The Public Defender, Vol. 3 (1954) On DVD

Reed Hadley is Bart Matthews, your Public Defender, in this series of law and order dramas that ran on CBS from 1954 to 1955. At the time of the show's creation (by Mort Lewis and Sam Shayon), the concept of the public defender was little known throughout much of the United States. Stories were purportedly based on true cases, and each episode ends with a salute to a working public defender.

Bart Matthews (Hadley) takes on clients that cannot afford expensive legal counsel. Young or old, innocent or guilty, the law comes first for the stoic and driven public defender. Hadley previously starred in the television series "Racket Squad" (1953-1954) and is fondly remembered for playing the title role in the action-packed Republic serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939).

Wade Foster: A district attorney must defend a gambling addict accused of armed robbery.

The Arsonist: A troubled teen dislikes his new stepmother and rebels by becoming a pyromaniac.

Coal Mine Rage: Matthews defends a man charged with attempted murder for attacking his boss with a hand-held hydraulic drill.

Defending Diane Collins: A woman is accused of grand theft when she is set up by a jealous rival.

Starring Reed Hartley (RACKET SQUAD), this courtroom drama aired from 1954-1955, and followed Bart Matthews (Hartley) in his capacity as a pro bono lawyer, defending clients who have been falsely accused of crime. In this collection of episodes, a con man in prison lets himself get talked into a dubious jailbreak by the man who landed him there in the first place in "Crash Out." The Clown" follows a young boy who had entered a life of crime in a last bid to capture his father's attention, while "Another World" sees Matthews defending an immigrant accused of murdering a man who had been blackmailing his sister.