The forerunner for many of today’s courtroom dramas, Crown Court was a pioneer in the method in which it brought the reality of the court to the small screen. In contrast to the myriad of discussion programmes that make up modern daytime television, Crown Court was a major hit when it was first broadcast in 1972. Based on the earlier Granada series, The Verdict Is Yours, its simple structure focussed the entirety of the action in the courtroom itself without referring to either the outside world or the personal lives of any involved. Each case was extended across three episodes with facts revealed both to viewers and court simultaneously and although those involved in the cases were actors, the jury was made up from members of the general public and it was the jury alone which decided the verdict. It was on a parallel to spending hours in a real courtroom with the distinction that all cases were in fact fictional.
There is no doubt that it doesn't have the glitz and glamour that a TV programme of the same ilk has today, but it it nevertheless gripping, and the subject of each trial is as relevant today as it was when it was first broadcast. It is a sharply written series which attracted a wealth of British acting talent in early screen roles.
:: Series 1
| Episode Title | Synopsis | Original Tx. Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lieberman v. Savage | This case is over the possession of a luxury penthouse. Rich property tycoon Emmanuel Lieberman has installed his girlfriend in a penthouse on top of an office block. Lieberman returns unexpectedly from a trip to find his son Mark in the penthouse with Delia. Lieberman takes Delia to the Crown Court to have her turned out of the penthouse. | 18 – 20 October 1972 |
| Regina v. Lord | School teacher Helen Lord is accused of grievous bodily harm because she attacks a policeman. She walks into Calderley Police Station and demands to see senior police officer, Detective Superintendent Brotherton. When the duty constable tells her he isn’t there, she refuses to believe him and becomes abusive. | 25 – 27 October 1972 |
| Conspiracy – Regina v. Luckurst and Sawyer | Two figures were seen running the night an explosion wrecked a printing press. Twenty-nine year old freelance journalist Trevor Luckurst and 20 year old student Jill Sawyer are accused of ‘conspiring to cause explosions with persons unknown’. They deny the charge. | 1 – 3 November 1972 |
| The Eleventh Commandment – Regina v. Clayton and Mitchell | Linda Mitchell and Rosemary Clayton are accused of conspiring to steal a dress from a department store. | 22 – 24 November 1972 |
| Regina vs. Vennings & Vennings | Customs men search a motor-cruiser in the Thames and find £200,000 worth of heroin. The owner’s 20 year old student son, who brought the boat from the continent, claims he knows nothing about it. The boy, Paul Vennings, pleads not guilty to drugs charges. | 15 – 17 November 1972 |
| Regina v. Bryant | Harry Bryant is accused of robbery with violence and assault on the police. He sacks his counsel and defends himself. Evidence is given by the bank guards who were robbed of £30, 000. Harry accuses the police of conspiring to falsify evidence against him because of his past criminal record. | 7 – 9 November 1972 |
| Euthanasia – Regina v. Webb | Moira Webb was dying from cancer. Before it was diagnosed, Lawrence, her husband was having an affair with his secretary, Betty Ashford. The cancer gets worse and Moira is in great pain. To save his wife further suffering, Lawrence gives her an overdose of morphine and is therefore accused of murder. | 8 – 10 November 1972 |
| A Genial Man – Regina v. Bolton | A town councillor is charged with indecent assault on his 18 year old secretary. | 29 - 30 November - 1 December 1972 |
| Espionage – Regina v. Terson | Margaret Terson is a senior Foreign Office official accused of offences under Section Two of the Official Secrets Act. Miss Terson pleads not guilty to the charges. Special branch men started a surveillance of Miss Terson after she became friendly with a young East German, Hans Mueller. All along she has claimed to be in love with Mueller but did her love cause her to betray her country? | 6 – 8 December 1972 |
| Who is Benedetto Trovato? Regina v. Starkie | Wealthy American collector Walter Lander paid £20,000 for a masterpiece by Benedetto Trovato, a newly discovered Venetian painter. But the secretary to the Duc de Severin immediately denounced Lander’s picture as a fake, and said that the real Trovato was in his master’s collection. Lander bought the painting from Alice Starkie, an obscure British painter and she stands accused of ‘obtaining property by deception’. | 20 – 22 December 1972 |
:: Series 2
| Episode Title | Synopsis | Featuring | Original Tx. Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Medium | Saint or sinner? Holy man or common criminal? Is Simon Purbeck a genuine medium with real powers, or a fake and a fraud? Purbeck stands accused of cheating Mrs. Mary Wells out of more than £40,000. Mrs. Wells turned to spiritualism after the death of her only son. Did Purbeck really believe that he was passing messages from her dead son? Or did he, as the prosecution maintain, deliberately and criminally exploit a wealthy widow? | David Ashford, Joyce Heron and Christopher Gable | 29 November to 1 December 1972 |
| Whatever Happened to George Robbins? | Harold Barnes is on trial for the murder of George Robins (whose body has not been found). We hear evidence of Robins' partner, Kirby, of Robins ex wife, and of Mrs. Gwen Farr who supposedly saw Barnes at the scene of the crime. | Bernard Gallagher, John Ronane and Tommy Godfrey | 3 to 5 January 1973 |
| Blackmail - Regina V Brewer and Brewer | Janet and Matthew Brewer have been charged with blackmail - Janet has been having an affair with a married clergyman and it is alleged that they tried to use this situation for monetary gain. | Ian McCulloch, Edward Jewesbury and David Ashford | 10 to 12 January 1973 |
| Sunset of Arms - Fitton V Pusey | Mayor Fitton, a hero of the British campaign in Korea, is suing Professor Harold Pusey for libel. Fitton claim that in his book "Sunset of Arms" Pusey has made Fitton out to be a coward in Korea. | James Maxwell, Michael Lees and Bernard Gallagher | 17 to 19 January 1973 |
| Persimmons and Dishwashers - Regina V Curl | George and Arnold Curl are accused of conspiring to commit Grievous Bodily Harm and conspiring to demand money with menaces their alleged victim being Stephen Telfer, a club owner. | Harry Fowler, Barbara Young and Ron Pember | 24 to 26 January 1973 |
| A Public Mischief - Regina V Baker and Crawley | Charles Baker, a prominent member of Fulchester Borough Council and his former secretary, Miss Margaret Crawley is charged with conspiring to commit a public mischief... | Reginal Marsh, Beth Harris and Andre Van Gyseghem | 31 January to 2 February 1973 |
| Portrait of an Artist - Kingsley V Messiter | The painter Martin Emsworth dies, and his two ex-mistresses, one his business manager and the other his favourite model, claim his estate. | Moira Redmond, Mary Healey and Charlotte Mitchell | 7 to 9 February 1973 |
| A Crime in Prison - Regina V Ager And Lanigan | Ager is employed as a prison officer at Parkmoor Prison, where Lanigan is serving six years for robbery. The crown alleges that Lanigan bribed Ager to smuggle forbidden goods into the prison. Ager is charged with accepting the alleged bribe. | Glyn Houston, Maurice O'Connell and Bob Hoskins | 14 to 16 February 1973 |
| Infanticide or Murder? | Dominic Collins faces a charge of murder, after the body of his 15 year old daughter's baby was found buried in his garden. The home office pathologist revealed that prior to the burial of the child it had been strangled. | Robert Hartley, Sheila Raynor and Brenda Cavendish | 21 to 23 February 1973 |
| An Act of Vengeance - Regina V Collings | Brian Collings is on trial accused of attacking his cousin, Alan Collings, by throwing caustic soda in his face and blinding him. | David de Keyser, Anthony May and Angharad Rees | 28 February to 2 March 1973 |
| Freakout - Regina V Marlow | Peta Best, a headline-making photographer and fashion world personality, is found dead in her studio. Natasha Marlow, a model she often employed, is accused of her murder after being found with the dead women. | Susan Tracy, John Bennett and Sidney Livingston | 7 to 9 March 1973 |
| Intent To Kill | Three men broke into a mail order warehouse where they were disturbed by a night watchman who they shot and seriously injured. Two of the men were arrested and charged with attempted robbery and burglary but the third - who later gave himself up - was charged with attempted murder. | Colin Farrell, James Ottaway and John Savident | 9 to 11 May 1973 |