**The Court of Last Resort ** is an American television dramatized court show which aired October 4, 1957 – April 11, 1958, on NBC. It was co-produced by Erle Stanley Gardner's Paisano Productions, which also brought forth the long-running hit CBS-TV law series, Perry Mason.

Summary

The concept for The Court of Last Resort was developed from a popular true crime column of the same name. Written by lawyer-turned-author Erle Stanley Gardner, the column appeared in the monthly magazine Argosy for ten years beginning in September 1948. Gardner enlisted assistance from police, private detectives, and other professional experts to examine the cases of dozens of convicts who maintained their innocence long after their appeals were exhausted. The TV show centers on seven attorneys who take on the cases of wrongly accused or unjustly convicted defendants. Episodes dramatized various cases investigated by the Court from its inception through "the present". The members of the Court were portrayed by actors during the episode, but the actual members often appeared at the conclusion of the program, with one of them reflecting on the case that had just been dramatized. The series aired October 4, 1957 – April 11, 1958, on NBC at 8 p.m. EST on Fridays. It was rebroadcast on ABC on Wednesdays from August 1959 to February 17, 1960. The program was sponsored by the P. Lorillard Company, a cigarette manufacturer.

Principal cast

Episode list

Production

Elliott Lewis was the producer, John M. Lucas was the director, and Leonard Heideman was the writer.

Critical response

A review of the premiere episode in the trade publication Variety called The Court of Last Resort "a potential winner". The review said, "Story and action were handled with care, discipline, and with an aura of public service devoid of the violence and pyrotechnics usually associated with such police dramas." It also singled out Bettger's "especially effective" portrayal of Larsen.