''They Stand Accused'' is an American dramatized court show, the first live courtroom drama on television. The program began as ''Cross Question'' on CBS in January 1949, ending in April 1949. The show was "Chicago's first regular contribution to the CBS television network". The program originated from

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

, and CBS dropped it when that station became an affiliate of the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

. It was broadcast on DuMont from September 11, 1949, to October 5, 1952, and again from September 9 to December 30, 1954.

Overview

The series was recorded in a courtroom presided over by attorney Charles Johnston and broadcast live from Chicago's WGN-TV, with jurors chosen from the studio audience.McNeil, Alex (1980). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.). New York: Penguin Books. . On most DuMont affiliates, ''They Stand Accused'' aired Sundays at 9pm ET during the 1949-1950 television season, then Sundays at 10pm ET, and then Thursdays at 8pm ET during 1954. Lloyd Ellingwood was the director. William C. Wines, assistant attorney general of Illinois, wrote the program's dramatizations.

Reception

Reviewer

Jack Gould John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television. Early life and education Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...

wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' that ''They Stand Accused'' was "one of the more remarkable and consistently absorbing programs on television". He complimented the program's combination of documentary and dramatic styles and its way of having a natural appearance despite its "careful preparation".

Episode status

At least two episodes exist: the December 23, 1950, episode is held in the J. Fred MacDonald collection at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, while an episode from late 1954 ("The Johnny Roberts Story") can be viewed online at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

.The Johnny Roberts Story
, Internet Archive

References

Bibliography

* David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2004) * Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

, 1964)

External links