Trials of O'Brien

Season 1

Not Rated

A flamboyant, Shakespeare-quoting, New York City defense attorney always seems to get into trouble.

Where to Watch Season 1

22 Episodes

Over Defense is Out
E1
Over Defense is OutO'Brien represents a client who was charged with murder after being released from prison. Guest star: Vincent Gardenia
Bargain Day on the Street of Regret
E2
Bargain Day on the Street of RegretO'Brien wins a boxer in a craps game but is less than thrilled when he finds out the young man is a rotten fighter. Then O'Brien's luck completely runs out after his boxer is arrested for murdering a rival.
Notes on a Spanish Prisoner
E3
Notes on a Spanish PrisonerNo one believes Oliver Maxwell, an amiable but convicted confidence trickster, when he uses a familiar swindle to raise money for the release of a prisoner in a foreign jail. But this time the story is true - or is it?
Never Bet on Anything That Talks
E4
Never Bet on Anything That TalksO'Brien's English bookie is charged in the death of an accountant, but the person who can clear him is nowhere to be found.
What Can Go Wrong
E5
What Can Go WrongAfter discovering that a man is dating his ex-wife (Joanna Barnes), O'Brien delightedly sets him up as a "pigeon" in order to trap a killer. Guest stars: Roger Moore and Michael Constantine.
Goodbye and Keep Cool
E6
Goodbye and Keep CoolA woman (Cloris Leachman) is accused of murdering her husband, and retains O'Brien to defend her. Guest star: Robert Loggia.
A Gaggle of Girls
E7
A Gaggle of GirlsO'Brien is retained by a Mother Superior in order to persuade the owner of an adjoining cafe to permit St. Anthony's Youth Center to use its garden.
The Trouble with Archie
E8
The Trouble with ArchieO'Brien investigates the death of a partner in the Seventh Avenue Dress House where his ex-wife works. Guest stars: Lou Jacobi, Theodore Bikel, Simon Oakland and Alice Ghostley.
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
E9
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?A "heist artist" who is accused of fatally stabbing a dealer of rare violins is defended by O'Brien. Guest stars: Norman Fell, Dana Elcar, Kurt Kasznar, Frank Langella, and former boxer Jake LaMotta.
Charlie Has All the Luck
E10
Charlie Has All the LuckWhile being bugged by his ex-wife to sign the lease on her luxurious apartment, O'Brien must defend a client involved in a fatal shooting that follows a fixed horse race. Guest stars: Martin Sheen, Tony Roberts, and Philip Bosco.
Picture Me a Murder
E11
Picture Me a MurderO'Brien represents a movie producer (Alan Alda) who was charged with resisting arrest while filming an "underground" movie. Guest stars: Claude Akins, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, and Joanna Pettet.
Dead End on Flugel Street
E12
Dead End on Flugel StreetA burlesque comedian (Milton Berle) is involved in murder when his straight man is killed after making advances on the comedian's wife.
No Justice for the Judge
E13
No Justice for the JudgeAn eccentric judge (Burgess Meredith) engages O'Brien to represent him on charges of mental disability that could remove him from the bench. Guest stars: Robert Emhardt, Barnard Hughes, and Ken Kercheval.
Leave It to Me
E14
Leave It to MeO'Brien tries to have a will declared invalid before three greedy heirs (Angela Lansbury, George Rose and Thayer David) kill each other in a house that's booby-trapped from cellar to attic.
Alarums and Excursions
E15
Alarums and ExcursionsA foster father (John McGiver), who is content to keep collecting welfare checks, hires O'Brien to keep seven children with him after an adoption judge takes the youths away from him.
The 10-Foot, 6-Inch Pole
E16
The 10-Foot, 6-Inch PoleAccountant Jerry Quinlan was an apparent suicide, until it is discovered that he had questions and suspicions about his company's books which he was about to report.
A Horse Called Destiny
E17
A Horse Called DestinyO'Brien represents a spiritualist in the murder of a wealthy client whose death he has predicted.
The Blue Steel Suite
E18
The Blue Steel SuiteProtesting their living conditions, the prisoners of the state prison's isolation cell block have taken 3 hostages whom they will only release if O'Brien will make a public presentation of their case.
The Partridge Papers
E19
The Partridge PapersJames Partridge, who once worked for British Intelligence, believes he was the target of a hit and run driver who was responsible for landing O'Brien in the hospital with a broken leg. This episode was the dramatic television debut of singer Sheila MacRae (wife of Gorden MacRae, and TV wife of Jackie Gleason in his ""Amecrican Scene"" magazine Honeymooners period)
The Greatest Game (1)
E20
The Greatest Game (1)""WANTED - Macedonian Art Objects, 17th Century, Contact:Daniel J O'Brien"" With this ad in a Manhatten peoper, O'Brien begins an international hunt for the Viktor Emblem, a ""jewel encrusted treasure of a Balkan Country"", which has been stolen from a shrine, and is being offered by 4 thieves for $500,000, with a fee for O'Brien to handle the negotiations. Altho this two part episode was broadcast in B&W, in 1966, it was edited into a tv-movie in color, ""Too Many Thieves"" (thanks- Classic TV Archive for that tidbit) It also marked the US tv debut of Britt Ecklund, then the wife of Peter Sellers (and later Rod ""the Mod"" Stewart) Ludwig Donath was know for his Broadway performances in the musicals ""She Loves Me"" and ""A Family Affair""
The Greatest Game (2)
E21
The Greatest Game (2)O'Brien's negotiations for the Viktor Emblem get more complicated when the person holding it has his life threatened.
The Only Game in Town
E22
The Only Game in TownTaking the bench as an interim judge on the New York Supreme Court, O'Brien deals with the case of a seaman (Alejandro Rey) accused of murdering a co-worker with a longshoreman's hook. Gene Hackman plays the prosecutor in the case.