes[14]
"Last Edition"	Eddie Albert, Tom Helmore[15]
"Libel in the Wax Museum"	John Baragrey, June Lockhart[16]
"The Secret of Polanto"	Cotten, Lita Milan[17]
"Silent Ambush"	Alan Ladd[18]
"The Town That Slept With the Lights On"	Edmond O'Brien, Robert Middleton, Sheppard Strudwick[19]
"The Trial of Mary Surratt"	Virginia Gregg[20]
"Twice in Peril"	Cotten, Joseph Wiseman[21]

Production

Cotten, Collier Young, and Larry Marcus formed Fordyce Enterprises to produce the series.[22] Directors included Ida Lupino and Nicholas Ray.[23] Writers included Don Mankiewicz, whose enthusiasm for that job diminished when his hope to explore "important points of law" was dashed by NBC executives' insistence that episodes forcus on murders.[24] Each episode was usually filmed in three days.[25]

The program initially was broadcast on Fridays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time. In June 1958 it was moved to Saturdays from 10 to 10:30 p.m. E. T.[2] Beginning on July 6, 1959, the CBS version was on Mondays from 9:30 to 10 p.m. E. T. (replacing The Ann Sothern Show).[26]

Alternate sponsors on NBC were Campbell Soup Company and Lever Brothers.[27] General Foods Corporation products Post cereals[28] and Instant Maxwell House Coffee alternated as sponsors on CBS.[26]

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety said that the quality of the acting exceeded that of the script, which "left many weaknesses in the storyline".[29] The review complimented the way Robert Stevenson's directing added suspense to Marcus's script. It singled out Cotten as the "uneasy misfit" in the cast, as demonstrated by his "liberal posturing".[29]

References

1. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 618. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
2. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (June 24, 2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 716–717. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
3. Scheuer, Steven H. (January 10, 1957). "Court Trials Pay Off For Cotten". Standard-Star. New York, New Rochelle. p. 20. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Hanauer, Joan (September 11, 1956). "Cotten Thinks Television Is Tough on the Actors". The State Journal. Michigan, Lansing. International News Service. p. 12. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Hawes, William (January 9, 2002). Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958. McFarland. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7864-1132-0. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
6. Irvin, Richard (November 2, 2022). Pioneers of "B" Television: Independent Producers, Series and Pilots of the 1950s. McFarland. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-4766-4770-8. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
7. "Television's Best Bets For Tonight". The Wichita Beacon. August 23, 1957. p. 15. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Friday January 4". Ross Reports. December 30, 1956. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
9. Sudhalter, Richard M. (October 30, 2003). Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael. Oxford University Press. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-19-803005-8. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
10. "Friday January 11". Ross Reports. January 6, 1957. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
11. Redfern, David A. (August 13, 2021). Charles Laughton: A Filmography, 1928-1962. McFarland. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-4766-7089-8. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
12. "Television Highlights Of The Day". The Sun. Maryland, Baltimore. September 7, 1959. p. 4. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Friday December 21". Ross Reports. December 16, 1956. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
14. "Friday May 24". Ross Reports. May 20, 1957. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
15. "Monday: Pick of Today's Programs". The Morning Call. New Jersey, Paterson. August 22, 1959. p. Weekend Magazine 6. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Friday January 18". Ross Reports. January 14, 1957. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
17. "Friday May 31". Ross Reports. May 27, 1957. p. C. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
18. Cain, Ira (July 6, 1959). "Vint Bonner Has Bad Time With Schoolgirl Tonight". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 26. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
19. "Manhunt Involves News Photographer". The Saturday Star-Bulletin. Hawaii, Honolulu. August 22, 1959. p. 13. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Grisham, Therese; Grossman, Julie (May 23, 2017). Ida Lupino, Director: Her Art and Resilience in Times of Transition. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-7492-9. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
21. "Friday June 21". Ross Reports. June 24, 1957. p. A. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
22. "Going Into Red With Wide Open Eyes". Variety. August 8, 1956. p. 31. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
23. Seros, Alexandra (January 14, 2025). Ida Lupino, Forgotten Auteur: From Film Noir to the Director's Chair. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-3067-8. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
24. Hogan, David J. (September 19, 2017). Invasion USA: Essays on Anti-Communist Movies of the 1950s and 1960s. McFarland. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-4766-3010-6. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
25. Walker, Ellis (December 4, 1956). "TV-Radio Highlights". Napa Register. p. 11. Retrieved January 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Monday (July 6)". Ross Reports. July 6, 1959. p. 57. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
27. "NBC-TV Fall Schedule: Friday" (Press release). NBC. August 10, 1956. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
28. "Other Network Changes & Additions". Ross Reports. July 13, 1959. p. 60. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
29. "On Trial". Variety. September 19, 1956. p. 46. Retrieved January 28, 2025.