The Joseph Cotten Show
The Joseph Cotten Show (also known as On Trial)[1] is an American anthology series hosted by and occasionally starring Joseph Cotten (1905-1994). The NBC series aired thirty-one episodes from September 14, 1956, to September 13, 1957.[2] Four other new episodes were broadcast on CBS in the summer of 1959.
Episode overview
Cotten appeared in different roles in fifteen episodes, including the title character in the series premiere, "The Trial of Edward Pritchard," the story of a physician of questionable background in Glasgow, Scotland, who is accused of having poisoned his wife and mother-in-law and who claimed to have been a personal friend of the Italian revolutionary Garibaldi.[3]
Virginia Gregg (1916-1986) starred twice in historical roles, first as Mary Surratt, the woman hanged in the conspiracy case stemming from the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, in the 1956 episode "The Mary Surratt Case," directed by Ida Lupino. Cotten appeared with Gregg in the role of Robert Westwood.[4] Gregg also portrayed Frances Adeline Miller Seward, wife of United States Secretary of State William Seward, who was stabbed the same night that Lincoln was murdered. Cotten played Seward in this 1957 episode entitled "The Freeman Case." This episode is not about the attack on Seward but about a legal case that the attorney Seward handled on behalf of the African American Willie Freeman, who was found guilty but insane of the murders of a white farm family. The prosecutor in the trial was John Van Buren, son of former U.S. President Martin Van Buren.[5]
In the first episode of 1957, "The Trial of Colonel Blood," Michael Wilding guest starred in the title role of Thomas Blood, the Irish-born colonel who in 1671 tried to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Norman Lloyd, a director of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, portrayed George Villiers, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Henry Daniel portrayed King Charles II of England.[6]
The series also aired a Victorian-era mystery, "The Tichborne Claimant," with Gladys Cooper portraying the Roman Catholic Lady Tichborne, who seeks the whereabouts of her son who disappeared at sea. In her search, Lady Tichborne encounters the Protestant Thomas Castro of Australia, played by Robert Middleton.[7]
Other notable guest stars
- Barbara Bel Geddes
- Olive Carey
- Hoagy Carmichael
- Chuck Connors
- Ellen Corby
- Joan Crawford
- Reginald Denny
- John Doucette
- Joan Fontaine
- Eduard Franz
- Florida Friebus
- Anthony George
- Ron Hayes
- William Hopper
- Kim Hunter
- Charles Laughton
- June Lockhart
- Hugh Marlowe
- Kevin McCarthy
- John McIntire
- Mala Powers
- Everett Sloane
- Rod Steiger
- Inger Stevens
- Audrey Totter
- Keenan Wynn
Production notes
The series was filmed in Los Angeles in conjunction with Fordyce Productions and Revue Studios, later Universal Television.[8]
In its full season, The Joseph Cotten Show aired at 9 p.m. Friday opposite CBS's Crusader, starring Brian Keith and then, at mid-season, the sitcom, Mr. Adams and Eve, starring Howard Duff and his then wife, Ida Lupino, an executive of Four Star Television. ABC aired Jan Murray's Treasure Hunt quiz show in the same time slot.[9]
References
- â Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1979). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946-Present, Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25525-9. p. 315.
- â Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, 4th ed., p. 618.
- â "On Trial: The Trial of Edward Pritchard"'. Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â On Trial: The Trial of Mary Surratt. IMDB. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â On Trial: The Freeman Case. IMDB. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â On Trial: The Trial of Colonel Blood. IMDB. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â On Trial: The Tichborne Claimant. IMDB. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â Company credits for The Joseph Cotten Show. Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved on February 24, 2022.
- â McNeil, Total Television, appendix.